Self-Portrait1, Taken at National XC Championship Course, Terre Haute, IN
Tomorrow–July 30–I depart for Fort Riley, KS, and the beginning of my deployment. I’ve had two full months to spend almost as I please. So what did I do? Here’s how I described it in an email to a friend:
“So how am I spending my last weeks of freedom? A frenetic mixture of doing things and seeing people “one last time,” mixed in with last minute necessary preparations, blended with feeble efforts to relax. Getting drunk, or at least having a few too many more times than usual. Family business (some of it very heavy). Traveling about (guzzling gas like it still cost $2.50/gallon). Getting in way better shape than I have been in a decade. Reading up on Afghanistan, studying Dari. Attempting to finally master two or three of the most simple songs possible on the guitar. Trying to hit a three-wood long and straight, every time. This morning I went for my last mountain-bike ride (another pastime I’ll be saying sayanora to for a year), and now I’m watching “No Country for Old Men” (while tapping out this email to you). One thing I haven’t done is any academic work, unfortunately. I had plans, but all the above seems to have gotten in the way.”
Two movies I’ve watched, if blended together, serve to define the feeling of trepidation and expectation I am now experiencing: “Into the Wild” and “No Country for Old Men.” The titles alone seem to be directly relevant to my plight
Self-Portrait2
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