Early Rising Alas

6:13

I woke around 5:00 for some reason, could not get back to sleep, so I got up around 5:20 to a strangely darken house, no sun yet, and it reminds me of what's to come, the sun rising later and later, setting earlier and earlier as we move towards fall and winter.  It's warm enough, 62 degrees, overcast outside with fog, as the sky is now dark gray, and it is just after 6:00.

Yesterday was a disjointed day, dentist in the morning, taking Evie to the airport in the early afternoon, then shopping at Walden Galleria Mall in Buffalo later in the afternoon, before heading back to the lake.  Our drive to the airport was marked by heavy rain but by the time we arrived, it had cleared.  I went inside with Evie, saw her off, taking all of 15 minutes but they charged me four bucks (it used to be free if less than a half hour) to park.  The mall was a real trip since I have not been in one in so long. I was amazed at the amount of people on a Monday, no school yet, and the number of shops, restaurants, and variety of shops, many names I have never heard of.  It was also strange to not want anything, to not even be tempted, except at Dick's, where I picked up a few lures, found the Little Cleo, the killer lure according to a fisherman.  I also had an appointment at the Apple store with the Genius bar.  The store was also packed, with at least 26 apple helpers (I counted them), running around helping people, selling computers.  I waited about 20 minutes, as they were behind, then had about a 20  minute session with a genius.  He put my computer through a diagnostic, found nothing really wrong, cleaned it up a bit, then sent me on my way.  As we were working, an obnoxious, obviously wealthy and busy women, plopped down next to us, grabbed a couple of connectors, and sat there, drumming her fingers, waiting for us to finish.  I kept my cool, said nothing, but prolonged the session a bit with small talk.  It was a busy place, unusually so according to the sales people.  My one slip was buying a cup of french fries at Five Guys; I could not pass them up, sat there, ate the entire cup with ketchup, for dinner.  Light and healthy they are not.  

I got home around 7:30, ate some left over potato salad and hot dogs, and watched the beginning of Louie CK.a series about the life of a comedian on Netflix.  I think I could like it; he has my type of black humor.  

Today, I head off for two days to camp at Letchworth State Park,  the "Grand Canyon of the East," seventeen miles long, along the Genesee River, about 60 miles south of Buffalo, about two hours from here.  I have been preparing for this simple camping trip for days, thinking about what I need.  Even though I will be gone for only two days, I still have to take everything that I would need if I were gone for a month.  Beth and Rami lent me their camping gear, so  I have a tent and sleeping pad and bags.  I am going prepared, bringing my kayak (they have Level 1 kayaking), my bike, hiking boots,  and my fishing rod, ready for anything.  It is supposed to be sunny, highs in the low 80's, so I hope to spend a good amount of time on the water.  I have a small stove, but plan on doing little cooking, eating dinner out somewhere nearby, having peanut butter and honey for lunch, bagels for breakfast, simple things like that.  I have books, a good chair, and a reading light, so I am ready for two days without technology, no Internet, no telephone, no TV, no NPR.  How will I survive.  We camped in Europe every summer for seven years when we lived in Istanbul, so I have camped before but not since 1977.  The impetus for this was reading a book by a friend of mine from Istanbul, Tom Hanrahan, who wrote a Guide book about the public lands in Maine.  He talked eloquently about being alone in the woods, how it's the closest thing to God he can think of, so I am off to find him.  I do love hiking in the woods, want to see what it's like to be alone, sort of, with no technology, just me and the natural world.  There no doubt will be other campers, as I will be staying in a campground but still, I can be as isolated as I wish. 

See you in a couple of days.