The Bugs are Aweful This Summer

If the bums in charge want us to "eat ze bugs", harvest season is in the air because I was just chased out of the state forest. And no, it wasnt poor government choices that chased me out but the flies crawling in my hair, biting on my scalp, buzzing loud in my ear. I became natures enemy today, dive bombed by the locals. I never felt this much like a piece of meat since I worked for corporate America; so this mourning while scrolling through the empty inbox's on my dating apps- ghost town- oh look a tumble weed, never mind, its a reminder to upgrade my subscription. 

And the ticks this year. I stumbled upon a nest on a short walk up north in the woods. I looked down at my small little dog to a village of ticks about to lay the foundation for a new city on her back. Her hair is very short and light brown, the four or five ticks crawling all about. And little poochkies, such a fussy little lass, does not hold still. She sees them as her little buddies, my pickings an act of meaness. So I waited till she was in the car where I had to pet her while flicking ticks out the window. I would then spend the rest of the day checking myself whenever I felt scurry on skin. I picked two more off myself the next day. 

So I learned a valuable lesson today. Just like while out in nature, when in the grocery store, I'll avoid ze bugs. 

Is Competition Important in the Arts?

 Yes. I believe all industries should be run like a professional sports team. If you cant compete, you dont eat. If someone younger, faster, smarter, better comes around, then you should be forced to step up your game, or you lose your position. 

I see it as the pendellum of Establishment. Those trying to establish themselves build a system of merit. While those already established rebuild those same systems into status machines. One group wants to grow in status, the other wants to sustain the status they already have. 

Unfortunately this muddles the waters. People invest large gobs of wealth into their education, their equipment and in their lifestyles more then in their skills and talents. The last thing they want is to be blown away by someone dirty off the streets. 

And this is why competition in the arts are so much the more important. Because nobody likes investing hundreds of thousands, sometimes millions just to learn that someone off the streets actually put in the hard work on their talent. Its a bitter realization. But what is equally frustrating is not having a clear playing field where society has the ability to judge for themselves. 

In essence, some people arent as talented as others. Its a hard fact of life. Some people are born stronger, healthier, smarter then others. I watched a hummingbird fight another male for dominiance over a bird feeder. Their was enough to share but if the weaker bird had the biological upper hand, wouldnt they use it? Us humans use our financial upper hand against each other all the time, and theirs nothing natural about ink on paper. 

Mostly I just want to know where I rank against my peers. If I can't compete freely like the great rock bands and pulp writers of the past and even that was mostly rigged, I dont feel an intetest to participate in this system. Nor contribute to it. 

And if their comes a day where my works gets compared to the rest of my peers with wide eyes and opened minds, and the general agreement is that this whole writing thing was my crux, my folly, my downfall, I can live with that. Thats not what bothers me. Its being denied the right for the whole world to decide for themselves. Because long as I know where I rank, I know what the next step I need to make. 

Because I might not be where I want to be today doesnt mean I cant climb above the rest to new peaks further down the road. I dont see my life, my current situation as a book but as a chapter. Where I am today is not where I'll be ten, twenty years from now. So I'll keep climbing this writing mountain to the top; because the way I see it, survival of the fittest. I'm not here to lift you up when you fall off this hill, I'm here to take your hooks and keep climbing. 

Its harsh but the blunt truth of it puts fire water in my veins, reminds me that I'm alive. I want to be pushed to my breaking point, forced to tapp into those hidden pockets of talent denied us by lackluster leadership. And yet, I feel, sense a knowing, that if I continue this climb, good things are bound to happen. I can feel it in my bones. 

It's a Hot One Today, Part 2

The sun hasnt risen over the horizon yet and the mugginess from yesterdays rains is already heavy in the air. I'm thinking deeper about what I wrote about yesterday. I'm probably just going to build this blog into a full sized website and write about I want. And what I'm mostly interested in these days is spooky mysteries set in beautiful landscapes. And sometimes comedy, but mostly spooky mystery stuff. I'll also veer off in the weeds on other subjects like music and metaphysics, but I have always been drawn back to fiction writing. It has always been the driving force behind my life, and always will be. 

And I don't blame my buddy entirely for running me out of the band. I outplayed the band leader on his own instrument. I let my natural talent shine through in a solo. I wasnt even trying to out perform anyone that day. I was just trying to add some flavor to the song. I just wanted to serve the song.

Unfortunately the band leader had the practice location and the equupment. Well his father did any ways. His dad built a mini empire for his growing family. His son his one employee. But this is the way of the world now days. 

I dedicated many hours over many years to my writing and my music. But none of that matters any more in the eyes of ownership. And ownership is leadership now days, all those years wasted just to become another employee for another company. 

I miss playing with my dad and his friends, they were much more easy going. They wouldn't tell me how to play the songs. They would leave me to figure it out and let me know if I sounded good or not. And over time, I learned to serve the song and we sounded well put together. 

Its rare to find that now days when everythings an executive decision. Everyone wants to play businessman, nobody wants to be the band leader. The band leaders job is too have the songs down well enough to help guide the other band members through it. Its the band leaders responsibility to get the best out of everyone because thats what brings the best out of yourself. 

Sadly people got that backwards now days. They want the people driven by creative pursuits to serve those motivated by power and greed. Quit being motivated by these things. I never understood that about people and the arts. Its always been feast or famine. Their are far better industries to play those king peasant games. 

Regardless, its always been this way. Some eras the artists are risen to the highest heights, others their plundered like an old west gold mine into destitution. And right now we live in the later, who needs unique talent and the ability to harness it when you can afford to hire someone else to make you look special? 

All Mr. Corporate music man bandleader saw that day was some outsider waltzing in, making him look bad. He never thought, huh, these guys I play with have all this untapped talent. If I focus on getting better so they unlock that potential, we might have something here.

 But instead he lusted for control, wanted to focus on making the songs sound exactly the way he heard them in his head then how they can be worked into an original band where you learn to trust your fellow man to make thoughtful decisions, not wait for them to make a mistake so you have an excuse to fire them. And my buddy, he cared more about access to music equipment then actual people. He would sell his mother out for an oppertunity to have admission to a fancy music studio. I guess its just the way of world and I've fallen behind the curve; and I thank God everyday that is the case. Because if their attitude is the road to success, then we bound to go our seperate ways, better sooner then later. 

It's a Hot One Today

Yesterday, I took advantage of the overcast and took a series of short hikes along different sections of the Ice Age Trail. I thought about what my plans were for this blog and my writings in general. I have a nice pile of jokes and funny stories I wrote. But none of them are truly safe for publication. So I guess they'll remain tucked away until I accumulate enough for a full book, or I'll go a head and publish them anyways. It's my blog to ruin. 

Today, tempers dared to flare up but to no avail. I thought about an old friend from another state, his way of life foreign to me. 

I saw him as a guitar legend in the making, a magnificant musician. I wasn't jealous. I was inspired. I wanted to get good enough at bass guitar to play with him like brothers. He didn't see it that way. He wanted to prove he was better then me at everything at all times. I wanted to get better, let the music fuel me to becoming a better person. So when given his oppertunity, he replaced me in the band we were in. He stepped down from guitar just to embarass me. And soon after that, I became human debris in his eyes, subhuman and was to be treated as such; and so it was. 

I look back at those days with gratitude. I could never do that to another human being which is why he did what he did. He saw that light of goodness in me as ugly and wanted to cast a shadow on it to hide his own darkness. He's a coward in that regards; and knowing that fills me with an inner peace. 

MAN MOUND: Visiting the Last Man Shaped Effigy in North America

From the ground, the ancient site is unimpressive. Wedged between farmland, it was originally planned to be ploughed into new cropland. However, the community started a small trust and accumulated enough donations to buy the land and create a small shrine around it. 

Such mound park are quite common in Southeastern Wisconsin and are usually nestled near lakes and/ or popular State Parks. Man Mound isnt any different, not far from the States most popular outdoor destination Devils Lake.

Ironically, it's also one of the least impressive of these parks. Its not even entirely intact. The legs have been cut in half by a back country road. Its boots seperated from its body, enclosed by a wire fence that separtes it from the property of the farmhouse smooshed up next too it. Dont expect fung shi out in these parts, just miles of beautiful bluffs and endless corn fields. 

However, its also the strangest. Being the last humanoid shaped effigy mound in North America. It also has a eerie shape. Is it ears or is it horns on its head. And who built it? Was it it the Native Americans? And why? It's a very strange place indeed. 

But, if you're ever in the area and need a place to stretch your legs. Don't be affraid, it only gets more hellish from here. 

Kohler Andre State Park, Wisconsin Summer 2024

The Best Hiking Trail in Wisconsin is Outside my Backdoor

 I live in the Kettle Moraine State Forest, scenic wonderland scattered with monster infested lakes, spooky roadside critters and hundreds of miles of trails. This is not limited to just hiking trails which are bountiful. We also have riverways and creeks for kayaking, scenic drives, horse paths, and even snow mobile and cross country trails. When it comes to the great outdoors, we have it all except for mountain climbing, you'll have to head further west to fully enjoy that experience. However, there plenty of hill tops to scale.

But their is a hiking trail that ranks amongst the top in the state of Wisconsin. The Scuppernong Trail takes you deep into the Kettle Moraine forest. This trail is beautiful and accessible year around but takes on new dimensions during peak fall color. The first photo reminds me of a Japanese garden and photos dont do the scenery justice. 

But even the Scuppernog in all its glory still connects to the grand jewel, the Ice Age National Scenic Trail. The IAT cuts across the state of Wisconsin. The IAT not only cuts through the state forest but connects many of the best natural landmarks which include the Scuppernong trailhead and all three hills mentioned before. And their is no better time to hike it then right now!

I prefer to stick with the prairie valleys in the summer and the hills when the weather cools down. The forest has been muggy this summer from all the rain, the bugs worse then usual. But the prairies remain relatively dry with fewer insects. 

The summer flowers are espicially beautiful and litter tucked away prairies along the Ice Age trail, nature the greatest of all flower arrangers. And by autumn, the color explosion on the ground will rise to the trees in leafy splendor. What a treaure!