A Modern-Day Walden

It gets lost in the hullabaloo of the July 4 celebration, but Henry David Thoreau set out to live more simply on the same date by living at Walden Pond for two years. He's admired for it, and the accolades he got for writing about his experience and thoughts are well worth it.

The ideals are noble. The application, especially in current American society, is a bit more complicated.

If you've got any realistic suggestions on how we can "Walden-ize" our warp-speed lives, I'm all ears. Please don't mention getting rid of cable television, though. I think we all need to get in on the steps of the pool instead of diving higgledy-piggledy into the deep end...