Occupation of Independence

It has surprised and amused me to see myself change about what 'practical' means.  Is that true for other people as well? The other day I moved camp to lower altitude, all the way down to the ponderosa belt near 4500 feet of altitude. It was like coming back to an old friend. And then we drove out onto a large, rolling meadow. My goodness, it was exciting. The transition was so abrupt: from stagnant air to living air. I felt the same way a sea kayaker would as they paddle out of a marsh and into a large windy wavey lake. No wonder I prefer mountain biking to hiking.  How do people enjoy narrow hiking trails, surrounded by dense forests that block the view, while stagnant air gives bugs a chance to torture them? I thought about the books I've read about the sea.  Escapist adventure fantasies?  No.  Those books are more practical than the 'how to' stuff newbie nomads/RVers talk about, so endlessly.

Let's  say you come down from camp to shop in a small town.  Several things almost make you believe you are in a foreign country.  You are in line at the grocery store, and still burning from the confiscatory prices, as an old lady holds up the line by writing a check.  People still do things like that?! Or they hold up the line by buying chew or smokes, while the checkout person fumbles around unlocking the case; or they need lottery tickets while the checkout person grimaces at some electronic screen.  Then the customer holds up the line even more by taking the time to scratch the back of the lottery tickets. And you think that you really don't envy people in this little town.  For one thing, the cost-effectiveness of living in this little town always seemed over-rated.  Sure, they save money on housing, but that is all they save on.  They always underestimated the cost of transportation, but now...  Anyway, I hope small town stores do more business in the future, as customer

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."