Yah I wandered Allison, I told you I was social and the list has been pretty slow of late (not that rocks move fast). (Lin, stop shaking your head, I can hear the rattle from 2500 miles away. No, giggling isn’t better.) Some days, I get on a roll...
I’ve been lucky. I’ve done a lot of interesting things from racing sailboats to getting a pilot’s license to driving truck (short time only). Travel is one thing I’ve always loved. What’s over that hill? How are these people the same or different? What’s unique in their culture? What grows here? Is this a good place to settle when the travel days are over? Are there different foods (danger zone!)?
I’ve crossed the country a few times and parts of
While I wanted an RV before, the
Mosquitoes weren’t too bad (DEET!) but the black flies are horrid little buggers. A mosquito bite, if ignored is gone in an hour. Black flies take a nickel’s worth of meat from you and still itches a WEEK later.
I’m not a geologist, but do appreciate it at times. I’m more into scenery (knowing how things were shaped helps) and wildlife but got on this list because a group of us share some common interests so we moderate (as a group) several lists. (Yah Lin, tough schist! Your group, I know. :-P)
In my previous life I was a firefighter (line Captain). It’s the BEST job in the fire service (ask any line chief, they often regret promoting up and dealing with the politics and noise). The department I worked with (for 32 years, then 2 with others before that) did every type of fire, rescue, haz mat, medical, inspections, arson investigation, everything but make arrests (and a couple could do that too). Hard work, hard play, good and bad times, too much good food. You deal with folks at the best AND worst times of their lives. If you make it without major injury and a reasonably sane mind when it’s time to retire, you win. It was a great life, but as I tell folks now; I feel much better.
I used to ski every winter, but the back and knees tell me I can’t anymore. It was the only sport I was ever any good at and there’re prime ski slopes 45 minutes from here. My mind? Well, I have my moments of clarity, I think. I retired at age 51, almost six years ago.
I still have a problem with some miscreants (drunk drivers top that list) and feel much of it could be solved by proper application of a wood chipper. You don’t want to know the rest, but the flowers would grow better along the highway. Let’s just say I think so mulch of them. ;-)
One of the reasons the fire service worked well for me was that I have to be outdoors, in the sun and doing something different (contained wanderlust). Even if there was a fire on the same hill, every year, something was always different (taller grass, different wind, hotter, different humidity). I can’t stamp widgets in a cubicle (tried it, can’t do it).
One of the gotchas in life, is that when you retire, you must have a plan, a second life prepared and ready, apart from your working world. I watched too many good folks retire, go home, sit down and stare at the wall and in five years (or less) they died. I learned from that (don’t sit inside?).
So a few years before I left, I went back to photography (which went back to grade school) and made a left turn from the fire service. It works well with traveling. When I left, that was my new life. Now I’m a wildlife photographer and having some success at forgetting the things worth forgetting while discovering new things through travel. I’ve always liked to learn, but my interests are about as focused as a squirrel. Besides a fire degree, I also hold a degree in Administration of Justice (cop stuff) which actually helped me in the fire service (court procedures, gathering evidence on an arson investigation and understanding cops).
Schlumberger was also the parent company of Heathkit, where I got my first computer (1978, the H8) and some radio stuff.
I want to go back up there. There is SO MUCH beauty, that it can’t be absorbed; so much to see that a lot of it is tuned out as visual noise. The people are awesome, they’re LIVING life. Our website has some images from there. One of these days, I’ll rewrite the site and make it user friendly (it was my first attempt and it’s stale now). http://www.HappyMoosePhoto.com will get you there.
Odd thing about cussing, the same language also works on computers, engines, electronics and that dumb sumbitch down the street. Sometimes you have to remind it of its place in life. ;-) I’m not proud of the language, but I learned it pretty good. After all, I was raised in a firehouse, since I turned 17. ;-)
Ok, wake up the rest of ya, it’s back to rocks, faults and archaeology.
Rick
From: Allison Loukanis
Well I am not sorry you have wondered off from geology. That was fascinating. You sound like you have traveled a lot and you are very fortunate. When I was a kid and my family took trips, my dad would always pull over and give us a geology lesson. That is how I learned about faults, orogeny, the layers of rock, the difference between
You are fortunate to have visited
Well I certainly hope that you are always able to cuss your way out of trouble...silence doesn't sound good. smile..Losing hearing is annoying. I know about that. About the only language I know a few words of is Spanish, and that only common stuff... although I did take Latin in school. That helps in reading a Latin language.
I totally agree with you regarding the irresponsibility of human beings. Random destruction is something for which I have no patience.
May I ask what you used to do? The job you mentioned? I was a stay at home mom for years, homeschooled my kids and now work part time in a daycare. Allison
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