Ex Scientia Tridens

From knowledge, Sea Power.

Today was a pretty straightforward day.  I stuck with the daily practice, and things hummed along smoothly. Nothing particularly noteworthy appeared to have happened, but nothing that resulted in feeling uneasy happened apparently either.  I have these days every now and then, and they feel like a pause...a building up or a gathering of energy.  That's probably not what's happening at all, but that's what if feels like to me.

Quite frankly, it's good to have one of these days of rest...a time for respite every now and then.  I still saw some interesting things while putting my goal of ten miles of asphalt underneath the soles (or is it souls) of my feet.  Here's a couple of collages that came out of things that I was able to observe.

Viva MD and Canoe U. 

Fearless and Daring, USNA Boat Basin

Today was a beautiful day as the summer draws to a close.

For the most part, this speaks for itself....

Sunset at College Creek, Annapolis, MD

You have worked those things that were put before you today.  You have done what you can.  Rest easy because tomorrow, if we're exceptionally fortunate, we'll be given the opportunity to strive for greatness again.

Slow Golfers Crossing

Today was a less than productive day on the "way I'm currently earning my living" front.  The relative unproductiveness of the day can be directly tied to a degree of inflexibility in certain bureaucracies that I had not personally encountered in quite some time.  Be that as it may, suffice it to say that if you ever find yourself in being an employer, it probably is not in your enterprise's best interest to create obstacles in getting your employees to work.  I'll have spent over a day and a half trying to solve a relatively simple problem that probably could have been handled much more efficiently.

It's interesting because I believe that the universe is in general conspiring with us to help us be successful, and today was one of those days where it didn't really feel that way.  A friend of mind is fond of saying that the lesson will be repeated until it is learned.  While frustrating, today's activities MAY have been a not so subtle message that I may be engaged in the wrong kind of work.  It's a bit early to tell, but that notion bears careful consideration going forward.

Even though the day did not progress as hoped and expected it really was a good day.  During the first segment of walking that I finally got to much later in the day than I had planned, I stumbled across the following sign.

Another message from the universe?

Was the universe sending me another message?  If so, what was the key point?  I believe this may have been another message from the unimaginably powerful energy flows that all empirical evidence suggests are trying to help me along in my journey. 

The key in this sign is the caution or supplication to taking it slow.  It's interesting because it is clearly a message to machine driven non-pedestrian traffic.  My walking, and the golfers' progress may appear to be slow from the perspective of a vehicle, but I wonder if that perspective is whence we should be taking our cues.  Actually, I really don't wonder about that at all.  I've come to believe that life moving at the speed of a car is a life that is somehow a little more sterile than a live lived from the perspective of the pedestrian on foot.

I've walked quite a few miles over the last 11 months, and I've discovered things in places that I'd previously considered familiar that I wouldn't have observed nor experienced at vehicular speeds.  I'm sure I've even seen these things before, but without the plodding pace of the march, I was unable to truly observe them.  A little after seeing the sign in the picture above, I came across this vista.

YP Boat Basin at Naval Support Activity, Annapolis, MD

I've been past this location a number of times in a vehicle and even several times on foot at a jogging pace.  I'd never, until today, really observed the view.  Today I did see and had the time to observe.  It was a fantastic perspective for a number of reasons.  Principally for me, it allowed me to regain some serenity from the perceived troubles (some First World Problems).  

New Shoes. SG5 Generation VI

Today, I began the break-in leading to break-down process for a new pair of shoes.  I have not had a new pair of shoes since the late part of June when I started the process of walking the soles of my SG7 Generation V.  Those shoes were labeled SG7 SYV and SG7 CGV.  Those labels stand for Saucony Guide 7, Silver Yellow, Generation V and Saucony Guide 7, Citron Gray, Generation V.  Since October of 2014, I have gone through a total of five generations of Saucony Guide 7 shoes.  The first generation was a single pair, but subsequent generations comprised two pairs which I traded between during the course of wearing them both out.  As of today, I have retired eight pair of this model of shoes and covered a little over 3500 miles.

All that's very interesting, and there is a long and overly complicated explanation for how I arrived at this system of shoe numbering and wear and a perfectly acceptable reason that I have something on the order of 10 or 12 additional pairs of this make and model shoe in my basement.  The reason is (I believe) that I'm exhibiting some tendencies of OCD behavior.  Again, interesting, but the real point of this brief post is to share in the glory that is a new pair of shoes.  After putting about 400 miles (average life cycle so far), there are very few things as satisfying to the toes to slide them into an unadulterated set of sneakers.  The padding hugs the ankles and the pliable foam makes the balls and heels of the feet feel like their walking on pillowy clouds.  Both my outlook  and my pace were much improved after this morning's constitutional.

Without further ado, I introduce SG7, BLRVI  (Saucony Guide 7, Black Red, Generation VI.

SG7 BLRVI, sunrise, and some fuzzy legs after a six mile walk

I'll probably introduce you to the second set of Generation VI SG7's, but I vow to spare yo some of the more tedious and unnecessary OCD-like detail.

Early Morning Demographics

After spending a fair amount of time in the early morning walking about six months ago, I was ambling along minding my own business, to the extent that travel at just over 3.5 mph will allow, when I noticed something that at the time seemed really quite peculiar.  It's captured in this morning's photograph of the National Gallery.  See if you can pick out anything that's out of the ordinary.

National Gallery just after sunrise this morning

Of course the architecture is striking...particularly if you are partial to the Greek revival style that seems to dominate the Federal Government buildings in the more historic parts of Washington, DC.  That's not all that unusual if you've followed some of my previous postings.  There is a hint of a mostly clear sunrise with salmon clouds backed by a cerulean sky, but again, this has been a rather beautiful, though typical, occurrence.

What I noticed six months ago, and is aptly but not obviously demonstrated by this photo is the large percentage of women out exercising in the early morning.  There are six people in this photo.  Five are women, and all five are engaged in the overly vigorous (in my quickly becoming and old man opinion) activity of running the stairs.  The one male is dressed for work and trudging up the steps at a much more civilized pace (again, just my perspective from where I stand as far as the speed part of that assessment goes.

Upon my initial observation (in the depths of winter, by the way), I thought that I'd stumbled on an interesting, but non-recurring anomaly.  The apparent imbalance in the ratio at the time was striking enough that I decided to actually start taking metrics the following morning.  The need for numbers to disprove this clearly erroneous impression scratched the itch of the engineering degree that I took in university a couple of decades ago.

The metrics collection exercise was pretty simple.  For the set of humans that were clearly out on the Mall in Washington, DC exercising in the early morning, I would count the number of males and number of females I encountered during my walk starting a the entrance to the Capitol campus, around the loop that I walked on the Mall, and ending with my exit of the Capitol campus approximately two miles later.

I collected the numbers for a little longer than a week, and reported the results to Rory Conlan on nearly a daily basis, but after the first several days it was clear that my initial impression that struck like a bolt from the blue was clearly supported by the data.  Ten or twelve days later when I'd convinced myself that my observation was no mere anomaly, the ratio of females to males in a relatively safe place for taking exercise worked out to about 3.5 to 1.

I took the same series of metrics during the lunch time period, and it became clear that there was a much different ratio that was much closer to parity, but favored males over females in terms of numbers just slightly.

Rory and I concluded that the ratio was skewed heavily toward the female of the species in the early morning period for two principle reasons:

1.  The women were tougher and more dedicated.  Remember, this was in February, and there were several mornings when the temperature was in the low to mid-teens and the wind was blowing like it had forgotten to turn off the oven in Mexico and was rushing back from Canada to finish the task.

2.  Grooming habits and social expectations indicated that early exercise afforded the women the opportunity to put in the miles and still be coiffed appropriately for their professional engagements for the remainder of the day.

Observed at other locations in diverse areas of the country, this observation, up to and including the specific ratios, appears to hold true where I've taken the data.  This is yet another aspect of early morning activity that I find enriching and positive.  Put yourself in the way of beauty and then be conscious enough of the moment to see it traipse through your life.

Keeping On and Driving Through

I don't know how many times it's happened over the last 11 months or so, but every now and the I hit a stretch of asphalt or concrete that demands and approach that is quite a bit closer to brute force and ignorance rather than some metaphysical spiritual journey.  Today was one of those days.  The root cause of this feeling of restlessness was what I like to call work...the way I earn the write to carry on with the practice of walking.

Fortunately, I'd fortified myself earlier in the morning with a six mile jaunt around the National Mall in Washington, DC.  One of the great things about walking or jogging on the National Mall early in the morning is the stunning man made and natural vistas that are available for your (or anyone else's) viewing pleasure.  If you live in the area, I recommend it to your bucket list on a crisp fall day.  Sunrise over the Capitol Building is a beautiful thing.  There are also more than a handful of excellent examples of art and architecture to keep you observant after many a trip through the area.  Here are a couple of things I noted just this morning.

Monument at the entrance to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum

The following photo is an Google Auto Awesome version of the Capitol Building that was a great disappointment when it was delivered by "The Oracle" for my consideration to add it to my photo library.

Google's Auto Awesome Diappointing Effects Version of the Capitol Building

It really is a nice rendering in black and white, but here is a version of the original color version of this particular photo.

I am more partial to the color version of this photo...It has all the drama of the black and white version Google suggested and captures to dawn lighting in a way that more adequately represents the moment...C'est la Vie

I was actually taking this series at the time with the hope that Google would string together a panoramic shot which I have recently had very good luck taking the correct series of photos that trigger whatever software algorithm to put the "Pano's" together.

Left Side of Hoped for Pano

Right Side of Hoped for Pano

Stitched together, I think these would have made quite a striking view.  At any rate, as trying as the rest of the day was, this was a pretty good way to start off, and I'll give it another shot in the morning.  It will be the same route, but as I've stated before, when you put yourself in the way of beauty, it never really gets old and there is always something new and enriching to observe.

There are stories of weather and people that came out of today, but for now I'll leave them untold.  If all goes well, I'm sure I'll get another chance at both of those topics and it's getting late.  Till tomorrow.

ICP #2

Generally, my practice is to walk two or three times a day.  About once every ten days or so, I only get in one period of pedestrianism, but since 04 October 2014, I have not missed a day of walking yet.  I've been asked before if the walking ever gets boring, and early in the process before I had embraced the idea of the daily practice, the specter of boredom was something that I actually spent more than a little time dreading.

Like many things in my imagination, I completely missed the mark giving any mental or spiritual bandwidth away to anxiety associated with boredom.  Early in the first month of daily walking, I did find that I had to get about a mile under the soles of my feet before my mind would settle in to the rhythm of my own steps, but once that happened and I stopped thinking about whatever it was that popped into my mind my senses were opened in ways that I had forgotten about.  Let's face it, these weren't new experiences, but I had been deliberately shielding myself from them with the accoutrements of technology for many years.  I'd insulated myself from the weather with clothing and housing.  I'd not gone hungry or thirsty for a very long time.  Noise and smell were dampened by the steel and glass protection afforded by my automobile.  Even the speed of life had been changed by the application of technology.

Today, I fell into the plodding rhythm of my march a little bit sooner.  I feld the breeze on my right cheek, and the light hint of humidity in the cool air of the morning.  The smell of plants and exhaust were in the air, and if I'm not mistaken I tasted just a little of the first hint of fall.  All of that coupled with the things that I saw placed before me a sensual cornucopia that transcended boredom immediately and placed me in the path of beauty.

Heron Sculpture illuminated by the waning of the afternoon sun

The experience of being one with the environment is a feeling that I've come to cherish.  That sense of connection is something that I'm able to carry with me throughout the non-walking parts of my day, albeit to a lesser extent.

South (left) and North (right) on the trail this morning

The concern with boredom was completely unfounded, and the sensation of oneness with all the glory that surrounds me during these stretches of serenity is something that I wish I could share fully with you.  The sound of the footfalls clears the mind and changes the way you observe.  This change is not instantaneous, but it is inevitable as the action associated with the practice takes a course that is both irresistible for any great period of time and fulfilling beyond anything I expected.

Severn River looking East

The pictures fall short in capturing the sensation, but they hearken my memory back to the flow of the breeze, the sound of the traffic, the pinch of the mosquito, and the warmth of the sun.  It's a richness of experience that I've been seeking for awhile, and it was waiting to be experienced just a few steps outside the door.

Implications of the Call to the Pilgrimage #1 (ICP #1)

When you talk to other people about the goal of walking across the country, inevitably the conversation will come around to the reasons that you might or might not have for taking on such a journey.  Often, it is raised by the other person as some version of the question, "What cause are you taking up or supporting with your walk?"

For me this is a difficult question to answer because I really don't have some overarching external cause that I'm supporting (say, the Kidney Foundation or Living Legacy or Walk for a Cure or any one of a great number or worthy causes and organizations working to make the world a better place).  At the heart of my reasoning, I suppose I'm called to the prep work in advance of one day making this walk because it has become a part of who I am over the last several years.

Rory and I were talking around this issue the other day, and he observed that he'd basically lived his whole life and never really felt at home in any of the places he's lived.  It's an interesting observation because he's spent the better part of seven decades searching for home (or maybe not).  That conversation got me thinking about how my own experiences have stacked up against his.

I too have not ever really found a place that I felt entirely comfortable with the notion of settling in for the long haul.  Up to this point, I've been fortunate because the nature of the way I earn my living has necessitated multiple re-locations, and as you can see by previous postings quite a lot of travel even when I'm in the same location for a number of years.

I am beginning to suspect that part of the answer to both Rory and my dilemma is that we may not ever find a place to truly call home.We've either been blessed or cursed with whatever part of the human genome is responsible for the more nomadic tendencies of the tribe of humanity.

All that said, although I don't feel at home in any one particular place that I've landed thus far, I have grown appreciative of having a "home base."

One of the more important aspects of this home base for me is the relationship that I've developed with the people who cut my hair.  My home base must be located withing a reasonable commuting distance (by car) of a good one of these:

The "Barber Pole" at the shop I've been going to for the last 11 years

The use of the Barber Pole as a trade symbol dates back to the Middle Ages and was once associated with bloodletting, tooth extraction, and hair grooming.  There are some additional connotations and denotations described in the linked article above, and I'll leave you to form your own conclusions.

The real point for me is that even though I appear to be drawn to the nomadic existence, it's important to me to be able to rely on the people I trust to trim my short locks.  It makes sense when one considers that the place I go still uses the straight razor in the final neck line clean-up process.  Finding an acceptable barber will be one of the many little annoyances that will have to be solved during the pilgrimage, and it will be interesting to see this (and many other things I probably haven't even considered) play out.