You know, I’ve lived here in this house in Arkansas for something like four years now, and I’ve never, not even once, done one of my childhood staple activities that I’ve done all over the place even as an adult!!!
I’ve never wandered up the creek!!! 🙃
Well, today I did. 😊 I didn’t go very far, but where I did go was beautiful. The sound of the running water. The trees and brush on the shore… my little paradise 😊
That said, next time I’m gonna bring some creek hiking shoes (translation, my normal shoes that I’m willing to ruin for the privilege of walking the creek with something protecting my princess feet, as Arkansas Creek rocks are not very kind on the bare feet 😬).
Anyway, this all came about because the other day when Jim Jr. was giving me a ride home after delivering the Pathfinder to my customer, as we were driving across the bridge over the creek, I looked east up the creek and noticed what looked like a huge dam (huge pile of trees and logs and sticks and whatnot) damming off the creek.
We’ve had some issues in the past with the creek overflowing its banks and filling the lower pasture full of water (it being a 100-year flood plane, but the creek having already overflowed at least twice since I’ve been here, and I wondered if what I saw actually was a dam, that maybe the dam was causing the water to overflow its banks during really wet periods.
So I got in my trusty Pathfinder (well, not so trusty now that the transmission is blown on it), and after running the trash up to the dumpster, I headed down to the creek. 😊
And wouldn’t you know it, our neighbor Joe was down there taking in the beauty of the creek and with his absolutely massive dog (brown lab?) Ike. 😊 So I got sidetracked talking to Joe for probably an hour or two about everything that’s going on in the world today with Covid-19 and whatnot. (Joe’s a great guy, and it was a fun conversation).
After he left to go home, though, it was my turn to go up the creek 😊.
The above picture is a picture of the dam in the background and those awesome looking tree roots to the right. (My picture doesn’t do that tree justice at all, but your imagination can fill in my weakness in photography. My apologies to the several members of my family who are genetically fabulous photographers 🙃).
There was also the super beautiful multi-colored tree that had been knocked down and wedged into the dam (see below, right).
if you look closely at the far background of the picture, you can see the butt end of my black 2007 Nissan Pathfinder parked on one side of the bridge over the creek. For those who don’t know, the property I live on is bordered by this creek. I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s a 1/2 mile or more of creek frontage on the property.
Love this place. 😊
I hope one day to have a piece of property of my own like this. I look periodically, but I’m 100% debt averse. If you can’t buy it in cash…
Don’t buy it.
It’s not a very popular philosophy nowadays, but in the immediate present, I’m very grateful I’ve lived my life that way the last decade plus. People are out of work everywhere, having to stay home, not making money for themselves or their families, and gratefully, I’m fine–even if I weren’t considered an essential business.
I’ve got a decent amount of money saved, enough to take care of me and a family (though I’m lacking that family part) for a good long while. I don’t owe anyone anywhere anything. I have no obligations. My cell phone bill is paid a year in advance. My car insurance six months in advance. Even the sales taxes I collect from the state I pay a month early, estimating what I think I’m going to owe the state and paying it in advance. That way when I look at my bank accounts, I know that what’s in there is my money and isn’t owed to anyone.
I don’t say all this to elevate myself. I hope it doesn’t come off that way. It’s just a truth that when the crap hits the fan, like it is now, if you’ve chosen to live that way, and your circumstances have not forced you otherwise, you’re just fine.
I don’t have an expensive phone on a payment plan that I have to figure out how to pay for or lose. I don’t have bills piling up and obligations to meet that I’m concerned about. I just sit back and watch this all play out, confident and comfortable.
It’s really nice.
(Unless our government keeps printing money, in which case I’ll throw a Weimar Republic party, and we’ll start all over. Again.)
It also gives me the opportunity to help others who, either by unfortunate circumstance, ignorance, poor choice, or?, aren’t in the same position I am in.
I appreciate having the resources to help others.
Lift the world.
I’ve tried to pass along what others have taught me. For example, I’ve done my best to encourage the employees who’ve worked for me to follow a similar approach:
No debt.
Period.
Now… I do need to work less, as you already know if you’ve been reading my posts. Balance is important, and my life is totally out of balance right now. I don’t need to work as many hours as I do in order to be ready for economically hard times. All work and no play (which is my life, pretty much) makes Stephen a dull, lonely, stressed out, busybody. So… that part still needs to be fixed. 🙃
Despite my freezing cold, bruised feet, it was a lovely, albeit brief, return to where my childhood heart loves to roam free.
Again… my little paradise.
Can you believe it!?!? This picture is where I live!!!
Lucky lucky lucky me. 😊
I’m probably going to spend a lot more time down there in the future, wandering up and down, building dams and whatnot. That said, most of the places I’ve lived, the dams will last for years and years. However, here in Arkansas, one good rainstorm, and even the big rocks will get washed downstream.
Heaven’s, we had one storm that washed like 20 cows downstream!
Not joking!
The rest of my day was pretty much taken up in making sure that my employee was getting where he needed to go and able to do what he needed to do, playing my digital piano, and my electric guitar. It was nice to get back to doing some things other than just working.
I’ve also been spending a lot of time on Facebook marketplace and Craigslist and whatnot looking for all sorts of different things to buy. I won’t mention everything here, as I don’t want to give away anything for anyone who might be reading. But among other things, a car hauler, land for sale, dump trucks, cars… lots and lots o’ stuff. 😊
Interestingly, while on Facebook, I noticed that a particular one of my Facebook friends was online while I was. I haven’t talked to her in years and years. I had a big crush on her when I was in my mid 20s, but I never had the courage to ask her out. It’s pretty amazing that both she and I have been single all these years. I think she got her PhD or something back east before moving back out west. I mean, I know why I ended up staying single for so long, and I’ll get to that in my autobiographical sketches that I still need to finish, but it makes me wonder what kept her single as well.
Similar story as I?
(probably not! 🙃)
On that topic… I recently started trying to date just a little bit again, and wouldn’t you know it, but I didn’t have the best experience right off the bat. I took a girl out a few times, but one of the deal breakers for her was that I wasn’t willing to have sex before getting married. After two dates, she was wanting to have sex, and I was like… wow. That caught me off-guard a little bit. Totally different from my way of being. Heavens… holding hands is a big deal to me, and I don’t want to kiss my future wife until a solid foundation of deep friendship has already been established. I don’t want the physical to cloud out the rest. I want it to be the icing on a well-baked cake.
Nonetheless, having that experience with her was a good opportunity for me to see that even though it was certainly tempting, I was able to hold my ground and not budge.
38-year-old virgin still. 😊
Bring it on.
And you know what? Lately I’ve been thinking that probably the best place for me to find my special someone is going to be in the same arena where my hopes and dreams are–the nonprofit, make-the-world-a-better-place arena. Humanitarian work. Peace work. That kind of stuff. I want to find someone who wants to spend her life serving other people–lifting the world. Someone who is selfless and who really could care less about getting ahead, keeping up with the Jones’, being popular, etc. And what better place to find somebody like that than diving into that arena myself and rubbing shoulders (at 6 feet of social distancing, of course) with those kinds of people.
I’m getting there.
I hope she’s there, too. 😊
Well, folks. Good morning. “And in case I don’t see you. Good afternoon, good evening, and good night. ” 😁
~ s
Lift the World 
Wonderful post, Stephen!!! Thanks for sharing!! 🙂 🙂 🙂