"Bruce C. Miller" wrote in message
oups.com...
Part time lurker, almost never a poster here... I wondered where to ask
this, and I figure ROA and RAT is a good a place as any.

[snip]
- Health: Quit binge drinking and smoking. Started a 3-day/wk exercise
plan.

That's about all I can think of right now. There are little things too,
like replacing my touchtone phone with a vintage all-metal rotary.

I'm not an anachrophile or a luddite. I only eliminate those things
which cause more stress than they relieve. There many modern things I
don't intend to change (like my computers) and many commonplace items
which still have a place (like paper towels).

Bruce,
I read a tidbit on the reading habits of the literati. Surprisingly, the
most luminous minds of our generation read lots and lots of junk. The
difference between these people, and more average individuals, is that they
read and experience many more things. In their lives, the valve that closes
off experience and culture is wide open.

For some people, cloistering themselves from the vulgar, and the
low-brow pursuits of ordinary people makes them happy. So be it. But I
wouldn't take it as an article of faith that this will work for you. Don't
make it a goal in and of itself. You, too, could have a brilliant mind, yet
enjoy Jello, Twinkies, and Metallica, and if that's the case, feel no guilt.
Enjoy every sunny day.

People in search of Bohemia sometimes find themselves conforming to
another standard that is as confining as the one they abandoned.