Indralaya

     Indralaya is the Theosophical Camp along the western shore of Eastsound on the mythical Isle of Orcas.  I found my way there through friends that were like minded in my belief system. Since I knew how to be a member of a educational organization, it was a beneficial find at that time.  My heart was broken and I needed time to heal.

        I was given a job for room and board as a camp caretaker.  They actually gave me a complete house with an oil stove. The job consisted of cutting alders for the great fireplace.  

      I got really good with the chainsaw, sledge and maul. The many cabins were remodeled by my hand as they were only occupied in the short summer season by the Theosophists. The lane to the camp needed a great deal of repair so that was the spring work after the winter rains lessened. I spent many long hours hauling road fill to fix those gargantuan potholes that marked the road into Indralaya. I was just doing what I had been trained to do at Sucia & Matia Marine State Park.
    The spring progressed to summer. There were many antique apple trees and Italian plum trees that produced heavily in the summer.   All this fruit was dried and stored for the long winter.             

      Under these profound orchards live hundreds of rabbits that have colonized this particular spot for the free food the orchard provides.                  Many times, I heard the tiny mews of bunnies. The owls prowl the area for easy victims on those full moon nights.   

       When you are dropped off on someone's doorstep like I was, you feel so totally alone and very vulnerable. I was hurting a great deal from my break up with Judith and was feeling all that hurt one feels when abandoning a relationship. 

       It was the best thing to do. Linda came and visited me. She was the only one who actually welcomed me to this new home. She was curious and helpful and wanted to get to know me. She is married to Rolf, a man who is much like me, an orphan of society.

       I liked having my own house and all the vegetarian food I could eat.  I felt finally at home and certainly enjoyed the solitude.  The camp was adjacent to the Fowler acreage.  Bruce Fowler raised sheep and trout.  He was recovering from heart surgery.  He would mount the chaise lounge on his wide porch with that .222 rifle, scoped and loaded. He was waiting for those otters that discovered his fish pond......
     One day, while walking down the lane, I saw something moving on the ground. It was a lamb.  The Ewe had abandoned one of the twins which is common occurrence. It was slowly being absorbed by the ground.  I gathered the poor thing up and made my way to the Fowler ranch house.         Bruce knew exactly what to do.  He turned on the heating pad and laid the thing on it and gave the new born some fluids.  It was just a matter of time before it recovered.  Bruce had a lot of things going on at this magnificent ranch house.  He was recovering from quadruple bypass surgery that takes the great saphenous vein from the leg and turns it into supply arteries to the heart.  He was ordered to stay in bed.
        There was an otter in his fish pond he had spotted the day before through his binocs.   He nailed the critter from his balcony from over 500 yards away with his trusty scoped rifle of small caliber.

        He was expecting a delivery of salmon for his garden that day as well. These were spoiled fish from his sons' fishing boat. They were carefully laid in a dug out portion of this huge garden. So much for doctors orders. Bruce died a few months later. See?  Always do what the doctor ordered.

        I would gather giant kelp to incorporate into the Indralaya raised beds of the Camp garden.  John and I built these in one great push. 

     Kelp has trace minerals that are normally depleted in the yearly gardens and fields of America.  We also built a covered nursery for the fragile tomato starts. It was electrically heated. 

We dried fruit in large cabinets that we built with a squirrel cage fan for ventilation.These were rare vintage apple varieties that were no longer being produced. All the fruit trees were of the antique variety including the Italian plums that cannot be found anymore. We milled up as much of the downed cedar from the old logging days on the island for the raised beds and benches that are found at Camp Indralaya.

     My time off was spent on the Sound. I would study the coastline and watch the dogfish as they swam in the endless circle close to shore. You could see the orange and purple starfish clearly in these waters.          

      My brother came to visit at Indralaya with his family in tow. I took him diving in the frigid waters of the Sound. We did not last long but he did get a look at all the sealife. Cold does not describe the water temperature.

        Because I knew about the wildlife on Orcas, I would organize hikes to the Osprey nest in the remote area of the island. We would all gather early in the morning to begin the hike to the massive nest built on a blown out Douglas fir.  The most interesting thing about these nests is the debris pile at the foot of the tree. It contained all the various foods she fed to her brood. This included fish from the Sound, rodents and other small game. 

   These episodes were so interesting to these folks as they gathered broken egg shells.  The osprey was saying, "there goes the neighborhood."
   I was given complete run of the place since John and Dorothy, the camp directors, went back to the headquarters in Wheaton, Illinois for organizational meetings. For two years I was engaged in this kind of work that produced no income whatsoever on this 72 acre property. The interesting coincidence was Doris Kunz wrote a book about Fairies.  Things were beginning to line up.
      I helped build the library that was so popular. On the opening day, Dhiravamsa himself, came to the Camp to dedicate this new resource for esoteric studies which includes many Buddhist texts that Dhira contributed. The roof was hand split cedar shakes made by me in the Scandinavian style popular on the island of Orcas. This is done using a froe and mallet in the traditional style of the mountains and valleys of Scandinavia.
      We built a climate controlled vault for rare manuscripts and artifacts that needed a pure, clean and cold environment. No expense was spared except for labor costs.  I left soon after John A's heart attack.

Summertime on Orcas!

    During mid June to September the blackberries start coming in. There are huge beds of blackberries along the road to Doe Bay just outside of Olga. The thorns are huge and intimidating. This is not for the casual snacker. The veteran pickers are way ahead of the game. They bring planks that are long enough to reach the center of the blackberry bush.

    Let the pickings begin, but try to remember to bring bandaids for those finger pricks that one inevitably gets.  Suitable containers rule the day.
      Ah, the fun of Orcas in the summertime goes on and on.  Swimming in Cascade Lake is a requirement because it just gets hot.      Jack Blacburn was one of my friends from Indralaya.   He finally moved out to Olga like all the smart people do.   He has the most incredibly gifted children ever to bless this earth especially his daughter. 

      Who, in the fullness of youth had all the charm and beauty a young woman in full bloom could have. Jack told me about the one night in Olga the suitors lined up at his back door to plead for her company.  She skillfully turned away each one with sweet words so she could seek the comfort of her own family. 

    This family somehow understood the role of parents in situations of young love. They tolerated these suitors for sometime. She finally moved to Seattle to wait tables at the Daily Grind Coffee Shop. The beauty queen princess was the island rage for quite awhile. She enjoyed every second of her youth. 

     So many others on the island out there in Olga has a story to be told. Each one is a character in a living novel yet to be written. One day, I will remember everyone eventually so keep reading.

     Orca means death. Really. Orcanus was the Roman god of death. You find these things out after living there for ten years. I can live with that, though. It sort of protects the island from riff raff.

     One year, the musicians moved onto the island.  One fella played the xylophone which had that unique hardwood sound that a carpenter loves.  It was built of many exotic woods carefully assembed by hand over a period of many months.

    The concerts he gave us were astounding a reverberate even today. The stories goes on..... 

The Cooling Power of Mountains

     Mountains have their heads in the clouds and cool air.  If we build elevated tubes in the valleys of these mountains that surround cities like LA, Denver or Mexico City the people would benefit. We can take advantage of the temperature gradient and displace polluted air of these cities with the considerably cooler air of the mountains. Colder air is heavier and would rapidly displace the hot polluted air of cities.

      The exchange of air could take place at night using the temperature gradient to bring that colder, heavier and denser air to displace the de-oxygenated and polluted air which is full of particulate matter. The good life and productivity in these cities would certainly return.
      In other heavily polluted, flatland cities one could build cooling towers that reach up to the colder strata using a tube within a tube to extend the reach. I've seen telescoping antennae that reach high in the sky.           Why not cooling towers built in a similar fashion which could be lowered on bad weather days? Cooling towers could follow the cone shaped design of the nuclear towers of the 60's.
    Why these tubes could be of plastic held open by coils of wire carried aloft by blimps similar to air conditioning ducts that cool pop up events.  Expand on the idea and you could cool entire cities cheaply. Proof of concept is easy and cost effective.
      Pollution is full of corrosives such as sulfuric acid as well as other oxides and carbon. When I first came to the West Coast many years ago, there was none of the carbon on the beaches you see today. This is how fast things change. This passive strategy of lifting these layers of pollution and replacing them with mountain air should be a no brainer.

       The health benefits alone would be staggering. It is good for everyone and a delight. A one time cost managed by the park service could be iniated by a simple tax on heavy polluters.  There is no need to form another entity to manage a passive system.
     The mountains are great reservoirs of solar energy as well. Once the cooling tubes are in place you could mount solar voltaics on top of them away from vandals and wildlife to power periodic duct fans to increase the flow of air to the cities. Any electrical power is good power especially, solar power.
      The payoff would come in the form of appreciation of the educational process that gives our scientists the ability to think innovatively.

Sharks I've Known

      One beautiful day in Hilo, I was just walking around in a rainstorm along the shores of Hilo Bay near a small Japanese Buddhist shrine island with a quaint hand built retainer wall. 

       I had just arrived from the Mainland.  I was eager to experience all that is Hawaii.  I was just goofing off, balancing along this stone wall and very close to the water enjoying the light rain shower. I had the distinct sensation something was watching me.  I glanced over my shoulder to see an 18' shark rolling up on his side eyeballing me.  He could have easily taken me.  No one would have known except for the Japanese tourists passing by in a bus. They witnessed the whole episode.  They were wildly gesturing at the shark. They became very animated trying to warn me of the danger. I just smiled and jumped off the wall. 

       There is no feeling in the world like being hunted to put things in perspective. I felt so small and abused anyway. This particular shark had a bloodline running all the way from his dorsal fin to his tail. Shiver me timbers. I found out later Hilo Bay is filled with sharks which is the reason no one ever swims there.
       In another setting, this time in the Golfo de Dulce in Costa Rica, I was visiting a commune just short of Cape Matapalo called Esmerelda. I took off one morning, to go snorkeling in those clear waters. You can see huge parrot fish as well as many other species. On this day, a Tiger shark of some 13' with the barrel chest which indicates bull came swimming by. I could see clearly the striped markings on this huge fish camouflaging him as he blended in with the wavelets on the surface of the Gulf.  You just quietly start swimming as fast as you humanly can to shore. Luckily this bull was not hungry for tender human flesh. There are plenty of other more delectable dishes at this seafood market for sharks.
        When I was younger we were living close to the Rigolets, which is about the last stop before entering St Tammany Parish. Harrison County in Mississippi was the place of our retreat. The Rigolets is the channel linking Lake Pontchartrain and the Gulf of Mexico. This area is dripping in historical significance.      

       We fished under the Rigolets Bridge for sharks when the tide was running hard on a flood. Using live mullet for bait we engaged a fairly big shark that readily came up. We were in a 16 foot runabout.   He was a few feet longer than the boat.   Just seeing the thing was all I needed.  I cut the line and grateful that he did not get too excited.

     The Rigolets is a special place to catch fish. When the speckled and white trout are running in the Spring you fish the flats just North of the bridge.   You catch fish all morning until the live bait runs out. You come home with a boatload of trout.  One day, Uncle Tony and I caught so many speckled trout that I had to stay up late cleaning all of those fish. I was the help. Tony did nothing but yell. Typical of bosses.

    Not a real Uncle but an Italian Strip Club owner we knew because my Mother was teaching Aunt Marion how to sew on that awesome new sewing machine Tony bought for her.
       In Florida,  during my teen years Aunt Marion drove us to Florida on a vacation to New Symrna Beach to see her sister. We played in the surf with air mattresses until our chests became raw from rubbing on the rubberized canvas.         

     We were being summoned to get out of the water immediately. Not knowing the reason we calmly caught the next series of waves to the beach. They told us later we were being trailed by a rather large shark. I did not go swimming again for many days because of this.
      There were many encounters with sharks in the Pacific, since every lagoon is filled with black tipped and the larger white tipped sharks. The heat of the day drives them deeper in the lagoons. Swimming in these island lagoons for pleasure is risking an encounter unless you are shark wise and certain.

     I once bought a T shirt with a logo that said Street Shark. This is how Hawaii appeared to me for many years. I was not born a cynic but became one because this was reality in my view.   I wore the shirt as a warning to tourists to be aware of their surroundings. 

   The purse snatchers ride two to the motorbike. When they see a mark close to the street they whiz by and hook the purse strap.  Unless you are supergirl, you lose everything.
        Some of the largest sharks I've seen have been when I was lolling around in the surfline. In California near Oceanside, there is a power plant.  A little hidden beach right beyond the slough that leads into the marshland. I should have been paying more attention but I was super tired from the12 hour shift at Scripps.

      I'd go there after work at the hospital. Night shift paid better so that's the reason I worked the graveyard shift.  Fewer supervisors was the other reason. 

     I was boogie boarding along the break about dawn which is feeding time for sharks.  It was one of those fabulous Spring mornings. Spring is also the time of spawning in these coastal marshes. There was a huge swirl of water not ten feet away. Lucky for me this Great White was hungry for spawn rather than seal which what I looked like in the black wet suit and fins.

       I quickly made my way to shore. It took some time to completely rationalize this.  How infinitely lucky I was not to have been victimized by the natural world.
     The larger pelagic sharks generally keep their distance except when hunting for food. They come in close to seal rookeries hoping to find an orphan or an elderly straggler.  The attack is sudden and brutal. You can see this on You Tube if you get interested in shark attacks around the world.

They told me to go fly a kite

      I had the habit of hearing things literally spoken not knowing the true meaning behind the words. You know the old expressions like go 'soak your head' and that sort of thing?  I decided to really find out what kind of kites would be most useful to the seaman. I started designing specialty kites. Go fly a kite.
    I thought of a simple kite hooked to a dynamo which reverses when at the end of its tether.  The strain is steady. It will generate electrical energy which could be stored on sailing vessels. There is always a great need for stored electricity on board a sailing vessel.      

     You can see those power kites at the beach swooping and soaring with the guy on the controls fighting to control the thing wirh both hands and feet involved. It is a form of strengthening exercise.              Translate that power into mechanical energy which is easily converted to electricity and you have a useful supply of electricity. 

      A turbine or a squirrel cage kite would serve that purpose just as easily.   Just deck mount an alternator in a plastic box on the fantail and spin the thing with a flywheel powered by the constant tug of a kite.
      The same could be done at sea to gather fresh water with a kite. Many times, I sailed through squalls which unloads a tremendous amount of fresh water in a few brief minutes. The sailors way is to collect this water with the use of the mainsail at the goose neck.  A simple garden hose conveys the pure liquid to the holding tanks.  

       A giant kite that drains the splash off the surface into a flexible tube as part of the kite string or twine could be designed. It would have to deal with heavy loads of water. The  benefit is faster, cleaner, less saltier drinking water delivered directly to the ship's tanks.
    We used to light the farm at night with a Pelton wheel and a hose in stream bed which provided the outfall to the wheel. It was a fairly steady flow year round on the Big Island of Hawaii.  The energy was not enough to turn a drill motor but it did provide light at night.

      We used a Pelton wheel which is a perfectly balanced flywheel mounted with spoon-like appendages on the outer edge of the wheel. You would start the spin and the water pressure was enough to keep it going all night   It was simply a quiet way to have small reading lights. Generators are noisy beasts. Sealed bearings work best for the Pelton wheel.
     Flywheels store a great deal of potential energy. If set up in the correct manner, I've seen them in rivers being turned by the current as the water flows past. The maintenance is a small consideration for a very efficient use of water power. 

      There is also a device called a two stage pump which pumps water uphill without any expenditure of energy. This is done by the shifting weight of the water between the two chambers thus the two stage description. This was used by gold miners during the 

goldrush years. You can look up this marvelous device on Wikipedia. Whatever works is my take on things.

There she is!

Along comes the golden one
beautiful and fair
Making her way through all
those scenes we do share

Finding each other
in the stark, evening cold
Touching and sharing
thoughts that are bold

A love made in heaven
For her he would swim
Many miles to see if
her love he can win

A dream it is witnessed
A dream it is made
Not from the ashes
Or fires in the glade

Softly she nurtures
softly she lands
Into his arms now part of his plan
 holding her close for as long as he can

Summer's end will come soon
as they in turning to light
the candle of love
burning so bright

More ideas

       Sailing has been my favorite pastime and smiling has been a fun thing for me as well. Anything with water has been fascinating and healing. Maybe it's because I have Cardinal water signs in my astrological chart. My Mother says I've been all wet but that is neither here nor there. 

      Kite flying is the most wonderful thing you can do with air. After awhile, one gets a new idea that just might work.  How about generating electricity with a turbine kite in a lengthwise configuration? The torque would be awesome. Just hook one up to an alternator while sailing and watch it turn, reel it in then let it fly. Stand back Franklin, the kid's been thinking. 

      When I was a boy, we made our own kites out of plastic sheeting.  This gave us a slight advantage during kite fights. To win a kite fight, we would inbed razor blades in the cross tree that would scred an opponent. On the tail, we would glue broken glass that would cut the taut kite string. 
        I like to jump from idea to idea. Why not extract all the B-cells, antibodies, WBC's and  anything good from whole blood then concentrate it? Transfuse it to immunodeficient individuals so that the healing process is speeded up. Is anybody out there?
       The perpetual motion machines have never been proven to work. That was the old days when friction slowed things up. I believe that the technology has advanced to the point where perpetual motion is acheivable. If this thing could draw, I'd show you.       

       Suspended between two magnets of opposite poles is another magnet. Now turn this magnet using a ring of magnets that alternate positive/negative so that the influence is equal and there you have it; perpetual motion.
         I think I am a visionary. I see laminated cardboard as the wave of the future in housing and furniture. The idea is fairly simple. Take recycled cardboard and laminate them together simply by gluing them in stacks and thicknesses of different dimensions. Shaping them is a simple matter using a band saw and templates. a lot of cheap varnish or acrylic for finishing. Then start building walls and roofs.  Onward and upward. The insulation would be tremendous with so many air pockets.
         Moving right along. Black ceramic tiles in the bottom of the swimming pool might pick up enough sunlight to heat the water.         Mirrors focused on a water tower to heat the water and cut expensive heating of water for the community. Nobody likes to think community anymore.
      Did I ever mention my design to clean out intestinal blockages? Take a bit shaped like an oil well bit only of plastic. Put it on a sigmoidoscope that has a tube attached then pass it through a centering balloon so you only drill the blockage. After making the hole in the mass, insert another angioplasty-type balloon and inflate it thus breaking the blockage in two. Then infiltrate this mass with glycol or glycerin to further weaken and lubricate it. A well known fact from the past is olive oil is the cure for constipation. Ask any Italian.

        Insert a puller similar to the grabber a mechanic uses to retrieve a dropped bolt only reverse the prongs of plastic so they lodge in the mass and not tissue! All this could be done with a sphincter dilation. Piece of cake. Call the lawyer.

       Transporting natural gas in this new world of ours could be done by Dirigible.  Since this is a gas just a little bit heavier than air, one could partially fill a helium blimp and deliver it to the colder regions during the winter. It is just a matter of distribution then. No need for giant ocean tankers that present a huge risk to coastal communities.
      I want to salvage a barge for next to nothing. Reconditioning it to make it seaworthy would be easier than building it from scratch. Then step a main mast with square rigged sails and lee boards for direction and some sort of strong rudder. A long pole with a wooden paddle would give you the leverage you need for steerage.

     Then build yurts or huts in a circle. Put in a well in the center of the barge to the ocean. Install sideboards to get close to the water so one can fish or just laze your way through life.

     To pay for it all, bring guests aboard for some sort of reason. Expedition, recreation or tour of the oceans would be the bait. Seeing whales and dolphins are popular now. Then set sail for the currents of the world so that the trip seemed planned.
       Catching rainwater will be the real reason to embark on a journey to the Horse Latitudes. Moving from squall to squall, filling those blue barrels with unpolluted rainwater which can be collected in the sails and funneled down below decks. There is so much water released by these storms you could fill your tanks in one squall.  When the side of the thunderhead collapses into rainwater it is truly impressive. A freshwater shower is remarkable at sea.  Always have a bar of soap handy for such an occasion.

      Simply bottling water on the spot would be advantageous since once you are in those Latitudes, there is no wind.  One could arrange meetings with vessels that could then carry these newly bottled waters to market. Designing a label that captures the beauty of these areas emphasizing the incredible sunsets could be the moniker that sells the product.
     Consider this. Releasing a stream of bubbles along the keel to enhance slippage through the water. It has been shown this works quite well.
    For all you fashion freaks out there, how about a model on the runway wearing a spotlight over her head to light up her outfit, however comical it may be. The absurdity of this might be taken seriously by vehement fashion designers who have nothing to show off their egocentricity. Maybe a thin stiff wire shaped into a headband with a high intensity light flooding the runway to prevent falls first of all, and possibly encourage safety in the older people with weak eyesight who could benefit from a well designed device.

The Lighted Umbrella

In the handle of the umbrella one could make a place for batteries for the LED lights that turn on either by opening or simple switch. I would design this umbrella for the Hotel Industry in New York.  The doorman at ritzy apartments who open the cab or car doors would hold the lighted umbrella over the head of the patron. In doing so, there would be no missed steps since there is ample light to guide your way.  It is a bit over the top, but late at night in a snowstorm or rain the advantage would be certainly in your favor as you make your way over the red carpet to the safety and security of the building. There is nothing more glamorous than to arrive in style with a well lighted pathway guiding you to your next engagement.
      Speaking about electricity brings, back memories and inventions I passed on. I thought I could use lightning to change criminals into good citizens. In my younger days, I envisioned a copper tubular pyramid build on the roof of the Parish Prison in New Orleans which housed some of the most vicious offenders in the world. This was a system built with copper tubing big enough for a man to sit in built on an rubber mat. There would be a lightning rod at its pinnacle.

       The incorrigible criminal would sit in a wooden chair during a thunderstorm until the inevitable happened. The lightning would channel around him never touching him. The sheer terror would be an awesome thing for anyone to endure. It would be similar to the shock treatments in psychiatric hospitals. I later realized this would be condemned as a form of torture. My guess is watching those Frankenstein movies late at night in my youth inspired this idea.

Waldron Island

      Not many people even know about Waldron. There is but one road that leads inland. If you enjoy the stillness and lifestyle of genuinely farming by hand, you will enjoy Waldron. You really need to be invited by one of the residents.                  There is no ferry service. Finding your way without a sponsor is asking for trouble since Waldron is mostly owned by people devoted to education and farming. There are many Waldronite people at Fairhaven College which is how I got there. I also knew Steve H. who invited me to visit his little parcel of land.

         One of my professors had a small place where he raised a daughter.  She is a friend of mine. She is so full of life and always had a hug for me. Skinny and living too fast for her own good she is similar to other Fairhaven women I knew.

      Paul is a talented artist. He taught a class on Taoism which was so inspiring to me. I turned in a blank piece of paper as my final on Taoism. He was not amused though, and had me write out my thoughts.  I could visit him anytime I wanted.  

      Mike B. is another professor of mine who built a cabin on Waldron. I was invited to visit. All of these men and women left huge impressions on me. Partly because they were so devoted to family life and set a good lifestyle example for students.
        Many of the Waldron farmers grew onions and garlic. The giant elephant garlic are tied up in braids just like the pioneers of old had done. The long braids of garlic brought top dollar at Pike St. Market in Seattle on Saturdays.            

       Dried herbs and flowers are a Waldron specialty.  Peppermint and Spearmint are grown near hand dug ponds which produce great thickets that smell wonderful on hot summer days.   

       Raspberries are easy to start. Simply ask a farmer if you can help thin the raspberries collecting the shoots as you go. Just jam the shoots into the fertile, prepared soil. Soon you will have the pleasure of fresh and tangy raspberries growing in your garden.       

           If I could go back in time Waldron is where I would homestead. Alas, I was too poor for even a small parcel like Steve's.
Steve was a wonderfully independent soul about my age.           

      He gave me a seized up Seagull outboard motor that I got going. These outboards were made famous during the Normandy invasion because of their reliability. This was now the auxiliary for Almageist, my little live aboard sailboat. I bought this tiny Picaroon in a moment of compassion for Alan and his hungry and desperate family of 4. Alan had contracted the big C and had the incision to prove it. They opened him up from sternum to his balls searching for every trace of cancer. They said he was clear of it but you never really know. 

      I eventually sold the boat after overhauling her and fixing her leaks.  I got less than I paid for the little ship. Go figure. The Zen principle of losing and losing was easier to follow on Orcas than anywhere else.   Life is about losing and losing.
      I signed on for work at the Westsound Boatyard that summer. Alan was a bottom painter and did the bright work so at his behest, I took the job. This was not what I expected when doing boat work, though. The job I was given at first, was cleaning the toilets while the real boat work was using the power washer to cut off the growth from ships. That work fell to the more experienced hands. I also installed the sacrificial zincs which keep the boat from corroding.

       All this is part of the annual maintenance boats undergo if in saltwater.  I got to drive the tractor parking boat trailers in the field close by. Soon though, I moved to Deer Harbor Boat Works.
      Mike D. was a North Dakota farmer's boy with a family in tow. He had to work hard to support his little girls in the way of their Mother's lifestyle. Mike also worked his crews hard. By now, I was fit enough for heavy work. 

     I was chosen to be the plumbing guy for Mike's other business. Rain collection is sometimes the only way to stockpile water on Orcas. Mike had designed a system using galvanized silos 10' in diameter from the Plains States. This is a way to impound rainwater that falls heavily In the winter months on the San Juan Islands. He called his business Down Island setting up rain catchments all the way to the Bahamas and the Lesser Antilles.
     This is what the Pacific Northwest is famous for. The rain sometimes does not stop for days and days. By simply lining these structures with vinyl which is welded to a custom fit and built to last you have a rain storage unit.       

     These things were just a giant bladder of heavy plastic. You then build a shed-like affair on top with a rain gutter to channel the water. One could collect a great deal of rain over the winter. All I had to do was set valves through the vinyl and steel.  Not hard at all.
      One day he wanted me to deliver three huge well tiles to a site. He gave me the keys to the truck and trailer loaded with these monstrosities.  There was one catch. I had to take them to San Juan Island by ferry. All well and good. 

    The ferry pulled up but the crewman wanted me to back this rig onto the ferry. This is very difficult to do in a four wheel drive truck with a giant trailer loaded with cement tiles.  I had to pull up many times. I finally got the thing positioned.  

    The skipper was irate. He was now off schedule. I felt like putting a towel over my head to hide my shame.  My philosophy is and was to hope for the best but expect the worst in all matters.

Pearly River

       I spent my days camping at Sacred Rocks Campground when I returned to the States after the Central American trip, I finally called a friend that I worked with for two years. I asked for his help finding a place to stay while my shoulder healed. He told me to contact his brother as I might be able to stay with him. These brothers were wilderness oriented.  I could expect to find some common ground.
       It took many days for my shoulder to heal. I would go hiking at the State Park that was just outside of Santee. My days consisted of explorations early in the morning on the many trails that lace the area. One Spring morning I was coming back to my car when I spied a Pacific Western Diamondback. 

         She was stretched out in the bright warming sun getting recharged for another California day. I was lucky to have seen her before she saw me.  

       Being rare and beautiful is no excuse. She was still blocking my way.  I crouched down.  I waited a few minutes then picked up a tiny pebble and shot it like a marble. It landed close to her head.  She turned and fled, vibrating her whole body and rattling as she retreated to the safety of the scrub and sage that characterizes the area.                   Danger lurks at every step of the way. Until you see a snakebite you have no idea how painful they are. Death could be a mercy in some cases.

    This Park has everything. The trails reach high above the Pacific to the lower river basin that leads to a dam built in the 30's to store water. One could do a Master's thesis on the biodiversity that this little oasis held.

    Deadly Nightshade was in abundance.  The white trumpet shaped flowers announce the seriousness of these plants. This relative of the potato and tomato family can kill you.  I have been told many times, that if you stop eating potatoes and tomato products your arthritis will subside.  It took me many months abstinence from these poisons to finally see the benefits of this wisdom. 

      There is a alkaloid that stimulates the immune system in these types of foods from the deadly nightshade family of plants to irritate and deposit calcium as a defense. These poisons reside in the synovial fluid of the joints. This ultimately leads to many types of arthritis. This is the easiest fix I know. Stop eating from the Deadly Nightshade Family of Plants.

          During my time working at Scripps which slowly turned into two years, I had many dreams that were significant. The one dream that was so vivid was sort of like a musical.  There were young women singing the chorus which went like this:
     Come on down to the Pearly River
     We gonna have a good time yeah (clap)
    Come on down to the Pearly River
    We gonna dance and barbecue with Bear

    Come on down to the Pearly River
Bring your Momma and Papa yeah
    Come on down to the Pearly River
You will find all your friends are there

    Come on down to the Pearly River
Bring that old rocking chair
  Rest and smile awhile
just take your time by the cool cool River there

There is a river in Mississippi named Pearl River. Its one of those slow moving southern rivers that attract families from afar to fish and swim.  There must have been revival meetings in the area that were popular back in the day. 

      Who knows where this dream came from? The song moves slowly ending with a clap at the end of each line just so you get an idea of the tempo.  It was so much fun.
      Then I had another very vivid dream about Mother Mary. She wanted me to visit her at a particular address that she gave me.  It was not that far away. Trying to remember that address confounded me for sometime afterwards. Sunnyvale was the name of the community but the address eluded me. Besides, how do you write a number down in a dream? 

       In the same dream Prabhupada appears like one of those inflatable advertisements blowing and waving his arms that you see in front of Auto Parts stores.

      Much of Oceanside turns into military housing for military orphans, which is a nightmare in itself. Absolutely no mercy for my woes. 

       The place is swarming with addicts and drunks. The only good thing is the train to LA which is not that good. Any escape is a good escape. Even if it leads to more pain. My pains were just beginning. Things were piling up in my life.                             Strangers,  perfect strangers, treated me like they knew me except I did not know or care to know them. That was the longest winter I've ever spent anywhere and the most inhospitable place I know of in Califorina.  

       There was a young couple living  a few doors down. In their youthful indiscretion they became addicted to cocaine which is very easy to do. It takes just one use to become enamored and addicted.  I am easily intimidated by druggies since I do have psychic abilities to some extent.
      I have no inclination to develop this further as it would only lead to more misunderstandings and regret. Yet nightly,  they would interfere with my sleep in this cold and dismal environment. I had to drive to work and being unrested made for many a harrowing drive.      

      One day, the cops found her abandoned car and traced it back to this address. Soon there was a flood of police asking neighbors of her whereabouts.   No one knew her or really cared. She suddenly showed up.  Many druggies lose their lives in a similar fashion.

      I worked in the hospitals so I saw  this firsthand.  It was not long before I abandoned Oceanside, leaving my deposit behind as usual.  After so many tries in so many communities, I had enough.  I quit the hospital and home care routine and started thinking about fleeing to Nowhere Soon. Such is life. 

      I came away with my faith restored and confident Mother Mary was carefully watching over me. She was guiding me now as my thoughts turned to driving South along the Mexican coastline.  I finally stopped going South when I could not cross the Darian region of Panama.  I would have driven all the way to Terra Del Fuego.

 

Ahoy! Sailing Away?

     On a long passage one sits and reflects, cooks and sleeps, watches and interprets everything. Out on the ocean, you are involved with the immense powers of the ocean. Its currents and seas all conspiring against your tiny sailboat no matter what size she is. 

     The ocean is so much bigger than you. Sailors pray this way. 'O God, your ocean is so big and my boat so small, please have Mercy upon me.'           Even then, it is completely up to you whether you have prepared well enough. What the ocean is capable of is really beyond belief until you experience the awesome power of the mighty seas.   My motto:  Never turn your back on the ocean. She will eat you.
       Yes, the boat is supposed to ride ON the ocean but on occasion the ocean has a different agenda. Many a sailboat has been boarded by following seas or broached by a rogue wave in the night.  Having a ship with lots of free board helps with that. Being a lot higher than the surface helps in other ways.             The humidity is lessened so you don't sweat as much. Picking a sailboat with a canoe stern helps. Sometimes, the design calls for a tumble home which is fairly descriptive. A square stern on a ship means you must have a continuous forward motion, always looking over your shoulder for following seas that normally would run underneath you.

     Many a ship has been flooded because of exhaust ports left open which is a primary weakness. Any through hull fitting is a place for the ocean to do its corrosive best to get in the boat. You are never safe; rust never sleeps.
         But...if you prepared well and learned your lessons early, sailing turns into a metaphor for your life. Constant vigilance brings the supreme reward that few men can actually savor. Have pity on the shore bound. The ocean won't have that pity for you.

        The energy of the ocean illustrates that we have no energy shortage. All we lack is the proper understanding of the way to extract this energy. The sailboat itself shows that there is ample energy.        

      The wind moves the boat. It even moves against the wind which to many, an inexplicable phenomena. A simple towed turbine would generate enough electricity to power the boat, home and electric car should anyone ever pursue that dream. 

       The wind also could generate energy with the design of a squirrel cage kite,  It would be possible to tow this kite astern with miniature generators at the hubs of the kite similar to bicycle light generators to trickle charge a ship's batteries continuously.
         There is no finer place to go fly a kite. I've been told that many times by friends and enemies alike. If you equipped that kite with solar voltaics, you would have sourced the essence of energy which is the sun itself.              Even the clouds at sea hold potential energy in the form of rain. Rain at sea is the clearest, cleanest drinking water ever to be found on earth.

      Collecting squall water is easy enough. The sail is your catchment funnel. It is simply a matter of channeling the water to your holding tanks with a garden hose  mounted in a funnel at the goose neck which is the juncture of the mast and boom. With a little planning this becomes a joy when sailing in the tropics.
       Go to YouTube and watch some sailing videos. They are easiest to find and very educational for the new sailor. You might be shocked at how much investment it takes to get on the water.  Some folks find this to be after they have spent themselves out that sailing is not something they want to continue with. You need to decide the merits even before you develop an eye for expensive boats that have a huge upkeep bill as well. One could start by leasing a yacht, complete with skipper and crew in places like Tonga or the Virgin Isles in the Caribbean. 

      It might come as an awakening that quietness is not the norm in anchorages. When rowdies control your rest,  it is very difficult to get others too drunk or high on dope for their own good to respect your space.  Sound travels well over the water so everyone can hear your business even when speaking in a whisper.  The only relief is earplugs or change your anchorage. That is like cutting off your nose to spite your face. Sometimes you just have to live with it.                   

    Profanity is the norm not the exception.  I found more drunk sailors at sea than in bars on the shore. Ahh...the freedom of the open ocean. Drinks anyone?
       There are many free publications that will run an ad. You can find them easily in Chandleries and Marinas. These monthly publications list crew positions and is free advertisement for sailors to find yachts heading out on the outward leg.  You need to be able to be contacted easily since most skippers have no patience with inexperienced crew although some are willing to train you. You need to be able bodied and have no visible fear showing.   Needless to say, a good attitude helps. Don't expect to get paid.  You might have to share in the costs of food. If they like you, that's half the battle.  You are there to stand watch and let them sleep.
     But if you love the taste of salt air which migrates to your blood and your brain then sailing could be the thing that completes you. I once found a book in a Maritime Yacht Store.This was in a Chandlery that encouraged hitchhiking on the ocean. I did that for years in the South Pacific and found many pleasurable sails that way. 

      I got to go to different countries with various sailing families. Many will take you as crew with no pay. However, being part of the crew means you must stand watch, usually at night. Most likely, it will be the early morning watch when underway.  You must sacrifice your personal well being to fit in like a crew member.
      Getting paid for yacht work requires effort starting in the boatyards.  Skippers might enjoy your company and put you to work for a few days until they grow tired of you. Be prepared for rejection especially, if you don't drink or have skills. Judge not lest ye be judged.            You are always at the mercy of the High Court of the Sea. A Captain is your God during a voyage.   If you can adjust to that then long distance sailing is a pleasure. Ahoy mate!

One

   The year I met One. I can't exactly describe this entertainer with the extraordinary skill set but I guess I should try. Part clown, part musician, part all round good guy that exemplified the principles of love manifest is a good place to start. One love, one people, one unity with God was the all encompassing goal of each and every performance he delivered. 

      He is a short guy. Well married and an excellent artist, his dramatic presentations and clownist activities gave everyone a chance to escape the humdrum life of the illiomonastic society we were creating just by merely agreeing to agree. 

         I watched him many times, prepare in front of his lighted mirror. He would carefully do his makeup. This is part of his mystique. At all times, he was busy creating joy through laughter. This was directed to the children who certainly viewed One as a constant friend whom they could trust with their point of view. On to another topic.
      I was given the job of saving the giant squash from fungus. Armed with a sharp knife, I carefully removed the fungal growth on the surface of these squash gleanings from Eastern Washington. I had to stop this creeping decay from spreading. I was working in a lighted area so I could see each 'patient' clearly. This was an all day job. I got really busy and efficient. The huge pile of marble squash were as big as over inflated beachballs were not going to heal themselves. 

        How deep to cut so that you can be sure you've gotten all of the rot was an issue learned through trial and error. It was best to err on the side of caution. I was making rapid decisions about the health of our food supply.   I was concerned for a moment, how this would be viewed by everyone. 

       Was I a sadistic butcher? A savior? A pyscho bent on self destruction? I finally settled for being a skillful surgeon trying to save Civil War patients by the only means left to the surgeon. Amputation saves the patient. I became one with the squash.

       That night, when it was cold and foreboding, we feasted on sweet and delicious baked squash. By the time all 360 mouths were fed, no one wanted to see another squash on the dinner table. The beauty of squash is that it makes you 'regular'. In other words, plenty of fiber does a body good.
      I made the mistake of saying I was a sailor. I was immediately assigned to lend a hand aboard the trawler.  One of the Elders ran the trawler like a Roman slave ship.  Courage had no problem telling others what to do and when to do it. You soon got busy and stayed busy. If not busy you would be assigned to the chipping crew. This is the same pattern used by the US Navy to control the unruly sailors that are always grumbling. I found this to true of most Navies of the world.      

      This is how many seamen get their start.  I however, came through the hawse hole which means I learned by doing at an early age. Funny thing this is how rats get aboard ships. Does that mean something? A double en tauntre?

      No matter, there were too many crazies aboard this ship. I soon was back to fixing roofs and working with the Belgians. Ah, the ranch was looking good.

Invention is the Mother of Everything

     Even if you have no inventions in mind at least, try to think creatively.  You do this by being interested in everything, especially other inventions and inventors. Sometimes this is a group activity.    

      Our computers can be linked together to form a powerful tool for analyzing problems and finding the right combinations of chemicals that work in medicine. This starts with the premise that a solution is out there. We simply have to explore to find it. 

       The first step is getting out of the routine of daily life. It takes practice to break the bonds of routine. Simply changing your thought pattern creates fertile ground for new ideas to grow. You can do this by meditation. Some do it by prayer. Some do it by taking a trip to somewhere new.

       Drugs have never been a good way to travel, no matter what the propagandists tell you. It will only set you back to somewhere in darkness. 

    The more education you have helps in your quest for success. It is not the only factor. Experience to recognize when something is successful is essential. That takes a clear mind unencumbered by things like emotions and struggles for power.

       It does not take money to think of new ideas. Expose yourself to the undercurrent of new ideas via the internet. Youtube is free. Popular Mechanics always has some of the most innovative thinkers to be found. 

     Exactly how nature solves problems such as the hollow bones of birds which makes flight easier and lighter. Invention is just an evolutionary process. You will need good luck to evolve a great idea.
        If you are in business, creative thinking is frowned upon just because it is considered unproductive behavior. Start your own business and think for a living. It really is the only way to prosper in this dog eat dog world. Thinking freely is the way other men made their money. Re-invent yourself first. Cast yourself as a design engineer. You will be glad you wrote your thoughts down.  Ideas happen when you least expect them.
     I have been studying the quest for free energy sources on YouTube. This can be a wonderful tool if you are inclined to teach yourself about other possibilities concerning energy. I am particularly interested in the German experience with Solar Energy Development.  I was a great fan of wind energy for many years. I still am. Unless you go to the source of energy in our world is the sun, you are looking in the wrong place. Wind is just an expression of Solar Energy on this planet. Go to bed each night with a plan to think about a problem in your resting state.  You will find, most of the time you can come up with a solution or at least a plan to find a solution tomorrow.
     They say the world is heating up because of global warming. I know for a fact, the oceans hold vast amounts of cold water deep below the surface. Why not find a way to exchange the hot water at the surface for the cold water at depths?  This is not a hard concept to embrace.

      One could simply pump that cold water to the surface using passive pumps such as a large PVC tube within a tube vertically suspended and works by the undulating surface. 

        The float collar would lift the outer tube while the inner PVC tube with a simple foot valve at the end would be lifting water in a steady flow that over time would increase.       Reaching the colder strata of the ocean is a possible solution.  A series of these devices could actually move a sufficient amount of colder water to the surface to change the air temperature significantly.   In the old days, these types of pumps were called two stage pumps.
    The temperature gradient is not far from the surface. We are not talking great lengths of PCV only sufficient to reach the gradient.  The diameter of the tubes could be increased as the concept is adopted.  It is a mathematical certainty with enough of these simple devices floating in a certain area would be sufficient to change the ambient temperature of the surrounding ocean. A simple proof of concept is all that is needed.               

        Convincing others to eventually change the political will to accommodate this new way of ocean management could be done in a very short space of time.

        Now, the more difficult attempt is cooling of the atmosphere by the cold ocean water that lies at the very bottom of our vast oceans.              This is simply a plumbing project on a massive scale. It involves laying an access tube from the shore to the colder depths of the ocean. Using the principle of a heat exchanger, simply draw the cold water from the ocean floor some miles from shore. You could cool buildings using a cold sump pump underground to store the cold. This is all in a closed loop so that saltwater is never released into the environment but returned to the ocean at the same temperature as the surface waters. What you are doing is harvesting the colder temperatures. 

    This is not an easy job but will create employment for many men who could spend years in deployment and maintenance at a satisfying job.  It is the teamwork that should be emphasized. 

   I  often thought a ring of barges on the open ocean anchored in place might be the basis of a marine park oasis.  All sorts of ocean activities could concievably take place. It could be primarily a dive center and training center for sailors. 

    A restaurant could be established featuring sea life thus attracting sea voyagers. The barges would flatten the ocean swells allowing a certain calmness in the center. Over the years, marine life would take over the bottom providing an ecosystem for fish.  Sea vegatables could be grown Japanee style on long lines.  Fish could be raised for food in corrals.  Regular deliveries could be made via helicopter.  Passenger ships would be welcomed.

  The concept is free.  Finding the capital to do anything can be difficult. A writing campaign to various governments who would sponsor such a venture could lead to fruition in the future before things fall apart again.