Beth and I rode our bikes in a local race called the Kinzua Tango, which begins with a 13.5 mile run that transitions into a 20 mile bike ride that transitions into a 2.5 mile swim in the lake, then a 6-7 mile orienteering section through the woods, then another 4.5 mile run, finishing with an approximately 12 mile canoe race down the Allegheny. Athletes can do the entire race as individuals or in teams of up to six people who each do one or more sections. As the official team member of a Northwest bank team, Beth rode the bike section and I provided company. We had ridden her section several times beforehand, which consists of macadam and dirt roads rambling up and down the mountains near the Allegheny Reservoir, and finished in a respectable 2 hours. No doubt elite athletes who train regularly do it in less time-the best finishing in an hour to an hour and a half- yet a twenty year old college kid who runs and bikes regularly only beat our time by 5 minutes, so with serious training we could likely cut 20-30 minutes off our average. The race began at 7am and our canoe team touched shore at 8:08 pm, which put us last overall but better than that in individual sections, and in the end everyone had a great time. The team ( most of them are under 30 years old...)are already strategizing for next year, for this was their first race and they feel they can easily improve their showing.

Read two interesting books lately, as shown, the first exposing the sadistic, manipulative nature of L. Ron Hubbard, the founder or the cult/religion known as Scientology. Let's summarize it this way: The guy abused his wives and forced his followers to do such things as push peanuts around the wooden deck of his boat as punishment for insubordination. Of course this was under the guise of helping them to become "clear"- a Scientology term for psychologically healthy. Hardly the stuff of a genuinely loving, compassionate human being, spiritually speaking or otherwise. No doubt a few people were helped by his methods, for the path to peace of mind is as diverse as the mind itself, but let's not idolize this person, people. I read Hubbard's book years ago and recognized some truths in it, but so too do Islam and Christianity and other religions have elements of truth that can be beneficial...but not when they are corrupted by the same old failures of human nature.
The second book deals with the abject poverty in Africa that no amount of foreign aid will cure. Mr. Theroux travels from Capetown into Angola by car and bus and train, mingling among the native population, and gives an insightful, sobering assessment that Angelina and Bono have never experienced. After decades of war, Namibia and Angola for the moment are in comparative peace, but millions of people live in slums while the governments and complicit foreigners siphon off literally billions of dollars in oil revenues for their own corrupted pleasures. With so many unemployed young people watching this, it is only a matter of time before the place blows up again-and justifiably so. Yes, there are some good people trying to make positive changes, but the systemic breakdown in so many African cities and countries seems intractable....Both books offer information you likely won't find on the evening news, and both make you appreciate the controlled, civilized corruption and incompetence that forge the socioeconomic decisions in the U.S.A., where the majority of us remain fat enough so as not to conceive of rebelling.

Two Milestones

....and both were momentous occasions for different reasons. First, Kenny graduated from Warren high school on June 7th, and around the same time the 17 year cicadas emerged from the ground to begin their adult phase. Kenny was born the year before this brood of insects was hatched, but when one considers the immensely varied life he has led in those 18 years versus the life underground sucking on tree roots that the cicadas have led, one can appreciate the vast differences between our species. The biological clock that allowed the insects to emerge together is still a mystery, while Kenny, like his classmates, has followed a culturally programed clock all his life and only now has obtained the legal adulthood to decide what he wants to do with his future -which is to play music. The cicadas? They will follow their instincts to mate and then die, and their children will burrow underground to begin the cycle all over again. Whether Kenny will eventually marry and have children who repeat his cultural cycle is a measure of his free will, which no doubt is what truly separates us for the insects.

What's Wrong With Russia?

Just when we thought Russia might actually be entering the 21st century the government has started this crap...persecuting people for opinions and lifestyles that ultimately threaten only ignorant, weak willed and generally middle age white males...God I had hoped humanity was progressing beyond such fearful, hateful thoughts and closer to tolerant, loving ones, but I have always been a dreamer believing in what humanity Could be rather than what it is. Such lost, immature minds perpetuating such unenlightened perversions...

Facebook

My son created a Facebook page for me to help generate interest in my book 'Anti-Clock, Walking Across America' which is on kindle at Amazon.com...To all those who have shown interest I thank you from the bottom of my heart. It feels odd to promote myself in any manner but I don't know any other way to get the word out. Writing at it's core is a very solitary activity, and I literally have spent thousands of hours alone both walking and writing, trying to find inspiration that might be helpful to the rest of humanity. The cross country walk was the culmination of that process and hopefully the book can inspire someone the way it's creation inspired me. In the end we are all in this together!

Tornado Near Warren?

The area had severe thunderstorms on the 28th, with wind and lightning and rain...There were dozens of trees blown down in a few areas, and some roof damage, but the most striking destruction was on a ball field near Russell, a small town a couple of miles north. Certainly there were very strong gusts, because light poles at ball fields are rated to withstand over 100mph winds. Nobody was injured and chainsaws are plentiful around here,so there are already neatly stacked cords of cut logs waiting for someone's wood stove. In the 1980's tornadoes killed people in Kane, a town 20 miles south as the crow flies, so outbreaks are not unheard of, regardless of the mountainous terrain.

Snow in May

Took these pictures this morning looking out the backdoor...Snow showers and a high of 45F on May 13th...Bizarre...Beth tells me she remembers snow around here on Memorial day in the past, and I vaguely remember seeing a snow shower on May 3rd when I was a kid living near Allentown, but accumulating snow in mid May after two weeks of 70F weather? Bizarre...Walking on the mountain after I took these photos the snow had coated the brush and tops of logs, then lingered for a couple of hours in the cool air. Yet the forecast is for 73F by the 15th so this is a freak cold spell...Bizarre!