Bivouac in the Woods

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Pine Tree Bend – Midsummer week

I carried a “lazy man’s bivouac” up to Pine Tree Bend the other day, returning the next afternoon.  It was a refreshing experience to be alone out in the woods overnight.  So rejuvenating.

By “lazy man’s bivouac” I mean hauling only the extremely lightweight bare essentials:  sleeping bag, mat, water filter, etc.  No tent, cooker, etc.  (Ok, I admit it, my sleeping mat is one that converts into a lounge chair at ground level, a Therma-Rest “Therma-Lounger”, a decadent luxury at only one pound of extra weight in the pack.  I will not apologize.)

I was entertained by chipmunk Olympics in the afternoon as four or five of the little critters chased each other and tumbled together.  Then birdsong at dusk, the song of the Thrush (Wood Thrush?).  After complete darkness the fireflies provided an astonishing display.

I was in ecstasy as I simply sat in the woods, watching and listening.

Blessed coolness.  Zen delight.

-Zenwind.
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Moonlight Return on Back Roads

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The Moon was a waxing gibbous one, rising in the late afternoon well before dark in the southeast.  I was visiting one of my dearest friends from my youth, and they provided me with precious conversation and companionship all afternoon and evening, also cooking me a fantastic pot roast.  It was an incredibly high time of friendship and direct communication, a priceless memory that tapped into old memories.

I had planned on walking, on back roads, the three miles or so back to my SG lodgings and had hoped to be under way while the Moon was still high and bright.  At about 01:30 hours I noticed that the Moon had peaked and was descending low into the southwest, so I headed out (“to the territory ahead”, as Huck Finn put it).  It was a very fine walk in the moonlight.

It took me 1 hour and 20 minutes to cover the ground.  By the time I reached the farm – at 03:00 hours – Mars was sinking out of sight in the southwest and the Moon was following.  What amazed me was that not one dog barked as I walked by numerous farms on the back roads.  (And not one car went by – on a Friday night!)

The day with my dear friend and the moonlight walk home is a high point of my sojourn in the USA.

-Zenwind.

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Pine Tree Bend: re-discovered

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Pine Tree Bend is an old secret bivouac site of mine close to home on the hill above the S.G. gravel pit, and this entire area was my old stomping grounds from the 1960s on through the decades following (on motorcycle, horse, and mostly on foot).  Today I found the site again after so many years in exile.

This little bitty site is off the trails and in a very small obscure streambed’s gorge.  The stream bends around the bank on which the big old pine tree stands.  The little ledge near the tree is big enough for a tent or two, and the stone fire-circle that I built long ago is still there.  It is a hermit site, dear to this hermit.

The entire site is long-neglected and littered with leaves and branches, and it will take some cleaning up.  The old pine tree is still alive, but its dead branches now go up higher than ever toward the fewer live ones at the very top.  I think that one will still be able to hear the wind through the pine when the wind is wild enough, but the pine tree probably has only a decade or two left before it dies out.

Finding the spot was an exercise in lone wandering, to ramble from one possible path to another.  It is great joy to encounter old trails, some abandoned, some still used  but with both old and new variations.  I have always thought that Exploration is the very Soul of Man.  I love such rambling – pure hobo joy!

-Zenwind.
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Machete 101

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I always thought that I was extremely knowledgeable and competent with using a machete, from use in Vietnam and in the many decades since, hacking my way through stubborn brush and bush.  Alas, I have been but a rank amateur.  I only learned to properly use the machete blade just this last week.  I had been trying to cut a path through brush to connect to a hiking trail.

I had always relied on  brute strength, chopping as if with an axe.  But this week I lacked the strength because of a bad injury to my left arm and elbow (possibly because of machete work the week before or from manhandling heavy boxes of books and gear in my sister’s attic or from both).  And my right arm was not strong anymore, so I had to operate from weakness.

I sharpened the machete blade extra well, and I took the sharpening stone along for constant re-honing.  I found that I had to use “wrist English” to cut through the grasses, brush and briers, flicking the blade in a slicing motion rather than a chopping one.

I cut smaller swathes with patience, like my father taught me to do with the long scythe and the short sickle.  My lack of strength let me discover how to exploit the machete’s ingenious design, from letting the blade’s slicing swing lead from the handle end to allow slicing progressively toward the blade’s point end, with a finishing flick of the wrist utilizing the blade's wide-curved tip end.

Re-sharpening every five minutes and pacing myself to the long job, I now understood the philosophy of the machete for the first time.  Enlightened menial labor.  I get it!

-Zenwind.
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Back in the U.S.A.

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"I'm back in the U.S.A." (as Chuck Berry sang in 1959) -- at least temporarily -- arriving early for a family reunion of cousins in July.  My sister and her husband met me at the Buffalo airport in the late afternoon of the 12th, and I'm having a great stay with them.  Conversation with them seems like picking up threads that were not interupted all that long ago.  But I'm experiencing this climate as being rather "cool" after a full decade in the Tropics.

My first urgent goal was to explore the old farmhouse attic and find my gear:  hiking boots, warm clothing, etc.  So on my first morning here (Friday the 13th) I waded into the mounds of junk.  I stopped when I finally found my prized broken-in pair of L.L. Bean hikers.  (First shoes/boots I've worn in nine years!)  I also grabbed some favorite fleece jackets, which I layer.  But I did not yet find my long-john bottoms or fleece pants, and I'm cold without them.

The intense work of sorting and wrestling with heavy boxes of books and climbing hardware -- in a small cramped space under the low attic roof -- has made my aged body a collection of knots of raw pain.  My back hurts so bad that it is painful to breathe.

After that morning's work, my first full day here in NW Pennsylvania was beautiful.  May was blooming and the scents were wonderful.  I haven't smelt such rich temperate zone vegetation in a decade.  I was outside with my brother-in-law as he worked around the farm's trees and future garden, but I wasn't of much help because by then I was walking around like an old man.  The wind was fresh, and I had enough proper layers on to feel very comfortable in it.  It was not like the 100*F temps and high humidity that I'd just left.

Then yesterday it got colder and rainy.  Today it is actually snowing in the early daylight hours.  Wow, snow on the Ides of May!  I must look for gloves in my next foray into the attic.  Our hope is that no more frosts occur to ruin this year's apple crop.

07:30 on a Sunday morning, and I had just looked out the window to see an Amish buggy go by.  Now that proves I'm really back on the old home ground.

-Zenwind.
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The Whipping Post

“Sometimes I feel,

Sometimes I feel,

Like I’ve been tied to the Whipping Post,

Tied to the Whipping Post,

Tied to the Whipping Post,

Good Lord I feel like I’m dying.” 

The Allman Brothers Band.  Southern Blues-Rock at its best.  Yeah, right now at this moment it feels every bit as much down-and-out suffering Blues as that, and the Allman Brothers manage to identify this existential predicament spot on.  I’m in physical pain, and these Blues help. 

My count-down to my travel to North America is only a couple of days away, and I’ve been struggling to tie up loose ends. I ventured out to Bangkok to get Tuk some necessary items and also to get myself some stuff – like these Noise Cancellation (NC) earphones, which are phenomenal when reproducing music!. 

In this hellish hot plus-100*F heat (without the unspeakable humidity even factored in), I ventured out, primarily for Tuk but secondarily for my Music.  The excellent music reproduction of the NC headset surprised my highest expectations.  I’m hearing details of the music that I had missed for several decades.  This is rich musical experience. 

I took the express boat home.  It was crowded and I only found a seat (on the starboard, i.e., East, side out of the afternoon sun) right up front beside the pilot.  He was a master who took his responsibilities seriously.  I watched in awe as he carefully nudged his craft into the river channel, which is only about 70-80 meters wide and full of crazy boat traffic.  He continually looked all around, to the left and right and behind, to chart a safe course.  I was impressed. 

I was in great physical pain.  I had a heavy backpack full of shopping stuff, and even the simple travel into the city heaps pain upon pain.  I had the foresight to buy a small quantity of booze as pain-killer, and I took a double-shot before heading for the river boat. 

Once cruising northward – homebound – I plugged in the new NC earphones and sampled from my collection of music.  The Allman Brothers Blues Band looked appealing, and I played it over and over.  Although I was northbound, I appreciated their song “Southbound”, “coming home to you.”  Their song “Blue Sky” is another song about heading home. 

But the physical pain I experienced, even tempered a bit by the booze, made “The Whipping Post” the most relevant song of all.  Again, the music quality was extraordinary. 

My boat pilot assumed that I was a tourist farang, and when we stopped at the boat pier for Kao San Road area he pointed it out to me in case I would miss my stop.  I replied in some of the only Thai I know that I would disembark at a pier further up the river.  When that pier finally approached, I thanked him and gave him my smartest military salute, which he returned.  We grinned and parted as friends. 

It’s a lovely country, if only it wasn’t so goddamned hot! 

Gotta stop now.  I’m still refining my packing for the trip to the States.  Lightweight, lean, and fast. 

-Zenwind.

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“Where the Fair Wind Blows”

Searching for coolness and for a fair wind that is not scorching.  Wish it would rain, but we’re in the middle of the worst drought in over 40 years here.  Dust and heat.  Every day this month of April has been 100*F or higher, with wicked humidity.  Even the Thais are complaining. 

We completed our annual Immigration Office ordeal and extended my stay here through to next April.  I am proud of myself for remaining calm while enduring massive bureaucratic idiocy – some of these “civil servants” were spending their time playing with their phones or standing around chatting and joking while we negligible petitioners sat waiting for hours.  (And people the world over think that governments have the competence and the will to help solve our problems and improve our lives?) 

With our paperwork at Immigration all finished except for one signature, the clock struck noon and then the entire Immigration crew closed shop for lunch hour, so we had to come back later.  (Sounds familiar, like the US Post Offices that close window service at noon – right at the one time when the “customers” might get a chance to visit the window.  Private businesses, if they are smart, have to cater to their customers’ needs, but monopolies like the USPS don’t have to bother.) 

Am I sounding cynical?  One of my favorite Jack Nicholson lines puts it in perspective: 

“Now I’m a fair guy, but this fucking heat is driving me absolutely crazy.” 

The only reason I didn’t lose it completely and go postal at Immigration was that their office was air conditioned. 

A song in the movie Jeremiah Johnson (1972) mentions the quest for “where the fair wind blows.”  Still looking for that place. 

-Zenwind.

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Songkran 2016 CE / 2559 BE

We are celebrating Songkran (year 2559 of the Buddhist Era) in this, one long hot holiday week.  Songkran is the traditional Thai New Year, although the official calendar here marks years from 1 January to keep pace with world calendars. 

Because this is the hottest time of year, the tradition is to sprinkle water on people – or to throw it if you are young and wilting from the blazing heat. 

This year has been the hottest in memory here.  Temperatures have been above 100*F for a week now and are forecast to be above 100 for the next week.  That is raw temperature without factoring in the Heat Index of “felt temperature” due to added humidity.  The last time I checked out the Heat Index it was 124*F, and I haven’t bothered to check it since because it’s too damned hot to think about. 

Tuk has had a lot of time off work for the long holiday, and we have been spending most of the time at home trying to stay cool – without much success.  The fans are turned up to the max day and night; I shower every few hours; but I’m still bathed in sweat.  We are consuming huge amounts of liquids to stay hydrated.  Yesterday we did go to a mall so Tuk could upgrade her SIM card to 4G from the fazed-out 2G she has had forever; she can now use her brand new Samsung smartphone, and she is having a ball playing with her new toy.  We also saw the movie “The Jungle Book”, and we were not used to the extreme air-conditioning at the mall’s theater, which had me shivering before the movie’s end. 

I have given up on all attempts at exercising, since it’s just too damn hot.  The treadmill has given me pulled muscles every time I’ve attempted it for a long time now, and it has crippled me for days at a time so that I can hardly walk; so I’ve given up on that.  And I cannot do weight training since the heat saps all my strength. 

I've been plotting my visit to the States -- first time in 10 years -- and I have my ticket to ride.  I will pack light.  No date of return to Thailand, but I'm sure the first frosts of Autumn will drive me home if I haven't already left.  

Stay cool. 

-Zenwind.

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April Heat

April is the dead center of our Hot Season, more unrelentingly brutal than usual.  So I’m not writing much of anything these days. 

In front of two powerful fans, I have been doing a lot of reading. 

Going out is limited to the bare necessities.  I had to make my annual visit to the US Embassy for a notarized document to satisfy Thai Immigration for my late-April application for Extension of Stay based on Retirement.  Other than that, I only go out to get more ice, tea, milk, and Coke Zero.  Staying hydrated here in Sweat City is a grim ongoing battle. 

-Zenwind.

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Some Bad, Some Good

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On the Bad side, I’m in a lot of pain.  A lot of pain.  It’s physical pain, and it worries me as far as my hopes of visiting my sister and her family this year; the prospect of the extreme pain involved in travel haunts me.  It scares the shit out of me.  My back hurts all the time, and my hips and legs are failing.  It hurts to simply walk.  I’m not sure if I can do it. 

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It is hotter than Hell here.  There was no Rainy monsoon season last year and no “winter” either.  It is unbelievably hot and humid, far worse than any of the years I’ve experienced here in the last 10 years.  “More uncomfortable than you would ever believe” sums it up. 

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On the Good side, I did a rare Saturday night pub-crawl recently – pure delight.  As a full day’s outing, I targeted films in Bangkok theaters and live music gigs.  The timing of events is crucial since any public transit travel around Bangkok during the insanely crowded evening rush hour is something this Country Boy tries to avoid at all costs.  So I timed it thus: 

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The House Rama RCA Theaters.  This is an out-of-the-way theater with two screens, and they often host movies not shown elsewhere here.  (Thank the gods for Google’s GPS, because the taxi drivers don’t know where to go to find this obscure place until I show them the route on my phone.)  Arriving at House RCA in mid-afternoon, I saw, back to back, two films that were nominated for recent Oscars:  45 Years for which the incredible Charlotte Rampling was nominated Best Actress; and Son of Saul which later won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film.  Both great. 

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The timing was perfect, for I had time to leisurely walk through the early evening from this theater (two or three klicks) to that great music venue, Nothing But The Blues, another place that is hard-to-find.  I heard the fantastic Bleusline Band for the first time and was completely delighted.  Their rendition of the classic Robert Johnson/ Cream song “Crossroads” was excellent. 

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I left before the third set of the Bleusline Band to meet friends at The Rock Pub.  My favorite Rock and Roll band, Mundee, played there from midnight on.  Three Led Zeppelin songs:  “The Immigrant Song”; “Stairway to Heaven”; “Rock and Roll”.  Wow! 

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Another Good side item:  Just the other day I had such wonderful relief from a long-standing money problem.  My very small pensions from teaching, etc., go to a US bank from which I have a Debit Card to use for ATM withdrawals and modest online purchases.  My Debit Card was blocked in the week before Christmas!!!, effectively crippling my finances through the holidays and till now.  They were “updating” their tech, they said.  The timing was pure Ebenezer Scrooge obliviousness.  They sent me a new card, but it was blocked again because of inept failure of delivery from a top international courier company here and I was unaware of the entire plan.  (We have a home address that is almost impossible to find, even by professionals.)  I finally got another card in a successful delivery, but it was blocked also, probably because of my odd and “suspicious” status as an expatriate living in this corrupt region. 

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Week after week, month after month, phone call after phone call, I have tried to straighten out the problem – with maddening results.  Bank operators pass me off to other operators who cannot speak English, or who at least cannot speak English understandably.  Total frustration and failure to solve the problem.  Well, I finally connected with a person who spoke English that we could both understand, and my card is now activated for modest use.  About damn time. 

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“Christ, you know it ain’t easy,

  You know how hard it can be,

  The way things are going,

  They’re gonna crucify me.” 

(-John Lennon.)

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-Zenwind.

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