Start running
Getting out of shape or unshape might not have been a conscious, well thought out plan but I wish it had been. Like getting in shape is.
“Hey, I heard you stopped exercising and changed your diet.”
“True, I’ve decided to see how the others live.”
“How’s it going?”
“It’s only been a month so I can’t really tell the difference.”
“Keep up the good work then.”
“Umm, OK. I think.”
I even get confused in mock conversations. Other people are. . . .well . . another story.
The truth is I don’t actually know what happened. I don’t think it could be solely one thing but probably a whole slew of things that all kind of added to taking a break from the path I had been on. I’m not really going to spend too much time or effort into understanding what happened. Understanding it won't change it but understanding it’s time to get back to it does change things.
I remember doing a lot of things; running, swimming, kayaking, fishing, hiking and liking them till I stopped. Life can be funny that way. That’s why it would make more sense if I could just say “ I chose to stop,” but I didn’t. It just happened.
I don’t want to give the wrong impression. I’m not a super athlete, I won’t be winning any fitness awards, and I most certainly won't be in any posters of look what a specimen I am, but I did things. Maybe not going to the gym type things but outside things.
Going to the gym always seemed . . . like going to the gym, to me. It’s not very exciting, it takes forever, there’s all those people who live there, sweat, from all kinds of people I don’t know, and you have to pay for it. Seems like paying to work to me. It’s just backwards. I guess if my goal was to look like someone who goes to the gym . . a lot . . I’d go to the gym. I like being in shape so I can do things. Jogging helps with hiking, kayaking goes with fishing, there is a method to my madness.
With that in mind I started looking for a place to run. I used to run. I used to like running. I don’t think it’s been that long since I did. How hard could it be?
I should kick myself every time I say that, but I’d still keep saying and then I’d have bruises too.
I went to the most obvious place to start jogging. The jogging tracks. Seemed like a no brainer. It wasn’t bad. The track was covered in that red colored wood stuff and there were a lot of trees. It was kind of like going on a hike.
It started off OK. Then there were a couple of mornings that the local high schoolers were smoking weed before school. I don’t really care what people do in their homes and for the most part I don’t really want to know but this was the jogging track. I’m not really against plants per say, but I think it’s illegal which puts me in that weird position of should I say something or just ignore it like I do a lot of other things. Technically, they’re not hurting anybody, and I don’t know what to say other than:
” I’m not exactly a criminal mastermind but this probably isn’t the most discreet place to break the law. People can see you from everywhere.”
I try to avoid situations like that, and I did. I kept ignoring it and trying to jog. Eventually they moved on but were replaced by some other people that I did my best to ignore and keep to my plan. Then I couldn’t avoid it anymore.
The city people who oversee jogging tracks decided it was time to remodel the track. I tried going around them on the grass, but it seemed like I was intruding. A lot of people do a lot of things at the jogging track, except jog, or walk. It was time to find a new place to get outdoors.
Noticing the wildlife
The place I decided on was the beach. I’ve always found being on the water to be quite peaceful. Anything bothering me or worrying me always stayed on land and as soon as I was on the water it was gone. Usually by the time I came back in it was over and I was good again. I was hoping the same thing would apply by jogging at the beach.
In the beginning it did work. The sounds of the wind and the waves and the birds was pretty peaceful and a nice place to run. Then one day, out of the blue, this ginormous osprey flew about 5 feet over my head then landed in a tree about 10 feet away.
I’ve known about ospreys for as long as I can remember but I’d never actually seen one up close. It was always off in the distance. They were looking for fish, I was looking for fish, we had some things in common and I thought they were pretty cool, but this one was up close and personal.
I had no idea just how big those things were. It was huge and it was close. Real close. It started calling out in a sound I can’t make. Then leaped out of the tree, went over my head, and headed up to look for fish.
I stood there in disbelief and kind of laughing till I realized people were driving by me and looking crazy. I’m used to the look from people but if they’re staring at me while they’re driving, I should probably get out of the way.
I tried to get back to running but I couldn’t quite believe what had just happened. It was one of the coolest things ever. I decided I should probably start paying more attention to the wildlife around me and less to the people, as long as they couldn’t drive into me anyway.
For the next couple of weeks every time I would go down to go for a jog I’d look up and around and eventually I’d see the osprey. Flying overhead looking for fish. A few times it flew over me carrying one. It usually only took him, or her, I don’t know how to tell the difference from far off on ospreys, about 30 minutes to get breakfast and get back home to eat.
I Have to admit I was a little envious of how easy it was for him to catch fish. It usually takes me longer than that to find them and catching them is still something I haven't mastered. It also takes me longer than that to make breakfast. That’s a pretty smart bird if you ask me.
Then I started noticing the pelicans. The way they fish is awesome. They go up, pick a spot, and come crashing down, headfirst. It reminds me of the way I do a lot of things. Pick a direction and go for it. They just seem to be a lot more effective at it than me. Once again, I was a bit envious.
After the pelicans' crash into whatever fish they’re eating, they just kind of float on the water and swallow it down whole. The ospreys come flying back out of the water and do this little quivering thing to get the water off that makes me laugh every time I see it.
Two completely different methods of fishing but both of them work perfectly for each of them. And I’m envious of both of them. They do make my morning jog interesting though and keep me going back, so I guess it’s a good thing. I’m not really sure how it could be a bad thing. Nature amazes me. It's like real magic.
I had noticed a lot of other birds, but I don’t really know their names. There’s this one little one with anime hair. It’s black and white and the feathers on its head kind of stick out like an anime character's spiky hair. There’s a lot of gulls and some other little birds that have kind of long beaks.
I was going out on the rocks to see what was out there and something caught my attention out of the corner of my eye. It was this little, long beaked bird peaking around from behind a rock. It went back and a few seconds later peaked again. It did this a few more times before hopping out for a second and then hopping back. Eventually it hopped out, stared at me for a minute, looked like it smiled and went on looking for whatever it eats. It was one of the coolest things EVER!
Then there was this crane one morning. I’ve seen them down there a lot, gray ones, white ones, some a mix, but it’s always been from quite a few yards away. This one was right up next to the wall where I ran. I slowed down so I didn’t scare it off and it just stayed there watching me. I got within 5 feet of it. I was close enough to see its eyes, and they were looking at me. He made a noise, like he was saying good morning. Then went back to looking for fish. Somebody else was jogging towards it from the other direction when I was about 20 yards away. They got within 30 feet of it and it took off.
I guess the wildlife thinks I’m OK. People might not here, but the wildlife does and I’m fine with it. I walk away from the wildlife thinking “that was so cool “ A LOT not so much with people here.
Oh look, an environmental disaster!
There was a storm over the weekend and Monday and the tide was really high and now it looks like an environmental disaster. There is plastic and trash everywhere. The beach is covered in it, the marsh grass is covered in it, everything is covered in it. It’s horrid. I usually pick up stuff when I see it but this is crazy. I don’t even know where to start. My mind is overwhelmed by the scale of it all.
Deep breath. Inhale, exhale.
I guess I'll start where I start my jog and work from there. This is crazy.
I started out bringing a couple of Walmart bags with me when I go for a jog. I run for a bit then pick up trash till the bags are full then go about my jog. I worked my way up one part of the beach then started running the other way. At a certain point the beach ends and it’s just water. Then you get to land again.
Halfway between there and the beach are these rocks that are out of the water at low tide. Every morning, they are covered with these little birds. I guess they are getting breakfast. I don’t really know what birds do but they are pretty cool. They don’t even fly away when I come up to them. I slow down to a walk just in case though. They just kind of look up at me, go oh it’s just him, then go back to their business. I laugh every time I get past it.
One day though there was this one little bird that was on the ledge in front of me. Every time I would get within 5 feet he would fly further down the side. He did this all the way down the ledge. When we got to the end he flew over to where some trees and bushes were and perched and started calling like he wanted me to see something. It reminded me of that honey bird in Africa. (No, I haven't been to Africa, but I have seen nature shows)
I went over and couldn't believe what was there. I only thought I had seen the worst part of the disaster. There was more plastic and trash here than in the rest of the beach combined. My two little bags weren’t going to cut it here. I’d have to bring big trash bags in for this.
Each day I’d bring a big bag, fill it, and go back to my jog. Eventually I did get it done. Most of the time I was there that little bird would be perched somewhere above me keeping me company. I have to admit it kind of kept me going. The birds made me smile more than the people here do.
At some point I made my way down to a bridge and looked under it. I was horrified. Even more trash. People actually live across the water from this so I know they could see it, but they chose not to do anything about it. Sad . . . for the wildlife and anyone who might actually want to live here one day. This isn't the place I call home and I'm not saying where that is.
I started picking it up too. A few large bags later I was done with what I could get too but there is still a lot there. It's just out of reach or too far into the march for me to get on foot. Maybe one day after I’ve gone someone will get to it. It’s already starting to heat up here and I don’t function in the temperatures of summer here. This place is so weird.
Is it Me?
One day two women were walking a dog by me, and they stopped to thank me for picking the stuff up. I guess they were expecting me to be nice back or polite or something but all I managed to say was “Well, somebody has to.” Then they wanted to know how far I had to go to pick up all of the trash I was carrying.
“Right there”
I didn’t really know how to respond to that. I was also quite offended by it. There was absolutely no reason they couldn’t help; they chose to wait for someone else to come along and do it for them. Maybe I’m wrong but it just struck me as an insult or that they were just completely lazy. If you want to walk your dog somewhere that isn’t covered in trash, then you might have to get a little dirty yourself. I didn’t make this mess; I just don’t think it should be like this and I’m willing to do something about it. Why aren’t you? They had the time and capability, so I’m confused about it.
I’ve also noticed that a lot of people will spend all day trying to get leaves out of their yard but won't spend 15 minutes picking up the trash and plastic. How does that make sense: Leaves are supposed to be there, plastic isn’t.
I also don’t really trust people I don’t know being nice for no reason. That’s what they say every time a serial killer gets caught. “I had no idea they seemed so nice.” I’m not trying to say that every nice person is a serial killer or that all serial killers are nice but if someone like that can learn to be nice then being nice isn’t a quality you can go on. Honesty and compassion are qualities I think might be a lot harder to fake. Not a lot of compassion from murderers and the person they are when they’re killing people is who they really are when they’re being honest. It would be a lot easier to get rid of them if they were honest about who they are or they learned to be compassionate instead of murderous.
What a world that would be.
Something else that bothers me about all this trash washing up is that if it hadn’t been for the storm all of this would have stayed hidden in the marsh and grass. It was already there. I just couldn’t see it. I wonder what else these people have hidden away in places I can’t see. I don’t really want to know what those things are but I’m sure it’s a lot. Look at what was near the water. That’s not really weird but it is kind of scary or creepy. Sometimes I wish I wasn’t so observant or could live in denial like the people here seem to be doing. I don’t think I’m very liked here. This place is so weird.
The Monuments of Foolishness
Down on the beach road there are a lot of what look like mansions. I’m not really sure what the qualifications for a mansion are but I’m pretty sure that’s what they were going for. To me they stand out like a sore thumb. Did you look around you before you built that place?
If anybody here could afford to build a home like that, there is absolutely no way they would build it there. Unless it’s the only place they could. Which probably means the money comes from something illegal, immoral, or both. Interestingly enough, the town lost 13 million dollars somehow. Found it.
It looks more like they’re waiting for a hurricane to come through and blow them all down. Then they could get an insurance check and their dirty money gets cleaned up. As long as they don’t try to relocate, they might be fine. Definitely more than one person involved. People are covering for each other and it’s a pretty large group. . . . of people . . . who can never leave.
It’s all just a facade. It looks fine from a distance but when you get close you can see the cracks. The foundations are weak. The roof leaks. Nothing is square or level. The wiring is wonky. It’s all just covered up with paint that’s fading and fancy lawns right across from an environmental disaster. That actually explains a lot. It’s also not just the houses here that are like that.
I’m sure it’s not just the people who supposedly own those homes either. I’m sure the insurance company is involved too, and probably some bank people who financed the monuments to foolishness. It’s probably a generational thing too. Like organized crime and it is kind of organized. A whole lot of people covering for a lot of other people. Until one of them breaks the code of silence. Then it’ll be a race to turn everyone else in. It might not happen while I’m here but I’m sure it’s coming. There are signs all over the place that something is about to happen. Good luck, cheaters.
You also hardly ever see the people who supposedly live in them. There’s usually only a couple of people who do stay in any one of them. I think most are completely vacant. Why would two people need such an enormous place to live? When you do see them, they look old, miserable and angry. Maybe they don’t have a choice in it. Maybe they're some weird kind of prison. As punishment for building such a monument and being so corrupt, they’re forced to live in them and pay to stay there alone or with their closest accomplice until nature takes it back or they die. It’s a lesson for everyone else.
“Don’t be one of them or be fooled into wanting to be like them kids, those places are mausoleums not houses, and definitely not a home. The next storm that comes through will wash it all away including everyone involved.”
A lot of things look OK here until you get close. Out on the highway there is trash and plastic all over the place but instead of cleaning it up, they planted flowers. A nice little distraction to keep you from seeing the truth. Yes, the trash problem here isn’t just by the water's edge, it’s everywhere. There is literally trash everywhere here. A whole area covered in trash that nobody does anything about or even acknowledges. It’s just accepted as the way it is or it’s overlooked.
Sad and weird. I think that’s about as far down that trail as I care to go. Surely, I’m not the only person who sees how implausible those homes are. I’m sure it’s all being looked at from people who can change it. I’m just a guy who's getting ready to leave.
This place is so weird.
Better to stay focused on my friends with wings. The wind, the waves, the sounds of birds, and fishing are some of the things that still bring me peace of mind and put a smile on my face. Those are the things that make me feel rich. I’m fine with it. Anybody who isn’t, probably isn’t right for me anyway.
I also kind of like the Hawiian way of being rich: If the land and water is rich and healthy then you are rich and healthy. That might not be the exact way they say it but I think I got the jist of it. I like it. I’m just not sure what happened here, and I don't think I want to.
I’m still a little envious of how easy the birds catch fish, but I’ll get there.
One day.
Until that day I’ll keep trying to do what I can to make the world a little better place even if it’s mainly for the wildlife. I trust the wildlife, people . . .not so much. The wildlife can still think for themselves, I don’t know what happened to people here, and I don’t think I want to. I think some of the people in my age group are waking up but who knows and I’m not staying to find out.
This place is so weird.
That’s probably what a lot of people think of me, as I’m jogging, with my head back, arms wide, and into the wind.
. . .and I’m fine with it.
I’m not fine with all the new trash that keeps ending up outside. Isn’t littering illegal.
This place is so weird. But the wildlife is pretty cool.
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