Blog #8

Bartleby, the Scrivener

For this week I would like to explore Herman Melville's story of Bartleby, the Scrivener. The first thing that came to my mind when reading this story was all the weird people I have worked with over the years. I think it's some kind of rule that no matter what kind of work you do or what kind of organization you work for, you will always have to deal with strange co-workers. By the way, for personal reasons, mainly because I'm afraid some of these cats might read this and come hunt me down, I won't divulge any names of people I mention or the name of the organizations I worked for. One of my favorite examples of a really weird person I worked with, was at my last job where this one guy would sit in the back of the lunch room everyday and talk to himself about vampires and werewolf's. Ya, I'm not making this up folks, and this is years before Twilight, so he wasn't just a hardcore Edward or Jacob fan! There are people at my current job who are definitely out there as well. One person that comes to mind is always reminding everyone to cut the RFID tags off your clothes so the government would be able to track your moves. What is it with these people??? I'm sure many of you have a number of similar examples about people you work with that are strange, but unlike Bartleby, the ones I have mentioned have not ended up in prison and starved themselves to death, yet. It is my opinion though, that Bartleby's issues were driven by the sometimes overwhelming pressures and burdens that work can put on us. There have definitely been times in my life when I have felt like just giving up on my career and walking out the door due to stress or major demands on performance. However, it has never escalated to the point where I gave up on life, just as Bartleby did. One the other hand, it may have something to do with undesirable work such as working in the Dead Letters Office, as Bartleby did. Social workers and heath care workers are said to have high rates of depression. Could this be due to dealing with death and painful situations on a daily basis? I think the answer is obvious. One thing that I have had to learn the hard way, is that you cannot take your work home with you. If you do, you may soon find yourself in Bartleby's shoes.

Blog #7

Henry David Thoreau

 Some might say Thoreau was a crazy for conducting his "experiment" and moving to the woods for two years, but I would like to suggest that he was on to something. While he wasn't totally secluded from other human contact, maybe he just wanted to get away for the complexities of life for a while. I am an avid hiker and have made many backpacking trips to multiple locations. I absolutely love getting away from everything for a few days at a time and having nothing but nature to deal with. Below are some photographs some friends and I took during one of our backpacking trips. These were taken at Savage Gulf, which is a wilderness area located in Tennessee's South Cumberland State Park. I have included, for obvious reasons, a picture of Hobbs Cabin, which is located deep within the wilderness area. After reading about Thoreau's cabin, I immediately thought about Hobbs Cabin and how it reminded me of his situation. As you can see, there practically nothing to this cabin but a fire place and a few bunks. It really puts things into perspective when it's just you and nature, miles from anyone, and a few supplies to live on for a few days. One thing that is especially difficult, in this day and age, is leaving your cell phone at home during a trip like this. Now you might think that is a crazy thing to do as someone could get hurt and you would have no way to contact anyone for help. However, there is a certain feeling of exhilaration in doing so! I really believe that we as a society are so "plugged in", that it would do everyone a bit of good to try this sometime and I challenge each of you to do so. 

One final example that reminds me of Thoreau's actions is a story of someone who I think is an extraordinary person. The story of Dick Proenneke is one of my favorite true life adventures. Proenneke is one of those people you can't help but be amazed by all his accomplishments. He served in the Navy during WWII, was a skilled carpenter, diesel mechanic, cattle rancher, and a commercial fisherman among many other things. A sickness which left him bedridden for almost six months, while he was in the Navy, made him come to appreciate life and it was during this time which he developed his plan to move to the wilderness of Alaska. In 1968, he began construction on a log cabin, completely from scratch and by hand, in the Twin Lakes region of the Alaskan wilderness. Perhaps most incredibly is the fact that Proenneke started this adventure while he was in his 50's! One thing I can tell you for sure is that I don't see myself leaving society at the age of 50 to build a log cabin in the middle of nowhere. Like Thoreau, I believe that he wanted to get back to a simpler way of life. While Thoreau built a similar cabin, he didn't quite remove himself from the human race as much as Proenneke did, but I believe their intentions were very similar. Below is a video which gives you a brief look at Proenneke's journey. It is about 9 minutes long, but I think you will enjoy it very much. 

Blog #6

Fanny Fern
I have to say, the first time reading through Fern's sketches, I initially thought that this was a woman scorned and one who had it out for the male race. Maybe it was her second marriage to Samuel Farrington that did her in, but she really has a way of sticking it to men. The more I think about it though, I think she just might have our number fellas!

Times were much different then and women were viewed completely different, as far as their roles in society and the home go. Granted, Fanny was writing in a totally different world than ours today, but I believe many of her examples of men hold true to this day. Such examples can be found in Aunt Hetty on Matrimony. After reading this piece, one thing in particular that caught my attention was her note about the husband leaving the house and apologizing at the same time for not doing some errand he was supposed to do the day before. I had a good laugh with my wife after sharing this with her, because I have to admit that I am guilty of doing the exact same thing. One of my favorite sayings to the wife when it comes to doing things around the house is, "in just a minute." Of course a minute turns in to hours and even days in some cases, but hey, we eventually get the job done right guys? Something else in her story that is similar to my case, and many other couples I'm sure, is her example of the wife having to deal with the children at home all day and feeling crazy for it. While this is one thing that is less and less common these days, there are still plenty of stay-at-home mothers who take care of the house and children. As a father of two children, one and four years old, I can tell you right now that this is every bit, and more in some cases, of a full time job. There have been several times when the kids are fussy or running wild through the house and I welcome the opportunity to go to work! Fern might be just a little cynical though in her assessment about love being a farce and marriage not being all it's cracked up to be. There is no doubt that marriage is hard work, but there is also no doubt in my mind that two people who truly love each other can live their entire lives happy together. 

One final thing that I believe Fern does well in pegging men, is her depiction of them in Hungry Husbands. I don't know about the rest of the men out there, but I sure do love food! Not only to I love to eat it, but I love to talk about it with other people as well. Fern makes mention of this in telling about how men are more pleasant when they are discussing food. Unfortunately, I believe she is right again when she talks about how savage men can be when they are indeed hungry. I can tell you from personal experience, that if I go too long without eating, I become very grumpy. So much so in some cases, I don't want to even talk to anyone until I get some food in me. Hunger can be a very powerful thing, as it has driven, not only men, but people in general to do some crazy things. Using hunger to subdue your men though ladies, that's just flat out cruel. Of course, you do have to cook on a regular basis for this to work, so for all you ladies out there who prefer to order out, better luck next time!