Thoughts Of A Free Man

This is the time of year for travel. I haven’t been flying about like I used to but it wasn’t long ago that I would roll up a couple of changes of clothes, pack them in a seabag and head for the airport. It was during this packing that I had to be sure to throw my trusty Swiss army knife into the... Sign in to see full entry.

It was a shortlived career. My return to the grocery business lasted for five hours of orientation and one ten-hour shift on the floor. I was out to find something easy to do to occupy my time and my mind. I have always carried around fond memories of the year and half I spent at Piggly Wiggly when... Sign in to see full entry.

When do we decide to live the life we envisioned years ago? A long time ago I decided I wanted to be a farmer, starting every day with a cup of coffee, knowing the day would be spent outdoors on a tractor or do stuff (I don't know what) with cows and goats. So far I haven't got past the coffee.... Sign in to see full entry.

I’m reading H.W. Brands excellent biography of Andrew Jackson. It is a little longer than most books I read but its very good. Maybe now with this approachable biography people, including myself, will get to better know our seventh president and the man on the $20 bill. The tricky part with reading... Sign in to see full entry.

Well, winter finally hit and its cold cold in Tennessee this morning, around fifteen degrees where I am with a wind chill a bit lower. I rarely do much outside in these conditions but I do remember ne hiking trip in Iceland where it was about this cold with the wind chill. The water from crossing... Sign in to see full entry.

When is it wisest to take your ball and bat and walk away? Or is life so boring or people so insecure that everyone needs the last word? Actually, I find animosity entertaining. But then I've felt the ground shake beneath my feet, causing bottle rockets to loose their sting. Sign in to see full entry.

Advancements in our modern world have greatly enhanced and extended the lives of people. We have electronic connections with the world to soothe loneliness and drugs to reset our brains when the burden seems too much. But there is a trade off that comes with not confronting our immediate environment... Sign in to see full entry.

There is a bar just down the road from my apartment and whenever I go in I rarely get any attention from women but there is lways somebody who tells me they have a job waiting for me at $50, 60, even 75K per year. I have been loathe to re-enter the cubicle world but the wells drying upand its time... Sign in to see full entry.

Fifteen years ago a couple of friends and I went backpacking in Fall Creek Falls State Park on Tennessee’s Cumberland Plateau. On the last two days of our trip we hiked the 12 mile lower loop trail and slept on a swinging bridge at the bottom of the Cane Creek Gorge. We should have hiked up to the... Sign in to see full entry.

Thats the view a couple of weeks ago from a trail at Savage Gulf State Park on Tennessee's Cumberland Plateau. It was the last hurrah and the leaves are almost gone now. Good riddance. This fall has been one of too many opportunities and with that my hands have been tied behind my back. I've about... Sign in to see full entry.