If you’ve been reading me over the years you know I have a simple altruistic perspective on life. I really believe in living small, green, free, while helping others along their path. I know it’s a good philosophy as my karma is rewarding Carla and I ten-fold.
It may seem that I don’t worry about things like health care, or having money for my old age, but the truth is I do, far too often. I weigh the importance of “security” heavily, but have a tendency to want to live life today. Watching my mother pass when she was only 42 has something to do with it. Life is just too damn short, milk it for everything its worth!
I also don’t like to make plans! I prefer taking what the universe brings me and listening to her subtle voice explicitly. If we take the time, I mean really take the time, we’ll notice our path is well-lit and easily navigated. Our internal compass works just fine, however it’s been dimmed by the distractions and responsibilities of living in the western system. We have either forgotten how to navigate by our internal compass (instincts) , or more likely never knew how to to begin with. You just need to take the time.
How do I take the time you ask?
You make it. If you don’t like your job you quit, and you get rid of the people in your life that make seeing your path complicated. You shed yourself of possessions, debt, and especially the television! You embrace peace and demand clarity in your life. You must open yourself to peace.
Smart phones, new cars, and shinier things don’t bring one peace or “security”, they only fill the empty space with an even larger void that seems filling, “empty calories” if you will. Our souls need nutrition, and peace is that food.
My life, and what I write about isn’t about “sailing” or “travel”. It’s about peace and freedom.
Last week Carla and I decided to go to eat on shore. Neither of us find the idea of eating food someone else prepared appealing, but sometimes we just like a break from cooking and dishes. We had worked hard on our new galley all day and just wanted a break.
As soon as I got in the dinghy I squeezed the fuel bulb to the outboard and it sprung a leek spilling fuel all over the dink. Carla said “don’t stress baby, lets row”. I broke out the oars for the sailing dinghy. My oars are bent and I had to buy the kind of oarlocks that are bolted to the oars. I don’t like them but it’s the only way to row with bent oars. Well the oarlocks were seized (rusted) and our dinner plans seemed to be dissipating on the wind. I got angry, “Why don’t you want me to go to shore” I barked at the sea!
Starving, I ripped out my tools and re-plumbed the fuel line. I knew we shouldn’t eat out as the universe was speaking to me, but I was so belligerent that I just had to make it happen. Well…, as usual, I did just make it happen even though cooking at home would have been much easier. I get stupid when I’m hungry. When we got to the restaurant I noticed 
that the cook was sick, and within a few hours I was in bed with a 103 degree fever and sick for a week.
I know, some of you are rolling your eyes saying Alex is into “signs” or some stupid new-age shit. I don’t know if I’d call it “signs”, or “new age”, but I do believe that some of us have a purpose greater than being a drone in the system guiding our lives by the light of the television. We should take the time to notice the world around us. Life does speak to us and listening is good practice, at least in my humble opinion.
I’ve been bummed with the idea of bringing backpackers to Colombia and back. The money is good but I’d have to beat up Splendid in order to get it, and beating up Splendid now is really the last thing I want to do as I’m just fixing her up.
All I want is to be able to stay here in Linton so I can make the last big push to finish Splendid. We don’t need that much money, just enough to keep me in sand paper, paint, varnish, and a few odd parts. As you can see the galley is turning out spectacular. All surfaces re-painted and re-varnished. Our new stove arrived today, and I need to focus on the refrigeration systems next.
My asthma has been really bad from all the dust and fumes from the sanding, stripper, paint, and varnish. I often wake up in the night with a very short breath. Restoring a boat while living on it seems impossible at times, not to mention the fact that Carla and I are always tripping over tools and wires.
It’s funny how the universe works. If you listen and open yourself to her she really wants to help.
We have been asked if we would like to run a local B&B (The Bamboo house) until November.
We would have a beautiful house within walking distance of Splendid, a small income, a car, and a place for me to empty Splendid and make the last big push on her restoration.
I would never consider working off the boat as I just don’t like being off the boat, but I must admit this makes sense. I’ll have the days free to work on Splendid, Carla will have a nice space to work on canvas off the boat, and I’ll also have a place to build my CLC Passagemaker sailing dinghy. There is a maid who does dishes, cooks, and cleans the rooms so this whole thing is a no-brainer for us. The owners are friends of mine who live most of the year in Holland. 
The caretaker just had a baby and wants to return to her boat so she can be with her husband chartering in the San Blas.
I’ll also be running the odd day-charters to Playa Blanca (white beach) for extra cash. It’s only 5 miles from Linton and really beautiful. I’ll provide fishing, lunch, sailing, and snorkeling for $60 a head (1/2 day), more if it includes dinner.
Some other big news is the French marina down the road will be ready to haul boats next month. We will probably wait until November to haul-out so Splendid will be on the hard while Carla and I are getting married in Argentina and bumming around Patagonia. When we return I’ll paint the bottom & hull and “baddabing”, off like a shot! I don’t mind being broke, but I’ve found being broke while trying to restore an old 40’ ketch to be trying at times. Once I’m in maintenance-mode life will be soooooo much easier!
When Carla and I move back on Splendid every surface will have new paint, new varnish, and will be CLEAN, CLEAN, CLEAN! At which point we will most likely transit the Canal for the Pacific and sail off into the sunset, but who knows?
Not a bad plan for someone who doesn’t like plans, eh?
The first thing I need to do when we have a few bucks is buy a laptop, Carla’s died a few weeks ago and it’s been tough.
I also have some engine work to do. I’m going to install a new Teflon seal kit to stop my Perkins 4108 from leaking oil. The Perkins is my favorite of all marine diesel engines even though they leak oil. I found a fix though. I’ve had Yanmars, Volvos, and universals. If you have a Perkins you should read this article and never consider repowering, it’s such a dependable motor!
I also want to paint the motor and clean up the engine room.
It’s an awesome stove, isn’t it?
Peace guys.
Sail far and live slowly.
– alex
Great to see your making awesome progress on the boat and the galley looks awesome! Also great to see you have found a woman that fits – Carla sounds like the perfect sailing mate. The plan to help with the B&B thing sounds perfect – make some $$$, be off the boat while getting work done (man do I know the challenge of living aboard while doing big projects – it sucks!).
The “Western System” is nowhere near the horror you play it out as. I mean really…. come on Alex! Without such a system – you would have no boat to sail off in. No stove… no GPS… no epoxy… no nothing. All of these things were created / built by people seeking to make a profit from their sale. Yes, too many people get caught up in the baloney but the fact remains that without capitalism and people working to feed their dreams EVERYTHING grinds to a halt. If everybody decided to chuck it all, quit their jobs and live “free” as you say… mass starvation and conflict would be the result. Besides, I find it fun and fulfilling to chase the dollar. Do interesting things that provide value to people that they are happy to pay for – everybody wins. Balance and perspective are the key.
The stove is awesome! Post more pics of the rest of the boat, its been so long since I was aboard I would really love to see more details of all the progress you have made.
Terry,
Good to hear from you, it’s been too long.
You may be a fan of the system and that’s great. The problem is there is already mass starvation, I see it every day. Distribution of wealth is WAY out of control and there are too many people in this world with nothing, starving, and with no have access to medical attention. I’m not about just routing for our home team!
Capitalism only works in the absence of greed and that is how our great country was designed “give us your poor” and all that “nonsense” that seems to have dissapated with the wind.
From where I sit the “system” is that bad an robs most Americans of their freedom. Many are complacent and that’s fine, I’m just interested with the ones who aren’t and looking for a hand out of it. I get emails from men every day looking for a way out.
Also in all kinds of human societies and political systems (communism, socialism, feudalism, dictatorships, monarchies anarchy, native and barter systems) people are still creative and hard working, they have trades and passions and produce things like sailboats. it’s the nature of mankind. I thinks it’s a bit off to say that good ole American capitalism is responsible for everything, it’s just not true. People were sailing the world long before the western system started taking over.
We all however are entitled to our opinions, isn’t it grand?
Peace
This is not the country I served for 6 years……..socialism sucks…..democracy no longer lives here! Big brother is led by a liar…….Alex you rock, but everyone can not follow your path, although more should…..G ” NO POLITICS PLEASE”
Gary,
I really hate it when a good blog turns “political”.
I never said “everyone” should follow my path, you know how over populated the community is becoming. Truthfully the last thing I want is more people in the anchorage. I just know how it is to be trapped in a system you don’t believe in, it’s a miserable existence (for me, and for some others). I’m only concerned with helping those guys, the ones that want out! Some of us really do feel it’s “that bad”, and worse.
If you don’t watch television like me, and come across it ever year or so, what you see is frightening. People have become numb and saturated by negativity and fear. Oil companies and others like Monsanto, Walmart, etc. are raping our planet/people and basking in the freedom of “capitalism”, and the people (mostly not Americans) are suffering horrendously. Carla was translating for a children’s rights organization in Argentina and I won’t even get into the atrocities (mass child starvation and death by easily preventable diseases) that occur there on a daily basis, all propagated by greed for the dollar. Some of us just have too F’n much and don’t give a damn!
The truth is most people don’t want the “reality” of it and choose the blue pill, and that’s fine, it’s just not my way.
Carla’s outside sanding and I’m feeling guilty, time to get to work.
Peace
Alex – there are 1000’s of sailing blogs out there, but I follow none of them … all except for yours, because you don’t just write about fixing the boat, your travel plans, and beach parties with other “cruisers”, you go much deeper. Sure, you write about the vehicle you’ve chosen to take you around, and as a fellow sailor and hopeful soon to be full-time voyaging vagabond, I connect with you in that regard, but what appeals to me most (and always has) about your blog is you openly share your life-philosophy. Most people don’t have a guiding life philosophy. They are the proverbial rudderless ship drifting through life destined for wherever the tide and wind takes them. And most bloggers on boats write about their day and share a few postcards of palm trees and white sandy beaches, and that’s about it. Pretty much your basic ships log and family photo album. Nothin’ wrong with that at all, but some people long for more than just an extended holiday and a high-seas adventure. They hunger to find a meaning and purpose to their one-and-only life on this “blue sphere”, and that is what you address in your writings and where you excel as a blogger – and is also your big differentiator from all the other me-to sailing sites out there.
Some say, stick to sailing, and don’t talk about politics, religion, economics, culture, etc… but how do you avoid talking about the very things that impact our lives affect how we think more than anything else?
It’s difficult to put in words just exactly how fcked up and perverted the system has actually become. It is a metastasizing cancer that is aggressively devouring everything in it’s wake. The propaganda, spin, and lies spewed from the big corporate mainstream mass media outlets is nauseating. We live in a culture where everything that is right has become wrong, left is right, up is down, bad is good. Government does not serve the people – it exsists only to serves itself, and is now so big and unwieldy there is no way we can unscramble this egg. It can never return to the rightful place our founding fathers intended. The little guy is getting crushed under the weight of our bloated bureaucracy, onerous taxation, and stifeling regulations. The Orwellian system is here to stay. Joseph Stalin would be so proud.
Here in the good ole’ USSA we are governed, watched, inspected, spied upon, directed, law-driven, numbered, regulated, enrolled, indoctrinated, preached at, controlled, checked, estimated, valued, censured, commanded, by creatures who have neither the right nor the wisdom nor the virtue to do so. No doubt the vast majority of folks are okay with this. They have found their groove running on the gerbil wheel and are comfortably numb and blissfully unaware that everything they know to be true is actually upside down. Perhaps this is why it is said that the drunken man is happier than the sober one?
Anyways Alex, keep setting the example and preaching the truth. You won’t connect with everyone. Talk sense to the fool and he will call you foolish. But for me, you are a welcome breath of fresh air.
– Contrarian
Contrarian, you have such a gift for words. I love reading your thoughts and of course you know we have a similar view.
But Terry I also appreciate your courage to speak your mind even though you probably knew the response you’d get. I think you know exactly what you’re talking about, it’s just that we disagree on what’s important. When it comes to humanity’s well being there are so many variables involved that many of us can have completely different views and they can all make sense in their own way.
Alex always says that he welcomes opposing arguments on the website because that creates the necessary exchange of ideas for all of us to think and reflect on what’s going on and to choose what we want to do and how we want to live.
Love to all from Puerto Lindo!
Carla
My perspective of home has changed so much over the years. I left the USA just after 9/11 and when I returned the political changes were epic. My country evaporated in just a few years and was replaced by something aggressive, fearful, and quite foreign to me. My friends were running around pointing fingers and regurgitating what they heard on CNN or Fox that evening and worst of all the battle between democrats & republicans seemed even more heated. America has become far too divided for my taste. Everyone is so concerned with “gun laws” and other social “topics”, many seem to have forgotten how to be kind, compassionate, and human. its “me” and “us” against “you” and “them”. We are all “the people”! The news from American sources paints such a different picture from every other news source on earth and the American people buy it hook, line, and sinker. it breaks my heart on so many different levels its hard to describe. It feels something like watching the house you grew up in burn to the ground each day.
If anyone has the time I highly recommend watching “a life in a day” which was produced by YouTube and Ridley and Tony Scott. It was produced with over 80,000 YouTube submissions from 192 countries and all shot on the same day. If you want the slightest idea of what our human race is about, this film provides a really nice perspective, and it’s free. Take the time to watch it in its entirety. I almost quit mid way and was thankful I didn’t. Also with headphones is best as the music is really important and some of the audio is subtle.
topdocumentaryfilms.com/life-in-a-day/
All I want is to spend the rest of my days in peace, sailing the world, and experiencing as much Love as humanly possible. At the end of the day that’s what it’s all about. I wish to share my freedom with other men, and provide guidance to those who seek it, no more.
Terry, I hope you don’t feel attacked, that’s not my intention. You just sparked a sensitive nerve. How’s you son, he is one of the most amazing kids I’ve met I was just telling Carla about our times in the Bahamas.
Peace
Carla – thanks much for the kind words. For what it’s worth, it was Alex’s post that lit my fuse, not anything anyone else said here, so nobody should feel “attacked” by my opinion. Truth is, right now in my life as a land-based business owner, I’ve probably got more in common on the surface with buck-chasing capitalist Terry, than I do with world-sailing peace-loving Alex.
As for speaking up, personally I have great respect for anyone with an opinion -whether they agree with me or not, the gripe I penned earlier was with those who don’t have an opinion, because they have lost the ability to think for themselves – this is the great tragedy and the reason we’ve lost our country to the politicians and big corporations, after all, in a democracy we vote for what we want and get what we deserve.
That said, anyone with an opinion and the courage to share it should always assume they will be attacked, and they should stand ready to defend their position. As Friedrich Nietzsche said, “There are no facts, only interpretations.” In the “good ole’ days” we’d settle our differences with the sword – today we use a pen, or more precisely with a keyboard, while Big Brother and the NSA lurks in the shadows watching and listening.
Respectfully submitted :)
Not attacked at all…. no worries! I have debated politics with Alex over rum enough to know that he is in fact a “real” capitalist at heart even if he would never admit it.
The issue here is in defining what “Capitalism” means. In its true sense and definition – Capitalism is DEAD. The system that functions in the EU, USA and most western nations (and in China, Russia and others…) is most definitely NOT capitalism. IT is Crapitalism !
To big to fail…corruption….controlling political parties – Govt. run and controlled by politicians who are bought and paid for by bankers and giant corporations and unions who then turn around and enforce insane Govt. economic policies and controls that do nothing except serve the interest of their masters – this is NOT Capitalism!
Capitalism at its core relies upon the ability of capital to naturally and freely flow to its maximum yields and usage. This means that those who put capital to its best use (creating true wealth, jobs and economic expansion) are rewarded while those who fail in their efforts see their capital leave their hands and flow to others who do succeed. But this no longer functions. Winners and losers far too often are decided by Govt. MASSIVE losers are guaranteed and bailed out by Govt. There is no risk – capital is not permitted to naturally flow and incentives to actually invest in real economic expansion are replaced by internal trading and Govt. controlled and guaranteed efforts that do not yield real wealth creation or economic expansion but instead just pump no risk guaranteed $$$ to the hands of the few.
Alex likes to say he is an anarchist, but anarchy is really just capitalism allowed to function without external Govt. controls (plus a good dose of “might makes right”). While I agree with much of the anarchist sentiment (I would take it over the mess of a system we have now for sure), history has proven that some regulatory control is necessary. The problem today is that such regulatory control does not serve the people – it serves the masters who have bought the political system.
The other problem today is moral in nature. People have abdicated responsibility for moral conduct to the Govt. What is “right and wrong”? – The Govt. should decide that and enforce it with the legal system. Absurd!
AS for Television…. come on Alex – how would you know about television today when you never watch it? Cable and Netflix and the internet are fundamentally changing television. The camera angles and coverage for NFL games now is AWESOME (go Falcons!). Turn off the news (ALL of it!), refuse the networks (I NEVER watch ads…) and tune in to shows like Game of Thrones, Madmen, Sons of Anarchy, Breaking Bad, House of Cards — TONS of incredible TV entertainment being created by amazingly talented people. (this of course is not an argument for kids watching 10 hours a day…)
I am a business man. I like to earn money. When I develop a product that people appreciate and want to the degree that they are willing to pay for it and after paying for it they are happy with it – Everybody Wins! THAT is what lights my fire. Its fun and fulfilling. Coming up with an idea – building a product – marketing it – developing a relationship with customers – its fun! But the Govt. today makes this process a minefield and screws with everything. Its insanity.
In my view – and historically in the overwhelming majority of cases – Capitalism is naturally coupled to morality. That is the case when it works best. Wealthy people fund the overwhelming majority of charities and assistance programs and the things they support (not Govt. run) tend to be far more efficient and effective. But in todays world, the capitalist wealthy (very much a dying breed) are targeted and raped by Govt. while people are indoctrinated that the only “good” help and assistance for those in need comes from Govt. The truth is the Govt. efforts are massively inefficient and wasteful. The corrupt benefit the most. (They say $10 million in cash leaves Kabul every day bound for Swiss banks…)
Anyhow – always fun to debate a bit and I certainly respect the views and opinions of others. :)
Terry
Terry,
I don’t know if I can say that I’m a capitalist at my center anymore? I’m not about “creating jobs, economic expansion, or accumulating wealth”.
I grew up as a middle-eastern boy in America might today. I grew up Russian/Ukrainian during the cold war. Other parents & children heard my mother speak Ukrainian to me, and as a result I fought a lot in school. I was called a “red”, a “Commie”, when I was just an American boy (1st generation on my mother’s side). I didn’t like borsch or tongue sandwiches and wanted to eat hot dogs & drink Coca-Cola like everyone else. I got my ass kicked a lot, but being Russian it usually took two or more boys to do it.
Boarders and “systems” suck in my opinion, and those who fight to maintain them are weak, unenlightened, and uneducated to the human condition as they don’t trust nature (God if you will), or the will of mankind.
What about the people who don’t want to make money like the writers, artists, and philosophers? These are the people that suffer in a capitalist society, yet provide us with the day to day beautify that separates us from other species. Do we as American capitalists support them? The answer is yes (in my humble opinion), and give them healthcare too. Call it “humanity tax” if you will. It is our responsibility to care for humankind and the rest of our planet as we have been entrusted to do so by whatever label (God, Allah, Budda, Nature) you choose to define the power that is greater than us.
People have the right to live peacefully in nature within the scope of their belief like the American Indian, Polynesian, African, and indigenous of every corner of the world. They have the right to land, living in an untaxed environment, food, clean water, marriage, family, joy, Love, and the support of their neighbor. They have the right to prosper as a human being! Capitalism should be a choice swallowed with honor, nobility, and the good finger of single malt scotch that we worked so hard to produce.
If a farmer wants to grow more than his family share (non GMO of course), and sell/trade to his neighbor and accumulate “wealth” that’s fine as long as he doesn’t breach the human rights of others.
In an anarchist society, if the said farmer did breach the human rights of others, the society (free of “legal” consequence) would address the issue as the people are in power. I’ve never heard of a Kuna murdering another Kuna but know that’s its “known” that the punishment for a Kuna killing a Kuna is he/she is buried alive on top of the victim, facing them, forever in reflection of his crime.
My uncle is a hippie/artist, and one of the best guys I know. He is not a good Capitalist, but a damn good artist. He, by his nature, did not pay tax on his home in New Jersey. My grandfather worked his entire life at RCA to pay for that house to ensure that his artist child would always have a roof over his head, he was a good capitalist even though he was a Ukrainian immigrant. Well about 10 years after my grandfather died the state of New Jersey took (stole) the house & land and threw my uncle onto a winter street, literally! There is no fucking excuse for that in any system!
I’ve lived among people who govern themselves. Our innate sense of right & wrong prevail and we, as every other species on earth, lives amongst a natural order. It’s a beautiful thing to witness, live within, and breath its free air.
That being said I wouldn’t call myself an anarchist either as “anarchy” is the absence of structure and therefore its very label is meaningless. I’m not an “ist” of any sort. I believe in freedom, and my human-right to live peacefully on this earth as nature intended me to.
And as for television I don’t mean quality films, theater, or documentary projects. I mean news, reality (look at me I’m a rock-star) game shows, video games, and all the other senseless drivel people choose to fill their lives with in order to escape the reality of their own living room and their family who lives within it. Truthfully I don’t care what people watch, but when they ask me for help “un-plugging”, I give my opinion. I believe those who wish to fulfill their dreams of freedom need some time to become introspective, use their imagination, learn how to read, and most importantly think for themselves. Only in such an environment will complacency be left behind, and the human sprit allowed to fly.
Terry and Contrarian thanks for the conversation. I hope some others get something positive from this whatever their beliefs are.
Peace.
Amen, Terry! I disagree with nothing you’ve said, and although I am in no position to speak for Alex, I’d find it hard to imagine he’d disagree with you either.
Capitalism, as Ayn Rand described it, is full, uncontrolled, unregulated laissez-faire capitalism – with a separation of state and economics, in the same way and for the same reasons as the separation of the state and church. This is capitalism in it’s oldest and purest form, and is still practiced ethically in many remote parts of the world. No doubt Alex has seen this moral form of capitalism practiced in the San Blas Islands with the Kuna or in other cultures where barter is used for goods and services. This is capitalism and it is not exploitative nor is it bad or evil.
However, in the West we no longer have capitalism as it is defined here. In fact the word “capitalism”, no longer describes how business is conducted in the U.S., unless you where to describe it as an ugly, mutant, perverted crony-version of capitalism. We no longer live in a free democracy where capitalism is allowed to function and where the invisible hand of the free market balances the scales. Today we live in a corporate-plutocracy and the invisible hand has been replaced by the hand-out. Today our elected leaders work at the best of monied interests and serve big business. As a result, capitalism cannot flourish and is indeed dead, even though the spirit and name lives on. What we have today would be better described as corporate socialism, crony capitalism, cancer capitalism, plutocracy, kleptocracy, oligarchy, neofeudalism, or fascism, and this is what sickens me, and I assume Alex as well.
You are right again about the TV, it is nothing but a vehicle, but the disturbing fact is this vehicle has been used by the same powerful government and corporate interests to spew their mind numbing trash, lies, and deceptions, as a result turning the average American brain into complete mush. For example, in the U.S. 25% of all commercials are from big pharma pitching “take a pill fix an ill”, when in fact according to the Journal of American Medicine 106,000 people die each year in the U.S. due to adverse reactions to the drug companies products. Corporate programming desensitizes and numbs us to real life experience. Corporate media distracts us from the important things in life. It shleps sensationalist garbage and calls it “breaking news”, when in fact the vast majority of news is not news at all, it’s propaganda and noise pollution that poisons your attitude and darkens spirit. Aside from documentaries, sports, and few alternative programs, the overwhelming majority programing is complete rubbish. Again, this is what I find disturbing and (I assume) what Alex rails against.
wow, I wanted to read about sailing…must have the wrong blog:)
wow, I wanted to read about sailing…must have the wrong blog:)
wow, I wanted to read about sailing…must have the wrong blog:)
I seriously effing love you. There are so many useless blogs out there including mine but reading your makes me smile, laugh out loud and know I’m not the only one. its good to be alive and FREE FREE FREE!
Jason,
Thanks for the tip on computer deals, I really need to find a good one.
Stormy, I’m glad you enjoy the blog, I laugh out loud many, many times a day and highly recommend it.
Peace brothers!
For what its worth I enjoy reading the different views/philosophies on life. Its hard to imagine life without capitalism and industrialization. We have so many advances in technology, medicine, and science that we would never would have had without capitalism. However the greed has taken over and our world is suffering because of it and may eventually lead to the collapse of the life as we know it. Hopefully the next rise in civilization will yield individuals smart enough to live in harmony with the earth and exist in the absence of greed. Too bad the overwhelming majority of humans are just too stupid.
Scott,
when I left the states I was all about capitalism and even a registered republican. After living on both sides of the fence of technology, and away from the matrix for extended periods of time my views have changes so much.
Everyone is all up in arms about health care, but not about health. The American diet is so F’n bad it blows my mind. One liter of soda has over 6 table spoons of sugar, meat & eggs are so saturated with hormones is frightful, and produce is genetically modified and soaked in pesticides. When I was back home I went out with a friend for a cup of coffee. He ordered a decaf which came in a Styrofoam cup, added chemical “sweetener, non-dairy creamer, and stirred it with a plastic stir stick. I don’t know about you guys because it must seem perfectly normal, but really? There wasn’t one natural thing in that cup of coffee. Before worrying about healthcare we, as individuals, should worry about our own health. I wont even get into the horror of fast food.
From my perspective its always the same thing, treat the symptom but not the illness.
I see posts every day on facebook about gun control, and not the real issue of American civil liberties, our constitution, or the “Patriot” act. It’s not Obama’s fault, and a shiny new president isn’t the answer. It’s the American peoples fault. In every country south of the boarder people protest, riot, refuse to pay un-necessary tax, and fight the government for what’s right.
Americans seem to have stopped protesting in the 70’s and have just become complacent with what they get. We have been in a state of marshal law for well over a decade now and people actually support it, watching the idiot box in fear of “terrorists”, when our own government has their hand so deep in our pockets it goes un noticed. How is it we can spend so much on our military and not social security, health care, and the well being of the American people?
I should really let it go as it isn’t really my problem any more but it’s just so heart breaking to know my home is burning down each day.
So go back to Wal-Mart, support Monsanto, big oil, military spending, and buy as much Chinese shit as you can until our country and the American people are graveling in the mud. Convince yourself that fossil-fuel consumption and global warming aren’t an issue and go about business as usual. What’s that saying? “God gave us eyes yet we can not see”.
I’m looking forward to the next blog and getting off of the subject. I like my reality, the simplicity, and the absence of the television. After I launch The Minimalist Sailor I’m getting rid of the internet connection for a while. When I go across the Pacific with Carla this time I’ll only be posting blogs where I can find internet on land. The Sat-phone was just too expensive for me and I like not having facebook in my life every day.
I’m off for a swim.
Peace.
Check out the new video posted at the top of the screen.
I made it for our ATN Genoa sleeve. Carla wrote/played the
guitar over the hoist section.
Alex & Everyone Else Up Here:
GREAT posts. This is what sparks the human experience in us all. Alex has always had a tendency of just, well… Opening up and letting it out. This blog has always been an inspiration to me and I’ve learned a lot. But the best part is it’s about sailing, life and everything else.
This is why it’s important for me to support Alex and his crazy endeavors. The people that read these writings will be opened up to not just the sailing life, plans, changes of plans, bumps in the sea, ideas, dumb ideas, GREAT ideas and the joy of sailing, but they will also be opened up to life.
I wan to also thank all the readers and responders that make this a great read.
Keep it up Alex and now Carla. You guys continue to enlighten me with your thoughts and I really do laugh out loud and share your story with others.
Take special care of each other and I do love the new stove. I’ll check out the Perkins link now. I love my Perkins 4-154…
Capt. Paul
s/v Panacea
Paul,
Thanks amigo!
The Teflon seal kit for the 4108 is a must for me, I’m also interested on putting a serpinteen kit on and moving up to a 200Amp alternator.
I just ordered a compression tester and I’m worried about the results, I may have I do a ring job. Splendid sat for 8 years when I got her, I long time for rings to go without oil. My motet runs fantastic (knock on wood) but I e always felt she wasn’t running at full power. I need to give her some love and make sure she is running at par before crossing the PAC again.
Peace.
Alex, love the video, the genoa sleeve is great but the music is awesome. Very relaxing.
How funny, you titled this post The Last Big Push almost exactly when Lau started labour :)
Nico