"Honk If You Love Peace and Quiet"

"How long have you been out there""  Linda asked.
Christine and I were sitting at the dinner table in Linda's elegant city home, the food eaten, the forks and knives together on the plates, a finger of wine left in our glasses...
"We were sure you wouldn't last, you know," said Linda.  "We thought you'd be back in the city within the year."
"Maybe we'll spend our old age here,"  I said, "once the work gets too heavy.  You know, reverse the trend."
"No regrets?  You don't miss being able to drop into a jazz bar on the spur of the moment?"

~ Michael Kluckner, Wise Acres/ Free-Range Reflections on the Rural Route.  Raincoast Books, 2000.