Oh, yes, I had a very scientific approach when I finally sat down with a map to determine what my route would look like these first few months; where would I go and how would I move around the 70,000 square miles I plan on visiting? It was based mostly on…
When I left Chico Hot Springs and passed through Livingston I ordered a cell phone signal booster. It was 21% off. I thought that kind of discount would make it worth my while to return in a few days to pick one up since they were out of stock. While…
Mountains are supposed to look like mountains: a chain of peaks miles in length that, in North America, generally trend north and south. Any isolated high terrain is: a butte—not as high as nearby mountains and less rugged; or a mesa—flat-topped, capped with some type of resistant rock. But driving…
I was wrong. I have told people that, as I am searching for a new home, I am open to any and all possibilities. But these first few months—no. I guess knew this; that I am really looking for more temperate climates, even desert landscapes; but the fact that I…
I would go out and take a picture of the landscape, the sky, the mountains, or even this little-bitty town, White Sulpher Springs, but it has been dark, dreary and raining-mostly hard- since I got here and you can’t see any of that. Instead I will share today’s learning experience,…
I believe that the suggested time frame for posting blogs is about once a week. Well, as with many things in my life, that didn’t happen. But, I do have an excuse! I just emptied, cleaned and sold my home; ditto for my car; rented a truck and hauled the…
My whole life, for whatever reason, I have been open to what happens next. Ready to move on to the next thing. But some years ago I began to think that this was a failing—a running away from what was right there; not dealing with life as it was just then. I ended up swinging to the other end of the pendulum: staying in one place, with one person, to the detriment of us both; relentless perseverance. And, now, with this opportunity to move across the west—to learn and live and connect with so many people, places, issues and communities—I have been so focused on beginning this next part of my life that I have not let it sink in how I am breaking bonds with a community that has been such a large part of my life for so many years. Last night it hit me.
Friends had gathered to help send me off on this next adventure; some of the longest friendships and closest friends, colleagues I’ve worked with on some of the most pressing issues in the community, people that have shared my life here in Jackson through thick and thin. At one point, as someone was leaving and telling me goodbye, I realized that I was actually leaving this community, a community in the strongest sense of the word.
I find myself at a loss for words to express the gratitude and love I have for these friends—thank you . . . for everything.
I think I can safely say that most of us, if not all, believe that we can correctly figure out fact from fiction, good from bad, and many other distinctions that we make every day. But sometimes our perceptions—our outlook on things, our actions—are forged by subtle, if inadvertent, messages…