10.14.07
Hello, anyone, anyone?
Well that didn’t work out like I planned at all.
After two months off the trail, basically in bed sleeping, it was to late or so I thought to get back onto the trail. I was way out of shape, always tired and lost any conditioning I had from the trail. Hmm what to do what to do?
After playing email tag with Sir B. Floyd I called him late, well late here*, one night after not being able to fall asleep by 2am. As he said it was good to talk trail again with someone that understood. I caught him just as he was leaving the institution of higher learning. It was good to catch up and we both had pieces of who was still on the trail and where they were. I felt a lot better about not getting back on the trail so far behind anyone that might have been through hiking. Talking about the possibility of jumping back on next season with the Good Sir and Carpenter to finnish the trail together. Sir. B. Floyd has a slightly askew (yes I used a semi math term Floyd) way of looking at things just like yours truly, and is always great for a laugh. My favorite idea was the giant inflatable ball you could climb into and roll across the rocks through PA. (pat pend).
*I had somehow gotten back into my old routine of being awake all night and sleeping all day. Even after taking several to many advil PM I would lay awake all night till 6 or 7am. Then fall asleep.
Finally one day I had enough of sitting around, I called my brother, begged for my old job back. He was still working on the antique auto museum. I would come back even for a HUGE cut in pay just so I didn’t have to sit around all the time any more. Im kidding of course I would never beg. LOL Mike said he could really use my help again, we planned for when he got back from Miami with his new truck I would come back down to Philly and jump right back in. That first week was rough. Just getting my body moving again and staying awake for an entire day. But it did cure my not sleeping at night! I slep like a baby for the first time since I got off the trail. I haven’t had any problems sleeping through the night since working ten hour days again six days a week with Mike. We are getting a lot accomplished with the museum. The pictures are here for anyone interested in looking and updated weekly. We have a crew of Union people on site building the new bathrooms and working on getting the floors stained. Meanwhile our crew are working on the sets and people barriers again, painting, starting to work on the network and going to Fazio’s True Value Hardware and salvage yard, its like Disney World for us. You can find anything there if you look enough and go back often.
I am on my fourth dose of Doxy now. Doc Simeone has given me the script, he was worried it wasn’t totally out of my system. My hips shoulders and knees still hurt all the time and I stay tired due to the drugs. My memory is spotty, Who are you again?, I tend to think of something turn to get or do it and forget what it was. I spend a lot of time trying to remember or doing part of something, getting distracted by twenty other things before I get back and finish the first job. My advice is don’t get Lyme Disease kids. I know all of your friends are doing it, but its just not worth it. on a better note (Eminor) I am being very creative and starting to feel art again. So the job and working has been very therapeutic for me. At the end of every day I feel like I have accomplished something. A very big step for me.
I know I was only on trail for a a month but I must say that is was one of the best experiences I’ve every had. It was something I wanted for a long time and I did it for myself. That alone is worth it for me. The things I really cherish the most is all the incredible people I met, got to know and share the experience with. All of us come from different backgrounds and lives but all had the trail in common. Trail folk are not as closed and guarded about life. We share information, tails, life and at times good ice cream and beer. Well not beer and ice cream together. I am already starting to think about next season, getting back on the trail in early March to “Rock the Southern half” as Floyd would say. Then meet him in May when he begins the rest of the Northern half.
Oh and Im going to meet the Dalai Lama hes coming to a town very close to my parents the 10-15 of July and I have ticket to see him! Sweet!!! That was the second thing on my to-do list. 1)Hike trail, check, 2)meet Dalai Lama 3)find property and build house in Maine.
Thats it for now kids. Enjoy life and remember to breathe.