Greetings from Montana.
Redneck duck army walking on the yellow brick road at the Missoula Art Museum.
2 - Story
It feels like I’m on the verge of transcending the paradigm of problems.
Tomorrow, Monday, I’m flying in a bush plane into the Selway Bitterroot Wilderness.
Travel journal notes:
At the airport terminal in Boston. 5am. Short security line. The agents pull my bag. They remove multi-tool and ferro rod.
“Would you like no abandon these to us?”
“Hell no.”
They escort me out so I can check the bag.
5:45am. Flight boards at 6. security line is 500 people long. I sneak in half way. Then, a lady opens a second line and I’m the first one through.
I get off my first flight in Dallas and my next flight is already boarding. I ride a packed train to the other side of the airport and the boarding door shuts behind me. Plane lands in Missoula, Montana. My phone notifies me that my bag is stuck in Texas. I thought I’d have to wait in Missoula for it to arrive on a later flight, so I emailed two people I knew were in town. With no luggage to drag around I took the free bus downtown. My bathing suit and flip flops happened to be in my carry on, so I swam in the river.
I walked through the free art museum, then met Rory and Sam at a rooftop bar, overlooking this small city growing atop an ancient lake bed.
“The Montana fair is at the fairgrounds tonight. We’re going to the rodeo. Would you like to take a cab there with us at 6? It’s free admission,” says Rory.
Why not.
I got a double patty grass fed Montana burger with Oregon cheddar cheese, bacon and onion sauce, atop lettuce and cherry tomatoes.
I phone Jordan Jonas, the expedition leader, who said they can cobble something together if the main pack doesn’t make it.
The airline said my pack will be on tonight’s flight and they’ll deliver it to my Airbnb an hour south, before we head into the wilderness tomorrow. And that’s what happened.
Oh, I see, so that’s why this happened. They are hanging onto my bag and delivering it tomorrow so I can walk around Missoula, chat with Rory and Sam, and attend the Montana fair, without lugging a my giant pack.
Nice.
The universe is my co-creator, chronically dishing up unexpected opportunities.
Aw shucks.
I had no intention of checking a bag but thankfully those bastards at the airport tried to steal my stuff.
To escape badness is to release the concept of bad. To exit that paradigm is to veto any internal ascription of wrongness, badness.
If the good-bad paradigm has been fundamental for much of life, the shift to a new paradigm is to unlearn your native tongue.
Badness or wrongness is the foundation that egoic structure builds on.
3 - Links
Here’s our recent episode with Jessica Depatie, producer of the film Dark Night of Our Soul.
Thank you for reading
I’m focused on creating truthful, authentic and useful media. The result is comedic stories with insights.
I co-host the Weird and Worthwhile podcast on Spotify and YouTube.
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