Buckaloons

       There is a national forest recreation area near town called Buckaloons that is used mostly by local people for walking their dogs or loading and unloading watercraft. About a level mile in circumference it used to be a primary camping place for Seneca Indians until white people arrived when-predictably- they were decimated by war and disease. Today there are 60 campsites used by people looking to get away for a day or two, although busy roads are within one half mile so this is not a pristine wilderness. Still, it remains a refuge for wildlife-fox and squirrel and deer and nuthatch and whatever else exists in the broader Allegheny forest-for despite the roads there is access to the thousands of acres beyond. The Brokenstraw and Irvine creeks flow into the Allegheny river within the area, and offer habitat for fish and water birds; I have caught bass and chubs in the rivers and no doubt that is why the Indians favored this spot. To me, this is one of those areas great for day use or for travelers to stay over night if passing through the forest. There are more remote places to camp and hike but the convenience of this location ensures its popularity.    ...click on pictures to enlarge them

 

Almanac

   I always check out the yearly almanac from the library, although I notice myself questioning the sources and wondering about the accuracy of the data more than in the past. That is the result of the division within our society and the deliberate distortions of reality among some people. I  consider myself a skeptical optimist, which means that I have tried to keep an open mind about things while maintaining a preference for the methods of science and logical reasoning. The cynicism and distrust I witness of our institutions is unnatural and distasteful to me; I accept that the data may be off by a few decimal points but that is the best human beings can do. I do not accept the cynical attitude that the majority of people have bad intentions.                                                                                                                                A couple of facts in this years almanac regarding money is that the wealthiest 30 U.S. individuals possessed over 2 trillion dollars in wealth as of April 2022 according to Forbes magazine. That is approximately what the U.S. spends on Social Security and Defense combined in one year.  The top 20% of people own 52.7 percent of wealth, the bottom 20% own 2.9 percent. That unequal distribution has been ongoing since 1970, with  the middle 60% also losing wealth consistently over the decades.                                    In the obituaries of 2022 is Peter Robbins, the voice of Charlie Brown in the 1965 Christmas special, and Jay Last, a physicist who helped create the semiconductors which laid the foundation of silicon valley.  Both are unknown to most people yet their influence continues long after their deaths. Many of the obituaries in the almanac describe accomplished people who are totally unknown except to their own generation and those who personally knew them. That exposes the profound temporariness of existence; people of every generation are forgotten by the next one, and only the most influential-the Einsteins or Lennons or Hitlers -survive the forgetting of time until what remains are the fragments that historians decide to preserve. Also in the almanac are people from other cultures whom western societies have totally neglected; history is written by the powerful. Nowhere in the obituaries are recorded the daily exchanges of the individuals who interacted with them; I do not suppose Buddhas family thought too highly of him when he abandoned them to seek his enlightenment.                                                             So an almanac is a potpourri of information that offers perspective, incomplete though it may be. It is an attempt to be objective in a world that desperately needs one.

Fusion Power

     Scientists announced today that they had achieved controlled nuclear fusion ( Google it...) for the first time on December 5th, a difficult feat that they have been working on for decades. The technology has tremendous promise as a source of mostly clean, 'limitless' energy, but there remain many engineering obstacles until we achieve economical power station reality.  I do not want to minimize or criticize the potential importance of this breakthrough, but I compare it to the Wright Brothers first flight when what will be needed are rocket engines. As new people and money and computing power are flushed onto the problem, maybe breakthroughs will occur faster than the progress in flight, so let's hope humanity has the time.

A Remarkable Woman

  This is Piper VanOrd, owner of an outdoor shop here in Warren, the go to location for canoe and kayak trips on the Allegheny River, as well as a source of all kinds of outdoor gear and clothing used here in the national forest.  Without any previous connection to Ukraine, she has traveled to the region several times since April of 2022, where she has helped set up a shelter for refugees in Poland while also buying and transporting supplies into Ukraine-everything from food to personal hygiene items to generators. Over the past ten months she has established many contacts in the region, and has become friends with some of the people there; "It is not about me" she says; her motivation for her hard work and dedication has been her selfless compassion and moral clarity to do what is right in an unjust war.

                           I am not on Facebook although I know Piper has a page where she keeps everyone updated about the people she has helped overseas as well as information about how to donate money to her efforts. If anyone is interested in learning more please search her name or Allegheny Outfitters; I can assure you that rather than some anonymous charity she will make sure the money goes to where it is desperately needed. Thanks                                                                                                          "Senseless barbarism. These are the only words that come to mind seeing Russia launch another missile barrage at peaceful Ukrainian cities ahead of New Year," Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba tweeted in a reaction to the Russian attacks. "There can be no 'neutrality' in the face of such mass war crimes. Pretending to be 'neutral' equals taking Russia's side."