Shutting Down

Moving from one place to another is much like leaving your home for an extended vacation. Making sure all the lights are turned off and the heating is lowered to the barest, least expensive minimum to prevent the pipes from bursting, and disposing of all the garbage and moving the dishes and the silverware from the dishwasher into the cupboard....I have started letting my subscriptions to various periodicals lapse, I have only paid up to six months of insurance coverage for my home and car as well as my medical malpractice, I have quietly begun consolidating my liquid assets, I have stopped purchasing equipment and appliances....

I realize that this process of shutting down gives a sense of imperturbability. I am increasingly becoming less interested in the local affairs and instead I am starting to look farther out.