Everyone keeps saying that the hills in Missouri are just as bad and never let up either, but today went by a lot smoother than I expected. I put away about 49 miles by 11am and then did the rest until about 4:30. The morning was mostly flat, and although I was fighting some nasty headwinds, it was a nice change of pace. The land was mostly marsh and flooded which made for some very interesting sights. New birds and plants that I haven't seen yet were all around. I saw a lot of cranes and even a few armadillos! Granted, the armadillos were all "sleeping" in the shoulder of the road, but still, I've never seen one out of the zoo.
Crossing the river was not as significant as one might expect. The bridge was just two lanes, no tolls, nothing fancy, and pretty boring looking. I guess the river was pretty big, but all in all, it isn't really blow me away. The water, at least in that area was an opaque brown with little current. It looked more like a painting of a river than the mightiest body of water in the US.
The last town on the Illinois side was Chester. This is apparently the home of Popeye. It wasn't totally clear whether this was the home of Popeye's creator or the character himself, but it didn't appear to me that Chester, Illinois had much of a maritime culture that one might expect to see as being the inspiration for the famous sailor man. Either way, they had a few Popeye collectible shops, none of which I patronized. I like spinach, but not from a can. Come on, Popeye, try the fresh stuff.
I've been seeing a lot of churches along the way, and some of them bore curious titles. For example, the "[Town] Freewill Baptist Church". As one of the most common titles, it seems that I am the only one to pick up on a glaring issue with this nomenclature. To me, it is obvious that the belief in god and the concept of free will are definitively contradictory. You can't have both. If you belief that an all-knowing and all-powerful being controls all activity on the planet which he himself set in motion, where is there room for free will? By definition, exercising free will would be doing things that are unpredictable to a supposedly omniscient being, thereby negating his existence altogether.
Additionally, if all things that have been and will be are already known to god, it is inconceivable that any person could possibly practice free will. Everything you do is already determined and cannot be changed. The two ideas are mutually exclusive.
Oh well. Maybe the name means something totally different, but I like to take things literally.
This also raised another question in my mind. Earlier I mentioned the sleeping armadillo, which we all can recognize as a thinly veiled euphamism for the armadillo's true and unfortunate state. But this is an example of a lie that we all grow up hearing. "He's just sleeping," "She's in a better place," "it's all part of a bigger plan," etc. When concepts seem too confusing for children to understand, adults make up alternate truths in an attempt to ease the confusion. What, though, could be more confusing than gradually discovering that your entire comprehension of reality is based in fallacy. Your parents buy the gifts, your mom leaves the money under the pillow, your body becomes worm food, sometimes things really are just curious coincidence.
What if we spent the most crucial years of our development absorbing truth instead of fiction?it may seem more confusing at first, but out society could be souch more advanced if we got a head start on wrapping our heads around the big concepts when we were young.
I'm not saying I know the answer, but what I am saying is that "I don't know." I think more peole should use these words when they are the truth, rather than resort to the most conveniently packaged explanation. Just because something eludes your ability to readily comprehend it does not mean that it cannot be rationally and logically explained.
Sorry if this gets ranty or preachy. I figured it would be more important to me to jot down my crazy thoughts along the way than to just give a summary of hills and landscapes.
It's time for bed. Looking forward to another day of vertical climbs and wild vistas. Sorry I didn't go into great detail about the sights today, I'm just not feeling very creative right now. I think it's this whole 'mental exhaustion' thing.
More record heat this week and fewer towns to stop in. Things really spread out on this side of the Mighty Mississipp'.
Location:Farmington, MO
I like the rambling thoughts. As much as the landscape is certainly beautiful your thoughts are what makes the trip unique. You have lots of time to ponder.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, Appalachian school districts are in desperate need of teachers. You may need to branch out and learn to play the washboard, but I doubt you would be turned away.
Janice's sister in law Ginny here-I've been enjoying your adventures! Regarding Santa, the tooth fairy, death, etc, and kids. It's tough to know. I tell my kids that Santa, tooth fairy are "magical" and they are expressions of "love." Regarding death, I tell my kids that I don't know and I tell them something about many religions and their efforts to make sense of the world, universe, etc. I feel they can develop their own views on what I call "the great mystery." Thanks for letting us travel along!
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