1oo Mile walk
When I was a kid, I watched a lot of television. I was very active and also spent a lot of time outside and reading, but there were definitely periods where I would watch too much. I feel like gathering around the t.v. was part of the culture at the time. It was what people did to unwind and be entertained before going to bed. Today, I watch essentially none. It’s probably because my values have shifted and I look at time differently now. I would rather see things first hand and create my own stories than live vicariously through someone else.
All that said, I do still have pretty vivid recollections of things that I have watched in the past. It’s almost as if I experienced some of them first hand. I remember watching episodes of MASH with my dad when I was four or five years old. I would pretend to be asleep in hopes of being able to stay out of bed and in the living room just a little bit longer so that I could watch more through squinted eyes.
We didn’t have the smorgasbord of channels back then that we do today. There weren’t sports networks with 24 / 7 commentary and breakdowns. Baseball was my first love and there were two consistent choices to get my fix during baseball season: WGN (which I was surprised to find out stands for World’s Greatest Newspaper) and TBS (Turner Broadcasting System). WGN would bring Wrigley Field, the Chicago Cubs and the the semi-toasted antics of Harry Caray right to my living room in the Florida panhandle. Harry’s seventh inning stretches were legendary. TBS was the mainstay, however. “The Never Say Die Atlanta Braves” were my team, no matter how bad they sucked. Dale Murphy was the hero.
TBS was also great for reruns. Gilligan’s Island. Sanford and Son. Get Smart. Good Times. I Love Lucy. The Jeffersons. Hogan’s Heroes. One Day at a Time. All in the Family. Perry Mason. The Three Stooges. Hazel. The Brady Bunch. Gomer Pyle, USMC. The Bob Newhart Show. Carol Burnett and Friends. I can still see the imprint of some of these childhood friends on my life today.
Another show that got frequent air time on TBS was Little House on the Prairie. This is one that we shared with the kids when they were little during our occasional family t.v. times or if we just needed them distracted and entertained for whatever reason. There was an episode called “100 Mile Walk” that I find highly relatable.
As I recall, the story starts with Charles Ingalls (Pa) in a good place. The wheat crop was doing very well and it was going to be time to harvest it soon. He started to consider what he would do with the profits: a horse and new boots. Unfortunately, the night before the harvest, a hailstorm came through and leveled the crop. It seemed as if all was lost.
Fearing destitution, Charles and many of the other able bodied men headed out in search of work. He had no horse, so he headed out on foot, in his worn out boots. He met two friends along the way. One was able to help him out with his boot situation and the other had experience as a “powder monkey” working for a quarry. They were heading that way for work and they invited Charles to join them, which he did.
Charles had no idea what he was doing at first, but made the most of the opportunity. He worked through the pain and the blisters to earn good wages. He and his partner even won a cash prize in a competition. They knew going into it that the work was dangerous. He lost one of his friends in a blasting injury. He delivered his friend’s wages to his widow and their son on the way home.
Back in Walnut Grove, Caroline (Ma) was picking up the pieces. She came up with a plan to try to salvage as much of the crop as possible. It was hard manual labor but her and the girls (Laura and Mary) plunged right in. There was a lot of reluctance and resistance from the ladies of the town, but eventually, they joined the effort as well and it was an incredible success.
Of course, in the end there was a joyful reunion.
The exact circumstances and the direness of the consequences are not exactly the same, but Neva and I have found ourselves in a similar situation. For the last several years, I have lived a semi-nomadic life, working out of town in various places to practice my trade and earn a fair wage under the most tolerable terms possible. Our larder is full enough that we are not likely to starve any time soon. The need to work somewhere other than where I live is a matter of principle rather than necessity in my case.
I am resolved to make the most of whatever circumstance I find myself in. Doing so isn’t always easy. I really enjoy working in general. I believe that it is important to stay busy. I enjoy the work that I do specifically. I believe that I have a responsibility to do the job that I have been trained to do. It can be very stressful at times but it can also be very rewarding. On the other hand, I also crave simplicity and balance. I love my family and I don’t want to be away from them for extended periods of time. I’ve known personally and known of way too many people who have poured themselves into their work at the exclusion of their families only to have profound regrets later in life.
One of the biggest challenges that we face is that a nomadic working lifestyle is in direct opposition to our desire to be able to live a simple, home-based life. Being away heaps extra responsibilities and tasks on my wife and kids, which can become a distraction from doing the other things that they need to get done. Not being at home prevents me from doing the things that need to get done that only I can do. It can create tension and frustration and resentment. The competing priorities create a sense of dyssynchrony.
Is there a solution? As sure as I am that there is one, I am equally sure that I don’t know exactly what it is right now. It’s hard to see the full majesty of the forest when you’re in the midst of the trees. Making the most of your circumstances doesn’t mean just taking what you get and wallowing where you happen to land without question. It’s about reevaluating your priorities and creating your own opportunities. I believe that I will always be biased towards action, but I also acknowledge that sometimes the best thing to do it to simply to be still and wait.
“When people have conflicting priorities or unclear, meaningless or arbitrarily shifting goals, they become frustrated, cynical and demotivated.”
“The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.” Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind, there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.”
