The day we were leaving, I spent much of the morning in a mild state of panic, looking at all the good things I was saying goodbye to, and wishing, even though I knew leaving was the right choice, that I could just stay in town where I’m comfy and have all these friends, forever and ever. But our friend Izzy picked us up nonetheless, like we’d asked, and drove us south of town to an I-35 onramp. And then a funny thing happened. Once we got on the pavement, and Izzy had driven away, and we had our thumbs out and our sign flying, all the anxiety blew away like dust off a windowsill in spring, and it felt right and natural to be there.

Tomorrow we’re going to an onramp and heading out to the Ozarks. Neither of us has ever seen an Ozark before, but we’re going to find them and spend some time there. The idea is basically for us to get the city blown off of us, and for us to adjust to living on the road. That way when we get to each new place afterwards, it’ll be easier for us to really get there. I’ve found on other trips that if I come from the city, and I’m still keeping myself wrapped up in all its mental entanglements, it takes a while for me to really arrive anywhere else.

Nearly anyone who’s needed more than basic medical care—and especially people who take some kind of medication regularly—seems to get around to asking me this question eventually. If I’m moving off-grid, what am I going to do about health insurance?

I had the best birthday party ever, and I thought you should know. We went to the Drinkin’ Spelling Bee.

This is the second of two posts about redoing my blog. This one is mainly for other people who’d like to make a Jekyll blog and are interested in how I did some of the things I did. If you’re migrating from Blogger you’ll find it especially relevant.

It’s true: I’m leaving. Misty too. At the beginning of April, we’re putting on our backpacks, finding a highway onramp, and leaving behind the greatest city I believe this country has to offer. We plan to be on the road for a year.

Part I: The Language · Part II: The Sugar · Part III: The Spirits

It’s trivially easy to point out that there’s something missing in our culture’s relationship with nature. The evidence is our entire way of life.

But what is it that’s missing, that’s wrong? It’s harder to answer that than it is to know that something’s wrong. If we knew the answer already, maybe we wouldn’t be doing it.