Down on the Farm...

Enjoying some perfect fall days in Georgia this week on Uncle Bill's farm. We spent the day today on the golf course actually, which was fun. We played the course that I passed my P.A.T. on way back in the day... Plantera Ridge. Actually hit a few good shots today too and shot a nice little 72 that in all honestly shouldn't have been more than 68 or 69. But more importantly, it was just great to play a little golf with Bill. I'm looking forward to a couple of nice days here stuffing our faces with good food and good drink and soaking up some good times.

Just a little R&R before the real adventure starts in a few more weeks.

I've posted a few pictures of Bill's place, which is absolutely beautiful this time of year.

'Til next time.

It's Done...

Finally, after 4 weeks of waiting, and many more of planning, my last day in the Office of Comedies is come and gone! "Good-bye's" with some were hard, and I apologize for making some of them short... "Good-bye's" have never been a strength of mine. Thanks to those few of you there that really get "it". I'll miss you.

Most anyone that's reading this blog will know that my family lost Dad earlier this year in July. And everyone reading this will understand why this choice of mine was so inevitable. It's absolutely necessary for me to follow the dreams that I have NOW, not waiting for some magical day that is never guaranteed to any of us. Now, don't get me wrong, the goal of this journey is not just to run around naked with a fifth of Jim Beam in one hand and some balloon-giraffes in the other while singing old Cravin' Melon tunes at the top of my lungs. That's not what I'm talking about. (Although, now that I think about it... who knows?!?) What I AM talking about is the craving that my mind has for exploration and for adventure. Ever since I was a little kid and would go wandering on the trails in the woods near our house, I've had that "thing" in my heart. That "thing" that I can't really name, but know exactly what it is. I find that those times were the most special. I've never lost that urge to explore unknown trails, check out unknown things. Now of course, the trails are a little longer... the world's a little bigger. I know I'll settle down sometime... somewhere. But I also know that regardless of what I find, I'll have accomplished "it". What is "it", you ask? Well, that's what YOU have to figure out!

The Trail starts soon... First to Georgia for some family, food and fun of Thanksgiving, which takes on a new and greater meaning this year, I think. Happy holidays to all! B&G, see you most likely Monday, maybe Tuesday. Thanks Mark and Jocena for last night... even if I did 'partake of the libations in slight excess'...HAHA. Our celebration last night will not be the last! Thank you both from the bottom of my heart... for everything.

Simplify, Simplify

Only one more week until the adventure begins! Time in the office seems to drag by with the pace of a snail riding piggyback on a tortoise. The last few weeks have have been full of tying up the loose ends here at the office and putting things in order personally to make this happen. Condensing your life down to fit inside the back of a dinged up and faded 2002 Blazer has been an enlightening experience to say the least. Selling the furniture, giving the TV to a friend (which by the way was much harder than I anticipated, however, suprisingly easy to adapt to), going through years of accumulated 'stuff' to find the essentials, etc. Now I'm down to my laptop, a U.S. Army footlocker that belonged to my grandfather filled with a few blankets, a few of the great books, pads of paper for writing, a few changes of clothes, and my multi-tool. The laptop I guess is my most prized possession, but I have a feeling that once the real adventure begins the mummy-bag rated down to 0-degrees that I ordered will take its place at the top of the polls! (thanks Sis!) I'm looking forward to starting the journey instead of just thinking about it and planning it... All the planning and dreaming in the world won't replace putting the truck in gear and hitting the road!

After I escape from Florida, where I've been held 'prisoner' for the last three years, I'll head north to 'get back to the south' where I'll stop in Beaufort, SC to see some old friends that I left when I came down here, then to Uncle Bill's in Georgia for some catch-up time. Next will be a stop in Little Rock to see my sister and Jada, and then it's off to ??? Maybe Iowa to see my friends Ann and Bishop, then to Wisconsin to take in a Packers game with my friend Schmidty. I guess that's the plan...to have no real plan at all for awhile. Will I open a little general store in the Wyoming mountains and sell camping gear, peppermint sticks, mountain honey, and socks? Or deal poker in Vegas if I need the money? Who the heck knows, but its all really just secondary to living life and learing what its all supposed to be about.

A friend of mind once said that his idea of 'why we are here' is to "give a gift to the world and learn a lesson from it." I think that's a pretty good plan. What lesson do I need to learn? What gift do I have to give? And where will it all happen? George Elliott said it this way, "It's never to late to be what you might have been." Right on George. And the great twenty-first century philospher Shania Twain said it well too... "If you're not in for love, I'm outta here!" Next post I'll discuss why this adventure is happening now; what is driving me to take this on and what I really hope to achieve. Until then, I've got one more 'weekend' to enjoy!

A Great New Adventure...

...begins in just two weeks as I'll leave the world of corporate politics for an uncharted exploration of life. I'll explore not only new ways of living, but new ways of thinking and new ways of experiencing what it means to be alive. Some would call my adventure a 'mid-life crisis' of sorts even though I'm only 34, however the desire to have a greater sense of understanding; not only of the world, but of myself, could never be a 'crisis'. I'll post here occasionally about my travels, my internal and external discoveries, and about my experiences. I've never been married (barely escaped once... j/k), nor have any children (that I know of... again, j/k), and have always felt as though I was searching for something (for what exactly, I have yet to learn) so why not go have a look or two at the world? That's the idea with Lefty's Trail... to see where the trail of life leads, or to make my own paths instead. As Lao Tzu said, "The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." Or at least he said something like that... I'm not sure if the ancient East used "miles" as a means of measuring distance, but I digress...

It's almost time to take the first step. Friends, come along!