A river runs through me...

(This blog is rough, so just giving you fair warning beforehand)

I just got back from my third annual Edisto River canoe trip organized by a couple friends from church, the local mama and papa of Hartsville. It was fairly successful as far as canoe trips a re concerned, I actually didn't share a canoe, but as usual I floated solo in a kayak down the river, bringing up the rear to make sure that nobody got left behind or stranded with an up-side-down canoe.

I am now in the market for a kayak, because I now have a place to keep one, and a place to go close by to use it. There are a couple friends in town that want to do this as well, so maybe it will be a good investment and a pleasant hobby. Now I just have to train my wiener (that's my dachsund) to be able to handle the black water swamps around here. He would most likely be prime alligator bait.

Leafy Purgatory

Have you ever seen a leaf floating in a pond or a small lake? It stirs around some with the breezes that blow, but unless a stiff wind comes up and blows hard, the leaf just floats in no particular way or direction, until it finally either saturates with water and sinks slowly or it haphazardly washes to shore and decays on the bank. Granted, the leaf was doomed to begin with. But there is something annoying about the stillness of a pond for a leaf in his or her final moments.

I gather from all the evidence that nature has afforded me that rivers and streams seem to offer at least a minimal amount of excitement for a fallen leaf. I can imagine a leaf falling into the water and wondering whether his or her stream meets with a larger flowing river, or if it flows into an unfortunate dammed lake. At least the leaf is kept guessing in this case. At least there is a hope of maybe having fallen into a river that ends in the glorious ocean, with a few rapids on the way for thrills.

Ponds do not offer hope. They are still and stagnant waters that offer a slow demise and a hopeless finish for any leaf unlucky enough to find itself floating across the surface.

What in the heck am I talking about?

Practicing my knots...

Yes, its time for one of those blogs that, although interesting to some, will more likely be some form of therapy for me. I have to warn all those who are reading that this blog may get personal for me...I tend to like to deal with my issues in a public or semi-public manner, otherwise I don't feel like I am completely honest with myself. When things are put into the light, they tend to be easier to deal with. Anyway, This is not a plea for sympathy or an attempt at finding comfort from friends, rather more of a way for me to vent my thoughts that otherwise like to swirl around in my head for way too long without being confronted. So, here goes.