Letter to the Editor: It Creeps

To send a letter to the editor, simply write in. You’ll get a reply and we’ll anonymise any blogged version.

Reader D writes:

It creeps up on you.

Despite several years of decluttering, reducing soulless consumer purchases, and making progress toward escaping The Trap, the “Beast of Consumerism” must have appeared from nowhere and compelled my purchase of some expensive fishing gear that I have never truly required, nor will likely ever use. In total, I spent more than enough money for a roundtrip flight to a far-off destination. Sigh. To make matters worse, I missed the refund cut-off.

After a brief period of self-loathing over a couple of pints, I acknowledged this is part of the long-term process of deleting the Consumerism program from my biological software. Errors will inevitably occur. Now, I’m off to list the items on eBay to recover some of my funds. Perhaps I needed this wasteful episode to remind me of that which is more important, like my forthcoming birthday trip to Spain.

Unrelated to the above, please know that I regularly ask my neighbourhood bookshops if they carry New Escapologist (they don’t currently), to which I politely frown when they respond “no, sorry”. My guerrilla marketing strategy on behalf of your publication is well underway.

Let me know if you want to buy some unused fishing gear.

Toodles!

New Escapologist is not a marketplace for your junk, Reader D! But seriously, congratulations on your moment of self-discovery. The price of freedom is constant vigilance against this kind of thing.

I’ve just done a rare “weeding” exercise of my book collection here at Escape Towers. I was a bit ruthless and I now how have about 20 books to sell to a local second-hand bookshop. With the brain work done, all that stands between me and a lighter load is the actual schlep to the bookshop. I’ll make a nice walk of it.

Reduce, reduce, and again I say reduce.