<3 The man Jesus who I Revere , said something like, if you devote your life to the neediest it will cost you everything, houses, Farms, husband, wife, children, but it will give you 100 fold in this lifetime. It is clear to me that this is true. It is clear to me what this means. Those fortunate enough to realize that the reason we're here is to help those who are neediest, to try to help those in need, yes, our sick cultures exact every price from these people that they can to discourage them, but none the less it results in encountering others whose heart is doing the same, and in my experience and knowledge and study, next to the joy of Simply attempting to help the neediest, it results in encountering those whose hearts are causing them to attempt the same and is the greatest privilege and joy, the only real encounter with the Divine, available to we humans.
9.16.2016
Barring any unforeseen disasters the financial investments that will be made between now and Tuesday should suffice to......
Barring any unforeseen disasters the financial investments that will be made between now and Tuesday should suffice to make the vehicle as able as it can be for the massive and quite dangerous journey ahead that I expect to be to North Dakota. Every little Penny now is a huge factor in terms of safety and ability for the mission. I am extraordinarily humbled by the support.
9.15.2016
EFLIUS Day 13: only 61 miles today but all morning was spent switching to the new plan so, not too bad. Tomorrow needs to be about a 90-mile day. For the first 13 days I was almost entirely off-grid. That's unlikely to happen in the future. The......
EFLIUS Day 13: only 61 miles today but all morning was spent switching to the new plan so, not too bad. Tomorrow needs to be about a 90-mile day. For the first 13 days I was almost entirely off-grid. That's unlikely to happen in the future. The primary reason is I'm now traveling for Speed, LOL, speed and distance. I need to be doing about 80 miles a day rather than 45. Only on the most extremely sunny, non hazy day, without significant climbing, and without trees to obstruct the sun, will that happen again. But on many days I'll be getting roughly half of my electricity from the Sun which will dramatically shortened the 2 times a day I'll need to plug in. So by and large I'll be half on the grid and half off. A number of people made Financial contributions to the mission today, one was breathtakingly large. I've gone deep into debt to get this far in the mission and that contribution will substantially help me climb toward sunlight. I'll be Reeling for many days to come and the mission was hugely strengthened. A fellow set up a go fund me site for the mission. In 12 years of similarly devoted activism I have never had that kind of help. I'm deeply touched, greatly humbled. The mission is greatly helped. This morning at a Wawa which I never went into, I was trying to collect my thoughts on the new trajectory for the mission, North Dakota, accelerating the visit to Organic Transit for repairs, to this Saturday I hoped, and other planning had me just sitting at the convenience store outside pondering. Oh, did I mention major repairs I needed to do to the vehicle? A Jovial mid fifties white lady came over and if she is not, or was not, Nun, she certainly is the epitome of what that brings to mind. Extremely friendly. Extremely interested in the vehicle and its solar aspects, extremely interested in free Palestine, extremely interested in the message on the religion of loving. She asked me what I was doing and I told her a ridiculous Hail Mary pass to try and Spark some life in the country to stand up for our children's future. She asked how would anyone do that? I said, the only way I've ever seen it done, is to stoke the fire in oneself by redirecting one's attention from oneself to those who really need help, rekindling the fire that Gandhi counted on, the love of the mother or her child but for all children. And that by doing so in oneself and stoking the fire white hot sometimes it caused the fire to rekindle in others. I wasn't guessing that would mesh with her religious beliefs. She uttered some words not mystically but honestly that I didn't understand. I take them to be Indian words. She dug in both pockets and handed me all the contents of bills and change. Spoke very warmly to me and departed. There have been half a dozen at least meaningful encounters today in the largely impoverished areas that I've been traveling through. This continues to be my experience that where people are not plagued with the addiction of over privilege there is room among some of them for the spirit to live., many little flames encountered and encouraged today. As this post is written the author is sitting on a curb Stone having finished two cans of cold corn and a cold can of chicken noodle soup given me by a student at William and Mary. my planning and process is infantile as it relates to structuring days where I travel 80 or 90 miles per day. Seems trivial except the need to fuel this vehicle now from the grid while I'm traveling on largely back roads with no services adds some complexity and risk. I arrived at this location with probably only 5 miles of electricity to spare. in another three miles I know that there is a large truck stop. This is a much less prosperous convenience store and non-branded gas station. as I gain experience and courage I'll always follow my inclination to favor the less prosperous non corporate with what limited funds I can. And sometimes no funds at all if I think that's the best spiritual service. And that may be the case tonight. I walked into the store empty of customers and the Young Middle Eastern man at the counter, I explained that I saw a plug outside and hoped I would be allowed to plug in for several hours. a bit to my surprise he went right into risk management, I'm not sure my boss would allow it, can I bring the batteries inside and plug them in, we don't do that. I simply allowed my disappointment and Mild disgust to show. my mind immediately went to plan b, the place 3 miles down the road. As I was getting in the vehicle a voice got my attention. It was the young man. Where is the receptacle that you were talking about? I pointed to the receptacle 10 feet adjacent to the vehicle on the wall. He said, if it works, you're welcome to use it. He had simply had a change of heart. that's what it's about isn't it? Giving people an opportunity and inspiration for a change of heart? By first changing our own? I immediately directed his attention to the free Palestine signage which he had not seen. He asked me how America was going to stop Israel. How Americans were going to stop Israel. I said, we are not. But I can't control that. I can control me. I will not sit by and watch this unfold without trying to get in the way. This is my attempt. when he wasn't helping customers he's come out several times since. He said, come in for water or whatever you want. One time he came out and I was speaking to a customer of his, a farmer white guy my age, and telling him that I was going to fail but I was not going to fail to try. The young shopkeeper jumped in and said, this man is a hero, To his customer. A new and very generous benefactor to the mission today said, I know you have to go through with this, but when you're done, I hope you take care of yourself. This is so understandable. But to understand myself, and for anyone to understand me, they need to understand that I experience the people of Palestine as intimately as some people might experience their own leg, or their skin, or their arms, or their very own face. I experience all of the creatures whose habitats we are destroying totally and forever including all humans, as my own arms or legs or torso. I am exactly taking care of myself.
9.14.2016
Nearly half of Israeli Jews support extrajudicial killings of Palestinians
9.13.2016
Elf cycling. Which developments last several days. Oops, back of thighs, pressing against lower back
This is amazing to me. Huge strides in effectively handling this vehicle. Just now. Last few days. 1. Attempting to press, relax, lower back into lower seat every second. 2. This creates a sense of elongation, an opportunity to stretch the leg toward the arch.
3. Ball of foot on the pedals. 4. Launching the leg stretch deliberately firing. 5. Using the hamstrings glutes.
This all seems 2 give a 10 or 20%, 10 or 20 increase in human Watt hours at a similar or greater relaxation. very amazing.
Central to this development was the notion of relaxing my lower back into the seat, slightly if only mentally rotating the lumbar back ever so slightly into the seat.
Seems revolutionary. Maybe fleeting. I don't think so. We will see.
This long stretch 30 miles from Williamsburg to Hampton University and then back is quite flat relatively. There by the natural state of this vehicle manifests itself. At 9 to 10 miles an hour it is human-powered. an additional two or three miles per hour doubles power requirement. 9 miles per hour requires approximately 13 watts per mile, 12 miles per hour requires approximately 26.
Glutes instead of the knees
***** To the material investors in this Mission: you are few. Years go by and there are none of you. But some of you have stepped up in.......
To the material investors in this Mission: you are few. Years go by and there are none of you. But some of you have stepped up in big and not so big ways in recent days. I find my reaction odd. I need nothing. I want nothing personally. But it is with awesome joy that your material support is received. I want nothing for me personally but with every fiber of my being I want the mission to succeed. It is a worthy Mission. It is a worthwhile mission. No credit to me, a torch blazes in my chest and there is the possibility that by moving that torch around the country it may cause the flame in the chest of others to burn brighter. It could help to start the fire sufficient to provide a decent future for all of creation. Almost certainly it will not, but there is the slim chance. It is an intelligent and much-needed mission. The only thing that can make me stop is for my pulse to stop , or for me to see a better way to serve creation, which seems unlikely. But the amplitude of pursuit of the mission is very much a function of how many people contribute how much to it. I have and will continue to contribute every breath, every resource to it, for the joy of it. But I can't do more than that personally. You, by contributing, you increase the amplitude materially, and spiritually, in part spiritually by feeding mine. Gratefully, James.
9.12.2016
An extremely prosperous-looking dad, a bit younger than me I suspect, and his early teen Scout son, stopped by, oddly, in the remote.......
An extremely prosperous-looking dad, a bit younger than me I suspect, and his early teen Scout son, stopped by, oddly, in the remote, empty, Ace Hardware parking lot where I was working on the vehicle. How did they know I was there?
The dialogue lasted a good 15 minutes. The young man mostly led the conversation, I supplied most of the words probably. The dad was very aware of the conversation and I think a bit courageous to allow it to have gone on as long as it did.
I shared how dire the situation is in my view, the son politely said he did not see it as dire as did I. To that I emphasized that probably I am more optimistic than he in terms of seeing that everything we need to supply a livable Earth for the future is there, the technology, the know how, the the wealth, the renewable energy sources in massive abundance, everything, everything, everything except the only thing required, people standing up to make it happen.
I think the son heard this. I'm quite sure that the dad heard this.
Toward the end the son asked what I thought people should do. I said, what people should do is make the decision to put their lives in the way of this catastrophe. That there is no right way to do this. The Marchers over the Selma Bridge, it's not that they picked the right Bridge, or the right time, or the right day. It is that with dignity they put everything they were In Harm's Way to make it stop. And it was so total total, so dignified, so honest, so thoughtful, so selfless... that a soul Dead Nation could not avoid noticing, could not avoid beginning to wake up.
It was a lot for the young man to hear, probably too much. I'm not sure about the Dead. I think he heard. I'm glad we had the exchange.
I'll forever regret this: What! I snapped at The Voice......
I'll forever regret this: What! I snapped at The Voice...... This I barked as I was in the near empty Ace Hardware parking lot after it closed hours into maintenance and repair work , doubled over under the steering wheel wrestling a last bit of storage space for a backpack. Immediately after the bark I emerged to see a warm, kind, thoughtful young man with a cup of tea and a bag full of snacks and soup for me.
10 X earlier such approaches when I was either resting, sleeping with my eyes closed, in an awkward position working on the vehicle, the prior 10 times in half as many days it was some idle question showing total disregard and disrespect for another human being trying to get some sleep or working hard.
I never snap in those situations. I may not reply. I may look up and return to my work without an answer. But I never snap, I never barked. But at this kind soul, Ryan, I did. What a horror.
Not once or twice a year do I do such a thing. I think he forgave me immediately but I don't know. I'm just horrified.
He stayed for 10 or 15 minutes asking what I was up to. A student at William and Mary, he says that he lives in an apartment just the other side of the trees where I'll be sleeping in the parking lot tonight.
He had early on indicated that he had looked up online.
He was so kind, yet judging from how he exited it was not the kind of exchange that he expected, and not the kind of exchange I wish I had provided. I rarely make such mistakes. I hope not to do so soon in the future.
The downfall of nearly all would be activists since the sixties is that they mind everyone's business... except their own. They hold everyone......
The downfall of nearly all would be activists since the sixties is that they mind everyone's business... except their own. They hold everyone to the highest standards, except for themselves and those alongside them, who they hold to no standards whatsoever. They are concerned with the behavior of everyone, except for their own. Of themselves they expect only lip service. Of others they expect the highest life service. It is disgusting. It is deadly. It is killing what little time we have left. It is the most disgusting hypocrisy. Yes, there are exceptions here and there. If the shoe does not fit, do not wear it. If it does fit, those who need to wear it probably won't.
Revolutionaries don't need, revolutionaries can't afford, your encouragement from the sidelines. They need you on the field of battle.
Revolutionaries don't need, revolutionaries can't afford, your encouragement from the sidelines. They need you on the field of battle.
To a kind soul that said, when I get tired I think of you, James, you inspire me. I replied: I'm glad......
To a kind soul that said, when I get tired I think of you, James, you inspire me. I replied: I'm glad if I can be an inspiration because what I value in my life has come from being inspired by others. I remember one hunger strike in Washington DC when on my several mile walk to Capitol Hill on no calories for many weeks it was all I could do to put the next foot forward, and I would think of my brother the man Jesus, and his face would come to my imagination, and he would smile, and I would smile, and I would take the next step.
65 in a month. Stage 4 cancer survivor. In a Corollary to what dr. King said, when one sees what they would gladly die for , they are equipped to live.
65 in a month. Stage 4 cancer survivor. In a Corollary to what dr. King said, when one sees what they would gladly die for , they are equipped to live.
9.11.2016
***** What I think Millions need to do differently is to realize that mindless greed is literally the weapon of mass destruction, the army of mass destruction, that is destroying everything decent on Earth. What millions should do......
What I think Millions need to do differently is to realize that mindless greed is literally the weapon of mass destruction, the army of mass destruction, that is destroying everything decent on Earth. What millions should do is stop hiding behind the skirts or trousers of their spouse, the diapers of their babies , and do what my father's generation did, go put their bodies in the way of the harm that is in the process of destroying the future of those who depend upon them. This is certainly not directed at anyone in particular, it is directed at everyone of us collectively.
Years ago with the birth of the first of two biological offspring my deep sense of loving for that Offspring was coupled with an all-encompassing awareness of responsibility toward that young life. It was a wonderful, terrible, realization that........
Years ago with the birth of the first of two biological offspring my deep sense of loving for that Offspring was coupled with an all-encompassing awareness of responsibility toward that young life. It was a wonderful, terrible, realization that everything I did mattered for good, or for bad, toward that young life. A fire in me started at that time and it has spread from that first child to every child, every adult, every creature. I think that's what's supposed to happen in all of us. No credit to me, that's simply what happened to me.
9.10.2016
***** I'm sure I will die having failed to heal the world. I will not die having failed to try, with my last breath. To me, nothing less is life. To me, everything less is death, suicide.
I'm sure I will die having failed to heal the world. I will not die having failed to try, with my last breath. To me, nothing less is life. To me, everything less is death, suicide.
9.09.2016
EFLIUS. No offense to anyone. Deja vu all over again. Just as with last August September in a similar to journey to this one , this afternoon......
No offense to anyone. Deja vu all over again. Just as with last August September in a similar to journey to this one , this afternoon when I passed into the seriously poor Southeast area of Richmond , seemingly outside of the solidly urban area, but just barely, the first true, deep, Spirits were encountered. A white lady a little younger than me , intrigued with the vehicle, read my shirt although maybe asked me to help with a word or so, and was just totally enthralled. If I didn't rent my room you'd be coming home with me to sleep tonight she spoke as a sister, and his sister in the spirit indeed she is. And an African American man with his two daughters early teen, from Broad and deep immediately understood the seriousness of the renewable energy message. It came from his spirit. Almost all of us with all of our internet and book learning we move too fast and far in the intellect to allow the massive room that the spirit needs to thrive and exist. All hope is in the spirit.
9.08.2016
I was centrally obsessed with sexual activity from almost as early as I can remember for my next 45 years. What a hideously empty, joyless......
I was centrally obsessed with sexual activity from almost as early as I can remember for my next 45 years. What a hideously empty, joyless life I had for sex to have had any room in my life. What a sad, uninteresting, inferior Pursuit. Such empty, tawdry, meaningless lives we are brought up to in this Dreadful culture. My life is a trillion times more full, interesting, joyful, meaningful, fulfilling then it was for so many decades.
9.07.2016
EFLIUS Day 6. Support thus far: 1 meal, 1 $10 contribution. Weeks ago a $50 contribution from a UK fellow I've never met. 1 person broadcast a call to all friends to help... zero replies. 7 loaves, 4 legume servings of expired food from a kindly DC bakery.
EFLIUS Day 6. Support thus far: 1 meal, 1 $10 contribution. Weeks ago a $50 contribution from a UK fellow I've never met. 1 person broadcast a call to all friends to help... zero replies. 7 loaves, 4 legume servings of expired food from a kindly DC bakery.
Ex-Dutch PM demands trying Netanyahu for war crimes during Netherlands visit
###. It is horribly as though the Myriad of token Humane window-dressing actions of Obama these eight years have been a setup for the TPP. So far I can't think of another explanation.
9.06.2016
***** Amnesty: Baltimore police learned military occupation-style training on crowd control, use of force and surveillance from Israel’s national police, military and intelligence services.
***** What the Buddha said: "Even as a mother at the risk of her life watches over and protects her only child, so with a boundless mind should we cherish all living things...."
***** What the Buddha said: "Even as a mother at the risk of her life watches over and protects her only child, so with a boundless mind should we cherish all living things...."
9.05.2016
***** Gandhi, 'the love of a mother for her child,' is the universal force in all of us that I tap into in myself and attempt to unleash in others. A........
***** Gandhi, 'the love of a mother for her child,' is the universal force in all of us that I tap into in myself and attempt to unleash in others. A given, the central given, for that force, is that it is going to act, it is going to act commensurate with a need, it is going to act now. How, is a variable in that, not a condition. Never a condition. Or it is not the love of a mother for her child.
If these are not extreme times, if they do not need extreme partners, then none of us should be. If they are, then all of us must be.
If these are not extreme times, if they do not need extreme partners, then none of us should be. If they are, then all of us must be.
EFLIUS Day 4. 60 miles traveled so far today, 6 miles left to Walmart parking lot Hilton. 800 human Watt hours expended so far today , times 3.6 is the number of calories expended, almost 3,000. On most days the vehicle invests roughly half.......
EFLIUS Day 4. 60 miles traveled so far today, 6 miles left to Walmart parking lot Hilton. 800 human Watt hours expended so far today , times 3.6 is the number of calories expended, almost 3,000. On most days the vehicle invests roughly half of the wattage required to achieve the time and distance and this body here invests an equal amount. Climbing four or five thousand feet that's not possible with a 200 and 40 pound vehicle. Today, 1400 watts of yesterday and today's solar Fusion Energy, 300 watts from a Town Diner the price of which was 3 pancakes, massive climb this 65 year old stage 4 cancer survivor still did 33% of the work. Pretty cool. And it turns out the 300 watts grid energy from the restaurant was an unnecessary precaution. There will be three hundred Watts still in the batteries by the end of the day. In all likelihood tomorrow and the next day will be spent occupying James Madison University. So the travel will be limited and the batteries are likely to be filled from the solar Fusion reactor in the sky by afternoon day after tomorrow at which point it will be prepared for the next leg of the journey which is University of Virginia in Charlottesville.
When you find people suffering enough, that you love enough, you can do, you do attempt, pretty much anything.
When you find people suffering enough, that you love enough, you can do, you do attempt, pretty much anything.
EFLIUS Day 4. The Amish matron gave me the most magnificent, lovely, loving smile.....
9.04.2016
EFLIUS: We're lost, the future is lost, I can't just sit and watch, not as long as I have breath. I'm exploring US for others that are the same.
EFLIUS: We're lost, the future is lost, I can't just sit and watch, not as long as I have breath. I'm exploring US for others that are the same.
9.03.2016
EFLIUS Day 2
625 watts of solar energy expended today, 825 human Watts expended by me from the chickpeas and bread that were donated to me by a kind coffee shop, which is all I'll have to eat because the money for food and certainly for lodging is now invested in about $1,500 worth of enhancements to this vehicle. What money I have left is due for my lease, cell phone, $30 a month Insurance on this vehicle. I've done, I'll do, I'll do my of this mission for as long as my body keeps going, the rest is out of my hands.
A year ago this happened to me and probably it was 6 hours for several days of peddling before I figured out what was going on. When it happened a year ago I assumed that it was me and not the vehicle. Today was probably 15 or 25 degrees cooler than it has been recently. What happened was my legs this morning when I left at 5:30 and for the first 12 miles about an hour and a half, my legs felt like, well, no strength. It seems like the vehicle wouldn't even roll. Anyone know what the problem was? Again, let me emphasize, a year ago when I was having my first experience in 40 years with a bicycle let alone a 240 pound bicycle loaded, it took me at least six hours and maybe several days before I figured out what was going on.
Answer: this vehicle, three tires for the vehicle, the tires are rated at 65 pounds of pressure. For reasons I don't know, I've chosen to inflate them to 60 pounds pressure. After 12 miles this morning, it finally dawned on me. I had not inflated the tires in at least a week. They were down to 40 pounds. What I find most amazing is that when this has happened to me in the last 6 months or so where I am more experienced, it's still sneaks up on me. Yesterday I traveled 30 miles I think. It was warmer, but still no hint. Today it was like I was riding through sand. How does it manifest so suddenly? Maybe all of it is to do with the temperature dropped. It's a mystery. When I inflated the tires all of a sudden I had a workable vehicle back.
why did it take me 12 miles? there was a variable distracting me from the ultimate cause, the tires. This vehicle is probably 40 pounds heavier than it has been because of all the stuff for this 2 months or two years Journey. Much of that weight is frozen bread and Frozen legume that I've been accumulating from this coffee shop that donate food to me for my mission. And Ice to keep it cool. I have no idea how long it will stay edible in this soft sided cooler.
The batteries were run down much more than they otherwise would have been. My body was run down much more than it otherwise would have been. But a very good learning experience.
This fabulous Android application , at sign voice, reads to me the hundreds of articles that I Q up when my work process does not allow for me to read long articles. All day long has been consumed with that. Extremely productive. Extraordinarily productive.
Weather Underground said that today was 70% overcast. That means that this was not a great solar generation day. By my choice I currently don't like eating into my reserves which are 30 - 60 miles in reserve depending upon how hard or soft a pedal. So after the first 12 mile debacle I throttled back from the nine miles per hour that I attempted yet and rather favoured trying to achieve a ratio of one part energy from the batteries, the Sun that I've stored, and one part energy from me or 100% energy for me depending upon the terrain.
Speaking of terrain, wow, so, I'm only 25 miles or so from Washington DC, oh my goodness it is so hilly here. And it's deceptive because it doesn't look that way but I have another application that will tell me a good approximation of the grade and frequently I was on three, four, five, even 6% grades. In case anyone was totally ignorant, as I have been, once you're on on an upgrade the issue is you're basically lifting your self and the vehicle which in my case is now 160 pounds, me, + 160 pound vehicle, Plus 70 pounds worth of stuff, one is lifting, literally the lifting that so many feet per minute. Yes, I get to go down those grades, but I also get to come up, and I'm particularly a slow today when I bled all kinds of battery because of under-inflated tires, I enjoyed being immensely conservative, two and a half miles per hour going up a grade, polite to the traffic as always. I choose times of day that are more likely travel than others, and have two sets of flashing lights that I use certainly one it's dark, but also in more dense traffic areas as a courtesy to drivers behind me.
Yet in combination, and I have excellent instrumentation on all this on the vehicle, part of the $1,500 upgrade, I averaged 8.6 miles per hour on this 40-mile leg today. And even better of the 625 Watts that I expended judging from my battery levels now I recovered probably 60% of that on a 70% overcast day, and traveling 42 miles, and averaging over 9 miles an hour. Did I mention that a significant portion of the $1,500 or so upgrade was to move from two solar panels to three, the second is identical to the third and they are immensely light, four pounds, and eventually efficient putting out as much as 75 watts each in full sun.
It is, very much the Gestalt of sailing, and when I am Skipper of any sailboat I find it very very mentally engaging. This has tremendous similarity to the Aesthetics of sailing the way I do it. I'm tremendously conscious of where of the sun is relative to the vehicle. I'm very aware of whether I'm in open space or trees. Point being, my enjoyment of sailing comes from being extremely conscious of opportunities to harness any breath of wind, and I have a similar Consciousness to gather every watt of sunlight.
My current routine is to plan on stopping two or three times per day. Morning Sun is problematic because it's low on the horizon as is late afternoon sun. So by choosing to arrange my stops from 8 in the morning until 10, and 3 in the afternoon until 5, I'm able to select a spot where the sun is hitting well where the vehicle can be parked and the panel on the roof can be angled toward the Sun, did I mention I spent $1,500 upgrading this vehicle, and the panels on the trailer can be easily tilted toward the sun, did I mention that I spent $1,500 upgrading the vehicle?
No, I am not doing this trip for the pleasure of it. Did I mention that I'll be staying each night in the Walmart Four Seasons or the equivalent? Did I mention that I'll be sitting up in the vehicle only slightly reclined every night all night? Did I mention that on one's mind in these situations is both robbery and undesired interest by the police or security? Did I mention that such things are stressful? Did I mention there have been no takers in terms of showing any interest in tapping into friends, churches, synagogues, mosques, organizations , relatives, to offer me periodically a safe place to throw down a sleeping bag and do laundry or get out of a storm?
It's not possible for me to avoid paying rent on the property without being unethical, and without drawing a suit or legal action. I'm liable through March and I'll pay through March. Point being I have a very large, very modern, very comfortable apartment. Pleasure would be staying there. Pleasure would have been enjoying the nice mattress that I have there the last 3 weeks. But joy was sitting up every night for the last 3 weeks so that my body became trained in managing the discomfort, and joy is being on this arduous, riskey, worrisome, starvation-prone, Storm vulnerable, exploration for life in us.
Trolling for live souls or those that have the ability to be rekindled was a metaphor that came into my mind and will stay there, today. Sowing seeds, of course. The notion of Johnny Appleseed about which I know little has come to mind with respect to this voyage.
This morning's Target was George Mason University. I know next to nothing about it as I'm heading there. I arrived at about 8 a.m. or so on a cold windy morning. Arrived at the Student Union and sat there for 20 minutes outside checking the news and what not and it was pretty much a ghost town. As with other campuses that I have seen there is a trend among some to keep the students on campus away from pollution by townies and regular folk. This strikes me as that type of Campus. It's small from what I could see. According to google there are two Starbucks on the small campus. Has they been part of an attendant town they would have been an interesting spot for me to sit and thereby troll. But they appeared to be embedded in campus buildings so my destination became a coffee shop about 2 miles from campus. There the vehicle and I sat for maybe two and a half hours. At least an hour of which was me sleeping quite exhausted after the weeks of preparation and pedaling a bike with flat tires for 12 miles, lol. Quite exhausted. Every 15 minutes the timer woke me up and the body said set it again which I did 4 times. But there was another hour or so there are where while I was working I could be aware of the reaction of passers-by on foot or car in this mall sort of area. This is Fairfax, VA fairly upscale suburb of Washington DC. My sense was that my sisters and brothers walking by are Walking Dead. Too busy, too consumed , too preoccupied, too obsessed with the worldly values of Our Sick culture to have the slightest room for a childlike curiosity, Wonder, awe, amazement, reverence for life. Not only are you welcome to evaluate my comments here in this regard as judgmental, having to do with superiority, putting people down. The reader is welcome to that judgment and encouraged to see cease observing anything that I write in the future because if that is how I am assessed then there is nothing of use that I can share with such a reader. What kind of a doctor is not aware of the health or lack thereof of those around her? What kind of a brother who is instead deeply concerned with the spirit of individuals, whether those Spirits are experientially dead, or whether they are filled with the optimal Human Experience which is joy?
Currently the vehicle and I sit in the parking lot of a large sprawling big-box Mall, in an area that does not have a lot of cars around it, but a 3 Iron from stores like Modell's, Sports Authority next to each other, Toys R Us, Hallmark, Designer Shoe Warehouse, Saks Fifth Avenue off fifth.... my strategy is to spend maybe half an hour organizing the log that I intend to keep to track energy investment, sun and plants that I eat, and energy consumption for which I now have excellent instrumentation, did I mention a $1,500 upgrade to the vehicle? And then to spend several hours sitting up here catching some sleep. And then when discomfort causes me to awaken and move, going another half-mile to where the Four Seasons Walmart is. And sleeping there for another 5 hours or so.
Early, probably 6 a.m. before the Sun is up and employees are around, the next destination is a 10 a.m. Unitarian Universalist service in Manassas about an hour and a half ride away.
I I mentioned that the notion of trolling , not rolling as in the internet, but trolling as in fishing, I've never liked fishing, that trolling as in fishing, is very much on my mind. I expect to more and more intensively troll so-called houses of worship as I get my stride over the next days and weeks. Tomorrow will be some introductory trolling, constituting possibly nothing more than my physical presence outside prior to the service and inside during the service , at the Unitarian Universalist Church there.
9.02.2016
Organic Transit ELF. Fabulous concept, will be stable in several years, support is a horrible nightmare, company unlikely to make it.
I adore this vehicle.
http://organictransit.com/
The support and service from the company has gone from horrible to Way Beyond horrible. As near as I can tell these are nice folks although it is hard to reconcile they are with the unbelievably atrocious support and policies. But I think that they're decent folks. As best as I can then understand their atrocious policies and support is that they must be in severe financial trouble, possibly going out of business, thereby under the control of some soulless MBA venture capitalist that's in the final stages of destroying their business. They have a warranty and if you're willing to pay roughly 200% of the cost of any item, absolutely ridiculous Freight and handling charges, delays of months or many weeks if you're lucky, after Hoops to jump through, excuses, challenges, dropped balls, then yes, they have a warranty. Did I mention that roughly once a year they replace their general manager and much of the staff so year-to-year no one knows anything? Did I mention they have a firewall that would make your cable TV company Green With Envy, you don't get to talk to a person in this company. not if your vehicle is broken down and needs support urgently. Not if it is a physical emergency. When they get to you truly honestly is weeks or months. I dearly wish I were exaggerating, because then my life would have been immensely easier the last six months and a technology that I deeply respect would have a chance of surviving which as things stand right now it certainly does not. If you have insane amounts of money to spend and not only to purchase the vehicle but to pay the double or triple Bike Shop fees if you can find anyone to work on the vehicle, and the huge cost of replacing part after part, solar panel, transmission..., and if as it relates to keeping the vehicle running, aligning the tires, tuning the system, you expect absolutely zero support, then this may be for you. It is a spectacular concept. It is a reasonable first generation implementation physically, think Wright Brothers plane number 2. It is among the worst nightmares in terms of support that I've experienced in my 65 years. So sad. And they seem to be absolutely 100% comfortable, self-satisfied, at peace with that.