Southern climes

It’s 1° (Centigrade) right now in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan – but with 15km per hour winds coming in from the southwest, it feels more like -3°.

Meanwhile, we’re looking at a high of 80° (Fahrenheit) here in Jacksonville, Florida – with a tropical storm off the shore south of here and a Nor’Eastener retreating to the nor’east up the coast. Humidity is high, of course – in the 90s – and we’re getting some isolated showers, some of which were isolated over me in the pre-dawn hours.

I’m happy to be in Florida for November – but I’d love to spend a few crisp, clear, cold mornings back in Moose Jaw or other spots I enjoyed during Spring and Summer months.

I’m 260 days into this incredible journey. I’ve just 6 new states left out of the 35 (not counting six Canadian provinces) that I will have visited by the end of the trail.

Far from serving as the “dog days,” these final weeks will probably scoot by as I attempt to exploit remaining opportunities to explore and learn.

Jacksonville turns out to be a bit like my hometown of San Diego. It’s a huge, sprawling city – one of the nation’s 20 largest. Traffic is a bit of a challenge, and one can easily end up driving scores of miles running errands or seeking points of interest.

I’m hoping to get an oil change and otherwise help my Saturn gird its loins (do cars have loins?) for the rest of the trip. My 1995 soon-to-be novokilomiler (that’s 90,000 on the odometer for those of you having difficulty deciphering my term-coining) has been running like a top and deserves a bit of TLC after having brought me so far without incident.

*** *** ***

I interrupted this writing to have a conversation with an army (national guard) recruiter. He was very forthcoming regarding his attitudes toward service, leadership and a host of topics related to his job and to the world in general.

Two stories dominated the CNN broadcast that served as context and background for our discussion. One dealt with a minor celebrity (“Mad Dog” something – a bounty hunter with his own reality-TV show) who used the “N” word and other racist terminology in a private phone conversation that isn’t private anymore; and the other with several incidents where nooses have been placed near the doors of black people.

My new acquaintance is black and is the first young person I’ve discussed racism with since my retirement from teaching. Though we have quite different perspectives – not only racially, but also chronologically, career and life experience-wise and no doubt in other significant ways – I believe we had a meeting of minds and that our values have much in common.

The manner in which the media covers news never ceases to amaze (and disappoint me). CNN, and the rest of the commercial media, focus more and more on selling the sizzle and less and less on the steak.

One conclusion that the seargent and I agreed upon was that while much has improved since Martin Luther King began his struggle, much room remains for further improvement.

Though I’m not sure how it will translate into action, I am becoming more and more certain that some form of activism will become a significant part of my life once I’ve returned to California and settled into new digs.

This adventure has recharged my batteries. Meeting so many vibrant, engaged and motivated people who are much older than I has inspired me and has convinced me that my life probably isn’t close to “over” just yet. After eight years of mourning and wallowing, I believe that I’m ready to return to life.

Though not particularly in a religious sense, the concepts of resurrection and redemption have become much more interesting to me over the past number of years. I find each of these to be a cause for optimism and – along with other factors – they are helping me see a possible path toward a new chapter (or two) in the book of David…

Despite the absence of sunshine, things are definitely looking brighter, this morning, here in Florida.