The Real Issues

Firstly, BP. You've probably heard a thousand people say a thousand things on the topic, but for me it's an important one. I'm a hippie at heart, people. I love myself the trees, the birds, and the butterflies, etc. And oddly enough, although a huge believer in living in th moment for myself, I do have standards on that count. One of them being that in living each day, I should do nothing that may compromise the day of another person - including the future days of another person ((Don't you throw that bottle out the window, sir)). I am obviously as upset as the next person on the topic, but stop BP bashing and start acting. Yah, the Gulf is in serious jeopardy with all the oil STILL spilling into it at 60 thousand gallons a day or whatever the estimate is now - but more importantly? YOU'RE STILL DRIVING TO WORK. Should BP be held accountable for the mess they've created? Most certainly. But that doesn't mean you are entirely off the hook by making outraged faces and slandering them verbally or even holding out on BP gas stations... you are still buying petrol. Now, I travel by air. Which also puts me in the limelight of hypocrisy, but I am looking more and more into petrol free options and airlines that aren't mainstreaming gasoline - and so should you. I suppose it isn't reasonable for everyone to just up and start walking or biking or even busing to work. But take another look at those tiny dorky hybrids, do you live close enough to work to bike? Get yourself in shape and save the environment! Heyoh!

Other, slightly related things? Lay off Obama for a minute, kids. He's giving his all and change takes time, you can't fix the economy over night or with a magic Presidency wand. Give it a minute.

Recently reading again about the 3 kids who were taken in by the Iranian military, I feel, as a traveler, that I must comment on this. It is fairly appalling, not just that they have not yet been returned to their homes but that they haven't really been allowed contact with the outside world. GREEN. Now, having been properly agog at that, what were these three kids thinking?! They were very clearly on the Iran Iraq border and knew it was unmarked. They should have had much more sense then to go wandering off the beaten path. It is sheer stupidity and gives young travelers everywhere a bad name. Now, I would love to do a walking tour of Northern Africa and the Middle East and even cross through Iran - but I would ensure I had a visa on me and would go nowhere near the border without one. I'm daring, not stupid. I seek adventure, not jailtime. End story, thanks.

Vermont? As picturesque as Tuscany - I tell no lies, kids. It's completely different, but the absolute raw beauty of it all is still there. It is overwhelming really. Late this morning I took the triplets out onto the fantastic and huge lawn that Boppy and Poppops have and just let them explore. They don't put as much grass in their mouths as they used to and love the simple stuff, to just wander. I would crawl after them occasionally and munch on their bare toes ((irresistable, just so you know)), but mostly I just soaked up sunshine and the quietness of it all. I was shocked at how quiet it was. Looking away from the house out towards the trees, with only the boys cooing and birds chirping, I felt more at home than I have in a long time. I don't think it was Vermont so much as just the quiet and the open space. So often we forget about the quiet and the open space. Think about it. How often do you hear a car go by or a telephone ring? The buzzing of electricity, doors opening and shutting, washing machines, dishwashers, the list goes on and on. Were we really made for this stuff?

I had a friend recently argue with me that they love all the noise and the stuff that the city and modern life have to offer. And I cannot deny that there is a certain appeal; modern medicine, the internet, and satellite cababilities being only a few of these things that have improved life for many people. I myself, as a professional vagabond, often partake in airtravel and facebook to keep in touch with all of you so very far from wherever it is that I am. This blog in itself is unecessary. But if I am being honest with myself? I'd give it all up if I thought I would accomplish something. I could start a magazine and send what is now an internet blog off to subscribers individually. The subscribtions could spread by word of mouth instead of advertising. Family members, friends, even strangers. All at a low cost. Having others send me letters instead of emails about how they feel about certain things. Could I do this? I don't know. I am tempted now that I have proposed the idea to myself. But how would I get started? Well, I would need a permanent address, my parents. And a way to contact them on a regular basis, phone. I could perhaps use public resources to type what I write by hand and print it off - that becomes complicated out of country... but not impossible. I would need a subscription rate, how much does it cost to print a page? Perhaps $0.15? Make it a simple 10-15 page magazine once a month and you are at a max of $2.00. There is, of course, shipping which may prove to be a bit more expensive. But then, a simple 15 page magazine will lightly fit into a simple 8"10" envelope which, when sent within the United States, shouldn't be much more than another $2.00? So perhaps a total of $5.00 per magazine? Of course, I would want to send some samples out all over for free first, get a general idea of what kind of response I could pull from the public. So for starters - What say you, public? Would you be interested if I stopped my online blogging efforts to send you something personally? Hey, I could even include a personal little letter to start out, seeing as my "fan base" is relatively small... heh. I am beginning to really love this idea - give me some feed back here!

With love,
Your Wandering Vagabond