Personal
You know I really kind of like Kamela! 👩🏾
It would be cool to have a younger, cool president again – a Jamaican women who is dynamic and fun but also can be serious and a thinker. Intelligent, proveyor of good public policy even if I don’t agree with her on every issue.
A modern day, Barack Obama for the second half of the twenties. Some one who will keep our country moving forward on the critical issues of the day like climate change and be solid hand for guiding our economy forward.
Memories of the Weekend 🏕️
It was a nice weekend, spent camping up at Cole Hill, cooling off in the Switz Kill and riding trail and road at Partridge Run. But it came and went much too quickly. Four work days, and then it’s off for summer vacation, leaving bright and early on Friday, before the morning rush hour.
Stayed overnight at my parents house on Sunday night. 🏕 Slept in the back of my truck, after the previous night hammock camping up at Cole Hill. Ended up sleeping in my bathing suit, because somehow I managed to misplace my change of clothes I packed from camping. 👕 The only thing I can think of is they got mixed in with the dirty clothes and got washed. I don’t think I left them up at the State Forest and I can’t find them anywhere in my truck. 😕
Spent a while down at the swimming hole — maybe just waterfalls, 🏊♀️ cooling off after taking down Camp in the Switz Kill along Old Partridge Run Road which was nice. Rode trail for a while at Partridge Run, 🚲 it’s nice they’ve restored the deck on the bridge there, to the full width as a motor vehicle bridge but it seems unlikely they will ever fully restore it.
It was nice to see the family, 👨👩👧 but boy oh boy were those eggs greasy this morning they made up. I felt like I was drinking vegetable oil straight out of the bottle — I swear three-quarters of the eggs were lardy goulda cheese 🧀 with one half of an egg white, and a sprinkle of spinanch. 🍳 Certainly not may way of cooking, but it’s good to enjoy what my parents still offer when I still can. Some of their recipes will forever be gone upon their passing. 😞 I am in my forties now, my parents 75 and 77 respectively, so I know I won’t be with them forever. Burgers 🍔 the previous night which also were quite greasy.
Then of course their biggest excitement of the day is trash pickup. 🗑 Last year my dad finally broke down and let mom sign up when they decided it was too difficult to drive things to the transfer station, and you’re not supposed to be burning stuff anymore. 🔥 Not that rednecks ever pass up on a good bonfire. Every Sunday, it’s all they want to talk about and when the trash man comes their excited. 🗑 I don’t know, I like the old way of doing things.
Why I often focus on the imperfections and downsides
“Accentuate the Positive”, the cheesy motivational poster says.
Like so many people, I am overly focused on the downside of any action or purchase. Things rarely work out quite as rosy as one would hope what your eyes are starstruck and daydreaming about the possibilities. You know the vision of the world sold by the marketers and YouTube stars is never as wonderful as they want you to believe.
I try to be honest and thoughtful about my choices and any celebration of the positive should be weighted against the potential negatives. But when I start to look at the downsides too often my dread of lost aversion kicks in. The inevitable loss of a buck or a piece of worn out wrecked equipment seems to out strip the joy it will bring in the mean time. We want to believe lifespans will be eternal when the truth is they are much too short and you should enjoy them while you can.
The News 📰
It’s funny being hammock camping all weekend I hadn’t heard the news until I went and saw my folks. I don’t follow the news carefully anymore.
Sometimes it’s best to know when to toss your hat in the ring and leave while your ahead. Times change but people often struggle to adapt to changes. New people and new ways of thinking are what’s needed. I’m quite excited about both Kamela Harris and JD Vance, both reflect new ways of thinking and addressing our nations problems. I’m not opposed to the elderly – but there is a time to move on to retirement – and let the younger generations lead.
I’m not arguing that Kamela Harris (age 18 in 1985) or JD Vance (age 18 in 2003) agree on much, but it’s refreshing to see new people and new ideas in politics. Both candidates have their pros and cons on various issues. But they share in common growing up in the modern era – where computers were commonplace, cars had safety equipment, factories had pollution controls and neither lived through the Vietnam War.
Think of it this way – modern US government – established in the late 1960s and early 1970s with the EPA, NTSHA, OSHA, NEPA, etc. had been around for decades by the time Kamela and JD came to be voting age. The same can’t be said about the earlier generation of leaders in this country who grew up before the modern era. While America 1985 or 2003 isn’t America today, it certainly is much closer to today’s America then the mid 1960s.
Went back to that waterfall pool next to the Old Partridge Run Road 📙
Back when I was in college – and right after High School graduation I used to take my 1994 Plymouth Sundance up here and sit in the gorge on many a hot summer day, reading and learning, my feet cooling off in this little trout pool. I have a lot of good memories of the place, one of my first experiences of wilderness alone as a yougen. Read many a book here. Roads been closed since Hurricane Irene washed big sections of it out but I often ski and hike on back here. But it’s the first time in twenty years I’ve cooled down in this pool, reading a book.
Went back to that waterfall pool next to the Old Partridge Run Road 📙
Back when I was in college – and right after High School graduation I used to take my 1994 Plymouth Sundance up here and sit in the gorge on many a hot summer day, reading and learning, my feet cooling off in this little trout pool. I have a lot of good memories of the place, one of my first experiences of wilderness alone as a yougen. Read many a book here. Roads been closed since Hurricane Irene washed big sections of it out but I often ski and hike on back here. But it’s the first time in twenty years I’ve cooled down in this pool, reading a book.