Beginning in May 1968, a period of civil unrest occurred throughout France, lasting some seven weeks and punctuated by demonstrations, general strikes, as well as the occupation of universities and factories. At the height of events, which have since become known as May 68, the economy of France came to a halt. The protests reached such a point that political leaders feared civil war or revolution; the national government briefly ceased to function after President Charles de Gaulle secretly fled France to Germany at one point. The protests spurred movements worldwide, with songs, imaginative graffiti, posters, and slogans.
I didn’t think 2020 was all that bad of a year … I thought it it was kind of fun ! 😀
Everywhere you go, you here people moaning about how awful 2020 was as a year. They didn’t like the decisive election, the shutdowns of community programs and businesses due to the COVID-19. We lost some great people this year from the virus, and it forced us to rethink how did businesses and lived our lives.
Remote work was kind of an experience, especially not having Internet at home. While I did eventually a week ago get hotspot service for my phone, I spent a lot of the summer and autumn working at various free-wifi locations, and also using my phone and occasionally using the work hotspot a fair amount. It really taught me how to use the internet efficiently and liberated me from my bedroom.
With tonight, it work out to 63 nights in 2020 that I wilderness camped. One night I did camp at the Cherry Ridge Camping Area in Brookfield and three nights at Stony Pond in Madison County, but those forest camping areas are still pretty dispersed. It was fun, although sometimes a bit crazy trying to plan my day around work, making sure I had good cell service and enough power in my battery bank.
I will forever remember those days sitting at Lake Pleasant, with my feet in the sand and the laptop in my lap, running out to the lake to go for a swim. Those hot summer days working in my truck, sitting next to fan, trying my best to stay cool, or shivering come late autumn. Those nice spring days working out back. That week I worked from deep in Green Mountains, and managed to burn a hole in my brand new screen tent when I had that grease fire. Well, that wasn’t so pleasant, but I got it patched.
It was an incredibly busy year with work, some late evenings, and some crazy days working into the weekend, fielding client calls including once when I was out hiking to the Pig Rock on NY 30 through the Speculator Tree Farm. It had it’s share of hot and buggy days, and then before you know it days got short and cold.
Honestly, it looks like a while before things get back to normal. Remote work will continue through the end of January, at least, and while it will be difficult to do much camping in January due to cold and road closures, it will still be kind of nice working from home. But I do look forward to a more normal year next year — I kind of miss my colleagues at work, I miss the time to myself taking the bus back and forth to work, and I miss going down to the library and being able to work inside until closing time at 9 PM. But I do think those days will be back again, just like those lazy, crazy days of summer.
Native American civil rights advocate Hank Adams died at the age of 77 this week.
Once referred to as the "most important Indian" by Native American rights advocate and author Vine eloria Jr., Adams was central to the fight to uphold tribal treaty rights during the 1960s and 1970s.
Thousands of demonstrators braved sweltering temperatures in the nation's capital on Friday to demand an overhaul of the country's criminal justice system and push for racial equality.
The other day up at camp I was listening to the Joe Cocker’s With a Little Help from My Friends which to a certain generation in the early nineties is remembered as the theme song for the Wonder Years.
I honestly don’t remember much about that show except for the opening credits full of shots made on grainy 35 mm film of a mid century home and 1960s cars but I think the gist of the show was a bygone era that was somewhat troublesome but also simple compared to the modern times we are currently living in today.
I sometimes wonder if I’ll look back at these days with the same kind of rose colored glasses that the Wonder Years looked back at the sixties. The seemingly simple world of the past, with the bad parts discarded into the bin of forgotten history. I’ll remember the good times but not the bad. I’ll think back on the stupid things I’ve done, winch just be glad I’m still alive.
But alas nostalgia is just a colorful imagination of a world that never really existed. There is no time but the present and things really are better in nearly all ways compared to the past. I might not be a fan of all the changes but with time we must accept both the good and the bad.
