I was talking with a friend over dinner last night about Death Valley (she's leaving for a trip there soon) and this reminded me of the fact that I was supposed to do a few more posts on my recent "off-planet" trip to the same place. So here goes:
Why Do I Need All That Other Stuff Day. Right now you're thinking, "Why do I need all that other stuff?". It's the feeling you get (for a while) when you're out in the desert, just you and the tent, and the stuff on the picnic table. You're cooking asparagus to go with your red pepper and avocado salad, to have as a side with your delicious stewed chicken (with a bit of red wine in the sauce) on a bed of couscous. You're feeling content with the world (the sandstorm of the night before that filled every crevice with sand while you were trying to put up your tent in the middle of it is just a distant memory), and the sun will soon set, beautifully, behind the mountains to the West. Ahead of you to come that evening is some quality thinking on a full belly, some dozing by a crackling campfire, the murmur of other campers in the (you hope) distance, the small chunk of dark chocolate you'll break off the bar you brought.... and that single slow-burning shot of the 15 year old Dalwhinnie that you always treat yourself to later in the tent when on a camping trip, before eventually blowing out the candle lamp and sleeping. The "other stuff" refers to all the trappings of everyday existence of your regular life.... You know: A house. A house full of stuff. Yep, Stuff. Stuff you mostly don't use every day. Stuff you collect on trips and bring back and that just sits there. Stuff you can't throw away. How many chairs and tables and knives and forks and pots and pans and cups and saucers and shoes and socks and pants and shirts and bedrooms and bathrooms and back issues of the New Yorker does one really need? You're thinking that the stuff we surround ourselves with on a day to day basis seems so... superfluous -at least for a while- at times like this when you're managing a few days on a cute little camping stove, two cooking pans, some bowls, a big sharp knife, a cosy tent, some good hiking boots.....
Another sandstorm will come the next day, followed by some rain, and then you'll think of your garden at home, and how your stuff at home is all dry and sand-free ..... and you'll snap right back to your senses. Happy Why Do I Need All That Other Stuff Day*. -cvj (*Apologies to Girls Are Pretty.)
