Tuesday, May 28, 2013

A Memorial Path Less Traveled

It has been my custom of late to attend the downtown Memorial Day services each year.  Mostly because it's a great photo opportunity but also because it is a moving ceremony and being a veteran myself, I have an appreciation and respect for such things.  But this year was different.  It doesn't feel the same.  Frankly, I've about had a belly full of "Real Americans" and their waving flags and trumped-up heroes.

In a nutshell... simply wearing a uniform does not make you a hero.  Truth be told, not one in ten thousand soldiers have ever done anything close to heroic and while cops and firefighters sometimes do do something heroic mostly, it's a fat government job with benefits the great majority of us only wish we had.  There was a time in this town where you had to be born into the job of a firefighter to even have a chance at it and you had damned sure better not be black.  In my town, there are still several serious job-discrimination lawsuits against the firefighters and every city in America is sinking under the weight of their outrageous pensions.  Retire at 3/4 pay after 20 years with full medical benefits?  Bull shit.

Of course, I try to tell myself that I shouldn't be angry at them, that I should be angry that the rest of us don't have those same benefits after a lifetime of productive work, something that could actually be possible if it weren't for the despicable thieves that inhabit Wall Street and Washington.

But this year was different.  I popped out of bed about 4:30 AM, full of piss and vinegar and decided on a whim to take a ride up north to visit one of my favorite haunts, one that I hadn't seen in a while, the Okefenokee Swamp.



The Okefenokee is a vast expanse of swamp and pine flatwoods in southeast Georgia.  Sometime in the late 19th Century, a couple of idiots decided they were going to drain the swamp so that they could harvest the wood and began digging a giant ditch to accomplish same.  Fortunately they failed, but the ditch they dug is now one of three entrances to the swamp, The Canal Entrance.  Usually overgrown and teeming with wildlife, the swamp was devastated by drought and wildfires a couple of years ago and huge areas of the swamp that were once forest are now bare.  This is a view of the canal, once canopied by trees.

Some of the flatwoods.  But don't be fooled by this photograph.  The ground here is soggy and after a month of good rain, any depression is filled with water and the green sprouts and undergrowth are thriving and with it, everything else including the deer, bear and cat populations.
I came across a wonderful colony of Pitcher Plants.  These are carnivorous plants that lure insects, and anything else small enough to fit, into their scented, water-filled stems where strong chemicals soon make short work of their guests.  The insides of the plants are covered in short downward facing needles that assure that once a guest has checked in, they will never leave.  This is a fairly rare and endangered species.

I was thrilled to find the Pitchers blooming.  It's the first time I have ever seen them in bloom and, as you can see, the flower is lovely.

I don't know what this is, but I believe it to be an orchid.  Whatever, it is certainly beautiful.  The flowers are only about an inch-and-a-half wide.  The Okefenokee is one of the last places on the east coast where the silence is deafening.  There is no man-made noise here, only the sounds of nature.  One of the reasons I love this place so.  While taking this photo I was treated to a sound that I haven't heard in years, a Quail calling.  Bob-white!  Bob-white!

I was finally able to introduce Skeeter to an alligator.  I kept him on a tight leash as he began sniffing closer and closer to the motionless beast.  I've been around gators my entire life and knew exactly when he was going to make his move and at that moment, I took a big step towards him and stomped my foot, which immediately sent him into the water with a splash.  Skeeter was startled by how fast this creature moves and now knows what they look and smell like and that he needs to beware.  Exactly what I hoped to accomplish.  I spend a lot of time in the woods and swamps with Skeet off the leash and I want him aware of the dangers.  Although, I must say, the knothead is still totally unaware of snakes if they don't move.

All-in-all, a pretty good Memorial Day spent in a place that isn't yet totally screwed-up by mankind.  At the rate we're going, we will soon have a Memorial Day for Mother Earth herself and soon thereafter, if there's anyone left, a Memorial Day for whats left of the rest of us.

14 comments:

  1. I think your idea of going to the swamp was better than all the nationalistic stuff that goes on. I would like to visit that swamp. Great photos. What saves the swamp is that it's a swamp. Otherwise, the developers would be thinking of ways to build patio homes.

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    1. I thought the swamp idea was far better myself. I love the quiet and cleanliness of it. No doubt that the patio homes are on the horizon. The major thing holding them back at this point is that all of the land surrounding the swamp, millions of acres of land, are owned by timber companies, primarily Georgia Pacific, and they aren't about to sell.

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  2. I lost respect for heroes of the military breed (Yes I am a Veteran) when I read of how John McCain is held up as military hero after having crashed a number of planes and the only reason he was shot down was because he disobeyed a direct order to break off the engagement. Where fools rush in they go to the Hanoi Hilton.

    I honestly thin that the Vite Nam era veterans although recognized now are not going to fall into the nationalistic jingoism. I just hope, though more highly regarded this last 11 years worth of veterans don't fall into it either. Memorial day isn't for us so why the parades anyway, if they wanted to do it right they would yearly disinter the dead, cover their coffins in flags and put them on caissons and pull them through the streets to remind the 99% who do not have time to stand for their nation of them that did and died for it.

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    1. From what I've seen, this current breed are totally into it. Higher levels of PTSD and psycho problems than any generation previous, etc. And you know what the difference is? They are all volunteers. They are all into it for what they can get out of it. Of course, they weren't counting on being killed or mutilated, that was supposed to happen to someone else.

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  3. Too bloody true. I know nothing about US fire-fighters, but there are professions here which have had their life-of-riley curtailed and salaries docked. The police have had a wonderful time up to now, but no more.

    Too bloody true about our earth too. I have begun to think that it’s somebody else’s turn to get hot and worked up about what we’re doing. I want to enjoy what’s left and the devil take the hindmost. Not very socially responsible, but I try to do as little damage as possibly myself.

    As for heroes? Don’t get me started. It annoys me no end when anybody who is in any kind of uniform instantly becomes a hero. Daren’t say anything, though.

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  4. That is a very good point about the uniform. Calley is no hero in my book. He isn't even a soldier. And I've been mistreated by enough cops to know that if they didn't wear that uniform, they would try acting a tad more civil.

    But I do think about young folk who gave their lives on that time. Here on the East Coast we have graves that begin with the revolutionary war, go into 1812, Civil War, WW1, 2, Nam, Irag and Afghanistan.. I look at the gravestones and mark their age. I wonder if the ones who went in the civil war were drafted--did they die in battle or from shitty medical care? This was during a time when the average poor person lived to 50 because there were just so many ways to die: war was only one, Famine and disease killed a lot of Americans in the 19th century. They deserve their own memorial day.

    Sorry I haven't been around, but I haven't visited any blogs--work was very intense and I forgot I even had a blog. I hope you are well.

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    1. Doing well Susan, thank you, and have missed you. I have relatives, distant and otherwise, who have died in each of the wars you mentioned, plus the Seminole Indian War. It is good to honor and remember them. But this whole hero worship thing has gotten like society in general... everyone gets a ribbon for "participation." Poppycock.

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  5. And WM, I don't think too many soldiers go for the jingoism anymore as they come back here to no jobs and for profit universities trying to siphon off their GI money without counseling them on what degree program to choose or whether they will finish it once the $ runs out. There are a lot of people scamming vets, and they aren't even politicians. The earth will sink under the greed for the almighty buck.

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  6. Yes, indeed, the term hero has become essentially meaningless.

    I love the Okefeokee! I have some great childhood memories from there and took my own kids to see it a few years ago.

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  7. nice...what a great way to spend memorial day....great pics of the swamp too...those pitcher plants are very cool...as are the gators...used to get those in the back yard when we lived in fl...

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  8. What wonderful pictures. I'm glad you enjoyed Memorial Day and, hero or not, thank you for your service.

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  9. perfect way to spend a day. Pitcher plants are also... Jack in the Pulpits ? They must live around swampy areas and edge of forests? I so want to find some and photograph them. Nice post!

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