Wilderness Blues- Ramblings from the Great Land

  You know, when you tell enough stories, you're bound to repeat yourself now and then. I guess it's to be expected from us older types. Ideas are rattling around in my head like the marble in a spray paint can until something comes out. I was looking back through my portfolio to see if I'd written anything about my navy days, and I don't see anything, but I'm sure I've commented somewhere using an experience from then. If you've seen these stories before, please forgive me. If you plunk enough coins in a gumball machine, you're bound to get the same color more than once. When I first joined the navy back in 1972, it wasn't because I had any desire to see the world, like their posters suggested. I was number 52 in the draft, and I didn't relish the idea of waltzing around rice paddies and swamps picking leeches off my body. Although I do like green, and camouflage is kind of cool, I settled for thirteen button wool pants and a pea coat. I hated t...

    I heard that spring break is happening now down in Florida. It's a wild time for college kids to go hang out, drink a lot, do drugs, have sex with strangers and let their hair down. In some towns, the residents have had enough of the rowdiness that comes with spring break.   Some time back, my older brother Mark forwarded me this picture as a reminder that someone else paid a high price for the freedoms that we enjoy. A day on the beach can mean different things to different people. It's food for thought.

  I think we could all pretty much agree that human beings have the ability to be world class jerks at times. It doesn't mean we're that way all the time, but when something doesn't go our way, we sometimes exhibit behavior that is less than stellar. A perfect example is when we get behind the wheel of our cars. The mild mannered neighbor down the street can turn into a jackass when he's sitting in a two thousand pound machine rocketing down the road at sixty five miles per hour. If someone pulls out in front of him or isn't going fast enough, or perhaps is tailgating, the transformation is akin to Dr. Jekyll, Mr. Hyde. Would it surprise you though that humans aren't the only animals that behave badly? When I was living down south, I had a neighbor who kept a dog, a mongrel, that would bark uncontrollably whenever someone walked down the street past its yard. Fortunately it was fenced in. One day a fishing friend of mine named Bunny was walking down the road wit...