STATUS QUO

Here we are once again New Year and same old crap. Yep, I’m going to do this and that this year. Yeah, right. That stuff might last a couple of weeks; before reality sets in. Not the phony reality from those silly TV shows; the real stuff. We seem to be pre-wired to settle into the same old safe and familiar things and at some period in one’s life that comfort factor takes control. Don’t lie to yourself. It happens.

This country was made by explorers. Settlers followed and settled. Settlers needed to establish forts so they could feel safe and secure from natives. Settlers created cities because they had to rely upon others to meet their needs. Settlers needed money to survive and satisfy their wants and needs. Explorers needed food and shelter. They learned to meet their needs without help from others. Some survived; some died but they did so on their own terms. They learned new skills by necessity. They taught themselves to live. They never got rich or flourished. They just lived. They made their living by staying alive.

The older I get; the more I lean towards the explorer side. I get sick of the same old routine. Wheel spinning isn’t good enough anymore. I have tried and tried but haven’t been able to excel or flourish within the normal expectations. I did the same job for about ten years. It was tolerable and allowed a certain freedom, but I had to stay where phones worked. We all know that phones do not tend to be very useful in many of the good places Not in West Virginia. I like the good places and couldn’t afford to run a couple of thousand miles a week on 4 dollar gas. I wasn’t afraid to try something new. I’m still searching for the right something new, though. I’m just going to give you a few words of wisdom to those who are looking for something new as far as employment goes. There is a reason that some places seem to have perpetual help wanted signs. Enough said. Use your own judgment to draw conclusions.

This is about the time that I should be thinking about going fishing at least once per week; until November or so when thoughts turn to filling the freezer with venison. This to me now seems to lean toward the settler side. The reality side; which seems to lean toward the explorer side goes more like this. I’m going to feed wood to the stove, eat ramps, asparagus, venison, mushrooms and blackberry cobbler while I’m waiting on April to get here.  The arrival of spring means that it is time to start getting ready for the upcoming winter.

I’ve seen Blackwater Falls and Seneca Rocks That just isn’t good enough for me. I need to see what is upstream, downstream or on the other side of the hill. Yes, status quo isn’t good enough anymore. I need new and if you are honest with yourself; you do too. Happy New Year and lets do something new this year.

This is my January 2015 article for Two-lane Livin

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