Tuesday, September 23, 2014

I'm younger than that now

So, now you see what I have been up to (or down to) the past couple of weeks. If you do not understand the implements in this photograph, well, there is little more detail I am in the mood to offer. Allow me to comment that I am well on the way to recovery and should pretty much be ready to rock and roll in another month or so. I will report that, but I will not say anything specific about "the event" other than it was not the result of an accident per se. I suppose it mostly had to do with being in the wrong place at the wrong time. I love mysteries, so we shall leave this one at that .... or, if you prefer, that one at this ....

Bucky said: "Dare to be naïve"

I have asked for advice, suggestions, ideas in posts in the past, and a few people have offered them. Thank you. Now, I have another query. I probably am a bit crazy (which, I never have denied, but not so much now as when I was eighteen or nineteen) to ask this question, but I will anyway: Is anyone interested in doing a bit of travel?

My reasoning for this is quite simple. I am not attached to anyone at the moment; I do not like traveling, going out or visiting places by myself; I am curious about random chance and, on occasion, will "read the runes" to test fate. I suppose there are other reasons, too, but those are enough to begin.

I have no specific dates in mind. I think it might be fascinating to spend Christmas in another country, but do not wish to be snowbound. I do not have a specific length of time in mind -- a few weeks, a few months -- whatever. I am thinking Europe, although I have no specific destination in mind and am open to other locations, other thoughts. I would not object to returning to places I have been, but would like to experience new sights and sounds, as well.

Actually, I do travel in brief jaunts -- usually three or four or five days involving business -- more often than people realize unless they are clever enough to interpret some of the words, photographs and music I publish here. I think few, if any, have seen beyond the surface of such posts. There usually are no "critical readers" of my page, so to speak, and I prefer not to leave too many bread crumbs. Remember? I am one who likes shadows and secrecy and anonymity and privacy and mystery.

Anyway .... these brief excursions often give me a day or two for being an "accidental tourist." But, how much can a person do in a day or two? And, again, doing things alone is not nearly as enjoyable as doing things with a companion.

I am curious to discover if this idea will lead anywhere. Five years ago, a variation of this theme presented options leading in five or six directions. My selection of which path among them to follow was not the wrong one -- actually, it was a fine one -- but, unfortunately, it did not lead to a journey lasting as long as I had hoped.

We shall see what happens this time .... or not ....

P.S. I have been re-examining the work/writing of Buckminster Fuller recently (AKA "Bucky"). I spent an afternoon with him when he was very old and I was very young. (The right place at the right time, in that instance.) One of the things he wrote which I love is this: "What I am trying to do is to discover why God included humans in the Universe."
 
Here are a few more words, none of them mine, but they seem to mirror my perception of my life at the moment:

"Why was (he) reluctant? Why did he have an odd feeling in his gut? It was that the whole thing was so ghostly, somehow. It had the feeling of the remembered, or the previously glimpsed. He had already seen it, in a movie or a book or something. Very strange feeling."

9 comments:

Anita said...

Omg!!did you hurt yourself??Wow!!What an acident!!!

hope you are recovering fast because u cant travel like this!
iam curious to see who wants to do the travelling with you.You know i would but i am bounded for some years here with my son..But in some years i think i will visit Minnesota and the lakes of the movie..The Immigrants with Liv Ullman..i can never forget that place..
Strange you did a posting right now..I thought of you last night..Thinking..Well Well..We are slipping away!May be never to get back were we once was..I love that time some years ago..However time goes on..new things..new friends..new soscial medias..
I wish you a great recovery Fram! I leave the books and sayings to someone else..Am not good or clever to comment that right now(Been working late and hard at the hospital--Many Sick people! :)
You know we like anything you post:))))

Greetings Anita
stay well Fram--

Fram Actual said...

Yes, Anita, travel is somewhat difficult when wearing a leg immobilizer and while being on crutches. As you might imagine, it also is far more difficult to chase girls. All they have to do is to walk fast to escape me. Are you a fast walker, Anita ?? (I like to tease you !!)

And, yes, I remember how much you liked the motion picture, "The Emigrants," and, yes, some of it was filmed in Minnesota. The region is called "Marine on St. Croix." I have canoed there. Jessica Lange and Sam Shepard had a home in that area for a number of years when they were together.

I am not particularly hopeful anything will come of my "search" for another traveler. I also am keeping my eyes open for another house on a hilltop in the midst of woodlands and, if I find that first, I might just move in and abandon the rest of the world entirely. It might be time I make another attempt to settle down and stop moving along an endless road in pursuit of something which actually is unknown to me.

Being here on this blog periodically is enough for me in terms of "social media." Becoming involved at other sites would be too time consuming from my point of view. And, for sure, most people follow the trends of the times, which means this sea of blogs will either have to change or fade away.

Do not worry about me. I heal quickly, and will be fine in a few weeks. Remember, I am Fram the Fortunate. I have health-luck, weather-luck, gold-luck, war-luck and even, at times, have had woman-luck.

As for you, do not work too hard at the hospital and, most definitely, the next couple of years will be very important in terms of your son .... take good care of him. And, I look forward to your next series of photographs on your blog.

Thank you, Anita, for coming across time and space to call upon me here.

A Cuban In London said...

Well, those crutches are certainly a mystery. Not what they are for, I know that, but what caused you to use them . :-)

Why God included humans in the universe? How about the other way around? Why did humans include God in their own historical and cultural narrative? :-)

Now that we're on an even keel, let's arm-wrestle the answer out of each other. :-)

Greetings from London.

Fram Actual said...

The crutches and the leg immobilizer .... hmmmm .... I think those items are best left a mystery at this point in time. Many of the "props" I use in photographs have a general use which is readily evident, but, quite often, I do not explain the reason I have chosen to include them in that particular photograph in that particular post. If there were more conversations going on here, I would be inclined to "talk" in greater detail, but, most often, actual discussions are absent. One cannot carry on a discussion with one's self.

I am afraid I am not the person to stand behind the podium in such an argument/debate with you, CiL, since I am the undecided/the agnostic/the indecisive at taking a stance on one side of this issue or the other. Actually, I view Buckminster Fuller's remark as a display of sarcasm in respect to the absolute idiocy so frequently displayed by members of the human race, although Fuller was a religious man (Unitarian) and, maybe, he was posing the statement in a serious/literal vein.

But, should we ever need a tie-breaker over some matter, I am not sure you would be wise to pick arm wrestling. You might be in for a shock. However, based on your running and bicycling activities, I am afraid I would not stand a chance should we meet in either of those arenas. So, I will never choose them.

By the way, reflecting on your comment at your last post, I wish to clarify that while I have walked upon the soil of your homeland, I never have been in Havana. Any information I have about it -- accurate or inaccurate -- stems from reading and from conversations with those who have been there. I should like to go there for a variety of reasons.

Thank you, CiL, for stopping by to visit and leaving a comment for me.

A Cuban In London said...

Well, do go before... or, what the hell, there's never a before. Fidel probably died years ago and the image you see now is being beamed from some satellite built by Putin. :-)

Great choice of word: redemption. Each to their own. I don't like religion to dominate political life but if you believe, that's your problem.

Sorry to read about your bad memories of October. In my case it should be November. I lost two close relatives in that month many years ago (including whom I called my second mother), but also my birthday falls in this month. So, that's a bit of a dilemma for me. Plus, autumn. Enough said. I am an autumn sign and love, adore autumn.

Loved your comment about staycation. If I'd been born elsewhere, as in not in a socialist country where travelling is restricted, maybe I would feel the same as you. I am more of a go-to-where-the-wind-takes-you. I have got "lost" in London on purpose (not hard, by the way) just to experiment that sense of freedom and idle wandering.

Greetings from London.

Fram Actual said...

You have a talent for finding the open doorways for leaving a comment, CiL. Thank you.

I enjoy the challenge of "being lost without being lost," too. Sometimes, while driving in unfamiliar country, I will just start going on this road or that and see where it might take me. Or, in a metropolitan city in which I am a stranger (this includes almost all of them), I will ride a bus for thirty minutes or so, get off and simply begin meandering my way on foot back to my point of origin, hoping that I eventually reach it. (So far, so good.) The last time I was able to do this was 2010 in Warsaw.

Incidentally, while engaged in such an exercise,I met an expatriate Englishman in Warsaw who had lived there twenty years and who owned a second-hand bookstore. Although not entirely logical, at the time this meeting caused me to think of a certain Cuban living in London.

I often think the two best places to live are in the heart of a wilderness or in the heart of a metropolis.

It is interesting how certain dates, certain months, come to symbolize or otherwise represent good or bad times in our lives. July is another unique month for me in a weirdly indefinable way: I was married twice and divorced twice in July, and have it in my head that if there ever should be a third marriage, it must take place in July. In the meanwhile, I will make a notation that November is CiL's birthday month.

I am not sure when the last time Fidel was seen making a public appearance. I wonder ....

Whether a man is good or evil is of secondary consideration to me in terms of actually meeting and, if possible, interviewing. Of the world stage leadership figures who have lived during my lifetime, El Caballo easily would be among the dozen or so I should have given a great deal to have met and spent a few hours with in conversation.

Vladimir is another on my short list. In fact, I would love to meet him in a dojo to test his skills as a judoka. That, of course, would have to be followed by a few shots of vodka and conversation.

Thanks again, CiL.

A Cuban In London said...

I forgot to add something to my previous comment. Antony Hegarty. Not totally convinced yet. I need a little bit more. I don't know why but when I first saw him I felt manipulated. My wife loved his voice straight away but I wasn't taken by it. Sometimes with some performers it's ca se of "letting it sink" for a while and see what comes out at the end. I'm glad you like him, though. despite my reservations, he is one of the reasons why pop is still worth listening to. Amidst the crap, one still finds diamonds. Even if yours truly refuses (at the moment) to wear them. :-)

Greetings from London.

Fram Actual said...

I need to listen to a bit more of Antony to reach a definite sense of how much I like his music as opposed to how overwhelmingly I like his rendition of "If It Be Your Will" -- especially in the context of this particular film. Other than "If It ....," I only have listened to Antony singing "Nessum Dorma." I was curious to learn how he would approach it/perform it. I thought his version of it was "pleasant," but it did not have the same effect/impact on me as did "If It ...."

There are any number of bands and singers who have had a song or two which I really like (in some instances) or even really have "set me on fire" (in other instances), but otherwise I really do not care for them. Shockingly (to some, I am sure), Bruce Springsteen falls into this category.

I actually have a rather narrow range of preferences in music. I grew up listening to popular, classical, Broadway, operatic and, when I began buying my own music, rock. I seldom go out "exploring" music, which probably explains why I was unaware of Antony. I will listen to him more and see where it leads.

Thanks, CiL .... have a good week ....

Fram Actual said...

Since I wrote my last comment, I have listened to/watched another dozen videos from Antony. I see your point, CiL.

My first thought is that Antony, in general, is more interested in making a statement than in making music, at least in respect to the visuals on the videos. Another thought is that his renditions of absolute classics like "Knocking on Heaven's Door" and "Imagine" are pretty much unremarkable. (The arrangements really need help.) In short, I think he is wasting his voice for the most part -- but, we all waste some of our talents, I guess.

I think I will "queue" Antony to the Bruce Springsteen file cabinet in an overall sense for now while I continue to enjoy "If It ...."

Something special ....