Month: June 2019

WildernessPunk: June

June 3rd, My Son’s Birthday

Those eight or so of you who have followed WildernessPunk since it’s inception almost three years ago will remember it started as more of a journal of my adventures mixing wilderness and technology. This involved making enough capital with the latter to live within the former. Although my intentions were close to noble, I hadn’t exactly volunteered for this assignment. It had been forced upon me when evil actions caused me to lose my job, my residence, and my ability to see my young sons.

After recently tackling the truth behind environmentalism, which proved to be an unpleasant subject, I thought I’d return to a more relaxed exploration of nature, because hell, it’s June. Yet, there are other reasons I’ve fallen into this introspection.

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The first several episodes of WildernessPunk were all written within the wilds of Walnut Canyon, which is located ten miles east of Flagstaff. While writing these words, I find myself, almost three years later, back within the embracing lands of Walnut Canyon once more. Also, with a bit of a strange, but not unexpected twist, I am spending the night due to further inappropriate acts by the previously mentioned evil. But it’s a beautiful day and a large cloud just plunged me into shade, so like a good WildernessPunker, I’m going to turn my turds into ale.

It does feel odd to be back where this all started. How have I changed? How has this country changed? Three years ago, I would have had a hard time imagining my life would be so much better. Yet, I also would never had imagined the disaster our government has become. On the upside, Trump has proved every nihilistic punk rock song correct.

And damn, I hate to say it, but it is a lot easier to camp with a car than a mountain bike.

Looking out over this rich forest, it seems hard to believe we have humans actively fighting for the destruction of our globe. But we have to remember there have always been humans willing to put greed before all else. They just have greater abilities to annihilate now.

10,000 years ago, Blak might have been able to convince a few members of his tribe to go attack another village while they’re sleeping, but he could do little damage to the environment itself. A 1,000 years ago, a king might be able to slaughter thousands and destroy crops, but besides overgrazing, he could do little to hurt the planet before time ended him.

During our current times, there has been an increase in the ease and damage a person can inflict on our world. A man can sit in an air conditioned office and order a 100,000 acres destroyed with the click of a mouse. Whoa, hey Boneman, I thought this was supposed to be the light hearted June romp?

June 3rd

zzzzRight right, happy happy, summer summer, June June. I feel I’ve reached a moment of reflection. Here I am halfway between when my avalanche of crap started and the beginning of WildernessPunk three years ago. Strange to think where I was three summers ago. I had only a few backpacks worth of stuff, was sober and on probation. Ha, and now I’m the one who’s sent cops over to the nasty one’s house twice today.

Yet here I sit, in Dark Skies (My favorite bar this side of the Rockies). I was supposed to have had my children yesterday and should already be relaxing by the pool in Tucson. Instead I’m supposed to suffer these mild 70 degree days, camp out, and see my old buddies. Are there sixteen new beers of tap? I guess she showed me.

June 4th

A day, six cops, and one Judge injunction later and I’m still here in Flagstaff. Is this the end game of my three year struggle? Will the evil one flip the whole situation with my boys by denying me the time I’m due with them this summer? A cliffhanger feeling mixes with supreme annoyances. Will unforgiving narcissism win out over justice, goodness, and hell unexpected bells, I even have the forces of law on my side.

I’ve hatched plans and organized a few plots. Self-centered villains with no regard for anyone but themselves, might have their strengths, but we’ll see where the last Ace falls.

June 5th

zzFlagstaff Police Department and I found no leads and after a three days search. On the third day of trying, grandma let the boys in blues into her home. But the inner door to the attic was locked. Ms. Gaslight hadn’t answered the door when the cops knocked on it for five minutes. Once the Officer left, I found the fortitude to talk to my former mother-in-law for an hour (Yuck) and the evil one appeared behind us in a dark hallway. It felt like something out of a horror movie to just have someone show up within a police searched house. I called the cops and got my kids. We’re currently safe in Tucson and I’m going to court next Tuesday.

Thanks for letting me indulge in my own voice for a while, because in the end, isn’t our own voice all we really have? I feel this recent development brings the beginning of WildernessPunk full circle and solves what lay in the center of my life being torpedoed three years ago. A new chapter, or in this case, a new book, is about to begin. The first page beckons…

Life always remains a battle, we fight against the ills, so we have a chance to enjoy our rewards. More often than not, life’s bounty is best enjoyed with others. Family, friends, animals, and nature. As many before me, I have persevered, obtained my goals, and learned more than a little along the way.

May the joy find you and let your battles be true

 

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You can check out some of my fiction here, where Detective Dak is placed in charge of the anti-clone task force. His main problem… He’s dating one.

 

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WildernessPunk: Time – Health = Eco-Overload

What am I talking about this time, gentle readers? For those of you who know WildernessPunk you are familiar with its style of looking at important issues from a different perspective. While most people out there have their steadfast side of an argument where they hammer against those with a different view, WildernessPunk likes to tackle an issue sideways, which is easier because no one can see you coming.

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So let’s consider industrialization for a moment. Much of it has been for the greater good. The invention of the cotton gin and vaccinations, yep, they sure make life better. But what about those innovations which improve on something we’re already capable of doing? For example, we washed clothes before we had washing machines, we cleaned dishes before we had dishwashers, hell, we even got from one place to another before we had vehicles, so why did we invent them?

To save time.

One could argue it makes our lives easier and improves the quality of our existence, but let’s focus on time, and not just because it’s in the title. You’ll see why shortly.

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Let’s just hone in on something easier to wrap our heads around than the complex use of fossil fueled vehicles. I’ll pick on washing machines. Alright, in the past, or the present if you live in the other 80% of the world, when your clothes got dirty you washed them yourself. This might seem like more of a pain, but was it?

Positive benefits from washing clothes by hand

  • A person got exercise
  • You were aware of the resources used
  • You were more likely to recycle the grey water
  • Little or no carbon waste was created
  • You might get some fresh air and observe nature
  • No noise pollution
  • You didn’t have to waste capital on purchasing and repairing the machine
  • More space within your dwelling
  • Clothes got cleaner

Negative consequences of using a washing machine

  • Creates pollution during each use
  • Uses resources and creates pollution mining the metals to create it, during its construction, and through transportation
  • Takes capital to purchase and maintain
  • User gets much less exercise
  • More water is wasted and can’t be reused
  • Takes up space
  • Does not clean clothes as well as hand washing

I find it interesting how quickly these changes become mainstream. Modern washing machines appeared in 1907 and just over a 100 years later, many people can’t imagine wearing clothes which aren’t washed by machines. How did an unneeded luxury become a necessity? Perhaps more importantly, how does this effect our interaction with the environment?

 

Do you need a washing machine… No

Do you need to use a washing machine to clean your clothes… No

Are you a true environmentalist if you use a washing machine… No

Did I just piss you off? Well perhaps it’s time to put your money where you mouth is, or in this case back into your pocket with all the cash you’d be saving. Or another alternative is to just not call yourself an environmentalist and get on with your life. The upside is at least you won’t be a hypocrite. And in case you’re wondering… I did blow off using a washing machine for 10 years and look at my biceps, wow.

Moving away from the WM for a minute, I think we all need to reevaluate our intentions. What are your values? If you are crying out about climate change as you toss your clothes in the dryer, crank up the television, while you order something from Amazon, before you drive to the store, YOU ARE NOT AN ENVIRONMENTALIST, I don’t care what memes you post, what music you listen to, or how many piercings you have.

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Things which were luxuries are now demanded and if you don’t use them you’re a freak. Well perhaps it is time to, as Hendrix said, wave our freak flag high. Here is just a quick list of luxuries you can not have and still be an environmentalist.

Unrequired Luxuries

  • Washing Machines
  • Dishwashers
  • Imported foods
  • Beef and Lamb
  • Video Games
  • Driving to places less than two miles away (If not further)
  • Daily showering
  • Hygienic products
  • Pets
  • Lawns

This list could certainly go on and I’m not saying you can’t have some of these things, but if you claim to be an Environmentalist at all or care about Climate Change, you need to relabel these items as luxuries and not as the necessities we think of them as.

One final note. In 2018 one in four people in the USA was considered obese. We think we have saved time with all these labor saving inventions, but what we have really done is sacrifice our environment and our bodies for the privileges of spending more money to get tasks done. So yeah we might be saving time, but you could very well be paying for this time on the backside of your life by dying earlier because you lead a more unhealthy, sedentary lifestyle. All the while the environment is also paying the price because of the greater amounts of industrial waste you continually create. Oh yeah, and you’re paying for the privilege of polluting more and being less healthy. And if you spend money at a fitness business and drive yourself there, because you don’t think you have the time to do your own calorie burning tasks by hand, you just lost more time, used more resources, and created more pollution, while decreasing your cash flow.

I’m not trying to be the ultra-downer. I’m just trying to bring up the idea that if you need to exercise to stay in shape, perhaps you can do tasks which help the environment, instead of hurting it, and save yourself money instead of wasting it. It is a long road toward being an environmentalist, but we all just got one step closer.

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You can check out some of my fiction here, where Detective Dak is placed in charge of the anti-clone task force. His main problem… He’s dating one.

Skinjumpers