What Set Him Off

There is a local news item about a man that owned a piece of real estate and mowed down the trees and invited homeless people to live there with a few small signs. This outraged a nearby subdivision, a golf community of 'over 55ers'. The president of the community complained to the city, phone calls, and finally the newspaper goes out and gets photos and the story. Nobody seemed to have a clue why the man suddenly did this, but at the end of the article there was something about his land not having any access to a road but to the private road maintained by the community. Still, nobody had spoken with the man, no one knew why in the world he would do such a thing.
I laughed out loud at the words that were not written, thinking of the snobs in the golfing community thinking they had this guy over a barrel because he had no access, never thinking he would go to the extreme of setting up a homeless camp in their front yard. There is no bad guy in this story, just a struggle between the rock and the hard place. I laugh because I am familiar with the people who think that if they command it, it is done. If things don't go their way, well then things had better change. Sooner or later these people finally learn. The illusion was that the president of the golfing community was in control. Maybe he was a politician before he retired, maybe he was a big boss in a factory. Now, he is learning to contend with the fading thoughts of being in power. At least in this case, a homeless guy got a job watching the property.

While He Was Reading The Sad Poetry

It's either because our new president refers to him frequently, the bad times, or the fact that president's day is right around the corner, but Abraham Lincoln is coming up in conversation a lot lately. One article I read yesterday stated that it was known that he suffered from Depression and one of his means of coping with that condition was reading sad poetry. It was also said that he was the only president known to write poetry, but I'm not as sure of that.
Well, we're living in times now that could depress a happy person, much less anyone that really has problems. There was news today about the housing market that basically said that you might as well slit your wrists now so you don't have to deal with the pain coming up next year. And jobs? Well, there just won't be any, will there?
Then I turn to the forums on the music biz, and it's dog-eat-dog over the little scraps of money to be made. Everyone is trying to figure out how to succeed in a business that is difficult when times are good, much less the current climate.
It makes me think that Lincoln was known for rising out of the mire and into greatness in spite of the obstacles that faced him. We need to think of that now and how it is the time to go for it when everyone expects failure...or we could read some sad poetry.

If Only You Knew Where To Look

Maybe if you carry around a decent camera and click enough photos, sooner or later anyone would get lucky. I sure did this weekend. I froze my butt off camping at Blue Springs in Florida...but one thing the place is famous for is being the winter hangout for manatees. The water is a constant 72 degrees and that is nice and warm in the winter. For some reason, more and more manatees are showing up there and I just happened to catch this photo at 7:30 am, before the park opened and right after my first cup of coffee. What I saw before me was like an impressionist painting, the sun coming up and the steam rising from the water and what at first seemed to be boulders in the stream. Once your eyes focused and realized that you were seeing something along the lines of 200 manatees in close quarters, the thrill deepened. The photo was right there, the image that the longer you looked, the more you saw.
The most amazing part is that in spite of our fellow Floridians best efforts at paving over all that is nature, this still exists only 22 miles away from the big city!

Sleeping below 30 degrees and making friends with the animals

I fully admit that I was a little afraid of trying to sleep the night in a tent in the woods when the weatherman was telling us there was a freeze warning and we were not allowed to have a fire.
We decided to have a charcoal fire anyway and the ranger came to check on us and make sure that we knew that it was going to be in the 20's that night. I was already shivering in my big coat and gloves, standing next to the fire. It seemed like the temperature was dropping quickly and I wasn't at all sure I could sleep or even if my truck would be a warmer alternative. It was about then that we noticed 3 rather large raccoons wandering in and out of the dark, going to check the door of my dad's heated camper (that had no room for me!) and inching in closer to our group, as if wanting to be near the fire (or food!).
I grabbed a cup of hot chocolate and finally made my way to my tent and the sleeping bag and quilt that turned out to be plenty warm as long as I kept it zipped up. I came bolt wide awake about an hour later, hearing sounds in my tent and finding that my cup of cocoa was spilled and a really big raccoon heading back out of the tent. I zipped the tent up tight, but he came back two more times and finally, it was leaving a lantern on the rest of the night that kept him out. I guess this was really more his campsite than mine, and chocolate tastes just as good to a raccoon as it does to a frozen Florida boy.

Still Crazy

It's dark and rainy outside and the kind of weather that drops 30 degrees in a few hours. Yep, and into this, I am going on a camping trip. There is a ban on open fires because of the previous drought, and I sure hope the ranger will feel some pity and let us have a fire.
Who in their right mind would do this? Well, I'm still holding the image in my mind of the guy I saw complete the Appalachian trail, coming in from the snow on New Year's day. If he could do that, than I can be miserable, freezing cold for a few days...while my nice warm house, with a big screen TV and fireplace is only 1 hour away.
Oh well, nobody wants to be the girly-boy that calls it off...so here we go.

this is a test

Are we crazy or what? Cold weather camping in Florida, while it's nothing compared to hiking the mountains in the snow, you do have to wonder why. Blue springs is there and the manatees are in, hanging around the 72 degree water, trying to stay warm, while we do the same in our tents. The only problem is that things are so dry, there is a ban on fires, so we will be shivering around a gas heater or charcoal grill.
But, it's the guys and fishing poles and kayaks, so we'll figure it out.

It Must Run In The Family

Sometimes you know things must be genetic. I’m sitting here at 6am in the morning, typing away. Several feet from me, my Dad is doing the same thing. We’re sitting in his camp trailer in a campground. The campground is full of people from his club, all meeting together for their annual get-together. Of course, we are the only ones up and we are playing with our laptops. To an outside observer, some random person walking in the dark to the bathroom, they would see the only lighted camper and the two men, lit by the glow of lcd screens, and know they must be related.
One more thing I seem to have inherited is marginal membership in groups. I mean, I’m here and I’m talking to strangers, but I really don’t feel fully involved. I’m not playing the games, I’m not listening in the meetings. I want the protection of the herd, but I want to think for myself. I see how I can learn from the group, but I also see how doing things in a group takes way longer than doing it alone. Eating breakfast for example, is a big production, but on my own, a Zone bar would do the job. Dad likes to camp solo and I can see why. Decisions are simple and you can do whatever you want. The problem is safety and for some reason, being in the wilderness makes me think of safety. You have to take care of yourself if anything happens, but perhaps that itself is the challenge solo camping offers.
Sometimes while on this trip, it has crossed my mind that all of these people in this big group are like me. What if all of them are barely members of the group, here for the safety of the herd, forming loose partnerships for the present, some kind of bond, so that if they find themselves in need of help, help would be given.
If reminds me of the thing I do first when surfing by myself. I paddle out to the group and give a jolly Hello! to the nearest person. This act, although instinctual for me, does perform a necessary service. It lets the person know I am friendly and someone that won’t steal all of their waves, which may keep them from hogging waves that may come my way and it also starts to build a bond that I would need in case of an emergency. I want to know that if he looked over and saw me laying face down in the water, that he would feel like coming over to help.
Maybe that is the reason for our relationship bonds. Deep down inside we need someone else and we know it.