More Fragments...

SERIOUSLY?

I don't know who Jon and Kate are. I don't care. What bothers me is that so many people DO seem to care. I can't get away from the story. It pervades even mainstream media outlets that I once thought were credible. If your life isn't at least as interesting as theirs, I want to ask you two questions: 1) Why not? 2) What are you doing about it?

I NEVER KNEW THIS

When I visited Antietam National Battlefield last weekend, I learned something that I thought was fascinating. Beginning in 1890, as veterans of the greatest battles of the Civil War began to look for proper ways to commemorate the struggles in which they participated, they faced the usual issues involved in raising funds and procuring the land necessary for "military parks." When things looked bleak, they found an unexpected ally. A report by the Military Affairs Committee of the House of Representatives noted the following:

"The preservation for national study of the lines of decisive battles, especially when the tactical movements were unusual both in numbers and military ability, and when the fields embraced great natural difficulties, may properly be regarded as a matter of national importance."

They felt these sites had value as the subject of military study, and so it was that the five original National Battlefields - Antietam, Chickamauga, Gettysburg, Shiloh and Vicksburg - were created. They were administered by the War Department and treated as open-air classrooms for officers. To enable their "pupils" to get a better view of the surrounding terrain, in 1896, the War Department built this tower adjacent to the famous "Bloody Lane" at Antietam...

[Photo by Thad Zajdowicz at JPGMag.com]

According to a sign near the tower, these parks were "turned over to the National Park Service in 1933 as the government tried to consolidate public lands." I always wondered why those major battlefields were so well-preserved. Now I know. Efforts to protect them began long before anybody could build convenience stores there.

Incidentally, the view above would have looked like this after the battle...

[Photo Courtesy of the National Park Service]

If you've never been to any of these battlefields (I have been to all except Shiloh), I urge you to go. They provide some of the most spectacular settings for the study of Civil War history and the remembrance of those who fought.

A DAY IN THE LIFE

I wonder if I have given the impression that I spend my time exploring, eating mussels and drinking wine. I suppose I spent more than enough time doing that initially, but the last several weeks have been difficult, to say the least.

In June, a runaway tow truck destroyed my car, cable and internet service at my hovel went awry for a week, my cell phone died and, thanks to a glitch in my provider's website, its replacement took 10 days to arrive. All of this was followed by the Metro crash on June 22 - which made getting anywhere difficult - and then reports of multiple episodes of fraudulent charges on two different credit cards of mine, the net value of which was around $1400. It could have been worse.

Add to that the fact that the resumes and cover letters I send out often seem to me as if they are just disappearing into outer space. Although I get occasional gems such as this - an e-mail I just received as I am typing:

Thank you for your interest in Job ID: xxx,

Upon thorough review of your qualifications and experience, we will not be considering you further for this position.

Please continue to view available openings by visiting our website– www.xxxxx.jobs. If you find a position of interest for which you believe you are qualified, we encourage you to sign in as a returning applicant and complete a new application.

Again, thank you for your interest and the time you took to participate in the application process. We wish you success in your career exploration.

I just checked my records. I applied for that job on June 4th. C'est la vie.

It is sometimes a struggle to make each day a productive one, but I do my best. I start with Kashi "Go Lean" oatmeal (which I highly recommend), fruit and orange juice. Sometimes I have a whole wheat roll with it. I try not to eat too early so I won't be starved before dinner time. I check and answer e-mails, pay attention to the weather - especially if I'm going into DC (I also look for Metro alerts if I am riding the Red Line), and spend a bit of time keeping up with the news. In late morning, I usually make my way - lugging my laptop - to a Starbucks. I grab a big cup of coffee, and try to act as though I were in my office - a place to get things done. I scour a few different websites for new job postings and compose cover letters.

Sometimes I make phone calls concerning the little bit of business I am still doing in Gainesville or for Push Button Productions. Sometimes I call family members or friends just to check in. Either way, getting to a Starbucks usually involves a walk (to the Metro to go downtown, or to the nearest Starbucks a mile and a half up the road) or a bike ride. Besides coffee, for the past couple of weeks, I have had only orange juice, sparkling water and sugar free lemonade to drink. Dinner, lately, is usually a Lean Cuisine preservative-free meal.

I am hoping that efforts to keep my body healthy will keep my spirits up as well. As of this morning, I am seventeen pounds lighter than when I left Gainesville in early May, and I feel better and better each weekend when I go out for a serious bike ride.

It would certainly put me at ease if I were able to type here a nice entry about accepting a great job in DC. It may still happen. But, while I am frequently discouraged by the search, I remind myself that I will be better off, regardless of what happens. As I recently wrote to Kami in an e-mail:

I don't know what will become of my little venture into the nation's capitol. I'm glad I tried though. Whatever happens, I know I will be better off because of it. I've had lots of time alone to think. I see myself then - not so long ago - and what I had become. That's not me. Not any more. It's been interesting to see who has made efforts to stay in touch with me and who hasn't. In both cases, it hasn't always been the people I expected it to be. It makes me wish I had been better at telling some how much I appreciated them. It's never too late to start, right?

The New Clothing Enterprise continues...