"Country Roads, Take Me Home"

Our First Look: Tawonga from the road

J.B. Jackson’s chapter “Living Outdoors with Mrs. Panther” was hilarious. We learn a great deal about Jackson’s views of Modern living through his sarcastic tone as he craftily emulates/mocks the writing style of architecture magazines. It was interesting to have a window into the lives and architectural surroundings of “Young Moderns” back in 1954. What was so crazy about the situation covered in the article, the Panther family living “out of doors,” was how unnatural and inundated with modern technology their alleged outdoor living truly was. Of course, one would think that many technologies of 1954 would be outmoded by now, but parts article almost felt like they were coming out of the future – well at least the thing that melts the snow in their driveway, creating a dry path to the road. Does that exist in 2009? The very fact that Mr. and Mrs. Panther call their home life “an experiment in modern living” just furthers the silliness of their lifestyle—it is (was) a cushy, social science project (281). Their house is “temperatrolled,”—yeah my Microsoft Word does not even recognize that as a real word—so that it was always comfortable in their “play space” (that is what we call a big living room, although I would be willing to bet that even with the big tree in the middle of the room, Jackson did not feel like he was outside. The Panthers “want to live indoors just the way [they] would live outdoors: freely and informally and spaciously,” yet they do not open windows, their squash court’s exercise room has air-conditioning and a sunlamp, they own no pets, and their kids are forbidden to “pick wild plants… fondle stray animals or play with children who might be dirty or socially maladjusted” (282-283).

Now Entering CT!

So I think the article is funny, but I also feel bad for these so-called “Young Moderns.” For several summers when I was younger, I went to Camp Tawonga along the Tuolumne River (near Yosemite). These three-week-long periods were certainly some of my dirtier stints as a teenager. It was unavoidable. The dust’s omnipresence made it necessary for my secret stash of Sudafed. But I was in heaven. Even without electricity in the cabins, we survived—we only really needed batteries to power walkie-talkies with the boy bunks, anyway. One of the most challenging and rewarding aspects of camp were our backpacking trips out in Yosemite Valley. Recipe: 1 Wilderness leader + 2 Counselors + 12 Campers + assorted tarps, trail mix, bear cans, bug spray, etc. = 3 days and 2 nights literally living “out of doors.” From defending ourselves from a close-call with a bear invading our campsite to surviving 23 miles of hiking in 2 days to creating an impromptu shelter during a rainstorm (NOTE: three different trips), all the while purifying our own giardia-ridden river water, I’d say we could teach the Panthers a thing or two about living in a natural landscape. Jackson himself might even be impressed.

Secret Beach: my favorite place on the Tuolumne

Location