On My Mind and More

Well, sometimes I look at Facebook, and I respond literally to the question: “What’s on your mind?” Today I had a whole slew of answers, some of which I verbalized into the empty room surrounding me. Mostly they were superficial and not predicated on anything too important.

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Honestly Living

As I have mentioned before, I have come across a TV show that I just can’t get enough of. I have found, and thoroughly enjoy, The Last Alaskans. One review I read on this show used a word to describe this show, that I would also use, intoxicating. Completely intoxicating.

The show is now in its’ second season and I can still honestly say, I can sit down and feel myself relax when I hear the opening music to the show, Heimo Korth narrates the opening behind the pictures, and I wait to see what these characters will reveal this week. The blend of music, amazing scenes, the reverence of the participants to their way of life, the hard work seen, and unseen, the stories, their histories, it’s so real. There is no flash. There is real life. It’s so compelling. 

Life First

Last night I watched the first episode of The Last Alaskans. I loved it. I think about the wilderness, the way of life depicted in the Docuseries, and how I would measure up, all the time. One thing that I take away from my own thoughts on this, and then certainly its reinforced while watching this show; that the first priority that these folks share, is life. Just to live, to stay alive. I don’t know first-hand, but I think it would suit all of us well, to know and understand the reality of that scenario. In our day-to-day lives walking among the so-called civilized, when was the last time you spent your day actively planning and pursuing actions that were so basic as to just live another day, another week, another season, etc. Maybe you did, but I don’t think we even know how to think in those terms, truly. We have everything we could ever need or want all around us, and much of our life is assumed. Thus, the refreshing line of thought, for me anyway, on the simple pleasure of living, life first.

The characters of the show are new to me. I can tell you already that I am liking them, or at least how they are shown in the series. I will mention two folks, Ray Lewis and Bob Harte. First, Ray Lewis struck me right away. Watching the clips of him make me feel like I am watching an articulate, gentle-souled, woodsman, a pioneer, from 200 years ago, but I get to see him in the present. I somehow think that walking the wilderness with him would be both, educational and a treat.

Then there’s Bob Harte who lives with his past mistakes, in physical solitude, but never is emotionally alone. I can’t help but think of myself when I hear his words describing his past, as he stays close to the then, while passing through the now. I posted a couple of his quotes (below) from last night’s first episode. These simple words begin to shed light on the life that he, that these characters, lead in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

“Match my wits against the extreme. That’s what I love.” ~ Bob Harte

“It’s easy to die up here. Everything else is work.” ~ Bob Harte

Bob Harte (photo online animalplanet.com)

Ray Lewis (photo online mlive.com)

 

The Wanderer, A Response

This is a response to The Wanderer.

The Top 5 Places I would like to visit.

These are in no particular order, and the list will likely expand as I learn of more places that I have not been to as of yet.

1) Alaska – The last North American frontier as they say. Personally, I would like to travel and see enough of North America to make my own determination on what frontier does and does not exist. One’s own frontier

2) Yellowstone National Park – I am afraid I might never leave this place once I get there. If you believe some news outlets, this park might blow itself into smithereens, which will probably happen at some level, some time, but I want to see it first.

3) Yosemite National Park – I do think that the National Parks were a tremendous idea and I am thankful that this foresight saved some precious areas for generations to see. Actually, if I could see what John Muir and Teddy Roosevelt saw in their travels, I would not need this list.

4) Grasslands, The Plains – If I could be on horseback and wander the vast land masses that made up Comancheria (which extended from East NewMexico, across Texas, into Northern Mexico, Oklahoma,and Southern Arkansas) and the lands hunted and lived on by the Sioux I would be eternally grateful.

5) Lewis and Clark Trail – Ideally I could travel this trail two-hundred years ago and see everything as the Corps of Discovery saw them. This trip might take me several months, as I would love to explore everything along the way.