Mountain Man

“So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservatism, all of which may appear to give one peace of mind, but in reality nothing is more dangerous to the adventurous spirit within a man than a secure future. The very basic core of a man’s living spirit is his passion for adventure. The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun.”

     Chris McCandless is talking about how many people choose to not change their lives because we are accustomed to our "normal" ways. McCandless was one of few people who decided to change their lives and live how they wanted to, not by how others made them, or what was "right". Chris McCandless seems to have a point in the first sentence, everyone is scared to make a change in their lives, be it what ever excuse they have. When it comes to someone who wants to be free, travel, see the world, and experience things no one else can and you have them in a controlled environment doesn't seem right. It's like having a tiger as a pet. They want to be free but you have tamed them to stay with you. The life we live now seems boring if you think about it: Wake up, go to school, eat, come home, homework, sleep, and etc. We do that everyday, and we're so used to it that it's nothing unusual. We don't see a "different horizon". In the end Chris McCandless is correct in his statement.

     In the book and his life Chris McCandless exemplified his beliefs. He didn't like to receive gifts, he didn't like how money controlled everything and just the way his life was. So when he got his education and graduated from college he headed of to see the world and make his dreams reality. He traveled by foot and survived off of peoples' generosity. He saw a different horizon everyday and made his life exciting. Chris let his spirit run wild and free and made every day his own personal adventure. He got the courage to do everything he wanted and made his life his own. No one told him what to do, all he did was live!

Life today seems to be a circle, sometimes one feels like a zombie trapped in this world. We all do our daily routines and just live on like nothing. Everything is right or wrong, you're criticized and judged if you choose your own path. If Chris McCandless were alive today he would probably ask why we care so much about what other people think, why we do everything we do, or why we just live in this world because we believe it to be "normal". He would most likely encourage us to do our own thing and forget what anyone else says. What's the point of living your life if you are not doing what you love, but what everyone else wants? It's not YOUR life anymore, it's everyone else's life. Sometimes we all want to burst out our inner colours and just yell our hearts out! What's to stop us? Nothing but ourselves. Living in a controlled environment changes you, living in the wild brings you back to earth.

 

The Man Who Sold The World

This Wilderness

I am unworthy of this wilderness,
a majesty too great for kings,
lakes and rivers, wide as dreams,
moving faster than my words.

Humbled by this wilderness,
I have so little left to hold,
so few are these my last provisions
I am but a guest out here.

I am so small beneath these tall trees;
some fall hard as others rise.
High winds lift them up around me;
drum beat step in their own time.

Bright sun sneaks to hide each day,
so stars more brilliantly can shine
with dancing native spirit skies.
a calming balm for anxious souls.

Nothing distracts me but these sounds
in quiet nights, when stillness cries,
'Forget each second, minute, day
To treasure what is to be found.'

Respect the fire-maker's food
and all the skills that bring us here,
yet in the dark, I'll hide ‘til sleep
my sharper senses softly stills.

I am so small in this big wilderness.
It is much stronger than I am,
yet it has shared its two-edged kindness
as it has wrapped me in its will.

It calls me back each year to start
again to find what days forget,
far away from this great wonder
lessons by its harshness taught.

It is not easy in this wilderness -
I know enough to stand in awe;
I am not worthy of this wilderness,
but still it calls me, calls me, calls me

Above is a poem called The Wilderness by L C Vieira.

This poem relates to Chris because he wants to go on an adventure, escape this life he lived. He wanted to leave society behind and just live they way he wanted. This poem states that the wilderness calls to the author just like Chris McCandless was driven to the wild. The author talks about how the wilderness is too beautiful and they shouldn't be worthy of it. How it's not easy to live out there but they know enough to stay alive, and that's how Chris went upon his journey. He knew enough to survive and had the detecation to try and make it through.




Alone
Edgar Allan Poe [1829]

From  childhood's hour I have not been
As others were- I have not seen
As others saw- I could not bring
My passions from a common spring-
From the same source I have not taken 
My sorrow- I could not awaken
My heart to joy at the same tone-
And all I lov'd- I lov'd alone-

Then- in my childhood- in the dawn
Of most stormy life- was dawn
From ev'ry depth of good and ill
The mystery which binds me still-
From the torrent, or the fountain-
From the red cliff of the mountain-
From the sun that 'round me roll'd
In its autumn tint of gold-
From the lightning in the sky-
From the thunder, and the storm-
And the cloud that took the form
(When all the rest of Heaven was blue)
Of a demon in my view.

This poem relates to Chris McCandless because he never saw the world the way his parents saw it. They would buy him expensive things, offer gifts, eat at an elegant place and he wouldn't like it. He saw money as something that controlled everything and he didn't like the way society was.
"From  childhood's hour I have not been 
As others were- I have not seen
As others saw-" 
This particular part made me think of the way Chris might have felt. He didn't understand why everyone was the way they were. He wanted to be free from society, away from everything that brought this world to the mess it is today.

In Bloom

     "Ladies and gentlemen please relax, fasten your seat belts, and please enjoy the ride! We are heading off to Greenland!"
     As the plane takes off, I do what I do best; read a book and occasionally look out the window , take pictures of the clouds and mesmerizing view. A couple hours later i dozed off and went into a deep sleep.            The next thing I know. . .
     "Ladies and Gentlemen please push back your tray, set your seats, we will be landing in a few minutes."
     "Excuse me ma'am, would you like some water?" came from the mouth of a flight attendant that looked like she belonged in in a 1950's movie. With her blond, short hair with curls at the bottom, deep red lipstick, and legs that went on for miles. The men on the plane were obviously trying to get her attention, some acted like gentlemen and others were just pure pigs about it. She obviously didn't fancy any of the men.
"Umm. . no thank you" I replied while mumbling in my brain of my upcoming adventures.

     The plane soon landed and I was off to start a new life. As soon as I stepped a foot outside I wanted to wrap myself in 20lbs of covers, sheets, and blankets. I was cold but happy, excited, every single emotion was going through me. It was a feeling I haven't felt in a very long time. I loved seeing my breath and couldn't wait to see what could possibly come next.
     While i was waiting to get checked and everything, I met this guy. He looked 2 or 3 years older and he looked lost. Now I'm not very good at making friends but I though "Hey you came here to make a new you, right?" so I went off and tried to start a conversation. I figured if he was lost, might as well have 2 people and try to help each other out.
     "Hey. . umm are you lost?" yep, those were the words  that came out of my mouth, He was obviously lost and I was over here asking a stupid question!
     "Not really," he seemed to have thought about it a little and then started again, "Well maybe a little. I'm looking for my way out of here, my family should be somewhere around here." He stood on his toes and began to look around. He sort of reminded me of Chris McCandless. He had the same hair style and same skinny body, just subtract the facial hair.
     "Oh, so you know your way around?"
     "Yeah, a little. I come around here when I can afford my plane ticket. How about you?"
     "This is actually my first time even leaving home."
     "Oh so the bird finally left the nest, I see."
     "You can say that, I guess." We laughed and kept talking. We made it out the airport and started to say goodbye when I remembered we didn't even know each others names.
     "Hey! Wait! What's your name?"

     "Maika, Maika Lea." he started to walk away again when I remembered I was going to catch every moment with my camera. I flt like a stalker but took out my camera and took a picture if his back because he was walking away. I put my camera back and started walking, well kind of stomping because of the snow. I didn't know where to go so i looked around for a while, letting my feet take me away.
     I ended up at a supermarket, with the little money I had left I bought some vegetables and fruits. Danish kroner, that's what I had to turn my american dollars into.
     "Ah so we meet again." I heard someone say behind me. Out of instinct I ignored it and continued looking for what I could afford. Then someone tapped my shoulder and I turned around. It was Maika!
     "Hey! What are you doing here?"
     "Nothing, just passing by." We started talking and then he seemed to have remembered something.
     "You got my name but I didn't get yours."
     "Oh, it's Lizbeth. But call me Liz."
     "Okay, Liz." he said with a smile on his face. Turned out his parents were looking for someone to rent out their spare room. And boy did I need somewhere to stay! It was extremely lucky! So I took the room and he showed me around.

     Days turned into weeks, weeks turned into months and months turned into years. Before I knew it I had been in Greenland for about 3 years. I stayed at Maika's house helping out his family with the cleaning and cooking. They should me their food recipes, the mom was kind enough to leave out the meat, and I showed them some of my favourite dishes, I found out they were originally from Ireland. It was interesting what I took from their ways of life and what they took from me.
     I met a new family and actually made friends. It was very exciting to travel away from New Jersey. As I was walking down their stairs into the living room I slipped and banged my head on the railing. . .
   
     "Is. . .be okay?. . "
     "Yes. . .a couple. . .I don't know. . ."
     My head was throbbing like never before, I felt dazed, nothing was clear. I heard crying in the background and then it drifted off to sobbing. . . What was going on?
     "Lizbeth! Lizbeth! Please wake up!" Mom? She was all the way in New Jersey. Why. . .why could I hear her so clearly now?
     "Lizbeth please wake up, you're mother, she's very scared and doesn't want to lose you . . ." The voices drifted off again.
     Little by little I started seeing lights, nurses, doctors. Voices of strangers coming and going, shoes hitting tiles, doors closing, people waking up, crying. . .I was hearing all these things. But how? I'M IN GREENLAND
     "Mom?" I could barely say the words but they came out clear enough for her to hear me.
     "Oh Lizbeth! You're awake!" more crying. . .
     Then a male voice I have never heard before came along and joined them.
     "She's going to be okay, the fall wasn't that bad and her head just needed some stitches  She'll have serious headaches but we have medication for that,"
     "You're going to be okay Lizbeth, don't worry" my mom was still sobbing, but I could tell it was from joy.
     "I just hope you learned your lesson." my dad's strong, deep voice boomed in the small room.
     "What lesson?" I slurred.
     "We told you not to go rock climbing without a helmet. But teenagers these days, wanting to be rebels and not caring about safety. . " my dad started a lecture.
     That's when it hit me. . .

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Death by Fate or Intentional?

      Audrey Mestre, all she wanted to do was get closer to the man she loved. Who knew her love would drive her to take extreme risks and come out the very sad conclusion of death. Even after reading this article over and over again I still don't think I have found the answer. Was she murdered? Or could it have been an accident? You can add your own opinions, you are welcome to. But as it stands right now, this may have just been some horrible events of fate. I believe things happen for a reason. Pipin, having been known for his no limits diving and breaking records has already been followed by the media about different deaths that have occurred under his watch. Having Audrey Mestre, his wife, die is something someone would look at as "more than suspicious".

       Pipin being an experienced diver should have never opened the air valve. But sometimes when things are pressuring you you tend to forget a lot of things. Even the most professional people out there get hit by pressure pretty hard. The crew who handled the equipment had been "shooed away" by Pipin because they did something that upset him. As Pipin was checking the valve, air started to hiss out of it and he immediately closed the valve. He didn't check if there was enough air left because Audrey was about to dive, so in a hurry he left the valve as it was and went to see his wife. Then Audrey took her last breath and went for the record. Once she reached the bottom the valve that Pipin had inspected didn't open or even budge. Time was running out and so was Audrey's ability to stay under water. The safety diver helped as much as he could to get her back to the surface. There was supposed to be another safety diver but he had left as he thought the dive hadn't happened. There was storm coming in right before the dive. Who wouldn't expect something that had to be dealt with in the ocean to be canceled? It was an honest mistake.
     
      Audrey soon lost consciousness and only had 2 minutes left to live. Unfortunately it took 8 minutes to get back to the surface. That was with the help of Pipin and the safety diver. These events may seem too coincidental to have happened on their own, but I believe these were literally a series of unfortunate events. Pipin loved Audrey too much to have had her killed. Yes, things do look suspicious but fate has it's own way of introducing itself. Pipin did mourn after her death and had her ashes put into the ocean. ". . the ocean wanted her forever" that's how it was ment to end as pessimistic as that sounds right now.