Friday, November 26, 2010

There is a price to be paid...



Ten years ago, Sir Knight and I went off-grid.  We had toyed with the idea for years, but never seriously considered an off-grid life.  And then, we met the representative from the power company.

In order to have power run to our new shop, we had to hire an engineer from the local electric cooperative to tell us how much it would be to bring in power.  He met my husband at our property, shot the distance from the service hub to our shop and said that it would be  $9,899.00 for power and an additional $125.00 for his services.

We had budgeted about $5,000.00 for electrical service, not $10,000.00, so Sir Knight asked if we could hire a contractor, dig the ditch and run the lines ourselves.  The engineer said, "Nope, our equipment, our lines, our easement.  That way, when we want to run power to your neighbors house and cut across your property, you can't tell us to ***** off".

Sir Knight and I had a decision to make.  We could either accept the power company's demands, or we could stand on our principles.  We didn't believe that the power company had the right to dictate to us what they could do (and what we couldn't do) on our property.  We chose to make our own power.  We have paid the price.

We spent our first year and a half with no electricity.  We paid the price.  We spent thousands of dollars on generators.  We paid the price.  We spent more money on fuel than we ever would have for power.   We paid the price.  When our power goes out, we can't make a phone call and expect power to be restored.  We paid the price.  We continue to pay the price for our principles every day.  We made a choice.  That choice came with consequences.

I often wonder how many people are willing to pay the price for the choices they make.  Are people willing to stand on principle - or are they content to bellyache about their lot in life?

Unfortunately, it seems that people want to have their cake and eat it, too.  They want to complain about rights being ripped from them, but are unwilling to make a stand.  They want to protest and write letters and proclaim their displeasure, but they sure don't want to inconvenienced by actually standing on principle.

As I watch our rights being eroded by the very people we put in place to ensure our liberty, I mourn.  I mourn, not for the rights we once had, but for the character of the people that have allowed this tragedy.  I mourn the death of the American citizen that would rather die than forfeit liberty for security.  I mourn the staunch character that embodied this once great nation.  I mourn the fortitude of a people that would choose "right" over "easy", and were willing to pay the price for their choices.  I mourn our Nation.

Our country needs a few good men.  It needs men willing to say "this far, and no further". It needs men willing to stand on principle.  It needs men willing to pay the price.

As quoted in the painting above:

"War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things; the decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks nothing worth a war, is worse.  A man who has nothing which he cares about more than he does his personal safety is a miserable creature  who has no chance at being free, unless made and kept so by exertions of men better than himself."


                     John Stuart Mill  1806-1873

15 comments:

  1. The city I live in is giving us new recycle bins that are city property, but we have pay for? On top of that, there are RFID chips in the bins so the city can monitor the usage. They can force us to recycle and if we do not use the bins, Then the city will send out inspectors to check our trash for recyclables and fine us for not recycling.
    Its not that Im against recycling, I just do not believe I should be "Forced" into it, nor do I think I should have to pay for someone's else's equiupment.
    (Im getting a burn barrel and im gonna burn some recyclables. Plants need carbon too.)

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  2. Enola, are there any Americans today that you think exemplify the American spirit and character? I see 3 such people who are well known, and I know there are millions more who would meet your criteria who are not well known. Our military comes to mind. So do Tea Party patriots, a good many of whom have stood on principles and been attacked for doing so.

    The 3 famous people that I can think of right now (and I could think of others if I took more time) are: (in no particular order)

    Glenn Beck
    Pastor Arnold Murray
    Sarah Palin

    These people have stood firm in their convictions despite being tormented for years by detractors.

    If you are alluding to the TSA cop-a-feel program, I don't know where these 3 people stand on it. I imagine they would have to
    go through it if they wanted to fly. Would that make them less courageous? I don't know
    the answer to my own question, and I haven't
    heard any of them comment on this invasive procedure. Actually, I think Pastor Murray might throw a couple of right hooks, vault over the gate, put his shoulder into the door of the plane and then take his seat, despite being in his 80s. Once a Marine, always a Marine! ;-)

    The American character is not dead, just suppressed by the leftwing fools who have
    tried to paint that spirit as jingoistic, nationalistic, and xenophobic. I have a feeling the American character is making
    a comeback. (It's alive and well at your place!)

    NoCal Gal

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  3. Enola,

    I know what you mean. When we purchased our little homestead here in TX, we faced the same issue with water. $12K to tie onto the rural water co-op. Could we do the work ourselves and lower our cost? NOPE. Could we supply this or that? NOPE. We could only give them our hard earned cash AND all rights to a water line easement across our property (so that in the future they can supply to other folks down the line.) Then they could provide water as they see fit and increase the price whenever they want to. No, thank you.

    So we have paid the price. We haul water from a little town about 10 miles away. Takes a lot of time and effort and it is still expensive, both in terms of hauling and the little town has increased their fees by 60% from last year!

    A well is not possible here, so we are going to install a pond for water supply purposes.

    We reuse, we conserve, we make do if we're running low on water. It really makes you appreciate it. When your storage tanks are full, life is good!

    One morning, I killed a copperhead in the outhouse and then we had to go to the big city at a high tech store. I was so amused as I stood there looking over the high tech gizmos, thinking these people have no clue that I just killed a copperhead in the outhouse! It felt a little like we were time travelers or something. Funny!

    LOVE your blog!

    Diane in TX

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  4. Dear NoCal Gal;

    Of course there are some real Americans left! You, for starters! I am just talking about the masses, more concerned with their own personal comfort and safety than with preserving what few liberties we have left. And yes, I was alluding to the TSA pedophiles. If this was the United States of old, EVERYBODY would have found some other way to travel. They would have said "this far, and no farther!".

    I would be so much more fun to hash all of this out over a cup of tea!

    Yours,

    Enola

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  5. Thank you for your time and effort on this blog. Have only recently found you. Could you possibly give a source for the painting? I have three small Patriots in the making, and I would love to have that on the wall for them to gaze at!

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  6. Enola, come on down and bring the kids. I have a couple extra bedrooms and a tea kettle. We can hash this out and you can see how I live. The living arrangements are different, but the spirit is the same!

    I'm including a video a friend of mine in Oklahoma sent me today. I think it shows there is hope for America. Not only did Macy's invite the Philadelphia Symphony and a choir to perform Handel's Messiah in the store itself, but Macy's also has a huge eagle sculpture in the center of the floor! I realize the free concert was to encourage shopping (in October, no less) but it's a small step in the right direction. I bet a couple of years ago the store never would have done such things. Today it's Handel, perhaps tomorrow it's "heck no I won't be scanned or fondled." Maybe???

    We Americans may be slow to react, but we always do and we always do what's ultimately right. Small steps lead to giant strides. Here's the video:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wp_RHnQ-jgU&feature=player_embedded#!

    Copy and paste, I hope it works. This video was very uplifting for me. I know what you mean, Enola, but little things like this video
    renew my hope.

    Your blog has been very instrumental in giving me hope that there will be a return to the old American character. Through your blog (and Patrice's) and the tea parties and Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin and Pastor Murray, I have learned that there are people all across the country (and in other countries) who think as I do in so very many ways and that I am not alone although I am surrounded by marxists and atheists. I started my own local protest and wrote letters to the newspaper. I received thank you notes and phone calls from people who agreed with me. Soon, I was seeing other people writing similar letters to the paper. It was like they just needed a little jumpstart to get them going in the right direction again. WE CAN DO THIS!!!

    Have I told you recently that you rock? Well, you do!!!!

    NoCal Gal

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  7. Okay, I was SO thinking about the TSA issue when I read this article!

    Anyway, had Thanksgiving with family on Thursday and did my own little independent "poll". Even though, yes, people admitted that the naked body scanners amount to strip searches without warrants, and yes, the xrays are cumulatively built up in your body; the general conclusion was "the government needs to do something" to keep them safe so they can fly. They will not give up flying even with the scanners and gropings.

    So, I rested my case with family members. Do more good to talk to my fence post.

    But here's a discussion at Kendra's blog that I think you could appreciate!

    http://newlifeonahomestead.com/2010/11/flying-for-holiday-vacation-prepare-to-be-violated-prepare-to-resist/

    I think that's why I love your blog, and a few others, so much. You have common sense in an uncommon world! A breath of fresh air. And while we may not agree on everything, we could surely sit down and enjoy a cup of tea and discuss these issues as patriots who love their country and mourn the demise of those principles we hold dear.

    Blessings to you today Enola!

    Diane in TX

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  8. Hey Diane in Texas...Howdy from Sue in the North Texas Red River Hill Country. Just a thought...have ya'll ever considered using a Rain Water Catchment system? We have a total of 12000 gallons storage capacity that we collect rainwater from a 60 x 80 barn roof a filter and purifying system. Long Live Liberty!

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  9. Hello Texas Women! I also live in the great state. And yes,I have a well, but have to store water. Never a bad idea.
    Enola, you are a breath of fresh air. Don't ever quit! God bless you and your family!
    Goldie

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  10. Wow! Three Texas Women on Enola's blog! Love it! Too bad we don't live close like Enola and her buddies; we could have tea time too!

    TexNavyGirlVet - A few years ago we went to the Renewable Energy Roundup in Fredricksberg. Learned all about rainwater harvesting . . . then had a drought for 2 years. LOL! But we are still considering it, we just do not have enough roof surface yet. Hopefully soon!

    Goldie - Howdy! Everytime I think about moving to Idaho (to be Enola's neighbor! LOL) I find more and more things I love about Texas.

    Enola, thank you for your blog. How about a post about water. What do you do??? Thanks!

    Diane in TX

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  11. so many people have had life so easy that to them it would be unthinkable to not fly...heck, the airlines have gone belly up numerous times and the govt has put them back in business.just ask anyone to give up cable tv, telephone/cellphone, or any other service that they may be paying too much for..just wait until the govt asks them to give up their social security checks or disability checks,...it takes a person with real strong character and principles to say..."keep it, i can survive without the govt interference and rules". just imagine the complaints when we are allowed only so many hours a week of electricity or water. many people are not stupid, but to hear them talking these days i think they put their brains in their back pocket and forgot where they put them.

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  12. I read some of the comments. Im glad Im not the only Texan and Navy veteran here.
    Every day I look at online land for sale ads and dream of the ranch I will own (my grandfather had a 2600 acre cattle ranch in New Mexico) I think its in my blood.

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  13. Wonderful post, you said what so many of us are thinking....and definitely better than I ever could! Thank-you.

    ps. That is one of my favorite John Stuart Mill quotes.

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  14. Hey Enola, Just found your blog and working my way through it. I'm just retired from the Navy and getting ready to take the off-grid plunge with my family. Your power company blues rang all too true. Two months after I bought our abandoned farmstead, the local power co-op tried to muscle $21 per month of line fees out of me. I told them to disconnect us and never contact me again. I went home on leave to find that they had taken every wire from the house and eight outbuildings and ripped the pole out and laid it in the yard next to the power box. That pretty much made up my mind to go off-grid! Love your blog. It's real world and I feel like we see eye to eye.

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  15. Those rules depend on the local utilities and state laws - I know someone in West Virginia who has their electric meter, water meter, and phone box at the end of their mile long driveway; they ran their utilities from there themselves underground. If there is a problem, they have to pay to fix it, but it was much cheaper than having the utilities run it and keeps them off the property.
    Chemechie

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