Cork-board

 My friend Billy told me when I was 20 or so that organization is the key to success. He said it at least once a day, for a few years. He also said that Little Debbie Swiss Rolls were better than Hostess Ho-Hos. I set up a double-blind test, with all 5 participants choosing Hostess- including him. That has nothing to do with organization, but it proves that I know what I'm talking about- when it comes to crap I never eat!

  He was right about organization, though. This is why I have been trying to simplify my life, and concentrate my energy on fewer things. I am very organized in my mind, but in reality, I always have WAY too much crap, and too much going on all the time, to ever give any one thing the attention it deserves. I have a whole barn full of stuff that I am trying to forget about, I just sold 18 cars and trucks, and I still have too much to deal with. I am going to try to get rid of everything I can't keep in my car with me. Well, maybe not my motorcycles. And my four-wheeler. And my leather massage chair. And my '68 Mercedes. The rest is going.

  I told Beth today that we need to get a cork-board, and put it on the wall inside the door, where we can see it every day. Then we can maybe begin to have some lists of things we have to do, and in what priority. We only have about 6 months to get ready for leaving, and it seems like we have more things to do every day. I would almost trade everything for a couple of nice horses, and some good saddlebags. That would really be a lot easier to manage.

  Anyhow, we have to make lists, and we have to put them on this cork-board. I have tried the dry-erase board, but those markers always quit working right, and I end up writing on them with a Sharpie or something. This maybe doesn't sound so bad until you consider that I have some Industrial Super-Permanent Sharpies. Now you can see why that doesn't work out so well...

  All I have to do now is actually remember that the cork-board is there.

Metronidazole

 It seems that there is only one way to treat amoebic dysentery, and that is with Metronidazole- a powerful antibiotic, amebicide, and antiprotozoal. It is also the medicine of choice for several other conditions - including certain dental infections. The kind of dental infection a person might get after drilling out his own root-canal with a non-sterile drill. Even if great care is taken with all of the other equipment, it seems that the drill is actually the one part that really should be sterile.

  So, how is it that a person who is dumb enough to drill a root-canal with a non-sterile drill would just happen to have the one thing on hand that will treat this type of infection? That's a good question. I just happen to know one possible answer.

  It could be possible, hypothetically speaking, of course, that this very same person may have, at some time in the past, become the unfortunate victim of amoebic dysentery, and that the level of suffering resulting from this experience would have motivated this wise and foolish person to obtain and possess a supply of Metronidazole from an online pharmacy in Singapore. Or Malaysia, or something. If this is indeed the case, then it would mean that there must surely be a story to explain how this person ended up with amoebic dysentery while lost in North Carolina on a mountain-climbing/Appalachian Trail-hiking trip. I will investigate, and if there is a story, I will post it some time. You know- if it's true.

 

Sweet Potato

  Sometimes, when a person chooses to live life on the edge, it becomes necessary to adapt to less-than-optimal conditions. If one gives up the security and comfort of home to experience the adventure of life on the road, these conditions can pop up at any time. For example, when a certain person, who will remain anonymous for his protection, decides to just get in his car and drive off to some unfamiliar location, for no apparent reason (or some woman), he tends to do such irresponsible actions without serious regard for the possible difficulties that will likely arise. 

  This usually means money issues. They say money can't buy happiness, but I say that's crap! It seems to me that the only people saying that are the ones who have enough money! I know that I would be a lot happier if I didn't have to worry about it every day. Like the expensive traffic citation I got on the way to Virginia. I mean- this person got...  Anyhow, unexpected expenses, memory issues, and general irresponsibility can really make life on the road tricky.

  Once, when I lived in Wyoming, I found myself without money or food for a whole week. Since I lived in the desert, it was easy enough to find food, but I think I will be ok with never living on cactus again. Ever.

So, here I (I mean, that anonymous person) am in Virginia, 500 miles from anyone I have seen in twenty years, and we have managed to get ourselves completely broke, and we are down to where we have little more than sweet potatoes to eat. But- we are happy, rent is paid, we are both clever enough to overcome, and, most importantly- sweet potatoes are a damn sight better than cactus, ANY day.

Midlothian, Virginia, U.S.A.

  Greetings, my friends. I am in Midlothian, Virginia, outside of Richmond. I originally planned to come to Virginia Beach, because of the fact that it is not too south, not too north, and it had an ocean. Everyone should live part of their life by the ocean. Anyhow, I decided after I left Tennessee in June that I would never spend another winter in Pennsylvania, and that was the reason for coming to Virginia. I expected to stay here long enough to get some things figured out, and then move on to Australia, maybe. As it turns out, this was not part of the *bigger plan. This is where it gets interesting.

  I met this woman, you see...

  I wish I had a dollar for every time I said those words!

  So, anyhow, she lives in Midlothian, and I figured that if I'm going to just go to Virginia without a real plan or place to live (SOP), that it would make just as much sense going to the Richmond area as VA Beach. Since this woman I met lives near Richmond, it was a simple choice. This woman is Beth. Beth Wright. Yeah, same last name. She changed it, though, and it is now actually Alexza Wright DeCroix. Something about witness-protection or something, I don't know. So we are going to spend some time together, and in 6 months or so, we are going to leave here and go across the U.S. to the NW, and then on down to La Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico. Maybe live there for a while, and then go on down to Tierra del Fuego, and work our way back up through South America, one country at a time. We will live lean, and make do with little. We will live off the land, and trade or work for what we need along the way. I'm clever enough to do this. She is, too. We make a good team. We will make plenty of photos and video, and post on here and facebook.

  Why should we sit around punching a time-card, waiting to die? Routine and structure may be ok for some people, but not so much for us. I realize that it simply isn't possible for most people to live the way I do, because of the need for stability and all that, but I know a lot of you probably dream of doing this, and probably never will. So, I kinda feel that I have a duty to do it for you, and write about the adventure along the way. You know- that vicarious thing. I'm incredibly lucky to have found my partner in this adventure. Everything great is only truly great when it is shared.

  So, this is where the real adventure begins. We are getting ourselves prepared and situated for our mission.  It's a bit vague, sometimes, and challenging -to live like this- but it is absolutely worth it. I could never live any other way. Beth and I believe that we were put together for a reason. Not sure exactly what, yet, but we will know - when we need to.

Staging Area

  I have been pretty busy, with being all spontaneous and reckless and such. Being poor is challenging sometimes.  I really need to get this blog redesigned and figure out what format I want to use. I think I will write with more purpose, instead of simply posting random thoughts and observations.  There is a reason for this, and it's a good one, too. This, I will explain in my next post, hopefully tomorrow. It's all very exciting!