Cross Eyed Fish

This last week I was in that large California city in the valley where the rivers meet, and it was hot. And the City; fast and furious with busy people, crowded, young and amped on testosterone, impersonal and hard, began to feel uncomfortable and dangerous to me. I felt old and slow and disoriented. I visit my friends and they seem old and tired and unsure of their footing. There are those that aren't disoriented though; they realize their world, and time, and life's opportunities approaching. These are the twenty-five year olds I know.
Those my own age I tell,"Get up and go!" At our age we're the ones that have less to risk. How long do the mortal live?
I feel good. I am on an adventure. Life is exciting, challenging, rewarding, and fun. Well... it isn't desperate anyway. Life is wonderful, every miserable moment. It is good living another adventure at fifty. It has to be; I'm here and the best course to stay appears the one I'm on. Additionally, the longer I live as I do the more comfortable my life becomes. Only affirmed more and more by the city's decreasing attractiveness as I become acclimated to the rural life.
Here, in the mountains, on a still day, Time stands still. Almost always Time crawls and life is elongated here, but when the forest is entirely still, time doesn't move at all. The world looks two dimensional, as if one is standing in a picture. Time to learn how to plane jump.
If the answers are in-between the parameters, then humans must be looking at the world wrong. Not in a philosophical manner, but in their actual vision.
Juggling supposedly increases Brain Mass three percent. Probably due to forcing the mind to focus on ones peripheral vision and reacting. I think looking at the world cross eyed to force one's mind to see, and mentally respond to one's entire peripheral vision might be the next evolutionary step. Like driving down the road with one eye on the rear view mirror and the other on the road, digesting both pictures and responding; building brain mass.
Be careful though... with everything to live for, watch your 'road'.
Next time I see you though, if you're looking cross-eyed and seeing everything, like a fish with eyes on different sides of it's head... well, I'll know that you know a good idea when you hear it.

2 out of 5

The beginning of November will be the start of my third year here in Oregon. If the progression of the improvements on the property continue at the rate they have the previous two years, by this time next year the shack should be complete. In three more years the place should be paid off, or paid down to less than what you paid for your last car.
Life is good. I'm adapting to the new world and the lifestyle changes. I need a few goats and some chickens, a 'Sea-Land container' filled with MRE's and a ton of rice and beans. A little more ammo and fishing lessons and I'll be ready for the Apocalypse.
The last thirty days I've had caretakers at the house to feed the dog and watch the property: Randy and Jacob. The three of us Insulated underneath the shack, water-sealed the exterior, dug trenches and helped the Plumber plumb the place. It's a whole house now, or at least a whole shack. When we weren't working, or they weren't fishing, I was riding the motorcycle back and forth to California. It was good to have someone watch the dog and guard the property while I rolled a little. But alas, all good things come to an end; last week Randy went to his mother's in Portland. Today Jacob returned to Sacramento. It's back to me and the dog.
It'll be nice to have the shack to myself again for a while, but it will be lonely far too quick.
I look at pictures of my sons and kick myself in the ass for not video recording our every moment together. I try to talk them into coming and living my life with me, but they want their own lives. They are exactly whom I thought they should be in many ways...what the hell did I know? They're Worldly, Educated, the Beneficiaries of learning from my mistakes, I feel like the ultimate loser on Jeopardy around them.
It was a good year. Three more to go, this base will be paid for, and I'll be able to start the next Five year plan: buy a 36 foot sail boat and become a Asia coastal trader for five years while I pay for the Boat. But I won't think about that for the moment...
Don't live for the future, Live for the NOW, you get more done that way. Yours must be a busy, enjoyable world.

Only the Bear does now

There's a Shower, Dishwasher, Sink, and Washer hookup too. The Shack was also water-sealed and insulated underneath this month, which should make Winter MUCH more comfortable than last year.

Say Good bye to the bucket.