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.