Home Like i've Never Been Home In My Life

It has been long enough since i posted here that you should have forgotten about me by now. WOW! The last two-plus weeks have been more incredible than any period of similar length in my life so far! What a range of experiences...

Physical. Emotional. Spiritual. Buttloads of each. Might as well throw Mental in that list, too. And Inspirational. Guess that's covered in the Spiritual... Just making sure it isn't left out. An Inspirational Pudding. That's probably the best way to characterize the recent past.

So many discoveries... Can't make up my mind which to tell about here... At least for now. Hmmmm... How about people? Yeah. Some really great people discoveries the past three weeks. Oh! Almost forgot... Silly me. 

I AM HERE!!!! <<< insert the most spectacular audio-visual event you can imagine... Be sure to use your whole imagination, 'cause this is HUGE!!!

This is Day Four on GIN. Little side note... i find myself commonly having an internal debate about which preposition to use when describing presence on (in??) GIN. GIN is technically NOT an island... In the usual connotation of being surrounded by water, anyway. Sure, there's plenty of water, but you're either on one side of it, or the other. Rivers, creeks, streams, springs, and seeps... We have them all. There is actually a real island in the river right next to our place. But i'm not "on" it, per se. No. Gilligan's Island North is as much in me as i can be on or in it. i will use "on" for now. But... If i use "in", don't be too surprised.

i'm home here like i've never been home in my life.

My kinship with the Rodgers and the Nixon and the Stowe parts of my family has never been more prominent, or more appreciated, in my life. Thank you, Grandpa and Grandma! Thank you, Mom! Thank you Charlie and Maeda and Oscar! Thank you Barb and Bob! You each mean more to me than ever before. All the things i learned with you are being put to good use.

Talk about powerful medicine...

Whenever i drive around, i feel Grandpa Rodgers with me. Especially when dealing with gates. My Westy has only seen second gear twice since arriving ninety-three hours ago. Grandpa would appreciate that. And i get where he was coming from, now more than ever. i wonder if Booger Ridge was his Gilligan's Island... i figure it must have been... 'Cause he's too much here with me for it not to have been.

And Mom and Grandma... For the first time in my life, i give a shit whether or not you're proud of me. And you have a right to be. Hope you are. i don't say this lightly... My reasons for feeling this way have always been out of respect for you. A deep and profound respect... i've pretty much always figured that i'm gonna cuss in everyday conversation. And hearing them words just ain't something you ever needed to hear. 'Specially coming from your first-born son and grandson. But i'm gonna use them words anyway, so, out of respect, i don't say much when you're around. But you're both with me every day. Thank you for that, and thank you for so many things that matter, i couldn't begin to count them.

Charlie and Maeda... i Love You! So much. But more than just "so much". Always have. So many memories and lessons i learned with you. Thank you for being you. Thank you for teaching me about the woods and the land... And about living from both. Thank you for teaching me to live with what ya got. That has been important throughout my life. Thank you for picking the glass out of my face. Thank you for making me part of the family.

Oscar. My friend. My dear, dear friend. The things i learned with you have been with me forever. If i could count the number of times something in my life caused a deja vu with your voice in it... i'd be able to count higher than i already can. Thank you, my brother. For being with me, when i learned what being colder than a human ever should be, means. Thank you for being candid. For always being honest. For sharing when something was bugging you. And when something was amazing you. You will be amazed when you visit here. i promise. i think of you with every board i cut.

What would life be like without Barb and Bob? Don't want to think too hard about that concept... Whether you are here in person or not, your spirit is with me. Wish you were here in person right now, Barb... i need a haircut. But not a perm. And, Barb. For the record. i'm no longer too young to be cynical. Bob, you would be happy as a clam to see me here. You both would. And proud, too. Was out hayseeding a field with ten neighbors today. Looking forward to milking the neighbor's cow soon... By hand.

Tim. You're in this, too. Thanks for always being you. Honest and true. And a man of the land. Your smile and spirit are contagious. i honor both each day. Every tree i look at... And every bird. And squirrel. Thank you, brother. Thank you. From the bottom of my heart.

Where would i be if not for Yomunko? i may have found my match for love and respect of nature in Yomunko. And generosity of spirit. You, my brother, are special. Very, very, VERY special. i expect to learn much from you between now and then... And i expect "then" to be a lifetime from now. May i always honor your spirit... Your gift. May the things we build together be lasting, and benefit many, in profound ways. Whether they know it or not...

For those of you who have been wondering how all this is gonna go... The simplest way to describe it is like this... i have been reborn. Reborn of spirit and body. i literally get to do something that mankind has been chasing since mankind was able to wax philosophically... i get to "do it all again knowing what i know now".

And that, my friends, is waaaaaaaayyyyy bigger than anybody who isn't living it can imagine. Trust me. i've thought about it conceptually for as long as i've had a rational brain... To experience it literally... Is more profound than even i ever dreamt.

Take the high road in all you do. Create goodwill every day. Invest in Karma.

From GIN...

Skip