Gang violence is increasing. And recently there was a drive-by killing of a young mother who was walking to school to pick up her children. The world has gone nutso. Parents are afraid to let their children walk or ride their bikes to school or play in the park.

One couple has chucked it all for a different kind of life in the slow lane.

One of our favorite weekend getaways is an unusual bed-and-breakfast in an isolated valley 90 miles from San Francisco. The business is run by a young couple with two children who escaped from the fast-track business world because they wanted a simple life for their family. A dozen or so years ago, they bought an old farmhouse that sits on 140 acres of fenced-in land and started building their dream, a different kind of B&B. When we found the place a year ago, they had sheep, goats, llamas, ostriches, a baby zebra and its pen pal, a fainting goat and all sorts of desert tortoises. When we were there two weekends ago, the fainting goat had been replaced by a miniature donkey, a more suitable companion for the baby zebra.

Mom drives the kids to school, is president of the local chamber of commerce and cooks the greatest breakfast you'll ever eat. Dad does the ranch chores and laundry and is the resident plumber, electrician and carpenter. It's hard physical work, but he's in better shape than when he was in college. And the kids have their assigned chores, which get done after mom and dad work with them on homework. Living life as it once was has been a joy for this young family.

While we were having breakfast with our hostess and another couple, the subject somehow turned to snoring. Our hostess described how her husband snores, and since he often sleeps on his stomach, the snoring vibrates the bed springs. If he really gets going, the springs play "Amazing Grace." Life is goofy.