Escape from the pressure cooker (Page 1 of 2)

That sounds nice Jeff..I love pelicans..unbelievable how agile they are. (You do know that watching birds for pleasure is a sign of aging, I have it too.)..Options are nice. Since you're new..I live in the woods.on a hill. Most of my warm weather activities center around the Susquehanna River..My family has an island with a cabin, outhouse, fire pit..yep 5 star all the way. This year a cabin with electricity, running water, and a wood stove on the river, near the marina was added. Now we can go almost year round. We are in an area north of the Conowingo Dam, the Conowingo Lake is there. One of the least used ones in the country. Almost all of the waterfront land is owned by the power company so there's no developement....All that means is we don't get loaded with boats..There are days when we're the only ones there... I go to cities for events, but I couldn't live in one. I guess I'm just a hick at heart! But, a well traveled one!  Cathy

One of my favorite places in the US to visit is New Mexico, especially Santa Fe. There is something special that draws me back year after year. I love traveling the back roads and photographing the ghost towns. Known as the Land of Enchantment it holds a special place in my heart!

~Rhonda

The Pacific Ocean....just a 45 minute drive when I grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area.....just to hear the waves in the morning.....never forget it.....serene....

Dave

We live about as rural as you can get, along the Yukon, Alaska Interior.  No locks on doors, no keys outta vehicles, no crime, bears in the yard thinking about breakin in all the time, wolves eatin all the chained dogs they can, goofy antisocial end of the roader whites, alcoholic natives; pure wilderness. 

Ya know what I miss the most?   Guitar shops, blues clubs & live music, Big Macs, oriental food, wally world, waiting for movies to come out on dvd, fresh produce in winter, pounding on the glass at hockey games, liqour stores (live in a dry community); sometimes I wish we lived 50 miles outta fairbanks or anchorage and no further. 

I fly 20 sam's pizzas in at a time frozen on mail plane every month but even they get old quick, no variety.  Sometimes have subway deliver to airport and get them cold and half a day old but dang do they taste good.

Convinced there's no satisfying alot of us; never can seem to get it all.  And worst of all, I'm salmoned out. Ate so much of wild fresh caught King Salmon outta my own nets; I hate the junk; trade ot for halibut all I can.   

You got my vote for place in the islands just the same.

Well said, Roy. 
Yukon, I'm still bemused by the images created when I read "goofy antisocial end of the roader whites, alcoholic natives;"  Not offended at all, don't get me wrong, been both of those.    Gives me pause.  And you thought bears were unreasonable...

Come sit in a kayak Roy (after you're feeling better) & we'll curse all the self centered,cellphone **** talking, no driving, ipod listening, low pants wearing, pc crashing, rude, no working, rookie, know it all, knuckle dragging hypocrites that smoke crack and do evil in the streets of the towns where we live & work.

Balance in all things, I guess...Gotta get away; then gotta get back.  Being Dad is the only job I do full time and with all my heart.  Use the force.  Hey, my cigar went out. 

Let us give thanks.  The new year is upon us.

Hmmm nope...what's the first 3 letters of sender name?  I might be missing sumpn.

No offense meant to anyone with my comments. 

Rural areas attrack antigov, dysfunctional whites; reason is that they can't function in a normal society like you would find in the suburbs.  They'd be having problems all the time, getting arrested for this and that; why they tend to end up here where there is no law or control. Most do ok too other than waving pistols around when they go off the deep end (not taking meds) or just life problems.  You quickly figure out over half the whites here are hiding out from the law or their own minds. 

Example, Had a neighbor threaten to shoot me in the woods once, pointing that ruger at me up close with my wife about 6 foot away.  I told him I had an arsenal too, when did he want to start the war.  He turned around lost composure and walked back to his snowmachine swearing up a storm.  I had my mini14 folding stk under the seat of my skandic; didn't pull it out or anything like that.  Now I know a few might call the police on someone like that but here there is nobody to call and I didn't want to hurt the guys poor kids anyway.  I just put the word out that nx time, he got to waving a gun at me; I was going to shoot him dead and walk cause I had the witness; he avoids me like the plague now.  True story that's too typical around here.  I just never lived around lots of people like that until moving out here.

The Indians are best people here but most suffer and are dying from alcoholism; they are going extinct and its pretty sad.    The booze affects everything and is number one reason there won't be an Indian here in 50 years; whites will buy up everything.  90% of kids are FAS, most girls are raped at age 8 and half the boys by their uncles by 10; who were also abused as kids.  All the problems come from the booze.We had 400 here 100years back, now 28 remain.  I have dug graves for people who burnt up in their cabins, frose in snowbanks,  run off cliffs, and suicide.  Alcohol is central to it all and why they will just be a sad story of a people who no longer exist in another generation.

I still spend more time with the local Indians than anyone else but the booze just rubs me raw.  Wife and I have taught in a couple villages and it's always the same story.  Decent sharing nonjudgemental people transformed into walking ghouls searching for another drop.  I'll still be down the village hall on New Years playing their fiddle cd's thru my old twin reverb so they can dance their traditional jigs but I don't drink with them; seen too many friends flown outta here half dead.

So I didn't mean to sound harsh but just one of those negative things.  Sorry if I offended anybody; if you ever been the only white boy living in nativeland you would understand.   Have a good New Years.

I couldnt live a month in your shoes, my hats off to you!!....I got have the biggest, loudest city I can find 99.9% of the time.

Dave