Peter in the Wild
July 4, 2025
I had plenty I was going to write about, this being the 4th of July and all and our democracy is in peril and there is absolutely nothing to celebrate. I’ll save it for tomorrow’s blog.
Because I’d much rather write about this:
We gave Peter an Inreach GPS thingie many years ago (probably the first time he did — attempted — the John Muir Trail, SOLO, at age 19 or so, maybe 20). The deal was: we buy you an Inreach, you use it to let us know where you are. He definitely used it on that JMT trip (good thing), but more often than not, he forgot to take it on his various backpack trips and we were left to worry about his safety and whereabouts. Grrr.
But a few minutes ago, Jim and I both got pinged! This means Peter has marked his location and is sending it, via satellite, to us, his ever loving (and I do mean ever loving!) parents. This is the note I get in my phone:
His Inreach is called Peter in the Wild in my contacts. It is a thrill for this mom to get a message from Peter in the Wild, let me tell you.
I responded to the text, as you can see, but I’m not sure that is the platform for a response. When you click on the link, it takes you to the map (see above) and it has a message box that you can use. I did that, as well.
So he and Maya, and some friends, appear to be in the UP.. in a thick forest adjacent to Lake Superior. How ’bout that! Hope they’re warm, mosquito-free, and having a great time! We’ll see them on Monday in Ann Arbor.
Happy happy!!
Zen
July 3, 2025
I did not know Zen, other than to know that he was a friend of both Jay’s and Chris’s. I knew he was a surfer and an artist, and liked by everyone. Even way back in high school, he was considered legend.
Three days ago he jumped off the cliffs at Bluff Cove.
I emailed Jay and Chris as soon as I heard the news (via FB), and Chris called right back with as many details as he had. He’d already gathered with others in the tight surfing community of PV to try and process what had happened just hours before. It’s an achingly sad story of someone who was an incredible talent, a friend to everyone, a huge local figure, much respected and so very beloved.. who suffered from depression and just couldn’t beat it.
Jay and I exchanged a bunch of emails as he told me stories of some of their surfing adventures. Chris and Zen collaborated on a number of art pieces and spent decades surfing together in Southern California and Mexico.
His family, including his artist mom Gemma, were a PV institution.
I’ve been perusing his FB page tonight, reading comments from so many people.. and so many people I know.
Here’s a platter that Chris threw and Zen etched. It sat on mom and dad’s living room table for as long as I can remember.
Some of his varied art…
Immediately recognizable! How well I know that view.
I hope he’s found peace.
He’s Eating Us Alive
July 2, 2025
I’ve finally come to the conclusion that, yes, trump is really, really good at getting exactly what he wants. If he’s your guy then you are winning big. He’s done it. The office of the President of the United States is inarguably the most powerful position in the world, but he’s taken it to another level. He’s got not only every fucking element in our country by the tail, he’s got the whole world bending a knee to him. He did it. In spite of just about every country hating the fucker, he’s got pretty much the whole bunch of them begging to be loved and accepted by him. They may talk tough, but then they capitulate to his every demand. He’s got the entire republican party scared out of their wits to cross him, he’s got corporations, law firms, universities, and a good part of the media all falling in line. How he managed all of this in such short order I’ll never understand. But damn, bullies gonna bully and it sure seems to work. If you threaten and humiliate and lie and manipulate, people fold. At least it’s working for him. And with his propaganda machine running at full tilt and the right wing media amplifying absolutely everything he says, he’s been able to fool half the country to go along with an agenda that hurts a huge percentage of them.
Because, his objective was never to govern, never to be a leader for all of us. His objective was simple this second time around: stay out of prison; exact revenge against those who would hold him accountable; and, as always, indulge in corrupt self-enrichment. Period. Along the way, he requires a pathological degree of ego stroking, revels in humiliating and berating anyone who challenges him, and he’s playing a fuck of a lot of golf. He is absolutely drunk on himself. It’s just nauseating.
He’s not smart enough to do the policy stuff or mastermind the court battles — that’s the domain of the Steven Millers and Russ Voughts — but he’s more than willing to let them run the tables as long as he can claim all the credit.
So, yeah.. he’s winning. And the rest of us (like, the whole world, planet and everything that is decent, kind and humane) are just screwed. We have no tools for this, and apparently no strategy. We poor dems just keep playing by the rules, operating as though decency, the rule of law, and goodwill will prevail in the end. I’m not sure anymore.
I’m so angry and so frustrated. Willing to fight on, of course, and will. But the unfairness of our current reality… that one stupid, damaged, ego-driven, depraved, morally bankrupt punk ever got a hold of this much power, that so many have just rolled over and let him take the helm, out of fear or their own self interests…. that his tactics even work, just kills me. It’s profoundly unjust.
As I’ve said for 10 years, he is ruining us. He is eating us alive.
~~~
It does soothe my roiled soul to at least make fun of him.. so here are a few faves of late:
We Are the Champions.. of the World
July 1, 2025
Little T Peterson hits the big time.
After thousands of Spider games over a decade or two (or somewhere between), I slid right into the #1 slot on a game last night (!).
Proof:
Further proof:
I’ve appeared numerous times on the Top 25 Leaderboard .. which is exciting enough. But this was the first time I’ve been at #1 and I have to say.. it really tickled me. Had it not been 2:00am, I would have woken Jim up.. I mean, it was big news! But I decided to wait ’til this morning. I walked into his office and asked if he wanted my autograph. LOL.
One of these days, I’ll go back through all my Top 25 screen shots (of course, right?) and see how close I’ve gotten to the #1 slot. But with 105,061 photos, that could take awhile.
Time was, my Spider habit was very concerning. A couple of times, I orchestrated my own intervention, removing the app from my phone because my addiction seemed a wee unhealthy. Now, I’m not so addicted. I play, but mostly sporadically. The NYT puzzles have largely supplanted Spider as my puzzle love interest and I’m very okay with that.
Life of Wry 