No Forest To My Eye

I just returned from a brief visit to the old stomping grounds, northern Michigan. While there we drove by some "managed" forests, some in a state of recovery, in a sense, because they at least had some undergrowth, but most in that sterile, artificial system of straight, orderly rows of tall, narrow pines limbed high enough not to interfere with logging equipment. Some of these are the result of the old clear cutting methods preferred by most logging companies. Some, the product of the newer "modified" clear cuts that are supposed to leave room for other species somewhere in the mix. While I know we're never going to eliminate the need for wood and wood pulp in any foreseeable future and recognize and, on some level, support the use of managed forests as a somewhat sustainable option to simply moving along to older "virgin" forests to fill that need, part of me still cringes when these tree factories are referred to as forests. Forests are wild places; these are nothing of the sort. So I'm working on a poem about it. Here's the current version:

No Forest To My Eye

Woods, maybe,
This managed thing,
This uniform place,
But certainly no forest.

Cut down the old growth,
Grade it, plow it,
Remove the rocks and stumps,
The heart of it.

The dog is no more wolf
Than these trees a true woods;
Yet does the dark arboreal past
Lurk in and haunt a forest's dreams

Like the running packs
That hunt and leap
Behind the lids of
Twitching, sleeping dogs?

Even rows and perfect spaces
Undergrowth cleared and
Harvest ready. Tagged
And color coded. Forests.

No. Forests don't leave you dizzy.
Forests don't walk the straight path,
Domesticated and tame.

A Poem About King Kong (?)

Tonight on AMC (Seriously, AMC? Yes. AMC.) they are showing the 1976 Dino de Laurentiis remake of King Kong, starring Jeff Bridges, Charles Grodin, Rene Auberjonois, and, oh yeah, Jessica Lange. The movie had an impact on my young, impressionable mind. I decided to write a poem about it....

King Kong

I'm thirteen years old and Jessica Lange has changed my life forever.
A Black Velvet Girl pulled from the sea, wet and pure and flawless.
Her smile has opened my eyes to a world of imagination,
An imagination that won't quit for a lifetime.

It's 1976 and I'm sure there is something important going on,
But I can't for the life of me care what it just might be:
Jessica Lange is wearing a cut-off top that promises everything.
And she's this close to slipping into the ocean.

I immediately understand this creature's obsession.
I saw her on the pedestal of offering; I would have grabbed her, too.
I'm sitting in a theater watching a monster movie,
But the monster is not the one on the screen--

I've been struck and I never saw it coming, never considered
Anything could overshadow and render irrelevant
The awesome and terrible power of King Kong.

It's OK. I Understand.

To my friends who believe they cannot vote for Barack Obama, I want you to know: I understand. I truly do. You see, Barack Obama is intelligent and thoughtful. He is articulate, literate, and sincere. He understands his shortcomings and not only seeks the council of others, but listens to it. In short, he is the complete antithesis of all you have come to expect and admire in a President. It must come as quite a shock that someone of such characteristics should wish to serve his country in this way. I understand your suspicion. I know it scares you that someone might want to rock the boat. Someone might want to change the status quo, possibly even change the paradigm. I'm sure it's quite frightening. It's so much easier to stick with what you are familiar with, even if it hasn't really been any good for you or your country. Change is scary. I understand.

I realize you have become quite comfortable giving up rights and freedoms and weakening the Constitution because you believe it doesn't really affect you. I'm sure you believe that little "preemptive" strike and all of the chaos that has arisen from it is not only justified but somehow necessary, even though all independent sources (and event the Pentagon, GASP!) have agreed that this action was unwarranted and has only undermined our security as a nation and also our standing on the world stage. I understand. It's easier to believe what "they" tell you. I understand, I really do.

What a sigh of relief you must have expelled when the candidacy of John "McFriends" McCain was confirmed! No longer would you have to worry about change. Here was a chance to not only elect someone who would keep the same policies moving "forward," but, heck, he's a good friend, too! Of course, I would think (heaven forbid!) it would be better if he could decide just what it is he stands for. That seems to shift from day to day.

Part of the problem, my friends, with John "McFriends" McCain, is that, well, my good friends, the real John McCain died several years ago. Yes, friends, it's true. The last time he went through a campaign it was simply too much for his creaky old heart and he passed on to Valhalla. But, my friends, don't despair, the Republican party was able to create a modified clone using DNA from the original John "The Maverick" McCain, George W. Bush, and an extremely obedient and passive lap dog. It's really a marvel of science, which is really saying something for a party which eschews science so readily.

So, no hard feelings. I know how hard it is to face the future. However, I encourage you to embrace change and take a chance on the future. Let's move toward a future where America once again holds itself up to a higher standard and no longer says, "Why should we lead the way? No one else is doing it." Let's look to a future where America once again stands up and says, yes, we can (Wait, is that Obama's slogan? Hmm. That was unintentional, seriously.). When America sees the world out-competing it by manufacturing vehicles that get better mileage, have better warranties, and have higher levels of quality and performance it shouldn't say--as it does these days--"It's unfair, we should impose higher import taxes on those other cars!" No! America should say, "Oh, hell no. This won't stand!" And then they should flood the market with efficient, cost-effective, electric powered vehicles and alternatives to petroleum fuel to generate that electicity. They shouldn't whine and moan and say, as our President himself has done, "It's haaarrrd!" Of course it's hard! You think it wasn't hard to put a man on the moon before the end of the decade--in the effin' sixties?!?! Give me a break.

So, yeah, I understand. But get over it. Get over it and do the right thing. Horatio Alger is a myth. You are not going to be a rich CEO anytime soon and you are not going to benefit from all of the corporate welfare this administration has shoved down our throats. It ain't going to happen, friends. Quit thinking that if you elect a Democrat we will all live in sudden poverty where everything you have is taken away and given to poor brown people. This President came into office with a few trillion dollars in surplus. This surplus, coming from a Democratic administration, has been squandered until we are billions and billions of dollars in debt with several billion dollars a month going to feed the war in Iraq (unnecessary, unwarranted, and having nothing whatsoever to do with 9/11 or terrorism or anything else that might have been justified). This administration said the war would pay for itself and would result in really cheap oil prices ($20 per barrel, as a matter of fact). You see where that has gotten us, don't you? You're now paying approximately $3 more a gallon than when this administration came into office. And it's not going to get any better if we continue down the same path. And believe me, John "McFriends" McCain is exactly the same path--or worse.

I understand, yes, but I've changed my mind on one thing: It's not OK.

Errands By Bike

Here are a few justifications for doing errands by bicycle that I tallied up today.

I decided to meet a couple of friends for lunch while out for errands. I had to return something to Lowes (moisture barrier from my wood laminate flooring experience) and pick up a couple of other items (caulk, drill bits, etc.).

By the way, this is my We Add Up shirt. The idea behind "We Add Up" is that no one can do everything, but everyone can do something, and together we add up and make a difference. The shirts are individually numbered as each person orders one. The backside is chosen based on what you hope to do to make a difference. These include things like recycle, eat less meat, shower together, or, as I chose bike. There are several others as well.

I also wanted to run by Summit Hut to buy a cool SIGG sippy cup for my beyond-cool grandson, Julian. It's all environmentally friendly aluminum, non-leeching, non-toxic drinking goodness for my little man. Plus, it has a twisty top that will allow me to "turn it off" so he can't spill it everywhere. Mmmm. Sippy goodness.

Anyway, let's get to those numbers I was talking about. Running my errands took me about four hours. It would have, probably, been a bit quicker in a car but not by a whole lot, really. Probably less than an hour difference in all likelihood. I ended up riding 37.3 miles. This would have likely been just a tad longer if I had driven due to some bicycle "shortcuts" here and there. But the difference would have been negligible. My car averages around 23 mpg. This means I saved 1.62 gallons of gasoline, or rather, 1.62 gallons of gasoline were not used. At current prices of $3.63 per gallon for regular, that's $5.88 not spent! Using the carbon calculator at CarbonFund to figure out how much carbon per mile my car emits, I figure there were just over twenty-two pounds of carbon not pumped into the atmosphere by riding my bike today instead of driving. And, despite my appearance in the above self-portrait, I wasn't miserable doing it, either! To top it all off, gas prices went up four cents while I was out--seriously! Gas was $3.59 when I left the house, $3.63 when I came home. That's just crazy.

Anyway, the money I saved on the gas I didn't use didn't quite cover lunch, but it was close--within a couple of dollars. That's pretty good. And I got some exercise to boot! Oh, and I picked up a perfectly good drumstick on the side of the road, too. I'm going to clean it up and give a light sanding and some color using food coloring and let Julian use it to bang on his new set of bongos. Should be fun. I never would have pulled my car over to pick up a drumstick. Hell, I would have never seen the drumstick.

The Future of Cycling is Now!

Is this the cutest damned kid in the world, or what? Eat your heart out Lance!

Cyclilng...Must...Go...Cycling...gasp

I have to get out on my bike. I need to go on a tour. I need to accomplish that this year. My one failed trip (silly!) is a glaring black mark on my cycling agenda.

It has been so windy here lately. The winds in the morning have been in the 13 mph range. Yesterday and today they are 25-35 mph and there are supposed to be gusts of up 50 mph. That's crazy windy. I was riding back from a ride one day and there were 50-60 mph gusts that I didn't realize we were supposed to be getting that day. I had my bike literally blown out from under me. It was scary.

I rode my Lemond road bike the other day for the first time since El Tour. I have been exclusively riding my touring bike. It was weird. It was all fast and twitchy and frankly scared the hell out of me for the first couple of minutes. It's amazing how fast you adjust to a different geometry and how fast you can forget one, too.

Damn it. I need to go on a long, long ride.

Wrong Again. No Surprise.

Amazingly enough, David Cook won out over David "guhguh" Archuleta. I have to say I'm surprised. I gather somehow the "judges" know who wins because Simon actually took a moment to apologize to Cook and to say he misjudged on the previous night and they had both done just peachy. And then Cook won.

Or did he? As I said, history has proven that winning American Idol isn't necessarily a true "win." More often than not the ones who don't win are more successful in the end. We'll see how this one plays out.

So, as I said, it's no surprise that I was wrong. It is a surprise, however, how this one turned out.