"Why cant I get my toilet to spin in a clockwise direction?" <----(a dirty lie) "Why does is feel like summer here?" Where did all of my constellations go? All these questions and more here in the Southern Hemisphere. Things like..."Is breathing the paint dust coming off the angle grinder bad for my lungs?" "Can this trash juice oozing out of the broken trashbag be good for the cut on my hand?" But you have to focus on the positives...The super intense UV from the summer sun is scorching my neck into a brilliant shade of red in tribute to my Steinbeckian era statehood brethren.
It occured to me today, that perhaps this job is some sort of test. Maybe not in the classic sense, but maybe it is the yin to the PCT's yang. I am in and on a living, breathing, man-made world of steel and pipes in a virtual desert of water. There is no physical connection to the natural world. I am always surrounded by people and secured to a daily routine for the good of the collective. On the trail I will be about as far from the ocean as one can get for all intensive purposes. Another world. Where you can program a robot to run this ship, it would be impossible for a robot to make it even a day on the trail. Being, living, existing by the whims of nature. Moving at my own pace. Primitive shoelace express existance in the face of an ever more mechanized and technology based madhouse. The thin sliver of dirt serving as the unifying force in my reality. A world where only my voice carries weight. No longer a number, now a man.
Until then I keep on keeping on in the high seas along the bottom of the world.
Peace
B
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6 comments:
peace to you. your thoughts about the job being some sort of test and having no physical connection to the natural world hit home for me. i can't explain exactly why - but i have these similar thoughts at the most seemingly 'normal' times.
I was looking at the sky last night in the cold winter air,noticing how far Orion had advanced in the past month, and wondered "wonder if Brandon can see the Southern Cross"?
Looking at the daily photos of the fantail, I notice some people wearing shorts and so am reminded it is summer down there. Your paint-grindings and bag-drippings are only a short term thing and I'm sure will stand you in good stead for future endeavors. Just remember, wherever you go, well, there you are!
It is amazing that you can share your adventures from that floating hunk of metal.The details of day to day existence (sunburn,trash ooze, etc.)make life interesting and will serve you well in the future. I don't know how but I am certain it will. Keep it safe and keep us posted.
Do you have access to the life boats on board(too bold of an assumption, that your "island" possesses such things?)and can you navigate at night?
Not suggesting anything rash, just saying...
Hang in there neph! Wear gloves when handling trashbag ooze and hold tight to the rail until you escape to the PCT. In the meantime, hope you get the feel of a following sea.
Wow Steve. I swear we must be on some sort of wavelength because the e-mail I sent you regarding Orion, and the Southern Cross was sent before I read your question on this blog. Que Eerie muzak.
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