Bill Ferree lives in semi-rural Connecticut. His lawn disappears into the woods behind the house, and gardening involves a constant competition with deer and chipmunks. Starbucks and good beer are close enough. Civilization.
A previous life included a couple of decades in Florida and a career flying people in big airplanes all around the US and across the ocean. Two years narrating and driving a tourist trolley in Savannah preceded the recent return to cold country.
Bill grew up with Amish close by, and sometimes, the smell of cow manure—Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. He left for an engineering degree at Penn State and then went into the Navy. He considers no injury from that period, Vietnam, and everything since, a measure of success and good luck. “Better lucky than good” old words of wisdom offered now, especially to the hyper-rewarded on the fast track.
Grandchildren are the ones we owe, says Bill. Nature’s way is for us to clean up their messes, not the other way around. It shouldn’t be our mess left in their air. The question: Why do we keep burning? Answer: Follow the money. What a fantastic trail to follow; tragic, familiar, and so funny—human frailty, gullibility, and greed. And money and genes make fools of us all.