Now, having driven here, I have all my stuff and yet, surprisingly, this arrangement has its own downsides. When traveling, you are self-contained. All your stuff is right there. I have developed little habits that support peace of mind like, for instance, never closing the door to lock the van without first feeling the keys in my pocket. And hatch-battening habits that minimize drawers and cabinet doors flying open and throwing stuff around. It's easy to hold on to your stuff and your intentions when they are more limited.
The first casuality of staying relatively put is that self-containedness. Stuff you've been carrying around but you really have no need for go first. Books I've read but haven't given away yet, the box that CS 5.5 came in and the boxes my cameras came in, food I haven't eaten and won't eat, the solar panel I won't be using while I'm here. Stuff like that. That's fine. It's better than fine, it's a relief. Space is at such a premium in my "house" that jettisoning the things I really don't need at the moment is all upside.
But then, other things that begin to cross that line get moved out of the van. Musical instruments for instance. Mostly, I don't unexpectedly need a guitar when I go someplace, but it's not unheard of. And if I do I don't have one. I often leave my golf clubs at the house and so I lose that particular potential for unplanned activity and serendipity. So I'm left in a kind of pleasant limbo. I'm happy to be here with Amanda but I look forward to the next journey. And that's why I haven't added to the blog for a while.
In my last post I was in Kentucky where I was in mid March. Kentucky: ground zero for dogmatic ignorance; home of the Creationist Museum. For those unfamiliar, Creationism asserts that the Bible is literal Truth; the inspired Word of God. Thus, the Earth was created in 6 twenty-four hour days 6001 years ago, was destroyed by the Flood except for Noah, his family and two of every species of animal (minus the unicorns but including... wait for it... dinosaurs!) Now, I'm not saying that I know. In fact being agnostic, I'm saying I don't know, so maybe they're right but I seriously doubt it. There are many many questions science doesn't answer. Science mostly just stays out of the metaphysical realm concerning itself with the physical universe. Science doesn't address the basic existential question: Why? but tries to get at What? and How? Science is systematic and serious. Scientific theories are tested and tested and refined and replaced when a better explanation is found. Science is the opposite of dogma. The Biblical literalists feel compelled to delegitimize actual science by coming up with a competing "science," Creationism.
If you're going to go toe to toe with science you better have something real to back it up. When you begin with an assertion like that the Earth is 6001 years old, whole branches of actual scientific thought must be thrown out. And they do. The fossil record and the geological record at least must go. The creationists sponsor trips down the Colorado River, through the Grand Canyon that "prove" that the formation of this awesome geology happened in just a short time. Every bit of evidence is bent to conform to the preordained conclusion. It's positively pre-Copernican. Of course, the attack on evolution is the tip of the spear. More effort is put into discrediting evolution than any other branch of science.
The museum is interesting. It looks just like a museum of science with dioramas that dramatize "historical" events. It has displays with ancient artifacts and fossils. It has film presentations and even animatronics (which I've always found unconvincing, even at Disneyland). It is to a real museum of natural science what Fox News is to actual journalism. It looks like the real thing but it's a load of dogmatic propaganda.
One other thing that stood out for me was the general lack of friendliness of the people. I like to meet people and will happily have conversations with strangers. In fact, I met some nice people in Kentucky but these weren't them. Everybody seemed in a hurry to line up to get their steamin' bowl of bullshit. Oh well, maybe they had me pegged as a non-believer and not worth their time. Could've been the 666 on my forehead. The slogan of the museum is "Prepare to Believe." Well, I believe alright.
Okay, enough spleen. Deep breaths.
Frankfort, the capital is a quiet, historic little town, the 5th smallest in the US. The capitol building is a very beautiful building with a traditional dome and some beautiful magnolias in spectacular bloom.
