I got passed over for the Cheraw job, which is fine. If this opportunity would've come up 5 or 6 years ago, I would have put forth more effort, but the wife and I are looking to go ahead and put down roots that will not be severed, this time. I've lived in at least 15 apartments and houses in my life, so far, and I'm ready to really commit to a place. It may have something to do with a letter from a good friend the other day about wanting the growing season, friends, and other aspects of the town in which he grew up. On the other hand, I'm also ready to feel obligated to get more involved in my community; beyond the ephemeral efforts of my past.
I'm convinced that we have a hard time knowing when we are "home," anymore, in part, because everything has come to look so damned similar, and every nook and cranny (aka the alcoves...go see the movie "In Bruges") has become a feasible place to live. Just look at the book (or lesser PBS series) "Cadillac Desert," and tell me if you know what I mean. Just look at how many exits have the same suite of shopping opportunities that the last one had. The planet cannot handle a human footprint on every square inch, and we deserve the crises we are begging by living on barrier islands, in deserts, and on the tops of mountains if we do not change our rates and methods of resource use. Which is why, I think, my friend mentioned the Charleston growing season being an attraction. He is currently in one of the coolest possible places of which I've heard tell in these here Estados Unidos...Missoula, MT. However, he's also probably got a mere one-hundred or so days of real growing season with which to work. This is not a sustainable existence.
I can have that in Charleston. We live on a greenway that gives us traffic-free access to just about everything we need, and we can grow a good proportion of the food we eat on a small lot. If we need services beyond the greenway, things are really close, and there is always the bus for anything fairly distant. The beach is not that far, if we feel the need for surf, and there are plenty of salt marshes and rivers around for the occasional fishing expedition, though we've not yet overcome our justifiable fear of contaminated fish flesh (there are fish consumption advisories on nearly every river of our state). Yes, aside from the somewhat stunted political currents and the exorbitant real estate market (don't even open your mouth if you are a transplant and disagree...it's still expensive for regular folks), this place is seeming more and more like THE place.
Wow, that kind of sounded like a promotional video...sorry about that. I'll get some images up within a day or two that might help redirect my focus. Oh, and the lesson for the Master Naturalists went really well. I prepared way too little compared to how I used to get set, but things went off without a hitch. I really miss that job, sometimes. I really miss the life. Today's advice to self: go for a walk (not a ride) in the woods; take the camera and take your freakin' time.
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2 comments:
B.
Nice to see the little green turtle still huckin' around the South. I refer to your pics posted on "Mountain Music." I'm sure MP/BTS was worth the drive, and a most deserved reward after the "qualifications parade" in Cheraw. Don't sweat the pass - you are where you're supposed to be. I think your last posting surmised as much.
We've been getting hammered with snow this week, making for merriment in our free time but adding fuel to the GW naysayers fire. Pardon the pun. Funny thing is, everyone out here speaks of this winter as extrodinary, "epic" I've heard tossed about. But when you look at the snow depth, then look at the historical yearly average, we're normal, or just above in some spots. Normal. 2008 = outstanding is replaced by normal as an acceptable snow season. When change occurs over time, one hardly notices the change at'all. Such is our state. This "epic" winter will surely be forgotten when another record breaking summer sets in - large scale forest fires, record temps, increased drought, and low stream flows. And what if the summer is "normal?" See above...
Sorry to sound so glum on my initial posting to your fishbowl. Its hard to remain chipper with the material I'm saddled with these days. For the viewing audience, my study/work involves environmental science, law and policy, and the interplay of the three in the Rocky Mountain West. What has struck me as odd, or perhaps its just the odd feeling you have when you have "realizations" (i almost used the word epiphany but begged off), is the self-guilt associated with many of our modern environmental calamities. Its the feeling that has inspired a reassessment of my life, my place, and how best to mesh lifestyle and work/social aspirations. I'm sure that you of all folks understand Brad, as you have made mention of the compulsion to engage more effectively in civic life than you have previously. A line I chuckled at when reading, as you're more engaged in civic life than the lion's share of America's population. In recounting the convenience of your locale, I question the sustainability of mine. Frankly, its a question everyone should be asking. As I become hypersensitive to my planetary footprint, I'm hoping to shrink my sphere as much as possible. Effective you ask, the acts of but one individual? I think the answer yes, its Brad here who always preaches teaching others through your own action. Things you can do: grow your own food (or at the very least, ask yourself where everything in the big, bright, shiny food-a-porium came from); don't ship so much stuff ("shipping has become second nature" as I wrote in a recent letter to an author I've been reading a lot of); and in a attempt to combine these suggestions - try to buy many of your goods locally, and hopefully locally produced (think longevity here people - make things last). They all sound simple, you've all heard them before, but when you start to deconstruct the fabric of our global economy, most environmental harm (impacts to air, water, biodiversity, etc.) can be attributed to its global nature. So I think that localizing is the first step toward mending. Scaling down and "slowin' it down." Restore the wildlife habitat on your property, plant a garden, buy an old bicycle and use it, but most importantly, think. Think about the connections present in your every action. I think you'll be surprised at what you discover...
b.
hiking in the flatirons of boulder, colorado today and thoughts turned to you and recent conversations. an idea kept crossing my mind - i can't seem to shake it. "life is measured by moments..." i'm not even sure exactly what it means, only that it seems supremely true. eagles and falcons are nesting here now, tucked up in the near-vertical rock faces. the sharpened silhouette of a falcon crossed above me. i scurried up through a winding path between massive boulders, stunted and gnarled pines and firs were forcing their way up through impossible spaces, living an improbable existance. walking in the woods very slowly, rolling needles between my fingers. wondering why it works this way. moments...
"slowin' it down" creates them.
just a thought.
g.
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