Possum Living Part 3 of 3

[CRMChicago]

I read the book. It was fabulous and I could hardly put it down

[lucusinfabula]

Chapeau!

[ahnaknits]

Man, Merv was being a major asshole here.

[heroineworshipper]

The gubment eventually got her to work. Sort of sad what had to happen to her for the good of the people.

[tkyjohn]

Lol Merve Griffiths " ya gonna be bum when ya grow up" Following her success as an author, Dolly Freed grew up to become a NASA aerospace engineer. She aced the SATs with an education she received from the public library and put herself through college. She’s been an environmental educator, business owner, and college professor. She now lives in Texas with her husband and two children.

[Engineer245]

My dad had peers that judged him to be the best tooling, equipment and machine design engineer they had ever worked with. Ford Motor Company amoung others used to send engineers to see his machines and he only made it though the sixth grade. My dad said school is for those with very low reading comprehension or the lazy. He studied on his own and he did it all his life. He was a math wize and could wright with both hands. He taught himselve through a lot of hard work!!!

[conzatorium]

Whoops! Euell Gibbons, Stalking the Wild Asparagus.

[ChuckCh9]

Very nice!

[SOMENAMEOK]

This was so inspirational for some reason :) really makes you think.

[ThanksgivingWalk]

What a gem for the Youtube library!

Thanks for sharing.

[freqazoidiac]

what's that music in the background at 3:20? Sounds like Urzla Dudziak?

Great video..so charming.

On and videos like this, is what makes youtube just the greatest..she gets her moment of fame to extend into digital infinity, plus shares this for a greater good.

[Gesmehod]

I've cooked bread from whole grain.. it tastes outstanding and it's cheaper than balloon bread. It isn't that living simple is hard, it's that people want instant gratification. Living simply isn't about buying organic foods and recycling plastics. It's about giving up luxuries you might not realize you don't even need.

If everyone unplugged at least a little... just a little... imagine how many senseless, wasteful problems would simply evaporate.

[conzatorium]

Have you heard about ... the little pitcher? He heard a thirsty man calling for water from his sick-bed .... The pitcher was so full of compassion ... that by a supreme effort ... managed to roll to within an inch of the sufferer's hand. When the man opened his eyes ... he was full of wonderment and relief. He managed to pick up the jug and held it to his lips. ... it was empty. ... the invalid threw the pitcher against a wall, where it smashed into useless pieces of clay -- Idries Shah.

[conzatorium]

A young, gifted girl exploited by her narcissistic, ego-involved father, whom she needed to keep well to the cheerful side of his violent, pistol-toting, dog-killing, arsonist tendencies. I'm glad she got away, but you never really get away. I'm 5 years younger than Dolly and grew up in Harleysville, east on Sumneytown Pike from her. I think my father had a man-crush on Frank and bought Yuell Brynner's Stalking the Wild Asparagus when Dolly's book came out --bcs he wouldn't buy a girl's book ...

[doston1]

@conzatorium You have a sick mind. I don't think she seems exploited at all...more like empowered.

[conzatorium]

If you think it is sick to disapprove of removing a gifted and caring girl from school in the seven grade to have her forage, care for, and offer companionship to her unemployed father, then call me sick. This is "identity foreclosure" and "parentification." She went on to prove herself academically, as a scientist, something I don't think her father did. Kids will buy into any and all parental nonsense. She was left to be dragged into her father's personal hell, yet she made the best of it.

[lordjavathe3rd]

@conzatorium I know what this is about, you think you're gifted, don't you. Well given the gross deficit of intelligence wandering about, I wouldn't say you aren't. But let me ask you this, can you specialize beyond the point of having peers? If not, then you shouldn't feel so deprived.

[gotrevolution2012]

@conzatorium "Yuell Brynner's" book? I didn't know he wrote a book!

[nateandwar]

This is fascinating! Dolly and her dad (and her mom and brother with open minds) are SO inspirational.

Thanks for the article, VICE.

As if I have to go to work tomorrow..a.fjlasdjfl;saEFFF!!

[MacReady118]

I Love Dolly !!!

[rpeteg]

Nothing short of totally inspirational and wishing I could "do my life over".

[summerlibby]

Where is Dolly today Dec, 2009

[friendlier]

As they are re-publishing Possum Living in January 2010, Dolly is being interviewed in the media. The best I've read so far is in Vice magazine. When it goes online in a week or so, I'll post the link to the interview here.

[Possumlivingdotcom]

This was one of the most important books I have ever read.

[leahredapple]

A great little movie. Gives hope that we can live another way and actually enjoy life.