Rusticate

I picked up a fat dictionary published in 1956, opened it at random, and threw down my finger on a word—rusticate. I’d never heard of it before nor seen it in print until now.

Rusticate: to send or go to the country to live. Rusticate is the story of my life the past 23 years. In 1997 I moved to the Oregon Coast country as a one year cultural experiment and I am still here. I guess that means the experiment was a success.

How is it that I never ran across this marvelous verb? It’s one of those words that sounds exactly like what it is. I also love the way it rolls off the tongue.

As I look at America today, I suspect more people are to consider rusticating. I might even make a bumper sticker that says: RUSTICATE NOW! Everyone seeing it will go to their phones for a definition. Depending where they see the sticker, most likely in a rustic spot since I am rusticating, they will ponder that word.

Are we looking at a national movement to rusticate? I sometimes think so then I always reverse myself. Most Americans need the action and amenities of the big cities. If they do try and rusticate full time (a second home in the country is not real rusticating) they often quit after a couple of years. I’ve seen it hundreds of times on the Oregon Coast.

But perhaps with the pandemic and urban strife, this might change.