Occupation of Independence

Yesterday I had a nice visit with the fellow who bought my first trailer from me. He bought my trailer for $1800, camped full time in it for two years, and then sold it for $20oo. The bastard! I tend to treat him as my "grasshopper." So when the topic of loneliness came up, I was a bit disappointed to hear him endorse the "sacred solitude" paradigm of RV boondocking. But h e didn't outright deny experiencing loneliness as some solitary camp ers do. ______________________________________ Let's take an indirect approach to this issue of the loneliness of campers, by experiencing the human tribe at its best, during a festival. Currently I a m camping near, and volunteering for, a mountain bike race in southwestern Utah. 1. Racing. The fe stival is predicated on the idea that racing is supposed to be exciting. Observing the crowd's behav ior, this appears to be true. But it i s strange how any human endeavor must be turned into a competition. C

I have no prediction about who will win this presidential election. It is humbling to see my supposed knowledge of history provide so little perspic uity at this time. The closest thing you could offer to a 'solid bet' is that a Clinton presidency -- if one comes -- has no chance of accomplishing anything, because it will be mired in legal battles, scandals, charges and counter-charges. Ah but wait...maybe history does offer hope for a Clinton presidency. In order to distract the public from her endless scandals and legal problems, couldn't she go 'all in' for War? It would be easy for her to go that direction. She is already a neo-con, and part of the Beltway foreign policy consensus. She is the Defense sector's favorite candidate, other than John McCain. More American involvement in Syria is the most likely course. But considering the sheer number of scandals and possible indictments, she should keep her options open on bombing and invading Crimea, Pola