The Paper Bag Prince is braver than I. He is a man who is so in love with a piece of land that nothing - not poison nor trash nor constant danger - can drive him from that love of place. He is faithful beyond compare; his commitment to a certain earth is so absolute that no one can remove it from his heart.

What would happen if we all became like the Paper Bag Prince? At least a little bit? Too often we are driven from our beloved places - by noise, water and air pollution, by politics and by the threats of violence. While I can't advocate living beside our culture's poison pools, I still think that the Paper Bag Prince has something precious to teach: both as a passionate lover of a specific place and as one who daily observes that rubbish remains, The Paper Bag Prince understands that no land is disposable. For himself and for the piece of earth that is sacred to him, he is trying to close the loop. For ourselves, if we do not curtail our mindless growth and consumption, then one day we will all be forced into the dilemma of the Paper Bag Prince; Earth is finite, there is only so far to go.

Perhaps we can take a lesson in faithfulness from this story, so that when we flee a place for the sake of our sanity or our safety, we will not forget that, be it trashed or despoiled, this is still our land, our one Home. And ultimately, it seems that Colin Thompson and his Prince would have us remember - and one day return to - that which we have abandoned, assuring us that with enough care, even the poisoned pools can live again.