Thoughts on This, The First Night of 2012

Though redundant, as these posts are dated, it is just after six in the evening on January 1, 2012 and the first day of this new year is coming to a close, dusk long gone, the evening sky dark as a gentle mist speaks of rain. Spent my day going over finances, making a strategy to deal with certain debts that still hover threateningly, like storm clouds in these troubling economic times, my own finances mirroring the weather just outside my window.

In some ways, my living situation, dramatically changed over these past three months, the economy, the lack of jobs (not that I really want one) for a aging Baby Boomer, coupled with debts, both mine and my wife's have me feeling caged, boxed in and wishing it was not so. It is difficult not having choices, or in my own situation having choices out on the horizon just out of my reach, exercising them all dependent to a degree on things outside of my own control, my life suddenly resembling that of the canary living in a gilded cage. The frustration of it comes in the reality that I am not getting any younger, my years on this earth dwindling far to fast for my own liking, and with those dwindling years, also dwindling choices as I look out toward the future wondering what it is that I want and am meant to do.

Looking back at my youth, more specifically my early adulthood, find myself wishing I could just shut down my apartment for say six months (or so), get myself a pickup truck with a cap top on it, load in some basic necessities (funny how what is basic has changed over the years), my camera, laptop, IPod and some drawing/writing supplies and just take off to explore the countryside here in America, Canada, down south into Mexico and beyond, driving wherever mood and destiny took me...head south to escape the harsh winter snows of this area, maybe heading down into Georgia, then Florida, up and across into Texas, stopping in New Orleans at some point along the route to see if any of the old haunts from my time there some 35 years ago are still around...God, am I really that old and has it been that long ago.

Would be good to travel up the coast of California again, this time driving a vehicle instead of hitch hiking like so long ago. Spend some time in San Francisco, drive over the Golden Gate Bridge into Marin County, stopping to do some primitive camping in Mount Tamalpais State Park. Wondering as I type this how this old body would deal with the primitive (and I do mean primitive) camping this park offered all those decades ago.

All a grand plan for a grand adventure, but being honest, times have changed, and such a trip requires MONEY!...Lets say I traveled on average 200 miles a day for 180 days. That would be a trip of some 36,000 miles at 20 miles to a gallon of gas which is going to cost me right at four dollars a gallon...2800 gallons of fuel, four dollars a gallon creates just one expense for such a trip of $11,200! OMG, and have not even fed myself yet.

Let's put that in perspective...I have $2,000 a month to live on, and even with my apartment mothballed, there are still going to be certain inescapable expenses. IE, my cell phone which I would use as a modem to get out onto the world wide web while I traveled is going to cost $100 a month. Even camping out, there are going to be times when I have to pay site fees, and there would be times when one needs to splurge on a motel room...even a Motel 6 these days is not inexpensive.

So, looking at my life, such a adventure is out unless I could A) find someone willing to pay me to make the trip and write about it...fat chance, or B) find myself a patron, as in a patron of the arts, someone of great wealth who found the idea amusing, or wanted to live vicariously the adventure with me through say a nightly blog post...the second option seems even less likely, though am wondering if there might be a lot of somebodies who once discovering the blog would be willing to make small donations to the cause...hmmm...that is a third option perhaps worthy of some thought.

Suppose the first thing to do would be to create a list of items I would want to take on such a trip, and as I contemplate this list, find way too many gadgets leaping to the forefront of my mind.

1. IPad-yes, I know what you are thinking. I would be able to bring all my favorite music with me without having to use up valuable space carting around 200 CD's...that would be just way to old school for a trip of this sort in 2012. I could have a GPS map app, even be able to have apps for finding places to camp, or where the closest truck stop with a hot shower was. Suddenly thinking a modern day Charles Kuralt doing my own version of "On The Road", uploading segments onto You Tube as I traveled across America...of course, if I could sell this concept, maybe I could move up to a Motor-coach instead of having to sleep in a tent, or in the back of my pickup truck on an air mattress. GREAT...still on one IPad which I cannot afford, and already a Motor-coach is trying to creep onto the list...but, this is a GOOD CONCEPT. Maybe I should contact HGTV, or the Discovery Channel too see if they are willing to pay for the first six episodes! A full season, and I would know I had won the dream lottery. I mean corporate sponsors for PRODUCT PLACEMENT alone could be HUGE.

Of course, if I could sell this as a reality show, Apple might be willing to be a sponsor, which means I could have a IPhone, and a fully loaded iMac inside the Motor-coach for doing my blogging, and editing of what would become THOUSANDS of great photographs to load up onto say Flickr or even (could I hope) Getty Images. Of course all these photographs, suddenly thinking COFFEE TABLE BOOK (I love Coffee Table books) being sold at Barnes and Noble, or at the very least on Amazon.com though being honest, as much as I love their Kindle Fire, nothing beats a REAL BOOK, turning its pages, holding it in your hands, caressing the paper while being careful not to break the binding or accidentally fold a page. Books by their mere presence command a certain level of respect.

2. Camera Equipment, both video and digital-OMG, if one thinks item number one is bad, my dream equipment here could run into several tens of thousands of dollars...notice I said DREAM EQUIPMENT. Even if I sold the idea as a reality show, and had a film crew taping/filming my every move, much of it ending up on the editing room floor, have to have my own camera equipment on this journey. My Canon Rebel has been VERY GOOD TO ME, and Canon makes some really great lens that I simply cannot afford but regularly drool over...seriously, drool over. Being honest here, do not have a lot of experience when it comes to video, so am open for some suggestions, though I do like what I have seen for the money in the Canon XH A1S which is way less expensive than some of the lenses I am craving. Am wondering if this camera comes with a free lesson or two.

The nice thing about one and two, is turning my trip into a Reality TV show with strategic product placement would eliminate some of the items I would require on my list. I mean imagine me tooling around the countryside, stopping at all the greatest out of the way places, bars, honkytonks and swimming holes in my Prevost Touring Bus...since it is my show, and my dream journey, think Prevost would mind painting it up like the Magic Bus? Speaking of the Magic Bus, wonder how many people know that Mountaindale, the small hamlet in which I now reside was Almost Woodstock the second coming back in 1970.

Can see myself pulling into Daytona for the big NASCAR restrictor cup race, ready to get out the grill and put on some SERIOUS EATS. Seriously, a Prevost bus and NASCAR just seem to go together like love and marriage, or beer and nuts. All dreaming aside, with a bus I would have a bedroom, living room, places for my favorite books, and a FULL KITCHEN...any one who knows me knows how much I love cooking and baking. It would be like taking my home out on the road with me; sleeping in a real bed paints a much prettier picture than going back to a pup tent, or a sleeping bag out under the stars. Now that we are on the subject of cooking, we come to my third area of equipment needs...kitchen stuffs!

3. I can eat pretty good over an open fire with not that many pots, pans and utensils, but if I have the kitchen of a Motor-coach to work with, I have some serious space in which too do it up right, starting with pots and pans...thinking here that I would like to go right to William-Sonoma with a open ended purchase order, the Prevost parked outside, and just start trying things out.

First on the list, a great set of pots and pans; thinking the, "All-Clad d5 Stainless-Steel"10 piece set would do me just fine (it even comes with some extra freebies). A great kitchen (even in a Motor-coach) has to have some great cutlery, and for my money (OK, the sponsor's money) I want the "Wusthof Classic 20 Piece Knife Block Set"...hey, just because I am a almost broke, over the hill aging hippie Baby Boomer does not mean I don't know quality. I can slice up a serious pan of taters with these babies.

Wondering here, think the sponsors, HGTV or the Discovery Channel will let me pick out some really outrageous flatware, and what about my china pattern....hmmm, Spode or Royal Doulton? I know, a bit cliche, but so eloquent and beautiful when setting a formal table. Of course, if I get these wish list items, we have got to talk linens, which would then take us into the bedroom, and those sheets better have some SERIOUS THREAD COUNT TO THEM. Goose down comforters are lovely...especially in colder climes. I mean I would love to do an episode up in Alaska, then head over to Canada for some serious camping and fishing out in the wilderness.

Hey, Prevost, with all that space underneath the bus, can I get a pull out stainless steel grill, maybe a pop up large screen HD television set for outside viewing under the stars?...give me a break folks, want to watch reruns of Grizzly Adams in style while I enjoy an after dinner Single Malt Scotch sitting by the cracking fire along the water's edge.

If you are going to dream in life, dream big. As I close this post, one final thought...if you run into someone with a few million dollars that wants to indulge my own little dream here, send them a link to this blog post...you just never know, it could happen.