It's Easier Not Being Rich

On first glance being rich looks like the way to go. Our default position, when watching a once regular joe lottery winner ruin their lives is, "still, I'd like to give being rich a try". Watching immature individuals destroy a wealthy families name brings responses other than sympathy from most of us. "I know money can't buy happiness, but I'd like to see for myself", is another common thought. In my life I have tried to fulfill my basic obligations in life without taking on any more responsibility than I have to. (I've come to see this as a character flaw) Money equals responsibility and I sometimes wonder how I would do with millions of dollars. I know what I think I would do but I have to assume many with wealth have seen good intentions evolve, in time, into nightmares. "No one can serve two masters,for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth." these words are straight from the horse's mouth. The horse, in this case, is the one they called Jesus. He goes on to say, "For this reason, (because you cannot serve God and wealth), I say to you, do not be worried about your life ......) With lots of wealth and power it becomes increasingly hard to worry about anything else. Keeping focus on serving others becomes difficult when all of society is falling at your feet, celebrating your arrival to the top of the heap. Not sure how I would fare with such a test. But I would say many fare well and reap a great harvest with the money and influence they possess. A harvest that is not for sale but comes with devotion to our Lord's calling. Obedience to their faith, to their God. "If salvation were a thing that money could buy, the rich would live, and the poor would die". This is a line from a song I occasionally sing. What do you think of it?

Could it be

During this time of national crisis, the likes I have not seen in my lifetime, I am forced to ponder some unsettling questions about our country and its leaders. Questions that have been fairly easily dismissed in the past, but are demanding a closer look as we continue down the road to dissolution. While the likelihood of intention each step of the way from the beginning to where we are is slim, there seems to be a case for thoughtful direction in recent years. Maybe a case of opportunism. Liberal ideology, as defined in our current political climate, may not have had socialism as its objective. But I would argue, through activism in the courts and through legislation, pushed through from both parties as the ruling elite grabbed for power at every turn, we have laid a firm socialist foundation. We have moved from "rugged individualists" to "I want my mommy". From "no thanks, we'll be fine", to "it's about time you gave me some of your money!" Rights, as defined by liberals, have become the enemy of freedom. Anything that is declared a right seems to imply that it should be provided to all who don't have "it", by those deemed to have won the lottery of life. Having the right to health care, using today's understanding of the word, means it has to be provided for everyone. By this definition we would all be provided with firearms given to us by the government. It seems a more appropriate understanding of the word right would be to suggest no one can intentionally impede or obstruct your ability to obtain what you have a right to. That is to say, if you want to purchase a firearm you may do so. If you want health insurance, you have the right to purchase it. Is there a role for local and state governments in helping poorer families secure insurance if they want to acquire it? I would say yes, but with qualifications.
The current "hate the rich" sentiment is, in my opinion, a manipulative tool to move people to a more socialist point of view. Another move to consolidate even more power in the federal government. Truth is, we could take every penny of income that all the rich people receive and we would still be looking at a bankrupt nation. We could take all the current holdings of the "rich" and run the country for a short time, but then what? Truth is, wealth is a dynamic thing and we are destroying the process by which it is generated. The politicians promise more and more entitlements, when we can't even sustain our current levels of spending. We play games with the language, calling reductions in growth "cuts", leaving us with the possibility that "cutting spending" will bankrupt us at the same precise point as spending more would. Fact is, there are those who hate this country and want it to join the rest of world in poverty as a means of paying us back for all the ill we have spread around the world. If I were trying to destroy our economy, I can't think of anything I would do different than what Washington has done the last few years. (this includes George W. Bush's reckless spending) The answer isn't, "tax the rich", it's "follow the rich". While I don't know any super-rich people, (like Warren Buffet), I know plenty of people who fit in the current "rich" category according to our government. They don't buy new cars, they buy 3 yr. old cars so they don't take the hit on the steep depreciation. They don't buy the biggest house they can afford, they buy a house sufficient for their needs with a few extras thrown in, of course. They also tend to be rather generous people. More generous than I tend to be, much to my embarrassment. They investigate organizations who receive their aforementioned generosity to assure themselves that their resources will be effectively used. Dear Mr. Obama, please stop fueling class warfare, beating up on the rich, as a means of gaining some kind of political advantage, and start leading like someone wanting to make the country he is leading, rich.

Winfield 2011

Well, here goes. I wanted to put down some observations and impressions of this year's festival in Winfield, Kansas in case someone was curious about what I thought of the little get-together. This was the first year our camp had an official theme so we had a couple of items available for the other campers to view to help them know what we saw as our main contribution to the affair. We are now the "Winfield Think Tank" camp. Or "Brain Trust" if you prefer. Either way we expect any conversations within the camp itself to be of the thoughtful variety. Our camp is not the place for meaningless banter or comments void of substance. You can take those types of offerings elsewhere where they will not negatively affect the high standards of communication we have established. Be sure that our camp is fraught with sesquipedalians.
One sign which was presented to us by a lady from Montana who is part of our camp showed two sets of feet submersed in several inches of water and had the statement above it that says, "Deep Thoughts From The Shallow End Of The Pool". Several people laughed at this which belied their lack of a sound technical background in critical thinking. Another offering for our camp came from our friends from Texas who brought a banner with them that had a likeness of the "Thinker" sitting on a toilet. Again, people with their predictably shallow thinking were laughing at this. It's so sad to see so much thoughtlessness being exhibited at the festival, but we can't expect everyone to rise to the mental acuteness that is regularly exhibited at the Winfield Think Tank.
This year's lineup was a bit different though it did include Tommy Emmanuel again. He is such a great talent and performer. Also, Michael Martin Murphy was there. I always enjoy his music and his knowledge of the history of the old west. On a more serious note I have decided to make some changes for next year. Assuming I remember to do so. It's hard to get off my sizable rear end and get around to seeing people I have met in the past. We are fortunate to have some greatly talented musicians camp with us and I can almost "feel" myself improving on my instrument as I hang out and jam with them. While jamming with my camp mates will obviously continue, I will make an effort to hang out with several others who I often don't see, or only visit with rather than play music with. Maybe a little more sleep would help too. I guess I had 3 or 4 nights of 4:30 am or later and a couple of 2 - 3 am nights as well. I did hit the sack around midnight a couple of times because I wasn't feeling well. Imagine that. Guess I'm getting old.
Next year I hope to get my friend Norm to come up from Texas. That would be a great thing indeed.

Growing Old

I wanted to say a word about growing old, while also laying claim to what I believe may became a common phrase in America going forward. I just want to have left something useful behind when I exit this dirt clod and I don't want someone else trying to steal my glory. As I was rolling along I-35 the other day headed somewhere important to do something important, my mind began pondering the effects of accumulating birthdays. I have accumulated 55 of them so far and it seems like the more I get the less I have. I'm probably more forgetful than I remember and leave a minimum of 2 rooms a day never arriving at the reason I ventured into them. A bad day is often of my own making, though I thoughtfully blame others so as not to hurt my own feelings. I leave the house 2 or 3 times every morning but still get to work without something I intended to take. I leave the house, drive around the block and pull back up in front of the house to fetch my phone only to find "someone" has locked the door. While stewing on the way to work about why my family is so paranoid that they have to lock the door when I am barely out of it, a vague memory, seemingly from the high school era of my life, haunts me for a couple of miles until I am forced to face the reality that I locked the door on my way out. Once I went out of my way to go by and take pictures of a house we were having built over a several month period of time, only to find out there was no film in the camera. It was little relief to find, also, that I was taking pictures of the wrong lot, though I could at least spread the embarrassment out over more of the story. It seems like the very embarrassing fact takes a bit of the edge off of the extremely embarrassing fact that follows it. At least I like to think so. Well, back to my drive and the usual meaningless ponderings that accompany it. A term popped into my head that I believe, more than any previous known term, defines the adverse effects of collecting birthdays. I am moving toward "Mental Insolvency"
Remember, you heard it here first.

I WISH WARREN BUFFETT WOULD MIND HIS OWN BUSINESS

I really don't get it. Warren Buffet is one of some 300,000,000 people in this country and he is so often quoted by people who want to make our country's policy agree with his ideas. Let's listen to him, by all means, but if he wants to pay more in taxes then let him do so without reaching into my pocket at the same time. Why should he take money out of my pocket to give to the government if he already has so much? I'm not a frequent participant in risk-taking for monetary gain but have done a bit of it in the past. My wife and I bought some property for a couple thousand once and sold it three years later for near ten thousand. The capital gains tax, at the time, was 30% so we were visited by the emotional roller coaster of feeling rich one minute, to feeling sick to our stomachs the next. We took the risk while the government waited for the check to be cut and then asked for a large part of it. Just because Mr. Buffett thinks only rich people benefit from capitol gains doesn't mean it's so. It just means he is near-sighted. The capital gains tax is one of the most influential bits of our tax code. Keeping it low can be a significant factor in brining us out of this serious recession we are in right now. Raising it will further impede our ability to grow our way back to solvency as a country. Maybe if every super-rich person, who presumes to speak for all of us, would just pay their "fair share" without having to be forced to do so by the government, then everything would be fine. But no, they wait for the government to put the gun to their head before they exercise their right to be "compassionate" to the rest of our country. And another thing, everyone wants to know what Mr. Buffett is investing in so they can be rich too. While I haven't studied his life in any detail, I don't presume he became rich investing only in Gillette or Coca-Cola. Once you have a fortune, it's easier to make conservative investment decisions, and make ludicrous statements of how raising taxes will only affect him and his super-rich buddies.

Momentum

It would seem to me that our over-reaching government may be about to reach critical mass. As the government grows, its influence on people's voting decisions grows as well. If the government's enterprise is one of protecting us from foreign enemies, protecting our borders and enhancing interstate relations as in providing roads and other infrastructure for transportation of goods and such, then when we go into a voting booth, the scope of our interest is limited to those activities which the federal government is about. Our personal fortunes are not directly tied to such a vote but rather our collective fortunes, if you will. However, if the government is in the business of taking money from one citizen and giving it to another as it sees fit, then those who are receiving the money will likely vote for the person who promises to take more from others and give it to them. Once the government is controlling the banking system, automobile production, college loans, health care, and the majority of the commerce in the country by way of the EPA and its alleged concern for the well-being of the citizen, then we are locked into a socialist form of government which will eventually collapse under its own weight. Votes will flow to keep the money coming which will forever empower our bloated and mis-directed government. If the voting booth is a way to get someone else's money into our pocket then it has become what so many in history have warned about. Our country will continue sliding down the road to fewer and fewer personal freedoms and more and more government involvement in our lives. Kind of like the new owners of a well-respected company exploiting the reputation of the company. You simply start building less quality into your products while continuing to put the well known and well respected brand name on them. Though eventually people figure out that the name has become meaningless you have in the meantime, made a handsome profit based on the deception. We can call ourselves free while giving up more and more of our freedoms to the government, but at some point "freedom" will look a lot like slavery and we will be giving incentive to people to follow the path of least resistance and just let the government take care of them. Of course the brevity of a blog would allow you to see me as a cold-hearted person lacking in compassion. However, I am not. I simply believe compassion can only be applied by individuals giving of their time or treasure and acting under the influence of their conscience. If your conscience moves you to take resources from someone else to give to one you would like to help, then you need to find a word other than compassion. We've already had enough words stolen from our rather fragile language.

Freedom vs Six Weeks of Vacation

It is taking a while to digest all that is going on in this country right now. Slowly, I would say, the picture is beginning to clear up a bit. Transitioning from a mostly agricultural economy to one based on manufacturing was a difficult but economically prosperous endeavor for the last 60 or 70 years. Still, looking around our country in the midst of an economic crisis, I see plenty of evidence of a comparatively rich society. None in history has accomplished what we have and I would suggest it was, at its heart, due to our Constitutional freedoms. Having said that, our current predicament, (jeepers, I took 3 shots at that spelling and missed all three times), would seem to be a result of our freedom to be greedy. Let me explain a bit. What if there is a challenge to our company's position from another company offering a similar product at a lower cost thereby impacting our company's bottom line. We are fine with a tariff, or new regulation which will put our company, and our personal fortunes, back in front. In other words, we are ok with the million people who buy our widget paying more for it as long as I don't lose my job. Never mind the inherent unfairness of the situation, or the ultimate dis-incentive provided by such action to future businesses. We kept our job and that's what's important. Do we really believe that bailing out GM was a wise move? There are no more cars being built today than if GM had been allowed to fail. The only difference is that the people buying the cars now have the added financial burden of propping up a proven failure, GM. I suppose we will also end up paying all of their health care and retirement costs as well. Where does it stop? The company I worked for for 23 years went through quite a transition over its life. Originally it needed experienced electronics troubleshooters to repair the avionics equipment that they serviced. As time went on, the prevailing method of repair was to replace whole circuit boards which had become fairly cheap with all the advances in circuit board design and manufacture. The company was now in a predicament with a highly skilled, well-paid workforce that was competing with younger companies who could hire less skilled workers for less money and provide a similar level of service to its customers. While this is unfortunate, it is, in fact, capitalism. Bailing out such a company only artificially sustains a segment of the workforce, while burdening the rest of it. It is not, at all, an example of a "Free Market" but rather an example of an artificially skewed market. That is what we have here in the United States now as government has become more and more involved in business. We are destroying the most remarkable system ever encountered in this world and we are inhibiting its ability to adjust and respond to challenges. We are loading its backpack up with more and more rocks as it tries to compete on a global scale. We are prolonging an unsustainable illusion while destroying our ability to excel in the future. We are, in fact, guaranteeing a mediocre future, rather than offering ourselves the chance to continue with our truly exceptional economic system.

Trickle Up Corruption

It hit me this morning, as I was giving a little brain time to the upcoming political season, that the corruption of the ruling class in this country is a reflection of those who put them in their positions. I hang around some pretty "good" folks at work, at church, etc. And yet I can tell you that many of them, as many in our society, have cheated on their taxes, defrauded insurance companies and have been unfaithful to their spouses all while showing no remorse or signs of guilt. Those insurance companies take advantage of us all the time so it's ok, right? The federal government is bloated and inefficient, so it's ok to cheat on our taxes. And our spouse, well, they aren't too bad, but it's obvious we are wired to have lots of sex so as long as I can keep it from public view it's pretty much expected. Why do we expect our politicians to be driven by principle, when we are driven by selfish ambition? Why do we want politicians who exhibit integrity, when we are following gravel trucks to their place of business so we can get a free windshield even though the crack has been there for several days? Ever keep your mouth shut about damage to a roof or car that was pre-existing when talking to the adjuster? Just wondering. And, by the way, insurance companies, like the company you work for, must make a profit, or go out of business, so when one person takes them for a ride, the fare is ultimately paid by other clients. A little like taxing those nasty corporations. The fact is, corporations don't pay taxes, they just collect them. When their expenses go up, (like their taxes), the price they charge for their product or service goes up to compensate. Either that or they start laying off people and reducing research and development which hurts everybody directly or indirectly. Please don't read this as a defense of "big business", it is, in fact, a condemnation of our culture at large that is so comfortable with lying, cheating, stealing etc. As long as the ultimate goal of self-gratification is reached, there are no hard and fast rules. I would like to encourage each of us to take a good long look in the mirror and make a commitment to become the kind of person we wish our representatives were. Then, when we've reached that goal, run for office.
Tune in next week when I'll share my favorite guacamole recipe.

Spring

Just returned from a glorious 3 mile walk. Well the walk itself was the usual one foot in front of the other sort of thing, but I was visited by some thoughts that I will hopefully convey to you effectively. Due to the magic of modern electronics you will be completely unaware of the several hour gap of time between this blog's beginning and its ending. I wanted to get a bit down before I play some music with my daughter to help me remember the "gist" of the thoughts that accompanied my walk.
Firstly, my heel did not hurt much at all. According to medical experts, (my wife), I likely have Plantar Fasciitis. Don't know what that means other than it makes your heel hurt. It seems the pain can be adjusted to, only to have a lingering effect later on. This morning, little to no pain. Of course this resulted in the predictable gratefulness of my general good health throughout my life so far. And an admonition to others, (that would be all 4 of you), to get out and take some walks if you have the ability to do so. This was a wonderful, cool, puffy cumulus cloud sort of morning and a time to thank God for the incredible engineering feat that our bodies are.
I had the thought, again, of how fortunate I am to live here in Kansas. We don't get cheated out of any one of the 4 seasons. Those poor suckers over in Hawaii, as well as those who live in, let's say, Florida, or Southern California, don't have the advantage of experiencing all 4 seasons. Go ahead and voice your comments about how, if you want snow, you can drive to it, or whatever, but living through all the seasons allows you to truly experience all that creation has to offer. I mean, come on. Living in Florida is like celebrating only the resurrection over and over without coming to grips with the suffering and anguish of the cross. (I know this analogy is sounding a little sacreligious, but you're the one who stopped to read this thing). Like Easter Sunday, without Maundy Thursday. Stick with me here. How can playing in a soccer game here in Kansas come to announce to me that spring has really come, without living through a couple of months of cold and snow where outdoor activities are limited to "necessity only" items? (of course sledding notwithstanding) I actually like winter, and snow, but I'm always ready for the color green to reestablish itself here in Kansas, and that first soccer game in the spring gave me a chance to celebrate with the rest of the world that life is coming out of hibernation and bright colors will once again join us. Then, in late summer, after a couple of weeks of 100 degree days, that first significant cold front moves through to bring its energizing effects to my aging and tired body. Like a drink of cool water after spending the day on a roof nailing down shingles. I would argue that the refreshment is shallow if you haven't lived through the hot and humid summer days first. Sure, driving from a boring, continually warm climate to the mountains is refreshing, but offers only a shadow of the refreshment that a late August cool front brings to us Kansans. Today's walk was great partly because we have already hit 100 this year and I could absorb the coolness, knowing it will soon be swallowed by the advent of summer.

Two whole thoughts in one blog entry

Easter Sunday 2011. He Is Risen!
A couple of thoughts presented themselves to me today while at a sunrise service. This is always an occasion for rejoicing as thoughts generally do not come in pairs to me. But before I get to those thoughts let me wax a bit on the service itself and how my wife and I came to be there. We do a lot of shopping in Derby since we live so close and our daughter and her family live there. One day we saw a sign advertising a sunrise service. This was on the outskirts of town and an observant observer could see three crosses back in a wooded area off of a short dirt road that went into a field. We decided to attend and wondered if it was sponsored by a church or just an individual. I was expecting a small gathering especially when the morning was accompanied by overcast, threatening skies, and a cool temperature. However, there were 60 or 70 folks there, best I could tell and it was a wonderful service. Now, back to my two thoughts.
Something was said about angels during the sermon. A subject that seems to have some bit of ambiguity attached to it as far as I can see. They are real, no doubt, but their exact nature and such seems vague. It strikes me that on Easter, whatever the angels' precise nature or essence may in fact be, surely they are celebrating with us. I am guessing there is no time that the spiritual realm we have so much trouble connecting with, and our daily lives, are in such concert with one another. Surely, on this day, however inadequate, or shallow, my understanding of spiritual matters, we are joined by the whole of the heavenly arena as we proclaim, "He Is Risen". This thought is one that brings real joy to my heart. The other of the two thoughts has to do with the perception by many in Jesus' day that he would bring a military revolt to overthrow the Roman occupation. This view extended far beyond just the "zealots" who were actively working toward that end by taking military action of their own. In the context of human history, which shows that the world is ruled by the use of force, why wouldn't you expect this of a "deliverer"? The disappointment of these followers provides a vivid contrast to the true nature of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection. What army, or military campaign, could have influenced the world the way Jesus did. Ghengis Khan? Alexander the Great? Think of Matthew 6. In reference to the showy actions of the religious leaders whose intent was to put on a good show for those who were watching Jesus says, "they have their reward in full". They wanted attention, and that's what they got. They have what they wanted. If military conquest is your goal then that, if you are successful, will be your reward. Their influence, though great, was not as profound or significant as that of Jesus. The Zealots had the right idea, just the wrong tools. Jesus had what it took to conquer death and sin and usher in a new kingdom that will never be overthrown.
Today, if no other, let's celebrate with the whole of creation, that Jesus is risen.

The Detour

Part III

The Detour

Anyway, for now, I'm two miles north of Toronto, the destination I was near before my ride. Now I'm looking at two more miles with my pack to get back there. Oh, and in case I needed a little reminder that God was with me, as it turns out, three of the four guys sitting at the table were from Stephenville, Texas, a place we travel to often to visit Nancy's family. They live in Stephenville too. So I set the pack on my back and aimed my tired, whiny little rear back toward Toronto. I would soon be setting “lesson learned 1” in my mind like a hook in a fish's mouth.

As I headed back south, matches in hand, I decided to try to head toward the west side of the lake. The brochure showed a gravel road that headed west a mile and there was an information center indicated on the map where the road intersected another heading south. If I could just get there I'd find a place, any place, to set up camp and hunker down for a cold night. From what I could gather they had revised, downward, the temperature forecast and the wind would remain a factor into the night. The first road I thought could be my road west was only an access road to a shed or something. I could see from the highway it went nowhere. The next candidate had a much more appealing look. A Kansas Wildlife and Parks information board at the intersection. Though it was a one-lane gravel road I decided to try it. I'm really weary by now and as I walk through this low-lying area along the river I'm looking for a place to camp. A quarter mile in or so I find a place that might be suitable. I take off my pack I'm hoping for the last time today and unstrap my little 3-legged stool. I sit on the stool for a bit, the legs sinking into the soft moist soil and lean back against my pack which is sitting against a small tree. After a bit I walk around surveying for other suitable spots and low and behold, around the bend is an old red brick silo, and, the end of the road. It becomes obvious that this is a road used by hunters. Looking at the brochure confirms this area is in fact a public hunting area. In fact about the only non-public hunting areas are the designated fee-based recreational areas for hiking and camping. Talking myself out of staying there was hard. Not only would I have to strap my pack back on and go on into Toronto, I knew this was the end of my trip. I was at the end of my physical resources and I was quite frustrated as well. It will take all the energy I have left to get back to Toronto and no telling how much farther a suitable camping area would be. Looks like at least another mile on the map. With the added challenge of a colder forecast and paying money to camp, of which I had little, I called home for a rescue. Just a few yards outside of Toronto one of the guys from Stephenville happened to be heading north. He stopped to see if I needed any help. I said I was fine and thanked him for his asking. Once in town I spotted a little memorial park with a few picnic tables. I took off my pack and laid back on the table to recover a bit. It was quite windy and now that I was no longer moving I was getting cold. I spotted a store across the street so I went in and got a Dr Pepper, a large hot chocolate and some Advil. They didn't have Ibuprofen. Nancy was on her way now and I just needed to wait patiently for her. My muscles were tightening up and my head was pounding a bit too. I felt a little like I had run a marathon. I must have covered 8 miles today with my heavy pack and I was not in shape for that sort of challenge. I got a little attention from the locals but no one was curious enough to talk to me or turn me into the fuzz. I went into the small public library to get warm once. Otherwise I alternated between lying on the picnic table and standing near the rock wall of a deserted garage that had absorbed a little of the sun's radiation. Of course when Nancy arrived she was driving the car whose heater is on the blink. Actually, I didn't care, I was on my way home. Disappointed, but glad to have been relieved of the pack.

That night, after eating a late supper, I went to bed. I did indeed feel like I had run a marathon. My whole body was hot with fatigue. I went right to sleep at about 7 pm and slept hard until 2:30 am. After a visit to the restroom it was back to sleep and more down-time for my body to recover. Two days removed and my calves are still so tight I walk funny. But all in all I'm in good shape. I think this event will have to go in the moral victory category. Stunning success, a term suggested by a liberal journalist friend of mine, seems a little over the top.

Conclusion: My next venture will likely be in milder weather and with a lighter pack. Ideally, I would like to hike from small town to small town but I'm not sure where I would set up camp in those cases. Anyway, I'm a little smarter now and hopefully have laid a bit of a foundation for future success.

By the way, the first verse of my song "Random Roads" was inspired by this endeavor. I think you can click the next button on the music player until it comes up if you're interested in hearing it.

Part II of the blog based mini-series

In case you missed it a blog based mini-series was started on the occasion of my last entry so if you want the full story, please start with my previous blog. If you don't want the full story then just jump right in. Either way, you have chosen the road less traveled.

Part II

ON MY COUCH

Well, this story will be finished in the comfort of my living room two days after it started. By a simple analysis, the effort was a failure. I, however, like the media covering the immoral acts of a lying Democrat President will put a positive spin on this disaster. After a quick look over my shoulder to make sure Bill O'Reilly isn't watching, I, now, continue.

A cold breakfast it was. Two pop tarts and that horrible shelf milk. It was quite cold and I broke out a handy dandy hand warmer. This was a case where my left hand knew precisely what my right hand was doing and was threatening violence if it didn't give up the hand warmer. Eventually, while refereeing the on-going tensions between my hands, I was able to break down camp and load the pack. Donning my heavy flannel shirt I headed out. Amazing, still, how quickly a cold morning is swallowed up in bright sunshine with just a hint of increased temperature. Leaving was actually a change in the change of my plans. With the free camping and the peacefulness of the area, I thought an extra day here was in order. However, my walk to the maintenance yard in search of matches yesterday resulted only in a brief appearance in a Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks pickup truck's rear-view mirror. How different things might have been if I had gotten some matches. Instead I began my matchless journey to Lake Toronto via the town of Toronto.

Note: At this point I will mention a “Lesson Learned”. Please note that lessons learned may be totally logical and obvious to even the most casual observer, but the key here is the depth of the learning. Not knowing exactly where you're going when you're in a car is nothing at all like not knowing exactly where you're going with a heavy pack and no car.

My printed-out Google maps, and even the maps in the brochures the lady gave me at Woodson County State Fishing Lake proved somewhat ambiguous. Seems they were compiled with the assumption people would be in cars. More on the map front later.

So I find my way to 50^th road and head west. This will land me in Toronto which is at the north end of the lake. Already my plans have resulted in an increase in mileage because I originally planned to go south since my next destination was S.W. of Toronto Lake. The change was because I wasn't sure if I would find an open marina this time of year but figured Toronto was big enough to have a store. Along the gravel roads I was mostly alone. Only an occasional car or truck. There was a dead coyote along the shoulder of the road. I saw no evidence of trauma on his body so I figured a car got him and he died of internal injuries. He had a nice coat of fur and would have made a good stuffed coyote for a museum. In fact I approached him slowly wondering if he was still alive. I stopped every mile or so to take the weight of the pack off my shoulders and to eat a few peanuts or M&M's. Eventually, I came to highway 105. 50^th , as it turns out, does not go all the way into Toronto. A closer look at my Google map confirmed this. A closer look at the brochure map revealed that the Google map was the way to go. So I headed up 105 which would also get me to town. The weight of the pack was taking its toll on my body. I was stopping more frequently to rest. I was not particularly cold except when I stopped, but the constant stiff wind was adding to my struggle. I was not walking into the wind but it was pushing my pack expanded profile around a bit. Just out of Toronto a nice older lady in an old beat-up truck stopped to offer me a ride. While I had turned down a couple of other offers, after telling me there was a store in Toronto, she said to throw my pack in the back and she would take me there. I know I mentioned my plans for camping at Toronto then going on to Fall River, but it seems my agenda was secondary. We drove right through the town of Toronto to a grocery store/bait shop/cafe/video rental place 2 miles north. She said it was a better store and I could get something to eat there. I fetched my pack from the back of the truck and headed into the store. I asked if she thought my pack would be safe in the air lock while we were inside. She began a short speech about how country folk ain't like them city folk and that my pack would be fine there. The effectiveness of the speech, however, was somewhat diminished by her request for me to lock the door as I was getting out of the truck. I, nevertheless, previously held, and still hold, the underlying premise of her speech to be true. As I entered the cafe area of the multi-functional business I noticed 4 men seated at one of the tables. I believe they were mildly amused by my presence and the speech which they couldn't help but overhear. The lady, (my ride), asked what I wanted to drink and after settling on a Welch's Strawberry soda I was beginning to wonder if she planned to buy my lunch. After receiving the soda I informed her I needed to get some money out of my pack. She didn't object. While I ate my biscuits and gravy, (man were they good), the lady retrieved some pictures from her truck. She and her husband, an over-the-road trucker, live 2 miles north on eleven acres. While she raises chickens and sells fresh eggs most of her animals seemed to have been “rescued”, if you will. A mostly Black Lab she had she specifically said was a rescue. The horse looked like one and the llama probably was too. She had a picture of their Great Pyrenees sitting in her lap. She obviously loved her animals. After mentioning the weather report, (cold and windy), she offered to let me stay in her barn. I don't know if I gave her a questioning look or what but the offer was followed by the statement that she was safe and I could trust her. She had the store owner verify her statement to which I responded that I did trust her. After another offer and an encouragement to check the weather and another statement with verification of her trustworthiness she left. Oh, and with instructions on how to get to her place if I changed my mind.

( don't miss the next installment or I'll, uh, er, well, anyway just don't miss it ok )

Silly Old Men

Part I

This is the first installment of a story about a little walk I took sometime back. I was hoping to start taking fairly long "hikes" over the next few years to see if I thought I could get myself in good enough shape to take off across several states on a long adventure. Silly, I know, but something I've thought about for a long time. Ever read "Walk Across America"? I have, a couple of times, and there is something attractive about the idea of trekking across the country and meeting folks from little towns between here and there. Of course I would have my mandolin with me and hopefully engage in some music-making from time to time. Anyway, a while back, I took off for what I hoped would be a couple of days of hiking and camping. Following is the result of this effort.

ON MY WAY

So here I am at Woodson County State Fishing Lake. A hard-to-find pleasant surprise. The lake is as smooth as glass, only an occasional soft breath of air now. Blue skies, not a cloud. No boats or other water craft either. Peaceful indeed. I had to trek with the pack on a good bit before finding a place to set up camp. I was just looking for a flat place to put my tent but there isn't one near the dam. I walked across it twice and up and down the berms along the road. I finally tracked back past my starting point and left my pack by a water meter next to the road, seemed like an odd place for a water meter but the grass was trimmed and the area was flat. If I had to, I would put my tent up here. I walked on without the pack and came on a dumping station. A yet larger flat area. I entertained thoughts of hiking on to Toronto as I came upon a maintenance yard. It was a fenced area with a building that had two garage doors, a couple of pickups and a couple of pieces of equipment. I walked all the way around the building looking through a couple of windows as I went. I saw no one. When I found the door I opened it and said “hello”. To my surprise there was a response. From behind a door labeled “OFFICE” came a young lady who welcomed me to the lake and gave me brochures on this lake and Toronto and Fall River. As it turns out camping is free here and just a bit farther down the road was this campsite. Picnic table and all. Well, there will be more to come, but just now my Beanee Weanee's are calling.

Woopsie. I brought plenty of kitchen matches but nothing to strike them on. I was able to light a couple by striking them against the rough paint on the picnic table leg. I remember lighting matches on my jeans zipper but that didn't work either. I scraped the sulfur off of all but two matches. My plan for tomorrow is to drink a small carton of milk and eat a couple of pop tarts. Then I'll head out for Toronto. Hopefully there will be a store or marina where I can buy some matches. The coyotes are already barking tonight. I don't know what's in season but there were shots fired right about sundown. Deer I reckon.

(to be continued)

Slipping Away

: rights (as freedom from unlawful imprisonment, torture, and execution) regarded as belonging fundamentally to all persons
Still trying to work through this whole discussion of health care being a right. If a right belongs, "fundamentally to all persons", as Webster suggests, then people in third world countries are being denied their right to health care. In these countries there may not be a doctor, let alone a clinic or hospital, within hundreds of miles of any given person or village. Should we be denying aid to these countries until they "get their act together" regarding human rights? How can something be a "right" that is dependent on a country's economic activity? With no economic activity, there are no resources to train and equip doctors and nurses, nor are there people capable of developing technologies and techniques for the resolution of physical problems and disease. There is no time here to expand this discussion to include all of the pieces of the health care industry required to develop and deliver health care. Are we then left with a different list of "rights" for individuals based on the economic conditions of the country they live in? Or, as I suspect, are we left with a discussion about ethics based on a country's ability to provide for its citizens? For me to participate in an ongoing discussion such as this one, I want to be working with the right vocabulary so as to have the ability to articulate my position clearly. I don't think this dialog is about "rights". At least not if we use the standard definition. When my wife and I purchased a car from a new car dealer many years back, the first thing I did, when informed of the "value" of my trade-in was to let the salesman know that I was well aware of my car's value and he was overstating it several-fold. I suggested he tell me what the wholesaler that he was in touch with was actually going to give him for the car; then we could discuss how much they were willing to come off of their inflated price. (I didn't use the word "inflated"). That way, we were both working with what might be called full disclosure. Of the $2,500 that was coming off of the $9,999 price on the car, (after substantial negotiations) only $750 was accounted for by my trade in. He would much rather that I believed they were giving me twice what my car was worth so they could pocket a generous profit while making me feel good about the deal. Instead, we both knew what my car was worth and could then focus on the inflated price of the car my wife and I wanted to buy. If you want to continue calling health care a right, have at it, but I will sit on the side-lines waiting for the real discussion to begin. By suggesting it is a right you are necessarily calling a lot of thoughtful, compassionate people mean and hateful by default. What other kind of person would deny someone a basic human right. I'm not sure how the whole "gotta buy it" thing works into this subject of rights either, but that's another occasion waiting for my time. Speaking of time, it appears I have run out of it for this particular endeavor. Thank you and have a nice day; I mean, if you want to.