Into the Great Wood for another day of walkin' and photographin' with a side of sittin' and ponderin'...

So here I am again ponderin' leavin' the Interwebs, this existence I find myself in, movin' onto something different...

As of late, the Interwebs is really getting on my last nerve. I have an unwritten rule for my personal places upon such - NO POLITICS, NO RELIGION. I do not know why anyone bothers with such for they are either preachin' to the choir or pissin' off folks. In either case no one sways from their preconceived opinions. And that's the fact. Everyone believes exactly what they wish to believe and no amount of words on a screen is going to change that...

I have friends, people I know to some degree who block, remove, delete those who do not feel exactly the way they do on an issue - only their opinion is the correct opinion. And such is the way it goes...

My opinions are my opinions. I am not here to force my viewpoint upon anyone. For the most part I do not care. It is nice your beliefs or political viewpoints are so important to you that you want everyone to know - I will say this very slowly so you will understand completely - I. Do. Not. Care...

Such as my existence here and now, I need a change of scenery, a new start, a new adventure, a new life...

And so it is as I sit until I need to rise and continue my journey...

A walkabout in the ancestral cemetery to clear the mind of all the toxic juices flowing through it… 

Over all the years of walking here with a 25 to 30 year gap in the middle whence ‘twas not convenient for me to get here on a regular basis other than funerals, I have come to realise that my favourite period of marker stone construction was the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Most per late 19th century to early 19th century  tended to be rather plain and made from materials that did not withstand the elements well. Late 18th to early 19th century markers did not last in a pristine state, but in some cases the script was beautiful from what remains, and this is especially true of the markers that are in German. Most post early 20th century are engraved in a Baskerville/Bodoni plain font though easily readable in all caps. Markers for the last 20 years or so can be unigue in their computer-controlled engraving and may show some originality, but the script used is generally something common… 

But the period of markers that I have a passion for can be amazing in font selection, ornamental carvings, size, scope. Before I go I wish to design my marker in such a style, a large central marker with smaller marker satellites with raised lettering with upper case and lower case lettering… 

The plan is grand though most likely my end will occur in the woods at a time well before I have a chance to implement my grand plan and nature will dispose of the body… 

The caw-caw birds are yelling at me for sittin' under their tree so time to finish my walk… 

Into to the Great Wood for a walk and sit and pondering...

'Tis a sad state of affairs whence one comes to the realisation that one's virtual life is far more intriguing, mysterious, glamorous than one's 'real' life. And such is my life...

When I do walk away from the digital universe, what will remain of my existence? Will I just fade away into the nothingness of the world that surrounds me? Will I discover a better life where my mind, my heart, my soul are not pulled into different directions? Will my path be clear?

These are the things I am pondering at this moment, and I know with certainty that these are all rhetorical questions I am asking myself. And I also know with certainty that I will discover the answers to my questions at some point in the not so distant future...

Now time to get up off your butt and walk, intrepid explorer...

I am not accustomed to having freetime in my life so I decided to take a walk around the large (not one of the two smaller ones within walking distance) cemetery of my ancestors. For some background on this particular cemetery, the earliest graves date to the late 1700s. There is a pump in the midst of the cemetery where my friends and I drank during the hot summer days, and I have a feeling it is pumping water from a water table directly below the graves...

This entire year Two-thousand and Twenty I have worked six or sometimes seven days per week every week except for one week in April when I took a week's vacation in the midst of everything being locked down. I worked, I worked 50 to 55 hours per week. I drove my 54 miles round trip every working day...

After more than six months of this grand experiment, I have grown tired of it all. (Sarcasm Alert) If science was a real thing and the theory of evolution based on reality, the human species would have developed some sort of internal system that provides a defense against unseen microscopic organisms. If only evolution was a reality (and so ends the sarcasm)...

And so I sit looking out upon the reminders of those who have come before knowing that most have already been forgotten, and so is the way of the world. I wonder what percentage of everyone who has ever lived is remembered beyond two or three generations - this number has to be incredibly small. Even surrounded by all of the granite (in most cases from where I sit) one can definitely tell the markers that still receive visitors and the ones that quite possibly I am one of the every few that has stopped by to say howdy...

How would these individuals view us living today as we mortgage the future so we can have comfort today? How will future generations view this folly - the generations who must pay back all the money that was squandered so the country wouldn't have to suck it up and take one for the genetic future of the species? 

As I look out upon the thousands of dead neatly arranged before my eyes, I think to myself that if they had worn their masks, sheltered in place, remained social distanced from all creatures, they would still be here for me to look out upon. It is extremely selfish of this generation to think that they must prolong the inevitable...

On the way to where I am currently sitting, I walked passed the remains of three people I knew that were younger than myself, and also my father, all four grandparents, two step-grandmothers, countless great aunts and uncles, numerous cousins, and here I sit thinking about the stupidity of mankind at this very moment...

Now time to walk...

But lacking the will to write about it...

So here I sit pondering upon all that has meaning in this existence, and not motivated to actually places these thoughts into a form that is meaningful to anyone other than myself - a mind full of disjointed, fragmented, random ideas...

And so I shall sit, and enjoy my surroundings, and chat to the random people that wander by. And I shall smile at canines that pass and stop to sniff trying to determine if they have smelled my particular aroma before. And I shall listen to the birds that sing in the treetops above, and I shall listen to the random creak or groan of the trees that sway in the summer's breeze. And I shall watch through the leaves as the waters of the lake ripple upon the shore below. And the sounds of nature shall be disturbed at random intervals as distant trains travel through the area. And I shall be at peace for a brief moment of my existence...

And then I shall rise and continue my journey...

Time to think, time to ponder, time to sit in the midst of the cemetery of my childhood that I once again have reclaimed as my escape from humankind...

I know one day I shall go, leaving the world far behind me both figuratively and literally...

First escape shall be leaving all that is this area and all that it has become. There is nothing holding me here. Indeed I shall miss my children though they have grown and for the most part, started their lives as adults. I have spent the last four years working on what I require for this escape, testing, experimenting, discovering what the bare minimum I need to live a life that I can tolerate. I have found the amount of clothing I possess will be adequate for my needs and if I do laundry once every three weeks I can manage a few years without the need to replace anything. I can feed myself for $30 per week. Personal hygiene items at approximately the same amount per month. Two points that I must overcome at this moment are having my car paid off in full and a new cellular communication device. Once the car is paid for, it shall be time for a new phone...

At $100 per week I can survive reasonably well. And I could possibly bounce around from campsites and rest stops to clean myself and do the occasional laundry...

Being I have a vast array of careers I have held over the years, I am confident that I could do something if I needed emergency funding...

These are my thoughts as I sit gazing out upon a sea of marble that conceals the remains of my ancestors...

So here I am in the dampness of the Great Wood pondering all and concluding nothing...

There is much to say and no energy to say it. So I just sit a spell before proceeding on today's journey of discovery though I know ahead of time that the discoveries will be few for I have explored every square centimeter of this here park...

The only thing that I may stumble upon is a blocked trail left as a reminder of the storms of last night. And I have noticed a few freshly fallen trees on my journey so far, just none have blocked my route to this point... 

The ground is not favourable to the growth of trees of any substantial size for it is all reclaimed land, and the years of rotting vegetable matter are too few to give the roots something to grab hold of and cling to...

So ends my words, now to venture forth and discover which trails have been blocked...

So I find myself in the Great Wood again for another day of walkin' and thinkin'...

Today's subject that has been upon my mind is the 2020 election, but not in the way that y'all are a-thinkin'...

I was a poll worker for three presidential primaries and elections and all the primaries and general elections inbetwixt, being the Majority Inspector of Elections in my district. Generally 14 to 16 hour days of being trapped in a school or church with not much to do - most primaries or elections or way too much to do - as was the case in 2008, 2012, and 2016...

I am extremely delighted that I will not be working this upcoming election. Absentee ballots were bad enough, mail-in ballots will be a nightmare. And there is a difference that most in the media downplay. An absentee ballot is requested by the voter and in the case of my state, a reason must be given as to why one cannot vote at a polling place. Mail-in ballots are just sent out to everyone all willy-nilly...

I personally did not enjoy absentee ballots for I had to look at them to match the signature that was on file then check to make sure that person did not vote in person, which voided the absentee ballot immediately. So I looked at everyone's 'secret' ballot and I knew for whom that person voted. I do not know how mail-in balloting will work, but I am sure the methodology will be very similar...

I never wanted nor did I need to know how my neighbors vote, but that was my job twice per year barring some sorta special election...

I am most happy that I no longer am involved in poll work, and my thoughts here are done so it must be time to walk on, intrepid explorer...

Out in the Great Wood in the midst of a rain storm whilst a-sittin' in the Sittin' Spot and all the while having my back get soaked. Just another day in my life...

The Interwebs and my future thereupon have been on my mind lately. And my feelings can be summed up as I cannot stand what it has become due to the infestation of humans (at this moment the drops of rain that add random letters while I type is quite annoying as well)...

One thing I find rather annoying are those who use opinion pieces or editorials as a basis of justifying their view in an arguement. Just because you agree with the viewpoint of another does not mean you are correct. The world is dividing into two sets of opinions, viewpoints, and nothing else matters to either side...

And I prefer shades of the grey scale than the absolutes of a black and white world...

My sit is done and now time to walk on, intrepid explorer...

What is on my mind today as I sit in the Sittin' Spot in the Great Wood? Please allow me to tell y'all...

The virtual world and the real world and the intertwining thereof. I find interesting that a person's real world can be utterly, totally, and completely destroyed by the virtual world - how one reality can impact another is beyond my frail and feeble comprehension level...

But (this is a BIG but with one 't'), I have come to the conclusion that it is much like religion, it is all a matter of faith and belief nothing more. If one believes that words can somehow hurt them, then it shall be so. Words have no affect upon a person who does not allow the words to have meaning. The 'victims' are as guilty as the 'oppressors' due to faith in the words having meaning...

I have a feeling that one day I shall unplug from the virtual world and never return, it is just a matter of time...

And now to get off my butt (two 't' variety) and walk...