IT AIN'T THE END OF THE WORLD...

...But, you can see it from here. Sometimes, living where I do, at the most Westerly Point on the Pacific Coast, feels like: "Living At The End Of The World." Everything has to be trucked in, options for entertainment are limited and the people that live around here are, to say the least: "A Half Bubble Off Dead Center." My kind of place, my kind of people. Every so often, a booger slips into the porridge but, mostly, it's an interesting place to hang one's hat or "whatever."

Most of the "Boogers" are human. People that either aren't ready for the kind of life that living here necessitates. Or, just City Folk that decide to import their own brand of Drama and Avarice. I have a couple of shitty "neighbors" that are like that. They'll never "belong" here and that pisses them off. So, they walk around being mean and bring their own personal dark cloud wherever they go.

I "used to be" a City Person but, that was a very long time ago. I haven't lived in a town of more than about 25,000 people for 30+ years.You have to prepare for Winter, not run out of stuff and call for help, learn to plan for the unexpected, etc.. One of the first things I advise Noobs to do as Winter approaches is to: "Have candles, a Hurricane Lamp, flashlights and batteries, books or magazines you haven't read, a World Band Radio, A Walkman and lots of tapes (or iPod Thingy) a "Stupid Phone" (which run on the nominal current in the phone lines when the power is out) and some food that doesn't need cooking stored away. A white gas, LP or Regular Unleaded Gasoline cook stove/camp stove comes in real handy (I have two) and a bunch of sleeping bags and/or blankets. Good rain gear is mandatory. I've seen the power go down for seven days on this coast in the past. Years back, Safeway had a BIG "Town Barbeque" to make sure that all of their meat wouldn't go to waste with their refrigeration "down." That was in Fort Bragg, Ca.. It was fun. The whole town, literally: "Came out, had fun and socialized" during what would have otherwise have been a miserable circumstance.

I've said it before: "You have to import your own fun." It's true. Small towns make that a given. A hobby, a passion, a Significant Other, a job, a pet, some kind of service work (if you're "retired") or just a positive attitude about big, empty spaces. I did my Small Town Bootcamp in Alaska. Homer, Alaska, to be exact. Winter in Homer was going to be: "Me, a dog, a Woman that came by whenever she felt like it and a small cabin outside of town." (And "was" for awhile) Then, two "Friends" from Utah showed up and ruined the whole thing. Fuckers. We all ended up in Hawai'i at the same time. Even worse. I moved out of the house we lived in there and went "Holo-holo." "Walkabout," in Hawai'ian. A really good tent costs about 1 month's rent and lasts about a year in The Tropics. I enjoied my time alone there and actually got out and made Friends with the Locals, saw some incredible things and stayed the fuck out of the Towns for about a year. Then, I had to: "get a job and live somewhere."

Hawai'i sucks now. I wouldn't go back there for any reason. I'm a White Guy. Tom Robbins once quipped: "Hawai'i, where White Boys go to die." He was right, in most cases. I had a different experience.

Anyway, "It Ain't The End Of The World..."

I learned to really appreciate John Hiatt while living in Hawai'i, as I had a Roommate that also really liked the guy. The Roommate was another Crazy Artist Type from San Francisco with a taste for the bizarre and absurd. "Marty, seek Mental Health Treatment, Immediately!" He was: "Certifiable." (In a mostly "good" way.)

Winter is: "on the way." It was 44 degrees on my front porch yesterday morning, six hours North of San Francisco. It's not even October.

Aloha Nui Loa,
-Doc