Recently I just finished Appalachia North by Matthew Ferrence. In it, he recounts the complex relationship he still has with the land as a Northern Appalachian. Typically when I finish a book I write a Literature Appetizer to get people a taste of what they will find. Since his book is such a personal journey, I would not do it justice by recounting his life.
Many of his experiences reflect my own experience growing up in Western PA. So instead of condensing his journey, I thought I would condense mine.
The Hero’s Journey is a common literary structure where the hero of the story departs home to do a great act, and then returns victorious. My Northern Appalachian Journey is a bit different, but has a similar structure of three parts; Living in Water, Succeeding by Leaving, and The Mountains are Calling.
Imagine yourself being told by a divine power to cease wondering through the dense jungles, as you have done so for generations, and found a city where an eagle perches on a cactus. You search with your tribe, until you see such an eagle. However, it is located on an island on the middle of a lake. How do you design the city so that it thrives in such a unique environment? Welcome to Tenochtitlan.
When I first heard of aquaponics, I wasn’t impressed at first. This was still in my freshmen year of Allegheny when I was first discovering my love for environmental topics. In those early years in Meadville, I was more focused in the giant ideas rather than small scale practical solutions. “What’s the big deal about fish and plants?” was one of the many questions I had about it. By the time my sophomore year came around, I was actively and excitedly teaching about it in a local elementary school.
I hated being outside growing up. All I wanted to do was sit on the couch and watch Dragon Ball Z and play Super Smash Brothers Melee. But even my childhood self, who had great opposition to the outdoors, still holds the places I grew up near and dear to my heart.
I remember waking up every morning seeing the ridge line. I remember the trees in the back yard where I would run under when it was too hot. I remember walking out on Mammoth Lake when it was frozen with my dad and sister.
One of my favorite games is Surviving Mars, published by Paradox Interactive. In it, you control the first colonists to Mars. As you can imagine there are countless challenges and hardships that you have to overcome. In a moment’s notice all of your hard work can disappear with one dust devil or meteor.
There is a game that I have been waiting literal years to come out: Star Citizen. The promise from the creators is that it will be the most immersive game in space, ever. After years of drama, setbacks, and praise, it looks like it might actually come out within the year (or 2019...).
The creators of the game are very good about showcasing ships, and asking for community feedback. Being that we will mostly be in these vessels, it makes sense to get as much feedback as possible before the game officially launches. While I was not at all surprised to see a review of the new 600i, I was surprised to see how he described himself: as an architect.
Well...this is awkward...
Months ago I was feeling an itch to get back into the wilderness: away from work, the city, and all of the day to day happenings. While I really love where I am right now in life, I wasn't feeling as connected to the larger ecosystem as I had when I lived on an island or in the mountains. Thus I started to plan a six day solo hike through the Laurel Highlands.
Now I had done a solo hike before: over Easy Pass in Washington State. While the start was anything but easy (basically a straight climb up a mountain) the rest of the four days was a breeze. Thinking that even though this was 70 miles, I felt like I could complete it in six days. A nice pace.
What makes this post awkward is that I had planned on hiking from Sunday, August 12th through Friday, August 17th. Today would mark day three of my hike...so how am I posting this?
This tale is a classic example of how once again, I did not listen to all of nature.
Recently, I had a chance to go see the new Art of the Brick exhibit at the Carnegie Science Center. While it was all rather impressive, what really caught my eye was the piece inspired by one of the many things Pittsburgh is known for: bridges.
Some of the most iconic are the three sisters; three identical bridges that stand just before the Allegheny meets the Ohio. Unlike other bridges these are not only named for the streets they continue. Rather these are named after three icons to the area. Who are they, and what did they bring to Pittsburgh?
The more I age, the more I realize how generous my parents were (and still are) by raising me. One of the ways their generosity shinned was through every night, sitting down for supper. Even though I was an extremely picky eater, Mom would always make sure there was food on the table that I could eat. I didn't even have to think or worry about how food was getting to the table.
Now that I'm living on my own I eat the majority of my meals alone. While this is not always positive, one of the things I really enjoy is experimenting with food. I'm now able to see what kind of food I get day in, and day out.
My apartment is detached completely from the outside world. My windows go into a hallway, as does my door. While extremely cozy, I often feel like I am underground or in a vault. it is an ideal price, size, and location for my life, but I can start to feel early signs of cabin fever when at home for too long.
The thing I miss the most by living in my underground home is the lack of running water. There is a stream right outside the back of the building, but I can never hear it. People will talk about gigantic storms from the night before at work while I just nod; being oblivious to any meteorological event during my slumber.
