Yet another thought on these times
Let me start of by just saying it: I generally like being around people. Before all this shared meals, group hikes, concerts, time on a patio with friends weren't special occasions. Rather they were the fabric of a good life. But like many of you, we've have had to adopt strategies that create the best chance of staying away from this coronavirus. And that leads to some degree of isolation.
I recently started a new book, Barkskins by Annie Proulx. Don't ask me what it is about (yet), because I'm only a third of the way through it. The first section of the book is set in 17th century New France. Which got me thinking: life for the explorers in the New World was really remote, much more than what we face right now. That brought a realization that through time, people have dealt with solitude/isolation in different but very human ways, and often somehow thrived from the experience.
Think about Nelson Mandela spending 27 years on Robben Island and then emerging to change the world. Ascetics across time (buddhists, hindus, western monks) have all used solitude to find some meaning. Explorers like Shackleton, Neil Armstrong, Marco Polo and others braved uncertainty. And let's not forget about Little House on the Prairie or Willa Cather. Life on the plains could seem pretty grim.
What does all this mean? Who knows, but it is somehow comforting to know that people before us have coped with solitude. So we will do our best.
Since I'm throwing around more literary allusions this morning, here is one for any of you looking for a good read: Ahab's Wife: Or, The Star-gazer, by Sena Jeter Naslund. I'm a sucker for a great opening sentence. This book opens with "Captain Ahab was neither my first husband nor my last."
And since we are a hiking group and this is a hiking email, here are a few suggestions: Despite what Fireman Bob says, don't hike to Goat Lake unless you want your legs to burn for at least 2 days. And the tides are favorable for a trip to Dungeness Spit next week, but the lighthouse & bathrooms are closed. Stay safe!
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