Recluse – Super Bowl Sunday
I have not been writing much lately for several different reasons. With the extreme cold this winter I could say it has been “brain freeze” but that would only be a small part of it. Things have been quite busy for me in a non-busy way if that makes any sense. I have been traveling a bit around the state so it has been very cold and isolated going out to the villages preparing for new projects this season or checking on ongoing projects from last. At work it has been busy with so many things going on with new work and dealing with the logistics of such remote places to get people, equipment and materials to the jobsite. Around town it has been a time for reflection and throttling back a bit from going a hundred miles an hour. In that sense I guess I have become a semi-recluse.
What is a recluse, really? Well, it's someone who chooses to live a life of solitude. This kind of lifestyle isn't for everyone, obviously. For me it is hard since I am one to usually have many people around me all of the time.
Why would a person choose to live this way? What does it mean, exactly? It could mean a lot of things. Most people assume that reclusive people suffer from mental illness, like the cat-lady stereotype. And, of course, those are the people who get all the attention, so it goes to reason. I think that most people assume that those who choose to be alone suffer from agoraphobia, in this day and age.
There are other reasons however for avoiding the world around you. Religious reasons change the term from recluse to hermit. A hermit is a person who chooses to live in solitude to contemplate the teachings of God and divine his or her own meaning without influence from others. I like that definition, better.
Personally, I just cannot deal with that “people” element. Like this morning, I am on my way to work and stopped to get gas. I am almost to the pump when this guy raced me to the frickin’ gas pump and then sat there. He just sat there. I pulled in behind him, pumped my gas, went in, got a Coke, washed my windshield and still the guy just sat . . . scratching his head or butt I suppose. I could have stayed home or gotten my gas at the end of the day and avoided meeting up with Mr. Asshole. See my point?
So, yeah, I'm a recluse. My whole area of operation is about 10 to 15 square miles, no lie. Everything I need to do or any place I need to go can be found within a 10 mile radius and I'm quite content. Summertime widens things a bit with going to the lake or down to the Kenai to fish but otherwise everything is really close-by. Not because I'm afraid of people or places or any of all that. I just prefer to not feel like choking the living shit out of someone every second of the day and being in the general public does that to me. So, I avoid it.
Why would a person choose to live this way? What does it mean, exactly? It could mean a lot of things. Most people assume that reclusive people suffer from mental illness, like the cat-lady stereotype. And, of course, those are the people who get all the attention, so it goes to reason. I think that most people assume that those who choose to be alone suffer from agoraphobia, in this day and age.
There are other reasons however for avoiding the world around you. Religious reasons change the term from recluse to hermit. A hermit is a person who chooses to live in solitude to contemplate the teachings of God and divine his or her own meaning without influence from others. I like that definition, better.
Personally, I just cannot deal with that “people” element. Like this morning, I am on my way to work and stopped to get gas. I am almost to the pump when this guy raced me to the frickin’ gas pump and then sat there. He just sat there. I pulled in behind him, pumped my gas, went in, got a Coke, washed my windshield and still the guy just sat . . . scratching his head or butt I suppose. I could have stayed home or gotten my gas at the end of the day and avoided meeting up with Mr. Asshole. See my point?
So, yeah, I'm a recluse. My whole area of operation is about 10 to 15 square miles, no lie. Everything I need to do or any place I need to go can be found within a 10 mile radius and I'm quite content. Summertime widens things a bit with going to the lake or down to the Kenai to fish but otherwise everything is really close-by. Not because I'm afraid of people or places or any of all that. I just prefer to not feel like choking the living shit out of someone every second of the day and being in the general public does that to me. So, I avoid it.
When I lived in Atlanta there were so many people it was stifling to sit in traffic and be fumigated driving anywhere in the city. I am perfectly happy puttering around the house taking care of one project or another and I have no desire to be out amongst the masses dealing with the unending bullshit.
Alaska has given me a breather from the masses found in so many other areas. Very few traffic lights here and no stress like before in the Lower 48 and that I am so thankful for. It is funny to see those here who think it is crowded compared to just a few years ago . . . I tell them to head south to see what wall to wall people, houses, and vehicles is really about. With only 9 numbered roads in this state it is not like anywhere else so I guess you could say living here makes me somewhat of a recluse, who knew?
Now I am not a big football fan anymore (growing up with the losing Atlanta Falcons over the years) but I am getting ready to watch the game shortly and like many people it is all about the food and merriment of the afternoon.
On tap, a large beef brisket, shrimp, spuds, a croc pot full of cheese sauce (cheese, bacon, hamburger, kielbasa, Ro-tell & secret spices), chips, and of course drinks.
Enjoy the game everyone, one team will win, not really sure who is playing so I guess I can look forward to observing the halftime commercials and hopefully have something to report back to you later.
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