Leave No Trace

Posted on by January 8, 2019

A lot of the movies that I encourage Jenny to watch with me aren’t much good.

This wasn’t one of those.

This was one of the good ones.

A father, dealing with PTSD, lives out in the forest with his daughter.

When the authorities discover them living on public land, they are placed in living situations that lack the freedom they pursued in the woods.

The daughter responds positively to a “normal” lifestyle….the father needs to get back to the forest.

I guess that’s sort of a spoiler, isn’t it?

Sorry.

This was such a good and….”real”….movie.

I highly recommend this one.

(AND!! OH….AND!! WATCH FOR A MICHAEL HURLEY CAMEO ABOUT 2/3 OF THE WAY OR SO THROUGH!!  OLD MAN (NOW) SINGING A TUNE AROUND THE CAMPFIRE.  YOU KNOW IT’S A GOOD MOVIE WHEN THEY KNOW ABOUT MICHAEL HURLEY!)

 

Bury the Bus….

Posted on by January 6, 2019

I’ve corresponded with this guy some….back in the day.

Nice guy.

Used to send out CD’s of survival information….for free….just to help folks in their “prepping”.

It’s good to be prepared.

I never buried a bus, though.

Not yet….at least.

Give me time and a good backhoe…I’ll see what I can do.

My New Mail Van?

Posted on by January 5, 2019

Jenny saw one of these for sale out of Canada the other day and asked, “how about this for a mail van?”

I told her it was too weird and probably hard to find parts for it.

Maybe I was wrong.

I should have trusted her intuition.

Apparently, the mail carriers in Canada use a lot of these….and, occasionally, you see them for sale to us here in the states.

Big old knobby tires….4-wheel drive….diesel.

Mitsubishi Delica?

Might be kind of cool.

Might be perfect for what I do.

“I’ll be back in a week….”

Posted on by January 3, 2019

If Jenny sees me out in the side yard….brain tanning roadkill deer hides to make a mountain man costume….I suppose that she’d be upset with me.

I have other things that need to be addressed before I take off for the woods and a life of reckless adventure.

No matter how appealing it seems to be out in the woods trapping a bunch of animals with all my dude buddies….I have family stuff to do that’s a whole lot more appealing and pressing.

I love Jeremiah Johnson….the movie.

That’s some amazing stuff.

And….this is kind of cool that these guys have all this knowledge and skill.

It is COOL!

But….I have other things to do and miles to go before I sleep.

I sure could wear one of those leather and fringe jackets, though.

I could wear the heck out of some leather pants.

I could run around in the snow in my leather suit.

I don’t have a leather fetish….but…that would be cool to have a feather in my hat and leather on behind….shooting a gun.

It’d be a whole lot more fun than learning how to monitor my credit report.

When we Watch a Horror Movie…

Posted on by January 2, 2019

We watch horror movies to entertain ourselves sometimes.

That’s goofy.

Why would we watch something scary as a form of amusement?

Why would we put ourselves through that?

I’m going to replace the water pump on the Grand Caravan this morning.

It should go well.

Should.

Of course, I know from experience that anything can happen when you’re working on a car.

You can break it worse….make it “more worser”…pretty fast when you’re in the gravel on your back….fluids dripping in your eyes…loosening rusted and seized bolts that are coming off for the first time in 265,000 miles….applying tremendous torque with a range of motion of about 1/2 an inch…..torqueing it all “sensitively”….stressing while trying to stay calm.

And….like a horror movie….I watch videos about all the good and bad ways people fix their vehicles.

That’s not entertainment.

Why do I do that to myself?

Sometimes too much information can be terrifying.

I’m going to do this job this morning.

I hope it doesn’t rain.

Man….I can’t look away!

Who’s that guy in the bloody hood hiding behind that tree?

Where’d that bolt fall?

Into the engine somehow?

What’ll happen next?

love and intention

Posted on by January 1, 2019

When Jenny was young and wanted to play the flute, her brother bought her one.

He bought it with his own money in a pawn shop.

It wasn’t much of a flute….but…it was a good flute.

It was Jenny’s flute.

It was the flute she learned to play.

It was the flute that Adam bought for her with his own money.

She became a good flutist….but none of her teachers could understand how she could play her old flute.

It was hard to play because it was old and worn.

They couldn’t play it….but….she could.

It was like magic.

It was a magic pawn shop flute.

I love that story.

I think that it was all about love….and intention.

When we know that we are loved, we can do things that are hard.

When we believe that something is possible, we fuel our intention.

Intention and love are really all we have.

They’re the drivers.

Maybe that’s a good New Year’s resolution?

To try to always provide the love….and to help fuel intention?

That could be a good resolution.

Right?

12 Years Travelling with the Professional Hobo…..

Posted on by December 31, 2018

I think that if we were going to do anything in the coming year that would enrich us….it would be to travel.

Now, a lot depends on whether or not I could get some time off from the Post Office.

That never seems to happen.

So….maybe travel is hard.

Or….maybe not.

Maybe we could sneak some travel in somehow?

We have all we need to camp.

Maybe camping is the way to go?

Maybe we could paint a school bus like the old Partridge Family bus and make the kids sing for our meals?

This lady is travelling all the time.

Sounds good.

There has to be a way to break down the barrier between what we’d like to do and what we’re going to do.

That’s what resolutions are all about, right?

Here’s a link to her website: https://www.theprofessionalhobo.com/

So….I guess I’m Danish, too.

Posted on by December 30, 2018

I’ve claimed the Norwegian side of my heritage for years.

Norwegians are cool.

Who wouldn’t claim something cool like being Norwegian?

Jenny reminded me that I’m half Danish, too.

I guess my Mom’s background was Danish.

OK.

That’s pretty cool.

Look how cool these people are!

I should be a whole heckuva lot cooler than I am.

Two groups of cool didn’t make me cooler.

I could be an ecstatically happy Viking with a background like that.

It’s not so bad to be Danish, you know?

It’s not so bad to be Danish and Norwegian.

 

like my house….

Posted on by December 29, 2018

This guy is a kindred spirit.

It’s kind of like the work I’ve done on our house.

Not.

That’s a “not” joke.

The work I’ve done on our house is sometimes rough as a cob.

Boards cut too short, un-sanded and put up in a hurry, common materials used in a common way.

Unsophisticated.

Maybe he is a kindred spirit….but, in my case at least, even if the spirit was eagerly willing, the flesh is weak and the results speak for themselves.

I love to see skill in action.

Nathie Katzoff is the guys name.

Check out the video….it’s beautiful work.