Date: 2005-01-25
To: Transformative Psycho-spiritual WHAT?
Miles today: 0.0

I love reading other peoples¢ journals. Each one is unique and each is inspirational in its own way. I¢m also having a good time working on mine, though I wish I had more time for it. The very idea of this adventure has, like a thunder storm on the western ridges of the Appalachians, released a torrent of thoughts and ideas that cascade through the gorges of my mind. I want so much to try and capture their magic before they disappear over the rocky falls of my memory and rush away to the forgotten sea. Like the trail itself, my writing has become a kind of journey of exploration, at once revealing and mysterious. This is where I¢ve been; this is who I am. But where will it all take me, and who shall I become. I¢ve been writing for a long time. School stuff for too many years, and then work stuff for too many more. Dry, factual, analytical stuff, sterile in most regards, written by an economist for economists. Deadly stuff, without a soul, but then again, it¢s for ¢work¢. Serious stuff. Not-to-be-entertaining stuff. Stuff for the Board of Directors to read and, if we¢re lucky, approve. Occasionally a bit of passion creeps in, but careful editors in black robes waving holy pencils ensure it¢s exorcism before the light of day. Enough is enough! I WANT TO BE FREE. I want to write the way I FEEL like writing. That¢s one reason I appreciate so much the two guys who maintain this Trailjournals.com Web Site. This is the first time I¢ve ever had a chance to write just for me, AND have an audience. Even if the number of assembled eyes is not so large, I know they are out there. The counter tells me so. I am encouraged.In terms of style, I¢m kind of experimenting here. Mostly I want to get away from writing with footnotes and scholarly references. My dissertation advisor at Duke, Joe Spengler, was Chairman of the American Economics Association at the time. He was a grand old man, much beloved, and very much a medieval scholar. He published prolifically, and used to have competitions with his colleagues to see who could get the most footnotes into a six page journal article. Is it any wonder that my dissertation contained over 500 footnotes and 250 bibliographical references?? Been there, done that. It¢s one reason you haven¢t seen a lot of scholarly quotes garnishing my pages. I¢m also given to analytical thinking by nature. If you¢ve read the untitled entry of December 31, you may have already figured that out. But with all of the serious stuff I have to read and write at the office all day, my after-work proclivities turn mostly to humor. I¢m a huge fan of people like James Thurber (¢The Secret Life of Walter Mitty¢ ¢ which is, like, SO ME), and Mark Twain (try ¢Innocents Abroad¢ ¢ I¢d love to have him show up at a shelter some night), and Will Rodgers, and even Dave Barry for an occasional chuckle. I¢m more in the mood for wackiness than for theory. Stuff that makes me laugh.   Don¢t¢ get me wrong. I¢m not anti-intellectual or anything. I can still appreciate the sentiments of one of my journaling colleagues ¢ Break a Leg ¢ when she writes things like: ¢So the question of cultural transference is an intriguing one, and I¢m at once leery of assigning too much automatic credence to the idea that Walking From Georgia to Maine will be a Transformative Psycho-spiritual Experience and of dismissing the evident connection between who I am and where I am, mind and body, landscape and identity.¢[Wilson, Jessica Trailjournals.com/breakaleg January 10, 2005] Ok, it¢s only ONE little footnote¢¦. I simply have a strong predisposition in favor of her entry of January 5, the entire thing consisting of: -------¢I ate an enchilada for dinner last night. Sam said, ¢That enchilada looks pretty disgusting.¢ ¢Your face looks pretty disgusting,¢ I said. ¢I¢d rather have that enchilada than you for a sister,¢ he said.-------At some point along my journey, if I keep at it, I¢ll probably have to get serious for a minute or two. I suspect I may even have some astounding and earth-shaking revelation of some kind at some point along the trail -- though I hope it may be more like that of Saint Peter on the road to Damascus, Syria than simply a lightening strike on my way to Trail Days in Damascus, Virginia. If I do have any such deep thoughts while I hike, I¢ll share those with you, assembled eyes, as and when they happen. But mostly, I want wacky. I¢m just in that kind of a mood. I¢ve been locked up for too long. I¢ve got to be FREE.   I¢ve got to be ME!Stay tuned,