11-20-2010, 03:20 PM
So, Mella, my advice (not "advise") is to put on your underwear with "Puna Bound" printed on it (whether you are or not), plant your feet where directed, raise your arms up high, and do a quick bump and grind before settling into the proper pose. It is best not to wink at the agent as you exit the Box, but, you know, if you are a bit of a renegade, a maverick and an outlaw, and feel a wink comin' on, no one is going to know. I know you are not single, but I am and I just look at the security check as another dating opportunity.
My most important security advise for you when traveling is this: Unplug. Do not watch television or permit anyone to attempt to make you watch television. Neither watching a bowl game nor the Macy's Parade constitutes visiting with family. With few exceptions (5-0, Maddow, and Nova), I haven't watched television since I was in Puna last July and it didn't come on once this trip either. If you avoid television you will also avoid getting caught up in the mandatory outrage du jour. That is the thing that makes American culture so unbearable at times -- this feeling of an entire nation being seized up over a ginned-up outrage (a mosque at "Ground Zero", some homely guy admonishing the TSA not to touch his junk, who killed Chandra Levy, death panels, Monica, whether Bristol Palin is a good dancer or not). One thing I have definetely brought back with me from Puna this year, other than blisters and a mysterious black welt on my back which has scabbed over nicely, thank you, is the idea that when I walk out my door, I am walking into a culture that is completely foreign to me and which I reject. To keep it from bleeding into my inner sanctum, I have disconnected somewhat. I heartily recommend it. Part of My Puna is the feeling that I am disconnected from all of these ginned-up concerns, pretend controversies and cultural obsessions. I was in Puna on election day (voted by mail before I left) and, on that day, I finally made the trek to Haena Beach. It was a true Vision Quest and one I really shouldn't have been able to do with my little disabiliy. But I did. And, I met Adele! -- she of the twin plantation homes. When my friend and I hiked back, the sun was still brilliant and high in the sky. And so we made some drinks and were about to jump in the pool when a mainland friend called to inform us of a particular result in the election which she found objectionable. It was a jarring and unwelcome call. We refused to let this so-called reality intrude, kept it short, downed our Pog-a-ritas and got tangled up in refreshing blue.
I, for one, am sick of the Church of the Poisoned Mind, and won't take the chalice anymore. Lamont has it right -- just go and forget about all this stuff.
My most important security advise for you when traveling is this: Unplug. Do not watch television or permit anyone to attempt to make you watch television. Neither watching a bowl game nor the Macy's Parade constitutes visiting with family. With few exceptions (5-0, Maddow, and Nova), I haven't watched television since I was in Puna last July and it didn't come on once this trip either. If you avoid television you will also avoid getting caught up in the mandatory outrage du jour. That is the thing that makes American culture so unbearable at times -- this feeling of an entire nation being seized up over a ginned-up outrage (a mosque at "Ground Zero", some homely guy admonishing the TSA not to touch his junk, who killed Chandra Levy, death panels, Monica, whether Bristol Palin is a good dancer or not). One thing I have definetely brought back with me from Puna this year, other than blisters and a mysterious black welt on my back which has scabbed over nicely, thank you, is the idea that when I walk out my door, I am walking into a culture that is completely foreign to me and which I reject. To keep it from bleeding into my inner sanctum, I have disconnected somewhat. I heartily recommend it. Part of My Puna is the feeling that I am disconnected from all of these ginned-up concerns, pretend controversies and cultural obsessions. I was in Puna on election day (voted by mail before I left) and, on that day, I finally made the trek to Haena Beach. It was a true Vision Quest and one I really shouldn't have been able to do with my little disabiliy. But I did. And, I met Adele! -- she of the twin plantation homes. When my friend and I hiked back, the sun was still brilliant and high in the sky. And so we made some drinks and were about to jump in the pool when a mainland friend called to inform us of a particular result in the election which she found objectionable. It was a jarring and unwelcome call. We refused to let this so-called reality intrude, kept it short, downed our Pog-a-ritas and got tangled up in refreshing blue.
I, for one, am sick of the Church of the Poisoned Mind, and won't take the chalice anymore. Lamont has it right -- just go and forget about all this stuff.