Day 94 November 22, 2009 Down to the nitty gritty!

Day 94
22 November 2009

Today ECOEE went their separate ways to take care of what each of us needs to take care of. We’re three days from the end of the road and its crunch time, but it seems like we’ve been crunching for three months now, so where is all of the six packs of abs at? All joking aside we are nearing the end of ECOEE 2009, and there’s a strange mix of anxiety and apprehension to go back home. I can say that all good things must end, but that would be cliché; I could say that this has been the best day of my life, but that would not give this trip justice; I could say that I’m ready to turn the van around and do another three months on the road, but I would be lying.

To quote from Sam Negri’s Earth’s Mystical Grand Canyon, “The best explorers are seldom as brilliant as they appear years after their death. In the earthly excursions that established their fame, they often stumbled, miscalculated distances, encountered unheard-of diseases, and sometimes suffered the ridicule of those who had stayed at home with the dog, the pipe, and the afghan.
But for most of these adventurous souls, there were other rewards, the deepest of which remain vague to this day: it is the joy of discovery. It is not only the palpable world, but the invisible hand that stays beyond it, beckoning the traveler from the beaten path to the trackless wild.”

We are our own community, free to roam amongst the societies of North America. We are like a blossoming lotus of discovery comprised of our individual petal of energy. We were only a seedling in August, but are now in full bloom. The season is changing and some petals may feel wilted, as eventually we all will, and be blown in our own direction. And when we have had time to reflect on the sum of the parts that adds up to ECOEE 2009, we will fully appreciate this social experiment.
Look around, both at where we are, and into the eyes of your comrades. Realize that even though we may have compulsions to strangle one another in these tough times, WE will make it through them. When we look back ten years from now all of the small rifts, and full fledge fights will become belly laughs, and the only thing left to talk about will sound like the beginning of a classic book, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…”

Thank you all for the greatest experience of my life. Please forgive my shortcomings, faults, and explosions – just like an old football coach of mine would say, “if I yell at you, it at least means that I haven’t forgotten about you.” I will never forget you all and this incredible opportunity.

Peace Love Happiness
Ronald Lloyd Wildermuth III
“Uncle Ronnie”