Mutiny…

Tie your shoe laces, look both ways, keep that action open, come to a complete stop, finger off the trigger, double check that, cut away from yourself,  the list goes on and on. I was raised well by any standards to be aware of the right things to do in life, the right steps to take in order to be successful or efficient. My father is a great teacher in these things. Especially financially. “Save, invest and compound!” he would say over and over to me. Teaching me that you don’t get ahead by being in debt and to plan ahead for future expenditures foreseen and unforeseen. These teachings have served me well.

Managing my money wasn’t really something I had to worry about until I was about 8 years old. I think my weekly allowance started around $1. And that was after the laundry list of chores were completed to their rigorous military specs.

This is just one example I am using but my point is that essentially my whole life I have walked the straight and narrow. I haven’t really skewed from it almost at all. Which I would believe by today’s standards is pretty rare. Only in the past few years have I even peeked out from that little box of a world I was living in and did a few things that would be considered out of character by people that know me.  I’ve been scrimping and saving in order to buy a house more recently in the volatile housing market of Southern California, and guess what? Now that’s out the window too. At least for now.

I’ve done a great job setting up my life to be a “good” one. Whatever “good” means anyways. I’m pretty tired of the office life. I would see my coworkers more than I see my own family. I would spend the majority of my waking hours at work or commuting to and from it on crowded LA freeways where the grim reaper hides behind the faces of thousands of souls that could care less about my body and well being. I couldn’t tell you how many times and how frequently I dodged death or something damned near close to it. People would sacrifice your life and limb just to change lanes and get to work 5 seconds faster. Is this what I am living for? Society tells me this is the good life, but is it really?

Well I’ll tell you, my little piece of heaven is the outdoors and a rifle on my shoulder, clean air, clean fresh food and clean water.

Have you ever flown back into LAX and as your landing you can clearly see the layers of smog you’re entering so thick and viscous  you’d swear the plane is floating more than it is flying? It’s disgusting. And yet we live here day to day and we don’t really give it too much thought. Travel to a far off place where the air is still pure and almost entirely untouched and you’ll be able to see and feel how much of a difference there is. When I traveled to Namibia I kept catching myself taking deep breaths of cool clean air. I didn’t really notice it at the time but I looked back shortly after and it hit me. My lungs were in love!!!

Sometimes a little bit of crazy is just what we need in our lives. My tank has been running on empty and it’s time for a harsh and sudden pit stop.

 

-The Jonny

9 Pounds of Freedom…

Here it was today, an average Monday morning that I awoke when my body informed me it was quite finished dreaming of leopards and lions. And it hasn’t been too often in my life that I’ve opened my eyes, peacefully lied back, and held just the slightest shadow of a grin on my euphoric mug.

The world went on about its commonplace business while I was already savoring my immunity.

Today was my first day of freedom in a long, long time. My last day at my previous job was this previous Friday and I cannot begin to acquaint you with how free I feel. The screwy thing is, I told myself that once I had put my two weeks in at work that those would be the longest two weeks of my life. And whadda ya know… That was 3 days ago.  *gulp*  Time flies…

Before I know it I will be boarding that flight to South Africa and looking out over the dimming lands of America and thinking of all the things I have done here  and all the people I have spent time with over the years. It’s enough to choke a young man up a bit just thinking about it…

BUT!!!   From now on, the only weight on my shoulders will be a backpack and a 9 pound CZ .458 Lott rifle!!! 

:::winks:::

-The Jonny

The Beginning & My Great Uncle Pt. 1

I presume you could trace back the beginnings of any worthy story to a great length, starting from the most fleeting hint of a suggestion in ones life and onward to the more prevalent. But for myself, parents, sister, aunts and uncles, cousins and loved ones alike, we could all reasonably point an accusing finger at one exponentially influential figure in my life. A man that seemed to always be such a gentle and subtle, ingenious presence. This man ever so slowly planted seeds in my mind that had only one mission, a most important mission, to grow. Fertilized regularly with wild and adventurous tales from deep within Africa and all dark corners of the planet, there was no stopping this growth. He who traveled 6 of the 7 continents in the world, saving the coldest for the odd or insane, had much to inscribe upon me. I was and still am a sponge, sun bathing in the hottest desert thirsting for those stories and wealth of knowledge. For the rest of my works here and after he will be referred to as my Great Uncle. And to him, I dedicate this adventure and hopefully the many works to come within this website. Cheers Uncle!

I do not truly know what will become of this journey, but isn’t that the beauty of it? I gently ask, how many people have stepped up to the ragged edge of life, and jumped? I want to be able to look back on my life and YELL at the top of my lungs “I’VE DONE IT!” in great triumph.

No, I take it back, I don’t want it anymore… I now demand it. Nothing else will solidify this void inside me. The latest gadget, powerful microchips, the flickering trance of television, the worthy LA paychecks, will not do for me anymore.  I don’t care about your new sports car, your designer sun glasses, your $300 pair of jeans!!! NO MORE! There is a whole lot more out there in this world, and I INTEND to grasp it with both hands!

:::Deep Breaths:::

With that said I would also like to thank all the important people in my life for everything that they have done for me, friends and family, all the support and love and encouragement. You all know who you are and I am greatly appreciative. I am who I am because of all of you.  I am where I am because of all of you. Thank you, thank you… Thank you.

More to come…