By Michael. Today I entered a parallel universe. Gone were the harried faces, the obvious signs of stress in a frantic modern society. Absent was traffic, cars, trucks, noise, traffic lights, stop signs. None of these existed. Gone was the screaming rush of the internet age with the constant urge to log on and email, text, and surf the web.

Was I in paradise? No, I was in Pitcairn, where the tiny population has to be one of the friendliest group of citizens anywhere. The fact that many are related helps. This is the land of laisser-faire. Want to build a house? You can design any house you want. Did I mention the land is free? There are no inspectors, no limits, just a self-regulated society.

I spent the most delightful afternoon with Simon and Shirley having tea. English Typhoo tea to be exact. But what most impressed me was the location. It was beyond stunning with a true 180 degree view of the waves crashing on a rocky boulders shoreline. In Malibu it would be a ten million dollar view. Here in Pitcairn… it was free. They just picked the spot, and boom, it was theirs. Simon cleared the land and built the house.

In this other universe, it’s possible that such things still happen.