Weird Wednesday

We've come up with a game plan, for our spring/summer/early fall schedule. We really don't want to spend the whole time digging holes, gardening, etc. Most of our gardens are full of perennials now so we really only need to plant some large pots and get some annuals for instant color in the sun gardens. We also are being asked back for our "part-time" job maintaining the grounds where Lisa works. Her boss also told Lisa that she might want some help at her personal residence. We charge her $25 an hour for our labor -- it's pretty low, but it's gratifying for us.

Anyway, we're going to camp the first weekend of every month, the second weekend we'll do grounds maintenance at Lisa's job, the third weekend we'll use for recreation of any other kind, and the fourth weekend will be used for obligations (visits, weddings, etc.) Of course, since we set up the schedule, we can be as flexible or inflexible as we want to be.

We're looking at Letchworth State Park (sometimes called the Grand Canyon of the East). I've never been, nor has Lisa and we've been told it has some fantastic scenery and hiking trails anywhere from .5 miles to 20 miles. This is what we want to do -- camp, hike, and get away from comfortable technology. No charcoal, gas grills, or other conveniences. It won't matter what the weather is, either. Weather may be a factor as far as our activities once we get there, but we'll go regardless.

We'll cook over an open fire, sleep in a tent in a sleeping bag, use our kerosene lanterns for light. We want to do it this way, without any comforts, because we really want to learn these types of survival skill. One never knows, in today's world, when knowing how to live without technology might become necessary for a period of time. Since we took the C.E.R.T. training, we've been doing a lot of self-training in survival and emergency actions/preparedness.

Anyway, Letchworth looks like a good first outing. I belong to a walking group at work, and they've been talking about geocaching a lot -- the latest craze in hiking. It sounds like fun, with a purpose behind a hike, but the use of GPS technology is what turns me off. I'd rather have to use a compass and a map, similar to old hand-drawn treasure maps. Call me whacky, it just seems like it would be more challenging and fun to do it that way.

So, in addition to Letchworth, we're looking at Lake Placid/Whiteface Mountain where the Winter Olympics were held, a 19th century fair out in Marathon (south of Syracuse), and the Wine Country Classic Boat Show down in Hammondsport. Other places will pop up, probably on impulse or by recommendation. We want to go to different places each time, but still within just a 200-250 mile radius of where we live.

I pre-ordered Brokeback Mountain yesterday. We haven't had a "film fest" in quite a while and we're anxious to have one with this film. Joe's girlfriend wants to see it and Joe has even indicated that he'd watch it, too. It was pricey, as DVDs go ($29.12 with shipping and sales tax), but I really want this film. It's such an important work and I believe that if people will open themselves up to watch it, perhaps they can gain a better insight into homosexual relationships -- maybe then they can understand that it's not just a sexual thing, but an emotional and spiritual relationship as well. The likes of Falwell, Roberts, Swaggert and Phelps see homosexuality as pure fornication and so strongly resist letting themselves see it as anything other than hedonistic fornication. If that's the case, then most of our friends, along with Lisa and I, are giving homosexuals a bad name.

Why, just last night we destroyed the right-wing image by coming home from work, doing a couple of loads of laundry, I fixed dinner while Lisa put some finishing touches on the luaun in the entryway. We ate dinner on the couch while watching World's Wildest Police Videos, then did up the dinner dishes, organized one of our kitchen racks with new baskets we'd just gotten, then sat down and watched American Idol. I knitted while we watched, Lisa brushed her cat. After the show ended, we went to bed. We did not indulge in hedonistic activities once we went to bed -- we dropped off to sleep almost immediately.

This is a very typical night for us. I can see how this lifestyle would frighten the religious right. I can see why they'd want to keep children from being exposed to it. I can see why they'd not want it spoken about in schools.

GROANER

Bill Clinton ran into Dick Cheney while in Washington the other day. They got to talking and Cheney admitted that the whole recent hunting incident had really been a pain in the ass, but had been blown way out of proportion.

Clinton says, "I don't know about that, Dick. Why, when I shot someone in the face, they impeached me."

Badump bump