It is a kind of sacred shudder to feel the abyss of the trancendental opening up before one's feet.
Immanuel Kant
**********************
For several years my recreation was the metaphysical,.experience of hiking in the White Mountain National Forest of New Hampshire. I say it was metaphysical because I soon found the many metaphors that abounded when I was in the presence of untamed nature.
I do not remember all the many hours I spent or the countless thousands of steps I took over the roots and rocks of those trails. Those steps, like the sausage grinder of my own mental works, were there to take me to a destination, not necessarily the destination those who laid out the trail had in their own grinders.
There were meadows with foliage so overgrown it was difficult to see the long trail that went through them. There were tiring ascents through relentless forests. There were steep and dangerous cliffs where it was almost impossible to find a foot hold. There was a lake with leeches in which no one should want to swim. I do remember those places.
But there are other memories. I remember suddenly coming upon something that was strikingly beautiful. There was the Swift River with the waterfalls upstream of it. I remember an unexpected clearing on the Mount Cranmore trail in which, though surrounded with trees, nothing was growing but grass. I wondered what was underground and invisible that prevented other growth. I remember the view from the edge of the cliff atop Boulder Loop Trail and the tree growing bravely from the face of that cliff. I remember the Lake Of The Clouds on the way up Mount Washington.
I remember the summit of South Moat Mountain that was so comfortable I didn't want to leave it. And I remember the creatures,the grouse, the toad, the beaver, the wild turkey, the pheasant, the moose tracks and the eyes of the forest beings suddenly appearing in the light of my match on the other side of the brook I was about to ford at night.
Many people who visit those trails are not there for the same reason I was. Those who are out for exercise, those who come to see the magnificent autumn foliage, the mad hunters from the "flat lands" will miss most of the beauties, lessons and metaphors of the forest. But those mysteries are the reason I went out, rain or shine, from June to November whenever I could to find what Nature could teach me.
One of the first lessons I learned was that, even though many of those grand metaphors were designed and put in place many thousands or millions of years ago, Nature doesn't care whether we see them or not. It is Nature talking to itself. Nature doesn't care about our tedious committee meetings, our over crowded schools, our struggles to understand the world we live in or our vain attempts to improve it, our wars and our bickering governments, our aspirations, our foolishness, the lurking evils in the hearts and minds of the subhuman members of our race. Wild Nature doesn't' care if we try to wrap things up in nice neat bundles. Nature doesn't even care there are trails through it's world. Even though we are creations of Nature itself it rarely looks back at us to see what we're doing. If we cut down one of Natures's trees, it grows another one. That's the first great lesson. Having learned that one I was ready to learn the rest, and it was for those transcendent experiences that kept me going back to the forest.
I was being taken by the wild woods into a place where the stream of ideas, which would occasionally reveal themselves in a momentary flash of recognizable thought but were otherwise coming at me so rapidly it was impassable for my meat grinder of a mind to comprehend them. I wanted to jump in and let all the primordial wisdom wash over me, shudder me and cleans me of all confusion.
DB - The Vagabond
***************************
WINTER QUESTION
(This is not a contest)
What was the most significant event that happened in 2010?
dbdacoba@aol.com
Only 7 responses so far. Winter is almost over. What's your answer?
DB
******************************
Showing posts with label hiking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hiking. Show all posts
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Monday, January 17, 2011
The Day I Scared The Tourists
Every path has a few puddles.
American proverb
***********************
Up in New Hampshire where I lived for a while there are two conjoined ledges on top of a very high and sheer cliff. One is called Cathedral Ledge and the other White Horse Ledge. When you are standing on one you can easly see over to the other one. There is a road which goes up to Cathedral Ledge where one can park, get out, walk to the edge and enjoy the magnificent view.
During the Summer and Autumn months I used to do a lat of hiking on the trails and peaks of the area mountains, and one cloudy day I decided to take the trail up to White Horse Ledge. As it looked like it might rain I folded up a large rain parka and put it in my back pack along with a few other items. took my trusty walking staff which always went with me, parked my car by a lake near the foot of the trail and started up.
The begiinig of the trail was a hefty climb through forest. Then the trail became very treacherous, straight up for about 30 feet. Old roots sticking out of the cliff and an occasional chuck of rock were the only places to get a foot hold. Half way up that part of the trail it started to rain which made it een more treacherous. When I finally came out of that stretch I donned my rain parka and vowed to descend on the road and not try to return by way of the trail. The rain parka was hooded and large enough to fit over my back pack and still cover most of my body.
The last part of the trail went though a young forest, was a fairly easy climb and by then the rain had stopped. But almost to the end of it I heard a car door slam. That is a sound one doesn't expect hear when out hiking in the middle of a forest. But I knew it meant that I was near the end of my hike and White Horse Ledge was just ahead.
When I stepped out on the ledge I looked across and saw a young couple enjoying the view from Cathedral Ledge. I didn't want to startle them so I stood perfectly still and waited.
But the woman looked over and saw me. She gasped and grabbed the man's arm. Now picture me. A large black robe covering a back pack which made me look deformed, a gray beard jutting out from beneath a black hood which covered my face, standing perfectly still holding a five foot staff.
I was a ghost, an apparition, Jeremiah raised from the dead, the Spirit of Christmas Yet To Come, the Mythical Rider of the White Horse, the Old Man Of The Mountain, a mystical being from the deep, dark forest, the Grim Reaper, Satan himself.
Whatever they thought I was they quickly got in their car and left. They were probably a nice couple form Massachusetts, tourists no doubt. I could have walked over and introduced myself but they were standing at the edge of a cliff and I didn't want to scare them. I scared them anyway, just being there. They probably still talk now and then about the strange spectre they saw one cloudy day in the mountains of New Hampshire.
DB - The Vagabond
WINTER QUESTION
(This is not a contest)
What was the most significant event that happened in 2010?
dbdacoba@aol.com
Only 2 responses so far
I await your answer.
DB
******************************
American proverb
***********************
Up in New Hampshire where I lived for a while there are two conjoined ledges on top of a very high and sheer cliff. One is called Cathedral Ledge and the other White Horse Ledge. When you are standing on one you can easly see over to the other one. There is a road which goes up to Cathedral Ledge where one can park, get out, walk to the edge and enjoy the magnificent view.
During the Summer and Autumn months I used to do a lat of hiking on the trails and peaks of the area mountains, and one cloudy day I decided to take the trail up to White Horse Ledge. As it looked like it might rain I folded up a large rain parka and put it in my back pack along with a few other items. took my trusty walking staff which always went with me, parked my car by a lake near the foot of the trail and started up.
The begiinig of the trail was a hefty climb through forest. Then the trail became very treacherous, straight up for about 30 feet. Old roots sticking out of the cliff and an occasional chuck of rock were the only places to get a foot hold. Half way up that part of the trail it started to rain which made it een more treacherous. When I finally came out of that stretch I donned my rain parka and vowed to descend on the road and not try to return by way of the trail. The rain parka was hooded and large enough to fit over my back pack and still cover most of my body.
The last part of the trail went though a young forest, was a fairly easy climb and by then the rain had stopped. But almost to the end of it I heard a car door slam. That is a sound one doesn't expect hear when out hiking in the middle of a forest. But I knew it meant that I was near the end of my hike and White Horse Ledge was just ahead.
When I stepped out on the ledge I looked across and saw a young couple enjoying the view from Cathedral Ledge. I didn't want to startle them so I stood perfectly still and waited.
But the woman looked over and saw me. She gasped and grabbed the man's arm. Now picture me. A large black robe covering a back pack which made me look deformed, a gray beard jutting out from beneath a black hood which covered my face, standing perfectly still holding a five foot staff.
I was a ghost, an apparition, Jeremiah raised from the dead, the Spirit of Christmas Yet To Come, the Mythical Rider of the White Horse, the Old Man Of The Mountain, a mystical being from the deep, dark forest, the Grim Reaper, Satan himself.
Whatever they thought I was they quickly got in their car and left. They were probably a nice couple form Massachusetts, tourists no doubt. I could have walked over and introduced myself but they were standing at the edge of a cliff and I didn't want to scare them. I scared them anyway, just being there. They probably still talk now and then about the strange spectre they saw one cloudy day in the mountains of New Hampshire.
DB - The Vagabond
WINTER QUESTION
(This is not a contest)
What was the most significant event that happened in 2010?
dbdacoba@aol.com
Only 2 responses so far
I await your answer.
DB
******************************
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Shake It Off
The more I see of man the better I like my dog.
Frederick The Great
***********************
I don't know and I can't find the term for that particular zoologist who specializes in the study of dogs. Does anyone know it?
Having reached the point of disgust with the rudeness, unreasonableness, ignorance and absurdity of the people around me, no doubt similar in some ways to Frederick's state of mind, I decided to get away for a day and be by myself.
I packed a lunch and drove out to a park in the country I found a picnic table and enjoyed my lunch in peace and quiet. There were other campers in the area but no one in proximity to me. In front of me there was a busy stream gurgling along its way. It was very refreshing.
Several feet away from me I noticed a foot bridge that went over the stream and a sign announcing a hiking trail, 3 miles long. I always enjoyed hiking in the woods. It was one of my favorite activities. So I decided to take the trail.
Right after I crossed the foot bridge a big black Labrador appeared out of nowhere and walked along with me. He sniffed out everything he wanted to. He sometimes ran on ahead but always came back to check up on me. If he stopped to investigate something and I kept walking he would soon catch up to me. For some reason, with no questions asked, he became my dog and I became his human.
At one point, midway through the hike, I stopped to sit on a flat rock and rest. I thought the dog would probably get bored and run on, but he sat down also and waited. When I stood up again he stood up and looked up at me as if to say "Are you ready to move on?" I wondered if I had just inherited a stray dog.
When we got to the end of the trail, which had looped back on itself for a couple of miles, the only way to ford the stream was on a tree that lay across it. The branches were gone and it was well worn. It had obviously been used to get across the stream by many more before me. I stepped out on it and made my way easily to the other side.
But the log was too narrow for my friend the dog. So without thinking twice he jumped in the stream and swam across. When he came up out of the water on the other side he shook himself off, first the head and then the shaking went down the length of his back ending at the tail. I am still amazed at how dogs can do that.
When we reached the road my friend ran off to find the folks he came with who were probably wondering where he had been for the last hour or so. Well, he had been with his friend the man, and I had been with my friend the dog.
Too understand how dogs can shake themselves off like that you'll have to ask the authority on dogs, whatever his correct zoological name is. All I know is dogs can do something you and I can't do. What do you think of that?
DB - The Vagabond
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
My story "The Savior" continues now only on Vagabond Tales
http://db-vagabondtales.blogspot.com/
********************************
SUMMER QUESTION
(This is not a contest.)
Who are the 2 (two) most important people alive today? Why?
Only 5 responses so far.
dbdacoba@aol.com
Thank you.
DB
********************
Frederick The Great
***********************
I don't know and I can't find the term for that particular zoologist who specializes in the study of dogs. Does anyone know it?
Having reached the point of disgust with the rudeness, unreasonableness, ignorance and absurdity of the people around me, no doubt similar in some ways to Frederick's state of mind, I decided to get away for a day and be by myself.
I packed a lunch and drove out to a park in the country I found a picnic table and enjoyed my lunch in peace and quiet. There were other campers in the area but no one in proximity to me. In front of me there was a busy stream gurgling along its way. It was very refreshing.
Several feet away from me I noticed a foot bridge that went over the stream and a sign announcing a hiking trail, 3 miles long. I always enjoyed hiking in the woods. It was one of my favorite activities. So I decided to take the trail.
Right after I crossed the foot bridge a big black Labrador appeared out of nowhere and walked along with me. He sniffed out everything he wanted to. He sometimes ran on ahead but always came back to check up on me. If he stopped to investigate something and I kept walking he would soon catch up to me. For some reason, with no questions asked, he became my dog and I became his human.
At one point, midway through the hike, I stopped to sit on a flat rock and rest. I thought the dog would probably get bored and run on, but he sat down also and waited. When I stood up again he stood up and looked up at me as if to say "Are you ready to move on?" I wondered if I had just inherited a stray dog.
When we got to the end of the trail, which had looped back on itself for a couple of miles, the only way to ford the stream was on a tree that lay across it. The branches were gone and it was well worn. It had obviously been used to get across the stream by many more before me. I stepped out on it and made my way easily to the other side.
But the log was too narrow for my friend the dog. So without thinking twice he jumped in the stream and swam across. When he came up out of the water on the other side he shook himself off, first the head and then the shaking went down the length of his back ending at the tail. I am still amazed at how dogs can do that.
When we reached the road my friend ran off to find the folks he came with who were probably wondering where he had been for the last hour or so. Well, he had been with his friend the man, and I had been with my friend the dog.
Too understand how dogs can shake themselves off like that you'll have to ask the authority on dogs, whatever his correct zoological name is. All I know is dogs can do something you and I can't do. What do you think of that?
DB - The Vagabond
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
My story "The Savior" continues now only on Vagabond Tales
http://db-vagabondtales.blogspot.com/
********************************
SUMMER QUESTION
(This is not a contest.)
Who are the 2 (two) most important people alive today? Why?
Only 5 responses so far.
dbdacoba@aol.com
Thank you.
DB
********************
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Visiting The Mountain Tops
I come into the peace of wild things who do not tax their lives with forethought or grief. I come into the presence of still water. And I feel above me the day-blind stars waiting with their light. For a time I rest in the grace of the world and am free.
Wendell Berry
***********************
I don't remember if I wrote about my hike across the Moat Mountain Range. I may have, I probably did, but so what, it's time to revisit the memory. The Moats, North Moat, Middle Moat and South Moat, are part of the White Mountains of New Hampshire. These are small mountains comparatively. No Mt. Everests here. There are taller mountains around but the Moats is a range by itself. So one Autumn, on a day off, I decided to do the whole range.
I parked my car on a back road at the base of South Moat, rode my bicycle to the base of North Moat and hid it in the woods. The trail up North Moat was steep and relentless. It was a difficult climb through the forest and when I finally came out above the timber line I was exhausted.
I sat to rest and considered turning back, The view was breath taking but when I looked up behind me all I could see was rock. Considering how I felt I thought summating would be too hard for me. But I also recalled other climbs when at the point I wanted to quit I was much closer to the top than I thought I was. So I got up and continued on and it was, indeed, another 15 minutes or so and I was on the summit.
The top of North Moat is small compared to other summits, but I felt I was on the top of the world. I stayed briefly to enjoy the view then headed down to the ledge toward Middle Moat. On the way I was hit with a great fright. I had startled a grouse who came flapping out of the bushes with a terrifying noise. Once I saw what it was I recovered and kept going. Also along that ridge there are a few scary places that require some mountain climbing experience. I managed them and got at last to Middle Moat.
Middle Moat is the shortest of the three but the timber line is quite close to the base, so it makes for a wide open few of sky. I stayed there for awhile and took in the sight.
The hike to south Moat was fairly easy and without event. When I got there I found a wide summit with a dirt floor, green things growing and rocks jutting out. When I looked down from there I saw the tower of the radio station I worked for looking like a tiny colored toothpick stuck in the ground, the winding string of the road I traveled every day to get to work and my community, small dots of shops and houses.
I sat with my back against a slab of rock, had my sandwich and my banana and thought, "I never want to leave this place. Right here, on the top of this graceful mountain, is where I want to live, forever."
But I had to be at work the next day. I was the morning DJ at that same radio station and was responsible for waking people up, giving them the news of the day and getting them going. Besides it would soon be night and I wasn't prepared for it. So I started down and, in fact, darkness came when I was a few hundred feet from my car. When I got in the car I checked the time. The hike took 9 hours.
When I got to work in the morning, I told everyone about my day on the Moats. My boss was fascinated. Who knows, I may write about it again sometime. It was one of the happiest days of my life.
DB - The Vagabond
***********************
SPRING QUESTION
(This is not a contest.)
In your opinion what is the most amazing thing that could happen during this decade? Make it as outrageous as you want but keep it within the realm of what you consider a possibility.
12 responses so far.
Answers will be published the first day of Summer.
Thank you.
dbdacoba@aol.com
DB - The Vagabond
*******************
Wendell Berry
***********************
I don't remember if I wrote about my hike across the Moat Mountain Range. I may have, I probably did, but so what, it's time to revisit the memory. The Moats, North Moat, Middle Moat and South Moat, are part of the White Mountains of New Hampshire. These are small mountains comparatively. No Mt. Everests here. There are taller mountains around but the Moats is a range by itself. So one Autumn, on a day off, I decided to do the whole range.
I parked my car on a back road at the base of South Moat, rode my bicycle to the base of North Moat and hid it in the woods. The trail up North Moat was steep and relentless. It was a difficult climb through the forest and when I finally came out above the timber line I was exhausted.
I sat to rest and considered turning back, The view was breath taking but when I looked up behind me all I could see was rock. Considering how I felt I thought summating would be too hard for me. But I also recalled other climbs when at the point I wanted to quit I was much closer to the top than I thought I was. So I got up and continued on and it was, indeed, another 15 minutes or so and I was on the summit.
The top of North Moat is small compared to other summits, but I felt I was on the top of the world. I stayed briefly to enjoy the view then headed down to the ledge toward Middle Moat. On the way I was hit with a great fright. I had startled a grouse who came flapping out of the bushes with a terrifying noise. Once I saw what it was I recovered and kept going. Also along that ridge there are a few scary places that require some mountain climbing experience. I managed them and got at last to Middle Moat.
Middle Moat is the shortest of the three but the timber line is quite close to the base, so it makes for a wide open few of sky. I stayed there for awhile and took in the sight.
The hike to south Moat was fairly easy and without event. When I got there I found a wide summit with a dirt floor, green things growing and rocks jutting out. When I looked down from there I saw the tower of the radio station I worked for looking like a tiny colored toothpick stuck in the ground, the winding string of the road I traveled every day to get to work and my community, small dots of shops and houses.
I sat with my back against a slab of rock, had my sandwich and my banana and thought, "I never want to leave this place. Right here, on the top of this graceful mountain, is where I want to live, forever."
But I had to be at work the next day. I was the morning DJ at that same radio station and was responsible for waking people up, giving them the news of the day and getting them going. Besides it would soon be night and I wasn't prepared for it. So I started down and, in fact, darkness came when I was a few hundred feet from my car. When I got in the car I checked the time. The hike took 9 hours.
When I got to work in the morning, I told everyone about my day on the Moats. My boss was fascinated. Who knows, I may write about it again sometime. It was one of the happiest days of my life.
DB - The Vagabond
***********************
SPRING QUESTION
(This is not a contest.)
In your opinion what is the most amazing thing that could happen during this decade? Make it as outrageous as you want but keep it within the realm of what you consider a possibility.
12 responses so far.
Answers will be published the first day of Summer.
Thank you.
dbdacoba@aol.com
DB - The Vagabond
*******************
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Getting Lost
One doesn't discover new lands without consenting to lose sight of the shore for a very long time.
Andre Gide
*********************
Today's entry is a boatload of events.
Discovery
My brother's boat
The moose tracks
The German man
The cliff
The mariners.
The writer
Brian
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
DISCOVERY
I watched the approach and docking of the Space Shuttle Discovery to the International Sauce Station yesterday. For me one of the most fascinating things about it is when the shuttle first appears. The Space Station cameras are focused out into the void of space and suddenly a very small pinpoint of light appears and gradually grows larger. The Space Shuttle is more than 40 miles away from its destination. The astronauts are safe, snug and cozy inside their vehicle. But is the vehicle safe inside the vast sea of space? Even though they can still see the earth as a reference point, getting back to it involves a long, complicated process.
MY BROTHER'S BOAT
My brother Henry was a sailor. After he left the Navy he worked in the advertising business. When he retired he bought a small sail boat and moored it on the shore of Connecticut. He enjoyed taking people out in it and spending a night at sea. He told me that one day he had an advertising executive as a guest on the boat, a former colleague of his. When they reached a certain point out on Long Island Sound they could no longer see the shore. My brother's friend panicked. He couldn't bear not knowing where the land was, where the Earth was. So my brother turned the boat around and headed back to the Connecticut shore.
THE MOOSE TRACKS
One bright summer day I was hiking a trail in the White Mountains of New Hampshire when I suddenly came across moose tracks on the trail. I got very excited because I thought I was actually going to see it. I had never seen a moose any where but in a zoo. Although they occasionally have their bad days. Moose are gentle giants, big benign, herbivorous creatures who are no threat to humans. So I followed the tracks hoping I would catch up to him and observe him, from a respectful distance of course. But either he was too fast for me or he was successfully hiding. I didn't see him. So I turned away from the tracks and found I had wandered far off the trail. There I was in a sea of trees not knowing where my trail was. I hadn't noticed that the moose tracks crossed some other tracks and so following those tracks by mistake got me confused and they took me into outer space.
So I had to find the trail again if I expected to get back to civilization. It took some exploring but I eventually did.
THE GERMAN MAN
I was walking through the Soho district of Manhattan in New York City one day. When I got to the corner of Houston and Sullivan Streets I saw a family on the opposite corner: a man and woman and three children. He was staring at a map. They were obviously tourists. When the man saw me he crossed the street and said to me "Excuse me. Vitch vay iz vest?" I pointed west and said "That way." He thanked me and rejoined his family. They didn't want to go "vest" they just wanted to know where they were. They were lost in the great cosmic sea known as Manhattan.
THE CLIFF
On another day I was hiking the same mountains in New Hampshire when my trail came across a cliff. It wasn't a large cliff but it was big enough so that I couldn't quite step from one side to the other. Even a taller man than I would have trouble with that cliff. It was sheer, with nothing below it but outer space. I could see a foothold and a handhold on the other side but I had to leap to get there, a leap of faith. I stood looking for a while. If I missed I would plunge down to certain injury, probably not death. I contemplated whether I should try it or turn back to the Connecticut shore. Finally I took the plunge and made it across.
On the way back I faced the same cliff but since I had made it once it no longer frightened me and I jumped across without a slip.
THE MARINERS
I sometimes thin of the sailors of the past, setting out in small wooden bottom ships with very little but the night sky to guide them through weather that sometimes turned the waves into mountains and sheer cliffs. Not knowing where they were going, how long they would be at sea or what they would find, they discovered new lands. They also discovered that the Earth is a globe, a globe the astronauts can now look at from outer space.
THE WRITER
As a writer (published some day, I hope) I face the open sea of a blank page every day. I don't know where I'm going, how long it will take me or what I'll find when I get there, but I consent to lose sight of the shore for as long as it takes.
Sometimes I feel lost in space with nothing but a flicker of light in the distance. I get confused and lose a train of thought and want to turn back. I face having to write things that seem too difficult for me and want to avoid them. Sometimes I stand at the crossroad of ideas and don't know which direction I'm going in.
Ideas run the world, some wise man said. Ideas can come from peering in a map, steering through mountains of waves, on a forest trail, on the edge of a cliff or while lost at sea. The expression of those ideas through art is the discovery of new lands.
BRIAN
In the Autumn of 1960 I began a journey hitchhiking across the United States from Boston, Massachusetts to Los Angeles, California. It took me two weeks. I didn't know where I was going, how long it would take me, what would happen to me along the way and what I would find. I had never been further west than New Jersey.
Using the memories of my adventure as a plot, I have sent my comrade, invention and friendly Frankenstein, Brian Sims, on the same trip and written about it. That long story is now finished and has taken its place in The Brian Saga under the title "Brian On The Road." http://thebriansaga.blogspot.com/
DB - The Vagabond
May you suddenly trip and fall into a pool of happiness.
******************
SPRING QUESTION
(This is not a contest.)
In your opinion what is the most amazing thing that could happen during this decade? Make it as outrageous as you want but keep it within the realm of what you consider a possibility.
Only 4 responses so far.
Answers will be published the first day of Summer.
dbdacoba@aol.com
DB - The Vagabond
*******************
Andre Gide
*********************
Today's entry is a boatload of events.
Discovery
My brother's boat
The moose tracks
The German man
The cliff
The mariners.
The writer
Brian
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
DISCOVERY
I watched the approach and docking of the Space Shuttle Discovery to the International Sauce Station yesterday. For me one of the most fascinating things about it is when the shuttle first appears. The Space Station cameras are focused out into the void of space and suddenly a very small pinpoint of light appears and gradually grows larger. The Space Shuttle is more than 40 miles away from its destination. The astronauts are safe, snug and cozy inside their vehicle. But is the vehicle safe inside the vast sea of space? Even though they can still see the earth as a reference point, getting back to it involves a long, complicated process.
MY BROTHER'S BOAT
My brother Henry was a sailor. After he left the Navy he worked in the advertising business. When he retired he bought a small sail boat and moored it on the shore of Connecticut. He enjoyed taking people out in it and spending a night at sea. He told me that one day he had an advertising executive as a guest on the boat, a former colleague of his. When they reached a certain point out on Long Island Sound they could no longer see the shore. My brother's friend panicked. He couldn't bear not knowing where the land was, where the Earth was. So my brother turned the boat around and headed back to the Connecticut shore.
THE MOOSE TRACKS
One bright summer day I was hiking a trail in the White Mountains of New Hampshire when I suddenly came across moose tracks on the trail. I got very excited because I thought I was actually going to see it. I had never seen a moose any where but in a zoo. Although they occasionally have their bad days. Moose are gentle giants, big benign, herbivorous creatures who are no threat to humans. So I followed the tracks hoping I would catch up to him and observe him, from a respectful distance of course. But either he was too fast for me or he was successfully hiding. I didn't see him. So I turned away from the tracks and found I had wandered far off the trail. There I was in a sea of trees not knowing where my trail was. I hadn't noticed that the moose tracks crossed some other tracks and so following those tracks by mistake got me confused and they took me into outer space.
So I had to find the trail again if I expected to get back to civilization. It took some exploring but I eventually did.
THE GERMAN MAN
I was walking through the Soho district of Manhattan in New York City one day. When I got to the corner of Houston and Sullivan Streets I saw a family on the opposite corner: a man and woman and three children. He was staring at a map. They were obviously tourists. When the man saw me he crossed the street and said to me "Excuse me. Vitch vay iz vest?" I pointed west and said "That way." He thanked me and rejoined his family. They didn't want to go "vest" they just wanted to know where they were. They were lost in the great cosmic sea known as Manhattan.
THE CLIFF
On another day I was hiking the same mountains in New Hampshire when my trail came across a cliff. It wasn't a large cliff but it was big enough so that I couldn't quite step from one side to the other. Even a taller man than I would have trouble with that cliff. It was sheer, with nothing below it but outer space. I could see a foothold and a handhold on the other side but I had to leap to get there, a leap of faith. I stood looking for a while. If I missed I would plunge down to certain injury, probably not death. I contemplated whether I should try it or turn back to the Connecticut shore. Finally I took the plunge and made it across.
On the way back I faced the same cliff but since I had made it once it no longer frightened me and I jumped across without a slip.
THE MARINERS
I sometimes thin of the sailors of the past, setting out in small wooden bottom ships with very little but the night sky to guide them through weather that sometimes turned the waves into mountains and sheer cliffs. Not knowing where they were going, how long they would be at sea or what they would find, they discovered new lands. They also discovered that the Earth is a globe, a globe the astronauts can now look at from outer space.
THE WRITER
As a writer (published some day, I hope) I face the open sea of a blank page every day. I don't know where I'm going, how long it will take me or what I'll find when I get there, but I consent to lose sight of the shore for as long as it takes.
Sometimes I feel lost in space with nothing but a flicker of light in the distance. I get confused and lose a train of thought and want to turn back. I face having to write things that seem too difficult for me and want to avoid them. Sometimes I stand at the crossroad of ideas and don't know which direction I'm going in.
Ideas run the world, some wise man said. Ideas can come from peering in a map, steering through mountains of waves, on a forest trail, on the edge of a cliff or while lost at sea. The expression of those ideas through art is the discovery of new lands.
BRIAN
In the Autumn of 1960 I began a journey hitchhiking across the United States from Boston, Massachusetts to Los Angeles, California. It took me two weeks. I didn't know where I was going, how long it would take me, what would happen to me along the way and what I would find. I had never been further west than New Jersey.
Using the memories of my adventure as a plot, I have sent my comrade, invention and friendly Frankenstein, Brian Sims, on the same trip and written about it. That long story is now finished and has taken its place in The Brian Saga under the title "Brian On The Road." http://thebriansaga.blogspot.com/
DB - The Vagabond
May you suddenly trip and fall into a pool of happiness.
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SPRING QUESTION
(This is not a contest.)
In your opinion what is the most amazing thing that could happen during this decade? Make it as outrageous as you want but keep it within the realm of what you consider a possibility.
Only 4 responses so far.
Answers will be published the first day of Summer.
dbdacoba@aol.com
DB - The Vagabond
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