Occupation of Independence

This is the first time I can remember a meaningful Independence Day.  All over the world, countries are learning to talk back to the Swamp of Washington, DC.  This has been especially noticeable with India, South America, and even the Persian Gulf states. Perhaps they are emboldened by Russia's success at surviving the sanctions from Europe and America. Perhaps it is the fact that Russia is going to win the war in Ukraine.  Or the strength of the Russian ruble.  Or the rapidly declining standard of living in Europe and America. The war is showing the world that the Western "victors" of World War II are not the giants that they used to be. They are post-industrial countries. They look awfully weak against a country like Russia that produces energy, food, chemicals, and materials. The West is dying demographically.  It has gone way past mere degeneracy, and has actually fallen into sexual freakishness. Ultimately Washington DC depended on aircraft carriers to project its po

When a young male pig hears the title of this post, they probably think of something like this: Those who are besotted with Age and Wisdom have gotten past that sort of nonsense.  We think in these terms: My goodness, what a thing it is to see her gamboling and giggling across a meadow of flowers!  I hate to pull her back toward me, for safety.  When you trim/clip a poodle's ears, they flop better when the dog runs. Delightful. She does frantic spins when I put her food down at 4 p.m.    I fantasize photographing her with a drone that rises up over a hilltop, and catches her twirling around like Julie Andrews at the beginning of the "Sound of Music."

  Is there a general pattern to how people change as they spend more time in the outdoors?  I notice it in myself.  But do other people go through the same thing? At the beginning, people are excited by 'breathtakingly beautiful' tourist scenery, that is, anything freakishly big, vertical, colorful, etc. And then how do they evolve?  Perhaps they become more interested in some activity or skill, be it hiking or fly fishing.  But recreation can still smell a bit vacation-ish or touristy. I am guessing that they lose their obsession with 'pretty' and become more interested in the real and authentic processes of Nature.  They want to grow food or raise a litter of puppies, cut firewood or build a cabin. Maybe that is one reason why I was interested in the local mushroom hunters in this forest.  Another group of 'gatherers' is the firewood guys.  They too looked so proud and satisfied as they hauled away their quarry.  Did they remove the bark from the tree?  How di

  Sometimes you just have to take a chance.  I chose to return to camp on an unfamiliar road.  Actually I knew it looked OK on the high-altitude end, and the low-altitude end started graded and wide.    But one can get a 'sinking' feeling while ascending a mountain.  It was not confidence-building to have to cross a couple streams. Think of all the $5.45/gallon gasoline disappearing into a 6.0 liter V8 engine.  This had better work.  The view was certainly nice towards the top. Looking down on the Grande Ronde valley, Oregon. Finally the road was starting to flatten out, and the forest had the same look as it did back at camp.  So I've made it! Whoops. Ahead of me was 75 yards of axle-deep ruts in mud ooze.  There was no way to drive around it.  At least I am old and wise enough to not make matters worse by being stubborn and macho.  So I surrendered, but how?  There was no way to turn around. I had to back up a quarter mile to a junction where I could do a three point turn

  It is hard to believe but I am now camping in a Left Coast state. Apparently, 'travel makes strange bedfellows.'   Of course I am in the 'hinterland', the 'flyover' part of the state, where all the 'Deplorables' live.  Still, there is some contamination from Portland and Eugene.  And the coffee culture of Seattle/Portland is quite strong around here. How many of these little coffee drive-throughs will survive the economic turmoil?  I started thinking about this back in Idaho after seeing a mobile coffee shop, parked on the edge of a small town. My goodness, was it cute!  It was a homemade trailer, made to look like a little mining shack.  I wonder about the people who own it.  They must be drastically different than a standard cubicle-rat.  Perhaps I romanticize these owners just because of their spunk, courage, and independence.  Does anybody care about these independent owners becoming casualties? But will coffee shops disappear? You'd think so.