What's mainly wrong with society
today is that too many Dirt Roads have been paved. There's not a problem in America today ~ crime, drugs, education,
divorce, delinquency ~ that wouldn't be remedied, if we just had more Dirt
Roads, because Dirt Roads give character.
People who live at the end of Dirt
Roads learn early on that life is a bumpy ride--that it can jar you right down
to your teeth sometimes, but it's worth it, if at the end is home...a loving
spouse, happy kids and a dog.
We wouldn't have near the trouble
with our educational system if our kids got their exercise walking a Dirt Road
with other kids, from whom they learn how to get along. There was less crime in
our streets before they were paved.
Criminals didn't walk two dusty
miles to rob or rape, if they knew they'd be welcomed by 5 barking dogs and a
double barrel shotgun. And there were
no drive-by shootings.
Our values were better when our
roads were worse! People did not worship their cars more than their kids, and
motorists were more courteous. They
didn't tailgate, or the guy in front would choke them with dust & bust
their windshields with rocks.
Dirt Roads taught patience.
Dirt Roads were environmentally
friendly--you didn't hop in your car for a quart of milk; you walked to the
barn for your milk. For your mail, you
walked to the mail box.
What if it rained and the Dirt
Road got washed out? That was the best part; then you stayed home and had some
family time, roasted marshmallows and popped popcorn and pony rode on Daddy's
shoulders and learned how to make prettier quilts than anybody.
At the end of Dirt Roads, you soon
learned that bad words tasted like soap.
Most paved roads lead to trouble. Dirt Roads more likely lead to a
fishing creek or a swimming hole.
At the end of a Dirt Road, the
only time we even locked our car was in August, because if we didn't some
neighbor would fill it with too much zucchini.
At the end of a Dirt Road, there
was always extra springtime income, from when city dudes would get stuck and
you'd have to hitch up a team and pull them out. Usually you got a
dollar...always you got a new friend...at the end of a Dirt Road. (source/author
unknown)