31 May 2007

Its getting close to that time. Talks of fuel moisture and contracts are frequent. Rigs are being inventoried and cleaned. Gear is getting issued and people are becoming giddy and impatient. Fire season is right around the corner ladies and gentleman. My company bought a piece of property that had an old shed on it which is perfect to store our 3 engines, an office, and the rest of our equipment. Today and yesterday we spent demolishing the inside to make room for the new construction that will take place. I couldn't ask for a better group of guys and girls to work with considering I don't have a whole lot of experience and they have more than I can imagine. As I figured, a whole bunch of things got dumped on me at the last minute. My to do list so far:

Amatuer Radio License Test
Idaho Driver's License and CDL
CDL Road Test
DOT Physical
Get a new SS Card
Get a new Passport (eventually...sometime before the fire season starts)

Eventually I have to find a second job somehow. I'm not gettting too many good vibes about the place I'm trying to get a job at now, but who knows...God will point me towards the right one....

28 May 2007

Roll Out Those Lazy, Hazy, Crazy Days of Summer

I don't think I've ever had a more lazy day than today. Lets see:

0915: Woke up
1000: Got out of bed
1001: Scratched myself
1005: Took a shower
1020: Got out of shower
1025: Brushed Teeth
1040: Had a date with Corn Flakes
1200: Played a couple rounds of Disc Golf
1630: Came back home and took a nap
1800: Woke up from Nap
2100: Decision was made to post blog entry

Needless to say, unless I get a job between now and the beginning of the fire season, I think the rest of the days are going to end up like today :-)



Oh yeah, for those of you that aren't musically inclined, Roll Out Those Lazy, Hazy, Crazy Days of Summer is a hit song by one of the most influential singers of our time and past, Mr. Nat King Cole.

27 May 2007

Day 2

Day two in Boise. Something about this place. I don't know if its just being out west, or being away from home, but I find myself doing things that I tell myself I'll do on a regular basis a lot more out here. Friday, I went to Walmart and bought a bunch of fruit, pasta, milk, cereal, and tea, and I've actually been eating somewhat healthy. Hopefully that trend will stay. Today, I finished cleaning my room and building the dresser I bought which sorta finalizes me moving I guess. I set out to find another job to hold me over until the fire season begins. I found this outdoor retailer much like Hudson Trail Outfitters that I had looked up. The place is absolutely awesome. Its not a national store, its just the one local store that has remained close to its roots since it has opened. The thing that excited me the most was their library. Oh, their library. More Lonely Planet guides than I knew what to do with. They had all kinds of old maps and books from different countries and in different languages. I really didn't want to spend the money but I ended up buying a map of the Tetons, a book entitled Antarctica by Reinhold Messner (if you're a hardcore climber, you'd known that name and how cool the book must be since Messner's writing it), and a 4 foot French wall map of Antarctica. Needless to say, the second I got home, that map went up and a push-pin and sticky note marked the spot of my future job I'm praying for. The people that work there are absolutely great. As a matter of fact I got the talking with one of the guys and I now have at least one climbing and backpacking partner here in Boise. I finished up there and at home and I headed 20 miles west to Nampa, ID for our fire crew's barbecue. Same faces as the day before. When we all started sharing different stories involving firefighting, EMS, alcohol, women, etc, it got me really excited for the fire season to start. After some steak, beans, and corn, I headed back home where I went out with my roommates Josh and Stacy and we hit downtown Boise which I must say is just as packed as Georgetown or Adams Morgan on a Saturday night. I was pretty damned suprised. And the women! Ohh, the women. Living in a college town has its perks let me tell you. Tomorrow, I'm going to hit the "foothills" to try to finish breaking in my fire boots and do a little much needed PT.

Todd

25 May 2007

Day 4 of....4 and Boise

Where to begin....after some rethinking over my travel plans, I decided to take my trip through Yellowstone and Grand Tetons National Parks. I left the hotel around 7 or 8 and I headed down US Rt 212 to Yellowstone. While I was continuously looking at the map as I was driving (Not safe, yes, I know), I happened to notice that as 212 crosses the Absaroka Mountain Range in northern Wyoming, it goes through this saddle called Beartooth Pass. I was really excited about this because the highest elevation you achieve as you drive across the range was 10,947 feet. Well about 13 miles away, I came to a town called Red Lodge in Montana, which by the way was one of the coolest towns I've ever driven to and quite possibly a place I may want to live in for a few years, where I found out that Beartooth Pass was closed. Disappointed, I took a detour through Belfry, MT and got onto WY296 which happened to be the Chief Joseph Scenic Highway. Having the spirit of adventure still in me, I decided to brave the two lane road despite not knowing whether or not it was open. No wonder they called it a scenic byway; it was about 15 miles into when I realized that this was what I have been dreaming of visiting for the past 5 or 10 years: the Rocky Mountains. This is another one of those experiences that words really can't describe. Towering white capped mountains, crisp air (with a hint of cow dung), and complete and utter silence. At one point (okay several points) I stopped my car to take pictures. One time I stopped my car, I accidentally turned my car off only to then realize how beautiful the land was when you don't have the background sound of cars or anything. As a matter of fact, the entire 10 minutes I was out there, I never saw a single car, truck, or even airplane. It was just me, my car, and the land before me. 296 went by way too fast as I found myself back on 212 on the other side of Beartooth Pass. Now the entire world surrounds me. For 360 degrees I could see nothing but rangeland in the vicinity, and snow-covered rocky mountains in the distance. Now, 212 strays back into Montana only to come back into Wyoming at the Northeast entrance into Yellowstone. When I was on 296, the temperature wasn't too bad: low 60s/high 50s. I decided to get gas in Cooke City, Montana a couple miles away from Yellowstone. About 2 miles before I got to Cooke City, it started to snow; not a whole lot, just flurries. By the time I got to Cooke City, the town was damn near white-out. I mean it snowed its ass off. My wipers were getting a workout clearing the snow off my windshield. One of the first things I noticed about Cooke City was when I walked into the gas station, there was a lot of snowmobile gear in side: Helmets, gloves, you name it. I walked back out, and I realized that a) there were a lot of Yamaha and Honda snowmobile dealerships around and b) the roads looked like shit which told me that this town receives a lot of snow throughout the year and the best means of travel around was tracked vehicles. As I was driving, I saw a tracked fire department vehicle which I had been kicking myself in the ass for not taking a picture of. Anyways, I finally made it to the entrance of Yellowstone with the snow still kicking. No sooner did I go through the booth did the snow stop and the clouds parted. God bless mountain weather. Now, my primary goal throughout my jaunt through Yellowstone was to snag a picture of a bear. Black, Grizzly, it didn't matter. I wanted a bear dammit. One of the first animals I noticed was a bison. Just one. As I drove further into the park, I started seeing whole heards of them. More than you can shake a stick at (I love that saying, by the way). Then we started seeing them walking on the sides of the road which was a little nerve racking because the last thing you want is a buffalo putting his horns in your fender. Another animal I saw that I thought was pretty cool were the pikas or marmots or whatever you want to call them. If the New York Rat had that distant country relative that everyone's embarassed of, the Pika would be it. These things were just as abundant as your average subway rat. What amazed me was how smart they were. I think I only saw one dead Pika throughout the entire drive through the park. At one point, a Pika ran out into the road, realized I was coming for it but instead of running and getting run over by a wheel, it hunkered down and let me pass right over it. That, my friends, was impressive. If you ever get the chance, do not pass up a drive through Yellowstone. It is one of the most beautiful parks to drive through. I thought the Chief Joseph Scenic Parkway was beautiful, Yellowstone definitely had me in awe. I had hoped to drive through Grand Tetons National Park but for some reason the traffic was at a stand still on the one road leading to the park. It got to the point where I had been in the park for about two hours and all I wanted to do was get to Boise. So I found the west exit, hit the highway and drove straight through Twin Falls, my original planned stop for the night, straight to Boise and moved in a night early. Right off the bat, my two roommates were as friendly as can be. After a few hours of moving in, I decided I need a few things from the local Walmart. So here it is, 1:30 in the morning, and this one guy approached me outside when I was loading my car and asked me where I got one of my fire department bags. After talking for a bit, he found out that I had just moved there to work as a firefighter. Man, he unloaded with everything there was to know and do in Boise. He told me about bars, BSU, football, restaurants, everything. Today, I hit the gas station and bought a map. No sooner did I walk out with the map in hand, this incredibly rough looking dude came up to me and asked me where I was trying to get to. I told him that I was just getting a map to get a lay of the land considering I had just moved there 18 hours before. That man was one of the friendliest persons I had ever met. I mean, I learned more about the main streets from him in 5 minutes than I would have in 30 reading the map. People, I'm not use to this. If you live in D.C. you know how unfriendly some people are. But here it is, strangers walking up to other strangers, being as friendly and as helpful as possible. And the best thing about it all is that no one cares what the color of your skin is. I am definitely not use to all of this. It's funny though because I'm still driving like I'm in D.C. and I feel like an asshole about it but I'll get use to it eventually. I stopped by my employers house and him and the rest of the crew were as friendly as can be. I spent a few hours there just getting advice, getting issued gear, and just talking in general. Before I knew it, I was invited to a barbecue tomorrow and future nights out at the bar. Between the people, the scenery, and the copious opportunities for outdoor activities, I think I'm going to like it here...

23 May 2007

Days 2 and 3 out of 5











Holy shit, I don't even know where to begin. First, I woke up at 0530 to try to hit the road as early as possible. I've probably said it to a few of you before hand but I really was not looking forward to yesterday's drive. 13 hours in one day really isn't all that fun...at least I thought then. I left Peter's around 0550-0600 and managed to land myself right in the middle of Chicago rush-hour traffic. Once I got out of the city and the suburbs, that's when I first started drive through rural America. Now, the last time I was in Illonois before monday was in the early 90s (1990 I belive) for my cousin's wedding. So to me, Illinois was a foreign land. For some reason, I get excited when I know I'm going to be driving through a state I've never been to or remember. Illinois went by pretty quick as my journey brought me into Wisconsin probably a little over an hour after I left Chicago. Now I was excited because I had truly never been to Wisconsin. Well, that excitement died off as the scenery really didn't change much until I crossed the Mississippi which was a really big deal to me because 1) I like really big bodies of water and 2) I've never driven that far away from home, let alone that far in the U.S. Minnesota was actually pretty cool for the first 50 to 75 miles but as I started to drift into the Great Plains, that excitment once again, died pretty quickly. Now for those of you that have an ifinity for the midwest, don't get me wrong, it's beautiful out there. That's the heart of America we're talking about people! When you drive for 700 miles through it by yourself, however, it can really wear down on you. I can't even begin to tell you how miserable it was. Well, I take that back. It wasn't too bad. When it really started getting bad in Minnesota, I started counting down the hours and miles to Souix City, SD which I knew was 347 miles to Rapid City where I was stopping for the night. South Dakota wasn't all that great either until I crossed the Missouri River. One things for sure is that the Mississippi ain't got shit on the Missouri River. If you think the Mississippi River valley's breathtaking, drive over the Missouri on I-90. That was one of the highlights of my trip. Once I crossed the Missouri, South Dakota was starting to lose its gold blankets of fields and was starting to get a little rugged.

That was the first thing I noticed about the hills of South Dakota as you got close to the Black Hills: they look like God put a green blanket over a bunch of dirt mounds and put a few trees and bushes here and there. It's not like you can distinguish clumps of grass or grass blades. It literally looks like a green blanket smoothly rolled over the hills. I don't know. It's hard to describe. If you've seen them you know what I'm talking about. If you haven't, check my pictures out. I had never seen them before so I thought it was pretty interesting. I didn't get to Rapid City until about 2000-2100 (Note: about 100 miles east of Rapid City lies the border between Central and Mountain time so I gained an hour once I hit that line). I'm glad I kept wasting time stopping to eat and stretch and I'm also glad that the trip took as long as it did because man, I have never seen a more beautiful sunset than that in the Black Hills of South Dakota. I truly can't describe it. The pictures may help but its something that you have to see for yourself. There were one or two people I was wishing I could have experienced that sunset with :-)

Rapid City....what can you say about it? I think an episode of Cops was filmed there. I'm not one to judge a city or its people but there were a few places where I was definitely on my guard. When I got my lavish room at the Time Out Inn, I decided I had some time to kill so I walked out of my motel room about 30 feet into a bar and had a beer. The bar was pretty empty except for two locals and the bartender. This pretty laid-back native-american dude sat next to me and we started talking. He bought a round of shots, we talked for another hour and I was off to a pool hall he recommended. Another beer and a round of pool later, I was walking out of the pool hall only to come across this one guy taking care of 3 incredibly intoxicated older guys who kept asking me for a ride to "the" bar. Considering I walked and I had been drinking myself, I just told them that I didn't have a car (Despite clothing with logos that obviously scream I'm not a local. One of the drunk-ass guys falls flat on his ass and starts holding his ankle saying that he broke his "leg" and that it was swollen. EMT mode kicks in and decided to check his "leg" out. Well, he pulls his boot off and asides from a $50 dollar bill stuck to the bottom of his foot, his "leg" was fine despite his assurances that his ankle was so swollen he couldn't get his boot off. I tell him to put his boot back on and walk to the hospital (which was like 10 blocks away but at this point he's so drunk he'll probably forget that he was even lying about his "leg" hurting. He says he can't put it back on because it was "too swollen". I reiterate: go to the hospital. He says, "Ok, I'll go if you give us a ride to [the] bar." I walk back to my room and go to sleep.

I wake up the next morning at 0700. Take a shower, pack up, and hit the road. Today's trip was suppose to be easy: drive the 78 miles from Rapid City, SD to Devils Tower, WY. Since I figured I had all day to screw around, I figured I'd stop at Mt Rushmore. I mean, I'm less than 20 miles away from it. It'd be an act of treason not to. Mt Rushmore is located about 2 miless outside of a town called Keystone and damn if that wasn't one cool town. I highly doubt that anyone truly lived in the town as it was more of a tourist attraction once you were done with Rushmore, but it was still a pretty cool town to drive through none the less. I get to Mt Rushmore. Having never been there, it was pretty awe-inspiring when you're drive up to it and you pass the left (the Presidents' lefts mind you) side of the monument and you start to see faces. Someone once said when you see it in person, it's not as big as you'd think it would be. I really don't care what anyone says. I stood at the observation deck underneath it and it was definitely pretty fucking big. These two MX racers where there as well taking pictures of each other. I offered them a trade: a picture of me taken by them for a picture for the two of them taken by me. They agree: an easy and fair trade. As I left Mt Rushmore, I couldn't help but notice that the park had recently had a fire along the entrance road. Haha, firefighter mode kicked in and this got me really excited. Seeing fallen and felled snags, firelines, and a sea of charred trees really got me excited for the reason I had been driving all these hours which I had probably forgotten about somewhere in Ohio. I drove back through Keystone, spent $8.95 for the best breakfast buffet I've ever had, and I hit the road for Devils Tower only to stop twice to get some pictures of two fire stations near Rapid City.

Slowly as you make your way into Wyoming, the hills turn into ranchlands and you find yourself staring at more cattle than you can shake a stick at. The one thing that sucked about the drive to Devils Tower (as well as the majority of the day) was that it had been raining on and off and the clouds were really ruining the view. At least I thought so. I never realized the scale of the size of Devils Tower. Through crappy low-hanging cumulus clouds, I was able to see Devils Tower from about 6 to 7 miles away! When I actually reached the park, I was amazed as how it towers above the entire country around it! I mean, imagine a green blanket with a bunch of rocks underneath it scattered here and there. Then put a 10 inch brown cup on that blanket, gouge tracks all over the cup, and thats what Devils Tower looks like. Now, my original plan was to go there, do some hiking, and camp there for the night. Well, a few things sorta brought that plan to a halt: 1) I didn't plan on hiking too well when I buried my backpack and other hiking stuff in the back of my car 2) The trail was asphalt which sorta ruined the idea of hiking around the tower 3) It was raining, it was cold, and I was wearing jeans. The last time I checked, hypothermia and I weren't that great of friends. So the decision to stay or go was made between me and a quarter. Well, the tails side of the quarter told me I had to leave so I decided the only place to go was Billings, MT just because it was the only place I could get to that late in the day (1230 I left Devils Tower). I think that figuring out how I was going to Billings was the best part of the day if not the trip just because it was the first time I was straying away from what Google Maps suggested. So I took a route where I wouldn't see an interstate for a couple hundred miles. I took a Wyoming County rode for about 30 miles until I crossed over Montanna and picked up US Route 212 on which I spent about 130 miles. Some would call me wierd but I have no shame in saying that Wyoming and Montana ranch country was some of the most beautiful I have ever seen. Another thing I thought was sorta cool was being able to see 10 miles down the same road you're traveling on. I stopped twice along the way: Alzada and Broadus, MT. Again, call me weird but I like small towns such as these two I stopped in. Anyways, the day ends here in Billings, MT. I have 600-700 some miles to go. Since I have a full day left to waste, I'm going to try to drive through both Yellowstone and Grand Tetons National Parks tomorrow before I stop in Twin Falls for the night. Anyways, I'll keep you all posted as usual. I have photos as well: http://picasaweb.google.com/todd.bevans. Take care of yourselves and be safe.

21 May 2007

Day 1 of 5


Thank god today is over. D.C. to Chicago my friends, is definitely not a short trip. As I figured, righ before I went to sleep, I found more items I needed to take with me. This, of course, after I locked the house and put the security system on as I was going to bed. Well, morning came around and I tried to find places for the few things I found I needed to take. Haha, as you can see in the photo, there wasn't a whole lot of room left. Anyways, I left here around 6. Got gas, and hit 495 for the last time in a few months. From here to OH was uneventful. Ohio is boring. Extremely boring. So boring that I had to pull over several times in order to keep from falling asleep. Indiana was a little better just because of the fact of it was a different state and I was one state closer to Chicago let alone Boise. All in all, I left the house at 6 and got to my friend's house around 7. A couple things I learned:

Boxes are essential for packing

Keep track of your vehicle's weight limits

If you're on anything that is called or resembles a "turnpike", get to a gas station the second your tank reaches a quarter of its capacity

Do not pack dumbbells in such a fashion that they will fall out the second you open the door

Watch for little children before you yell profanities when said dumbbell falls on your foot

Gary, ID is the nastiest smelling city east of Philladelphia. No joke people, its the Newark of the mid-west....if you can call Indiana the mid-west


Well, Peter and I have spent most of the evening engaged in some pretty good conversation if you ask me. I'm about to go to bed soon only to wake up to another day on my journey across the country. Take care of yourselved.

Last Night In Town

T-Minus 6 hours and counting and I can't sleep. Damn, I hate being excited :-). I'm packed and ready to go. The open house actually went pretty well. I don't think I've ever said good-bye to that many people before. I've moved before but this is the first time I've moved incredibly far away from the area. I have a lot of email addresses I'm going to have to remember or store. I saw Lindsay today for the last time as well as my relatives. It my relatives being here for me to realize how hard this is going to be for my mom. I love her to death but I can't just stay here. My imagination is too vivid and my appetite for experiencing new places is insatiable. Well, I better get some sleep. I have 11 hours of driving before me tomorrow. Take care all of you and be safe....

18 May 2007

Three More Days

Three days to go....This week has been hell. Thank god it's over. Between class and the debaucle involving me being escorted out and temporarily banned from a government building, I think my stress levels are at an all time high. Thank God for Christine. Seeing her for the last time this summer made me relax some but realize how much I'm going to miss her as well as a few other people. Tomorrow, I pack, get my car inspected, clean my car, clean my room, spend a few hundred dollars at HTO, try to hang out with another friend during the day, and go to the movies with my friend Lindsay later on that night. Sunday is Ashburn's open house and the last day I'll see the station until September. Then Monday morning, I hit the road and embark on a new life.

16 May 2007

No Rain - Blind Melon

Well, I'm in a pretty damn mood now and this is one of my good mood songs.

No Rain
by Blind Melon

All I can say is that my life is pretty plain

I like watchin' the puddles gather rain

And all I can do is just pour some tea for two

and speak my point of view

But it's not sane, It's not sane

I just want some one to say to me

I'll always be there when you wake

Ya know I'd like to keep my cheeks dry today

So stay with me and I'll have it made

And I don't understand why I sleep all day

And I start to complain that there's no rain

And all I can do is read a book to stay awake

And it rips my life away, but it's a great escape

escape......escape......escape......

All I can say is that my life is pretty plain

ya don't like my point of view

ya think I'm insane

Its not sane......it's not sane

Getting a little better...

To sum up yesterday, as well as my last post, in one short phrase, it sucked. I mean royally suck. Like getting your hand stuck in the garbage disposal sucked. However, I can not begin to thank Lindsay for dragging me out to Bungalo's tonight to clear my mind. I love that girl! On top of that, we met a couple of cool cats that have a house in Puerto Rico who seemed pretty chill as well. After lots of bar tricks, some food, some alcohol, our greetings and good byes, I'm back before my LCD journal writing you all as to how wonderful of a night I had (if that's proper english...) Needless to say, despite how crappy my situation with the DMV is right now, I've been grinning ear to ear ever since I left. It sorta made me realize how badly I'm going to miss some people (Lindsay being one of them) but it's got me even more excited for the new people I'm going to meet as well. A friend of mine hooked me up with one of his friends who's hooking me up with a place to stay in Chicago next monday night as I head out into the great unknown. My friend told me that his friend was the type to pick up and go if he had the means and the reason. That and he's an avid backpacker or climber (I think....I gotta check with Inja [my friend] about that) so I'm sure our conversation for the night will be pretty cool. Hell, he may even tag along. All in all, the week is starting to pull it self out of the shit pile it was seemingly stuck in earlier.

15 May 2007

Another One of Those Days

Man, what a day. First off, the weekend really isn't starting off on a great foot. For one, to make a long story short, because of a fuck-up with Va DMV, my driver's license is suspended and has been suspended since April 1st. April 1st I tell you. Between that and a few other things this really rude teller at the DMV kept saying, I went off on her which led to my being escorted out of the building until tomorrow. Oh well. I'm actually glad I found that out when I did because 2600 miles away from here is the last place I want to find out that my license is suspended. I'm finally taking Hazardous Materials - Technician after 2 years of trying to enroll and actually take it and I'm having a blast. It's not as much material to cover as my Intermediate Wildland Fire Behavior class last week but it's still making my head spin. I may have pictures from our practical today to post up later. Well, it's starting to boil down to that day. Hopefully a week from now I'll be in Rapid Falls, SD (or at least close to it). A backpack I had ordered in April that I forgot about came in yesterday and it truly made my day. It's funny how little things like that can truly turn you around from a bad mood. Anyways, nothing really new. Just another day.

14 May 2007

I Hear Them All

I Hear Them All
by Old Crow Medicine Show

I hear the crying of the hungry in the deserts where they're wandering.
Hear them crying out for heaven's own benevolence upon them.
Hear destructive power prevailing, I hear fools falsely hailing.
To the crooked wits of tyrants when they call.

I hear them all
I hear them all
I hear them all

I hear the sounds of tearing pages and the roar of burning paper.
All the crimes in acquisitions turn to air and ash and vapor.
And the rattle of the shackle far beyond emancipators.
And the loneliest who gather in their stalls.

I hear them all
I hear them all
I hear them all

So while you sit and whistle Dixie with your money and your power.
I can hear the flowers a-growin in the rubble of the towers.
I hear leaders quit their lying
I hear babies quit their crying.

I hear soldiers quit their dying, one and all.

I hear them all
I hear them all
I hear them all

I hear the tender words from Zion, I hear Noah's waterfall.
Hear the gentle lamb of Judah sleeping at the feet of Buddha.
And the prophets from Elija to the old Paiute Wovoka.
Take their places at the table when they're called.

I hear them all
I hear them all
I hear them all
I hear them all
I hear them all
I hear them all
I hear them all
I hear them all
I hear them all

Brotherhood and Bluegrass

Brotherhood. Its a word with a significant amount of power behind it. Fraternities, organizations, they all have it. I got my first experience with this thing called brotherhood in Boy Scouts. The few friends I have now who went through scouts with me are ones I will never forget. We learned a lot togther. We experienced some things that some people will never get to. We laughed together and we grew up together. When I first got adopted into the fire service, I wasn't fully aware of the brotherhood between emergency service workers. Not just firefighter to firefighter, but EMTs, cops, any one else that puts their lives as well as their innocence on the line to save the lives others. 9/11 hit us all. America received a taste of our brotherhood. They saw how firefighters, EMTs, and cops all over the country grieved when 400+ emergency workers perished working to save those in need.

The brotherhood I most refer to whenever I bring the subject up is that between men. People helping people. That's what it's all about. It should be natural. It should be instinct. It should be instinctual to help some one when they need it. Helping someone pick up their spilled groceries from a torn bag, helping someone grieve when they lost a loved one, helping someone get back on their feet after a tornado destroyed their home. The brotherhood of man is a powerful symbol when it shows its face. When Katrina hit, hundreds if not thousands of volunteers flocked to the Gulf Coast to see what they could do to help. Those that didn't go down sent whatever they could to help whomever would benifit from it. We see the brotherhood of man in the news rise righteously above the stories of sorrow and violence when we hear about stories of towns picking up after storms, people sending care pacakges to those stuck in the middle east, to people flocking to far away countries to help in the midst of a natural disaster. It's damned amazing the how big the human heart can be; how big a man's love for his brother can be. It's always a wonderful site (at least to me) to see someone help someone else they've never met. It's one of the greatest feelings in the world to laugh and smile with someone you've never met; someone, somehow who managed to tred on to a path in life that led to an intersection with yours allowing you and him to share a moment and laugh. How insignificant what ever it is you are laughing at is, it doesn't matter. You and another human being, someone you've never met, sharing a moment of happiness together. That's brotherhood. The brotherhood of man. Now I challenge myself every day to do something for someone else. Sometimes, my path crosses that of another soul. Sometimes it doesn't. But damn if it doesn't feel good the seldom times it does.

I can't stand country. I truly can't. For reasons I won't get into, at least in this post, I despise country (Newer Country I guess I could say...). I had explained this to someone before. I don't remember who but they had asked me why I loved bluegrass so much. Bluegrass takes me to a time well before that of mine. It takes me back to a time when times were tough and spirits were tested. It takes me back to a time when the glory of God was celebrated and people were thankful with what little they had. Bluegrass tells stories of men turned wrong in the face of hardships and the struggle of those working to the breaking point just to survive. I love the stores some bluegrass and folk songs tell. When times get tough for me, I usually find a bluegrass song that will lift my spirits and keep trudging on. One such song is I Hear Them All by Old Crow Medicine Show. Anyways, brotherhood, bluegrass, that's a lot of thinking for one night....

13 May 2007

Ft Picket and why I'll never drink again...

Wow, what a week. First off, I can't even begin to explain as to how fried my brain is after taking the class I took. It was called S-290 - Intermediate Wildland Fire Behavior. I'm really glad I took it in lieu of the class I was actually signed up to take but damned if there wasn't a shit load of work associated with it. All in all, I managed to meet a lot of good people in the same line of work that either I am doing or I plan on or sooner or later will be doing. I've always preached to some of my good friends to meet people where ever you go. Every new place you find yourself in. You never know who you're going to meet, what connections your going to make, or what doors will be opened for you. Haha, we've sorta made it a tradition to go out and celebrate our last night in that God-awful place called Ft Pickett/Blackstone, VA. Well, to make a long, drawn-out story short, I got incomprehensibly drunk Friday night. I woke up in a precarious position on the floor of my Barracks (I had fallen out of bed and was definitely feeling it), I may have possibly thrown up (it was on my shirt...I've yet to confirm or deny that I threw up), and it took me almost an hour to find my car. Not exactly a stellar morning, but it definitely had its hand in the makings of some good memories with good people. While down in B-Pickett, I managed to talk to a bunch of folks that have served on Heli-attack crews, hotshot crews, and engine crews and it definitely got me stoaked for heading out west. 8 days. 8 days, and I'll be on way to a new life. When I got to duty crew tonight, a surprise, impromtu going-away party was thrown for me and it truly made me realize how much I'm going to miss some people here. I think now, I'm doing more for the simple reason that so many people have told me that I was going to fail or I was making a poor decision or that I would back out. I don't know. I'm not worried about them. I'm concentrating on the people in my life that are supporting me. Well, it's 4 AM and I need to get ready for my last week here.

05 May 2007

Closer....

Ah, my last free night before I leave the area and I'm sitting here writing in an online journal while working on a school essay. I'm sooo excited about leaving. My family is slowly coming around to the idea of leaving. My mother has been buying me stuff I'll need to live on my own (towls, bedding, etc) despite my objections. She's been helping me with really what ever I need. She says my family wants to talk to me (primarily my uncle) but I really don't trust them right now. I have a feeling it'd be an ambush. An attempted assassination against my character and probably my patience with them. I don't know. It's obvious my trust in people really hasn't changed a whole lot. I'll tell you what though, my mind will be a lot more at ease when I have taken my final and finished my final project for school.

It's amazing how much you manage to spend when trying to leave an area. After everything I have and will buy I figured I'd probably need $800 to hold me over for the first 2 weeks after I move. I haven't even begun to think about what exactly I'll need to pack and probably buy later on. Oh well. More about that to come.

02 May 2007

Advisaries

Throughout most of my life, I've managed to battle a lot of negativity towards myself, my dreams, or anything I try to do. As usual, I never really cared about what other people thought. I don't know. I don't know who or how I was raised liked that but I've always pursued my dreams without letting anyone ruin my plans or get me down. Yet somehow I've let my own family and friends really stress me the hell out. I really don't know what's worse, the fact that every one in my family except for my mother either calls me to tell me how disappointed they are in me if they talk to me any more at all or getting a reminder from your close friends as to how "one day I'll stop making mistakes with my life". I'm really not going to vent too much about it but all I know is that the more resistance I get from everyone, the more I want to leave here and the less I want to come back. Haha, I guess a good personal trait of mine is my yearning to succeed in the face of belittlement.

Anyways, asides from dealing with my family and the several friends I've been having issues with, the weeks gone by pretty well. The one place I can count on support from people is HTO which really after today is going to make me miss the place for the four months or so I'll be gone. This is really my last normal week here. Next week, I'll be in Ft Pickett and the week after that I'll be back but I'll be taking a class all that week. After that, good-bye east coast. It's all downhill from Monday...