Last time I had a military weapon in my hand was 1976 at Ft. Knox, Ky. training to get into UC Davis law school. My parents understood me and early intervention was tried to make me normal. At 30, 11 years later with two BA degrees and a couple of minor degrees and a life to envy of Bohemian splendor in Mission District San Francisco, Lingering Sanity won over common sense and never again did I touch an M-16 or wear a uniform, nor go to law school. https://theconservativetreehouse.com/blog/2022/01/19/clarity-of-the-bigger-question-why-this-massive-push-for-vaccinations/
Now all I worried over from 1968 to this morning and tried to evade has finalized itself and swollen like a malignant tumor of bad dreams. No escape. If you escape you die. If you stay and fight you live. See I know I was hard wired for escape. Still my Lingering Sanity stood quietly vigilant and unerringly guided my ascent of Mt. Improbable like a good sherpa. Here not far, looks rather close from the cloud mass, I see the road to the summit. Yes on the other mountain I see the old goat track climbing and an old man has his hut in the clouds. About 5 miles as the crow flies.
I know his name. He has lived on Cold Mountain for many centuries. You might know him too. Gary Snyder was a friend of his as was Red Pine.
Where’s the trail to Cold Mountain?
Cold Mountain? There’s no clear way.
Ice, in summer, is still frozen.
Bright sun shines through thick fog.
You won’t get there following me.
Your heart and mine are not the same.
If your heart was like mine,
You’d have made it, and be there!