Friday, November 12, 2021

AND THE FUTURE HAS AN EVER INCREASING TIME LIMIT ON IT

 IT WAS A FINE MORNING FOR A BIT OF PRIMPING AND PREENING
With a brisk sunny 45F morning country road walk Pheebs and I managed to get the day started off on the right foot.  A cold icy wind from the south tweaked my ears but we buttoned up and pushed through it. Following our walk and wanting to get a few outside things done at home we headed west on Bayfield River Road.

 OUR BUSH LINES ARE QUICKLY LOSING THEIR COLORFUL AUTUMN LEAVES
 AN OLD PICNIC TABLE SLOWLY EMERGES FROM SUMMER'S ENCOMPASSING FOLIAGE
 SUNLIGHT FINALLY MAKES ITS WAY INTO ONCE DARKENED FORESTS
A lot of leaves falling from the trees now so I did some more raking trying to stay ahead of it.  It's that time of year when the leaf blower really comes in handy.  Had a few things to do in our little 26' Class C Winnebago so I busied myself with that for a while as well.  With all these pine trees around the needles keep getting into Scooter's roof vents.

 THESE TREES PROTECTED FROM THE WIND ARE STILL HANGING ON TO THEIR LEAVES
 DUCKS

I don't know if my gradual loss of interest in our morning Jeep rides is the skyrocketing price of gas or just a sign of age-related changes.  Probably a combination of both.  As I've said before I have noticed my photo and writing interests slipping as well and that has been happening for a while now.  Am I sliding into the early stages of elderness or do I simply need a re-setting of old and new challenges?  I've always had a reasonably eager sense of adventure over the years and that seems to be lessening these days.  I've always enjoyed traveling and seeing new things.  Over the past two and a half years, with the exception of three days over a year ago up around the Bruce Peninsula, I have basically been sitting on my can here at home.  Driving around the same old area roads each morning, taking repetitive photos, and repeatedly writing about the same things most every day is wearing very thin for me and probably a lot of readers too.  Am I getting too comfortable with my emerging sedentary lifestyle?  Am I succumbing to this creeping age process?  Have I unwittingly removed the words 'Adventuress Spirit' from my ambitions?  These are all things I am wrestling with at the moment and I am increasingly aware that the future has an ever-increasing time limit on it..........       

GROANER'S CORNER:((   A young man asked an old rich man how he made his money.  The old guy fingered his worsted wool vest and said, "Well, son, it was 1932. The depth of the Great Depression. I was down to my last nickel."  "I invested that nickel in an apple. I spent the entire day polishing the apple and, at the end of the day, I sold the apple for ten cents."  "The next morning, I invested those ten cents in two apples. I spent the entire day polishing them and sold them at 5:00 pm for 20 cents. I continued this system for a month, by the end of which I'd accumulated a fortune of $1.37."  "Then my wife's father died and left us two million dollars."

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15 comments:

  1. Ok Al here is the scoop on this old guy. I am 75. Your comments on the changing of your "style" of interest is right in line with several of us guys and gals here in the area I am in. From what I can tell most of it goes away with a change in scenery and new subjects for writing and photography. For me it is definitely being here in the Rockport area for three months every winter since December 07 and having so little change in the area. As far as I am concerned your writing is still first class and your photography is still way better than just first class. So suck it up buttercup, we still have lots to write and photograph to show the world. Your "book reports" on the subjects you read on are really good to hear. I appreciate it.

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  2. Al, you need to pack up Scooter, Pheebs, and Kelly and get your b**t down the road.

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  3. I do so agree with Barney and Corky! And it doesn't have to be a big deal of a trip! Just a few days off somewhere else. If you're all physically up to it, why not?

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  4. I have spent most of the last year indoors and isolated from all but my family. It is taking its toll, and next year doesn't look much better. I want to leave this life from old age and not covid, so I guess I'm stuck in the rut!

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  5. I agree with the others, you need a change of scenery. I watch a lot of YouTubers from Canada and they camp in some lovely places. I understand its getting cold but check out the weather and try to make a last ditch effort to go camping. I understand the loss of interest I have had it really bad also to the point going to the store was like pulling teeth. I did one camping trip a couple weeks ago that was a big fail but I'm making some changes and I am heading out again. Don't give up on yourself.

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  6. Perhaps you need a slight change from writing daily to maybe a weekly post. Then you won't feel so pressured. I love your photos and writing. When we were full-timers (for 16 years) we sent out a newsletter to family and friends. (This was before readily available internet to all. Our newsletters were mailings with a few select photos.) As we did things we'd jot a paragraph or two about special things and then usually monthly or every six weeks we'd send it out to around 30 people. That didn't put pressure on us constantly writing. We did it as things occurred. I love to write but I don't think I could do it daily as you. Just a thought.....

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  7. Like Barney, I'm also 75, and as I watched people get old around me it seems that they all get in a rut, doing the same things over and over. Removing all challenges from their life, never getting out of their comfort zone, and that zone gets smaller and smaller until their world shrinks down to a couple of rooms in their house.

    I don't feel like living that way. I've been a full timer for about 7 years and I've enjoyed boondocking for most of that time. To me boondocking forces me out of my comfort zone, it puts challenges and roadblocks in my way, which I have to overcome, and overcoming those challenges keeps me feeling alive, which is different than just living.

    Sitting in a rocking chair in your favor room looking at the same tree, week after week year after year is living, but being challenged, and overcoming obstacles just like you had to do when you were younger is what keeps you alive.

    Tom
    theboondork.com

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  8. Feeling that same clock ticking and resentment at being confined by covid for so long. Latest aggrevation is a drive by bb gun shooting out 4 rv windows and keeping me in one place trying to prod the insurance company into getting it fixed. Already cancelled 6 weeks of reservations to sit and wait. Thanks for this post.

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  9. Listen to the Toby Keith song--"Don't Let The Old Man In." Mike really, really likes that song and when I tell him he shouldn't be doing something he will say, "don't let the old man in."

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  10. We had to come off the road because of one dirty little word. Money. Then Covid and health issues and four years on the Gulf in the heat and increasing visitors. Days isolated and lost. I yearn to be strong again like that Shawn James youtube dude on "my self reliance" up your way. Memorizing! Guessing caregiving on your plate makes planning hard but try for a few close by overnight change of sceneries. Hope is what we hang onto and dreams do come true. You'll get back to your belowed southwest, I feel it!🌄💛

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  11. Load Pheebs and Kelly in Scooter, turn south, then west. PS: bring passports! That'll cure any blues, and the photos and words will flow!

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  12. The short answer to your question "is the adventure finished": only if you want it to be. Personally I would slam the door shut on going South. Too many good memories and I would not want to spoil them. In addition there are too many balls in the air right now health issues, medical insurance, Kelly's Mom and the fact you are travelling in a smaller rig. Planning is half the fun of travelling and I would be unfolding my Canadian maps and start looking forward to next spring, summer and fall in Canada. Lots of 2 or 3 day trips with maybe a couple of bigger ones just to keep it interesting.

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  13. Suck it up Al and be glad you CAN still wander those same rural roads, and walk Pheebs, and take more great pictures!

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  14. In as few words as possible: It is what you make it.

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