my calling card reads: doing what i want since 2008. yes, that is true. doing what i want took years of preparation way back to childhood. my mother started it, somehow creating independence and doing what i wanted w/in a very controlled family environment. 4 kids left little room for doing what any of us wanted to do. she bought my clothes, decided on my haircut, etc. parents moved us from the city of mansfield to the next village down the state highway of lucas which was farming and became a labor pool for industry in mansfield. lucas’ school system was what a rural community could support. my parents were both college grads and believer of study hard, get good grades, get into a good college, then get a good job. to that end they decided to pay tuition for each of us to attend mansfield schools starting in 9th grade. i was the first to go. our family was scorned by the locals as being too good for them. living in a rural community meant school bus rides and no after school events or hanging around. our new location was in the country about .5 miles above the village, close enough to walk home to lunch, eat, and walk back before the bell. we had 15 acres, 9 of woods and 6 of grass w/ farmland around us. i was in my element that i recreated outside by myself. i learned about nature and being outside year round. i was a boy scout. i attended 1 week summer camp never w/ any inkling of being homesick. my 13th summer camp an adult scouter spoke at lunch 1 day talking about an opportunity to go from a boy to a man by attending philmont scout ranch in new mexico. i wanted in. i wanted to go but was afraid to ask my dad’s permission and funding for fear he would reject me. he said yes under the condition i earned life rank. philmont would be next year when i was 14, min age. i was in, i knew none of the scouters which was no deterrent: i wanted to go. i was just an ohio kid that had never seen a mountain. the spring before leaving i was severely injured in a car wreck as a passenger. my parents were on a business trip leaving us in care of a woman and her daughter. shortening the story, i was transported by ambulance to mansfield hospital. my parents arrived late the next day. i had no wanting my parents to help me. i spent 2 weeks in the hospital breathing thru a tube in my neck. i healed up to experience philmont. the leader stated many times to us and parents for the mothers to kiss their boys one last time as when they return they will be men and you will shake their hand. i tried to escape that last kiss. philmont exposed me to mountains and backpacking. 1964 was my year.
i had learned it was easier to do what i wanted w/o negotiating / convincing others to go along. 2 summers i worked for the usfs in the umpqua nf in oregon. the 2nd summer, 1970, i was part of a 12 man intraregional fire suppression crew. i was in oregon for 83 days and worked for 81. our crew spent 33 days on fires. i flew in helicopters, i dug fire line w/ 1 foot in the fire. what a summer. i was tested and passed. i was confident in myself.
my life’s experiences prepared my do embark on my odyssey. i am able to take care of myself and could trust others to help me when needed. to date i have been twice transported by ambulance to hospitals for accident repair. i survived w/ the help of people i did not know. i did not have a home support network. i had no friends to call upon for support. exception being my stay in spokane, my last home town, back in sept ’13 for the previous shoulder repair.
what i have been saying is i have been in preparation for this adventure since i was a tyke back in ohio. the longest journey starts w/ the first step. i knew that canada was lots of steps north from that night i slept at the mexican border back in ’78 at the start of my solo pct thru hike.
the oxycodone is wearing off and my cold is being successfully purged by my body. i have been staying out @ beaverhead for 3 days away from people to not expose them to this and to spare them of many horrible coughing fits that would have expelled me from my rented room. i am able to raise and lower my bed w/ little or no strain to my right arm. i take an oxy before bed attempting to block the pain. i understand to successfully manage my surgical pain that i need to be on them 24 hours. i am thinking that today i will retrieve my stuff from her house as my van suits me now. i have made oatmeal last 2 mornings and cleaned up my mess. dinner requires too much 2 hand work so i will continue to dine out.