As we covered the last miles toward our first stop, my mind drifted back to how this whole Gor thing had begun in the first place. I am not even sure of the date, but I do have a time reference. My nephew, John, was leaving for the Navy. He was a brilliant kid who had not adapted well to school and was wasting his potential and heading for trouble. The service was the perfect answer for him. Just before he left, he showed up at my door and handed me a box with 13 paperback books. He told me he thought I would enjoy them.
I thanked him, and he was off to Navy basic training. He was also correct. I did enjoy them.
I wish I could say that fireworks went off in my mind or an inner voice in my brain screamed "Eureka", when I first read them. I have heard men speak of how they reacted to the books when they first read them. Many females have said similar things. They felt that the books were putting into words feelings and thoughts that had been inside them for years and years. Even lily related something much like this when she spoke of reading "Slave Girl" for the first time. It wasn't like that with me at all. I liked them, and was excited about the plot and was awed a bit by the sense of honor of some of the characters. I was, perhaps, a bit critical of the writing style. I remember thinking that he had seemed to get a bit excessive about this "slave" girl business, but most exciting adventure stories or films had to have a bit of "love interest" in them, so I skimmed quickly through the mushy parts to get back to the action.
After I had read all of them, I put the box in a safe place in the attic knowing that I would want to reread them sometime in the future. When that time rolled around, I went to retrieve the box, but it was gone. I discovered later that my ex-wife had tossed them into the trash, because, as she put it, "they had trashy covers and so that is where they belonged." I suppose that could easily have been the end of Gor for me, but fate is inexorable, and even as I looked around for some other reading material, the internet was being invented.
(A side note: Later on during the tour we will be visiting John in Virginia Beach, Virginia. I have not seen him since I became a Gorean, nor even talked to him long enough to speak of it. I will be anxious to ask him how he came by the books, and why he thought I might be the person to give them to when he went to the navy.)
Gorean Adventure Tour A Gorean's travel log
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Continue Day 2
Now, of course, it requires a bit of symbolism to see our 1998 Oldsmobile as a tarn, but the Garvin Nuvi GPS helps the image. Lily discovered that an option for the visual display was not only a wide variety of automobiles, but a giant black bird, obviously a tarn, that flaps his wings as he follows the magenta route to our next destination.
The trip itself was uneventful. The interesting thing was my mental state of mind. I was aware of this first at a rest stop in Kentucky. Lily was inside and I was watching Hussy out in the parking lot. I found myself watching the trees across the highway, and listening to the noise of butterflies flapping their wings. My senses were so keen that it felt as if I were high. Things seemed slowed down and I had a heightened sense of awareness. I thought for a moment that I had just finished smoking a joint of some really good pot.
As I thought about it, I realized that what was doing this was a total absence of stress. For years, I have been trapped into the Earth culture mode of hurry, hurry, worry, worry, and busy, busy. Now, I knew that I actually am a fairly calm person who has always had low blood pressure and a very high explosion set point. Even so, there is something inside the people of Earth now, in their high tech, high mobile society, that pushes them into a pace of life that produces an internal, chemical state of stress. John Norman speaks about this in Marauders of Gor when he refers to the men of Earth as tragic insects hurrying from one nothing to the next fearing they might be late.
I suppose that was part of the reason that I selected the Hoosier National Forest as our first stop. We were going to spend a week in a campground that offered woods, fishing, and quiet, but very little else to do. There was a practical reason for this. We needed to shake out some changes that would help lily and I make it through the coming weeks. We needed to be much more organized, much more careful, and more aware of rest and health issues. Beyond this, however, was the need to allow our bodies to adapt to a slower pace of life that more closely mirrored the daily life of the Gorean of the books. I was thinking of the old Gorean saying. "Stop every so often and smell the talenders."
What surprised me was that this pace change came so quickly. We were only half way to our first destination. A long drive still loomed ahead, plus setting up the camp for the first time. Despite this, I could feel the tension and accumulated stress of years leaving my body creating this feeling of euphoria. I was touching my gypsy soul.
By the way, a word about Hussy. She is a very strange black cat. Lily calls her a cat-dog, and sometimes a feline kajira. We brought her home a couple of years ago when she was abandoned by her previous owners. I wanted her because we had a bit of a mouse problem in our downstairs apartment. She performed that original service with dispatch. She did like to bring the mice up to drop them, still alive and just a bit dazed, at our feet. Some managed to escape this game of hers by scurrying off when she looked up at us as if to say, "look at me." Still, within a few weeks, the mice were gone and none were ever seen again. Perhaps, they had not all been eaten, but at the very least, they decided to go live in a safer environment. We decided to move her upstairs and let her stay and she became a pet.
She was like a little lap dog. All she wanted to do was sit in our laps while we were at the computer or watching television. She even, sometimes, came to me when I called her like a devoted dog. Her one problem was that once every month, she became a shameless slut. I do not mean she went into heat. That is expected. Hussy turned into a slut, and always found her way outside and came back two or three days later. She would get pregnant, but could not seem to carry any kittens to full term, and lost the first couple of pregnancies. Finally, she had a litter of three. One had a deformed tail, but the others were fine. Just recently, she had five healthy kittens. When they were a little older, and I took a good look at them, I noticed that one looked like a squirrel, one looked like she was part skunk, and one looked a bit like this old guy that lived down the street. Two actually looked as if the fathers might be cats. See, a complete slut.
In fact, we had planned to name her slut, but there were kids involved at the time. We settled on hussy which was a word the kids wouldn't be so likely to misunderstand. When we started to plan the trip, we had to make a decision about Hussy. I suppose I expected to find a home for her, or leave her at the shelter. At least, that was the plan rolling around in the back of my mind. The reality was different. She is part of my household, and therefore my responsibility. It is interesting how the Gorean philosophy comes to your rescue at times. We can't take a cat on an extended 22 week cross country trip in a crowded car when we are going to be camping and staying with people. It would just be too hard and inconvient to take her, and things would be so much "easier" to just abandon her like her previous asshole owners. Hear the selfish Earth thinking there?
(just a word to my slaves and HOR girls here: Nothing would convince me to abandon even a stray black cat! Relax, you are safe. Unless you screw up really, really bad, or I find out you can't catch mice.)
The trip itself was uneventful. The interesting thing was my mental state of mind. I was aware of this first at a rest stop in Kentucky. Lily was inside and I was watching Hussy out in the parking lot. I found myself watching the trees across the highway, and listening to the noise of butterflies flapping their wings. My senses were so keen that it felt as if I were high. Things seemed slowed down and I had a heightened sense of awareness. I thought for a moment that I had just finished smoking a joint of some really good pot.
As I thought about it, I realized that what was doing this was a total absence of stress. For years, I have been trapped into the Earth culture mode of hurry, hurry, worry, worry, and busy, busy. Now, I knew that I actually am a fairly calm person who has always had low blood pressure and a very high explosion set point. Even so, there is something inside the people of Earth now, in their high tech, high mobile society, that pushes them into a pace of life that produces an internal, chemical state of stress. John Norman speaks about this in Marauders of Gor when he refers to the men of Earth as tragic insects hurrying from one nothing to the next fearing they might be late.
I suppose that was part of the reason that I selected the Hoosier National Forest as our first stop. We were going to spend a week in a campground that offered woods, fishing, and quiet, but very little else to do. There was a practical reason for this. We needed to shake out some changes that would help lily and I make it through the coming weeks. We needed to be much more organized, much more careful, and more aware of rest and health issues. Beyond this, however, was the need to allow our bodies to adapt to a slower pace of life that more closely mirrored the daily life of the Gorean of the books. I was thinking of the old Gorean saying. "Stop every so often and smell the talenders."
What surprised me was that this pace change came so quickly. We were only half way to our first destination. A long drive still loomed ahead, plus setting up the camp for the first time. Despite this, I could feel the tension and accumulated stress of years leaving my body creating this feeling of euphoria. I was touching my gypsy soul.
By the way, a word about Hussy. She is a very strange black cat. Lily calls her a cat-dog, and sometimes a feline kajira. We brought her home a couple of years ago when she was abandoned by her previous owners. I wanted her because we had a bit of a mouse problem in our downstairs apartment. She performed that original service with dispatch. She did like to bring the mice up to drop them, still alive and just a bit dazed, at our feet. Some managed to escape this game of hers by scurrying off when she looked up at us as if to say, "look at me." Still, within a few weeks, the mice were gone and none were ever seen again. Perhaps, they had not all been eaten, but at the very least, they decided to go live in a safer environment. We decided to move her upstairs and let her stay and she became a pet.
She was like a little lap dog. All she wanted to do was sit in our laps while we were at the computer or watching television. She even, sometimes, came to me when I called her like a devoted dog. Her one problem was that once every month, she became a shameless slut. I do not mean she went into heat. That is expected. Hussy turned into a slut, and always found her way outside and came back two or three days later. She would get pregnant, but could not seem to carry any kittens to full term, and lost the first couple of pregnancies. Finally, she had a litter of three. One had a deformed tail, but the others were fine. Just recently, she had five healthy kittens. When they were a little older, and I took a good look at them, I noticed that one looked like a squirrel, one looked like she was part skunk, and one looked a bit like this old guy that lived down the street. Two actually looked as if the fathers might be cats. See, a complete slut.
In fact, we had planned to name her slut, but there were kids involved at the time. We settled on hussy which was a word the kids wouldn't be so likely to misunderstand. When we started to plan the trip, we had to make a decision about Hussy. I suppose I expected to find a home for her, or leave her at the shelter. At least, that was the plan rolling around in the back of my mind. The reality was different. She is part of my household, and therefore my responsibility. It is interesting how the Gorean philosophy comes to your rescue at times. We can't take a cat on an extended 22 week cross country trip in a crowded car when we are going to be camping and staying with people. It would just be too hard and inconvient to take her, and things would be so much "easier" to just abandon her like her previous asshole owners. Hear the selfish Earth thinking there?
(just a word to my slaves and HOR girls here: Nothing would convince me to abandon even a stray black cat! Relax, you are safe. Unless you screw up really, really bad, or I find out you can't catch mice.)
Hoosier National Forrest stop 1
HISTORY
The Hoosier National Forest, in the hills of south central Indiana, provides a wide mix of opportunities and resources for people to enjoy. Rolling hills, back-country trails, and rural crossroad communities make this small but beautiful Forest a favorite!
The area which is now the Hoosier National Forest was used and inhabited continuously from as early as 12,000 years ago, first by Native Americans, and later by European and African Americans.
The earliest inhabitants traveled through the area as bands of hunter/gatherers in a time when mastodons, elk and bear roamed the land. They established trails, temporary camps, and quarries to extract stone for their tools.
Later, Native American cultural groups established seasonal camps and villages.
As time passed the inhabitants became more sedentary, established permanent villages, developed pottery, continued to hunt primarily the white-tailed deer, developed elaborate social, economic, and governmental systems, and cultivated the now familiar crops of corn, beans, and squash.
Explorers, traders, and adventurers came into what is now Indiana in the late 1600;s. However, it wasn't until 1816 when Indiana became a state that European American settlement began to intensify.
As European Americans acquired land, one of their first concerns was to clear the land of trees.
Southern Indiana boasted some of the finest hardwoods in the world. With the advent of the sawmill in 1860, extensive commercial forest clearing operations began. During the period following the Civil War, thousands of sawmills operated in Indiana.
Indiana's governor, Paul V. McNutt, and the 73rd Indiana Congress in June, 1934, asked the Forest Service to buy this land for the eventual creation of a National Forest.
=============================
CURRENT ACTIVITIES
Today, the parks service offers Camping, Hiking, Picnicing, Horse Riding, Hunting, Fishing, and miles of scenic trails.
=============================
Points of Interest
Charles C. Deam Wilderness - Indiana's only Congressionally designated wilderness area has 13,000 acres providing for solitude and a remote experience.
Hickory Ridge Lookout Tower - Constructed by the CCC in 1939. This historic tower is listed on the National Historic Lookout Register.
Hickory Ridge Lookout Tower - Constructed by the CCC in 1939. This historic tower is listed on the National Historic Lookout Register.
Rickenbaugh House - A stone house built in 1874, used as a local postoffice and church meeting house. Now on the National Register of Historic Places.
Caves and Karst - much of the Forest is underlain with caves and karst features. All caves are closed for use.
The Hoosier National Forest, in the hills of south central Indiana, provides a wide mix of opportunities and resources for people to enjoy. Rolling hills, back-country trails, and rural crossroad communities make this small but beautiful Forest a favorite!
The area which is now the Hoosier National Forest was used and inhabited continuously from as early as 12,000 years ago, first by Native Americans, and later by European and African Americans.
The earliest inhabitants traveled through the area as bands of hunter/gatherers in a time when mastodons, elk and bear roamed the land. They established trails, temporary camps, and quarries to extract stone for their tools.
Later, Native American cultural groups established seasonal camps and villages.
As time passed the inhabitants became more sedentary, established permanent villages, developed pottery, continued to hunt primarily the white-tailed deer, developed elaborate social, economic, and governmental systems, and cultivated the now familiar crops of corn, beans, and squash.
Explorers, traders, and adventurers came into what is now Indiana in the late 1600;s. However, it wasn't until 1816 when Indiana became a state that European American settlement began to intensify.
As European Americans acquired land, one of their first concerns was to clear the land of trees.
Southern Indiana boasted some of the finest hardwoods in the world. With the advent of the sawmill in 1860, extensive commercial forest clearing operations began. During the period following the Civil War, thousands of sawmills operated in Indiana.
Indiana's governor, Paul V. McNutt, and the 73rd Indiana Congress in June, 1934, asked the Forest Service to buy this land for the eventual creation of a National Forest.
=============================
CURRENT ACTIVITIES
Today, the parks service offers Camping, Hiking, Picnicing, Horse Riding, Hunting, Fishing, and miles of scenic trails.
=============================
Points of Interest
Charles C. Deam Wilderness - Indiana's only Congressionally designated wilderness area has 13,000 acres providing for solitude and a remote experience.
Hickory Ridge Lookout Tower - Constructed by the CCC in 1939. This historic tower is listed on the National Historic Lookout Register.
Hickory Ridge Lookout Tower - Constructed by the CCC in 1939. This historic tower is listed on the National Historic Lookout Register.
Rickenbaugh House - A stone house built in 1874, used as a local postoffice and church meeting house. Now on the National Register of Historic Places.
Caves and Karst - much of the Forest is underlain with caves and karst features. All caves are closed for use.
Friday, August 27, 2010
Day 2
Day 2 Thursday , August 26,2010
The big problem at the start of the trip was packing the car. Although we had practiced this and were fairly certain that everything would fit, somehow this did not turn out to be totally true. Even so, there were not too many items that we had to leave behind. One was the laundry detergent which was in a big plastic jug. I was pleased though that the packing of the car moved quickly, and we were ready to leave only 6 minutes after my desired departure time. We took a few more minutes to get gas and coffee, and then we were on our way. The Great Gorean adventure tour was on!
As we drove down Business 60 toward the highway and passed the Poplar Bluff city limits, the radio began to play "Free", the tour theme song. I could not imagine a more mind blowing and favorable omen. As we first turned onto the highway to begin this 22 week adventure, we heard the words that are to set the theme for the entire trip.
"We are free. As free as we'll ever be"
and
"We ain't got a lot of money"
With those two thoughts being musically impressed into our gypsy souls, we turned onto US 60 and let our steel tarn spread her wings.
The big problem at the start of the trip was packing the car. Although we had practiced this and were fairly certain that everything would fit, somehow this did not turn out to be totally true. Even so, there were not too many items that we had to leave behind. One was the laundry detergent which was in a big plastic jug. I was pleased though that the packing of the car moved quickly, and we were ready to leave only 6 minutes after my desired departure time. We took a few more minutes to get gas and coffee, and then we were on our way. The Great Gorean adventure tour was on!
As we drove down Business 60 toward the highway and passed the Poplar Bluff city limits, the radio began to play "Free", the tour theme song. I could not imagine a more mind blowing and favorable omen. As we first turned onto the highway to begin this 22 week adventure, we heard the words that are to set the theme for the entire trip.
"We are free. As free as we'll ever be"
and
"We ain't got a lot of money"
With those two thoughts being musically impressed into our gypsy souls, we turned onto US 60 and let our steel tarn spread her wings.
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Day 1
Today marks the official beginning of the Gorean Adventure Tour. There is a lot to do as we make final preparations. We will leave tomorrow morning at around 6am for Indiana!!
We just did a trial breakfast in the dinning room, using our new camp stove, and nothing that we will not have at camp tomorrow to cook, and clean up. Bacon and eggs, by the way. I remarked that this might very well be the first time we ever cleaned the dishes right after the meal ended in all our time together!!! Got to love the camp life.
We just did a trial breakfast in the dinning room, using our new camp stove, and nothing that we will not have at camp tomorrow to cook, and clean up. Bacon and eggs, by the way. I remarked that this might very well be the first time we ever cleaned the dishes right after the meal ended in all our time together!!! Got to love the camp life.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Count Down
24 Hours left until the Great Gorean Adventure Tour begins first stop Hoosier National Forrest Celine Lake campground we will be there till Monday then we are moving on to the next stop and the first show on the road. Wish us fair winds
lily
lily
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