Map of Marion walks and paddles

Not sure how people find it, but here is a link to the google map of marion walks and paddles.
http://tinyurl.com/marionmap

Commuting Alchemy

Isn't etymology fun?

mid-15c., from L. commutare "to often change, to change altogether," from com- intensive prefix + mutare "to change"

Ah, but what is changing?

thoughts of the road

After graduate class Weds. night we got to talking about gardens, one women, a true scholar had been reading many gardening books and was asking about ideas. She was talking with a women in the class who grew up on a small farm and still lived there and me. It was interesting to see the difference between knowing and actually doing.

The garden/farming reading I'd recommend is Wendell Berry. At some point we need inspiration more than details. Don't just read about bikes or gardens, just do it.

The spotted dog

I've been without a working car for nearly a month. An unintentional, nearly full time, bike commute. I got a ride from another teacher on days of snow and once to go to Bridgewater (renting a car once). It was a lot of riding for a short month (we even had a week off for winter break). The details of the car are annoying and expensive, nearly $3000 to get it back and it wasn't in an accident.

So I've been biking it. Then interesting thing is that many people seem to have noticed. Its only been me and the guy who bikes up to the over pass to spend the day watching the traffic and rocking on his heels slowly. So I stand out a bit on the road.

I rode with lovely daughter to meeting (church) and it was a cold day in February as wife and son went to a different event. I've heard from a lot of people about that, pretty much everyone who saw us had an opinion. It appears split evenly - half commenting that was a cool trailer bike and neat to see people out riding and others who just kept saying - boy it was cold, how old was your daughter...was she too cold?, my how far did you go in the cold with your little child?

Whats the point? I'm one of the few non-anonymous citizens. I've been thinking that I was biking by myself when really its one of the most communal things I do. Alas there is no one else communing with me. Can there be a worthwhile one-way conversation? Is there such a thing as a one-way community?

When I think about it, in the winter there are few opportunities to meet others. The sense of being in a community takes a hit. Sure there is a brief stop at the library, post office, maybe a few people while sledding or skating. In the summer there is the beach with many more people and sailing races, and outdoor parties like the clam bake or cook outs. People are out cutting the lawn. This is different than in the winter when we are enclosed. I really can't tell who is waving at me from cars half the time. Perhaps seasonal affective disorder is triggered by light etc. but it can't be helped by the lack of social interactions with the world at large.

Cross wind

Rick Smith is spying on my commute (Friday gusts of above 30 knots, reports of over 50, though not while I was out) A beam reach most of the way home, wished I could put a reef in, but couldn't.

http://www.yehudamoon.com/index.php?date=2010-01-31

And to think that I saw in on East Grove St.

On the way home Friday saw a women out for a walk. She had: a purposeful stride, large headphones on, ..... and a pony on a leash.

New Year and where to?

Physics students get a bit annoyed when they learn that an object moved back to its original location has a displacement of zero. No work. Yet that's what a commute is. Hopefully an uneventful round trip. There is: joy, temporary connection to the life of the planet going on past your window, some increase in fitness, and a sense of accomplishment, but there is no work. I'm unlikely to ride the rest of this week, so for the year I traveled 3082-some-odd miles by bike, total displacement - zero.

I was listening to a "great course" on tape (one of the old testament studies) just to study what I normally don't consider. One analysis is straight out of folklore study- what story pattern does this biblical story fit. I remember reading once that Cinderella belonged to a folk tale group (step mother, challenge, wicked step sisters...) that had hundreds of variations. The old testament's most memorable stories come down to a handful, travel on a mission..., meeting women at a well..., the actual details become important as the plot. To understand you need to note what is said and what is left out. One of the most difficult passages, the binding of Issac, is a trip to wherever. For three days they walk to get there, but don't seem to have a goal. Christmas is a travel story, but the destination isn't the point. Everyone seems up and wandering about, peregrinations seem detailed, the long stretches of home and stability for anyone (take long lived Abraham for example) don't warrant a note while trips to Egypt, travel to the mountain, settling again elsewhere all are detailed. Travel is vital, travel to a particular place doesn't matter.

Safe travels in 2010.