A fire did irreparable damage to a house across the street from us, but it had stood for 250 years. Now it is being dismantled and the beams and boards are being salvaged so that they can be reconstructed in another home. The builders had a different idea of longevity than we seem to today. They expected the houses to outlast the builders; they built for the generations to come.

I hope that we can regain that sensibility and think beyond our own needs. What are we building to last?