Hail! The Atomic Apples of Doom.

Hail! Atomic Apples of Doom. You came, you built ... a lean-to of trees and a few tarps, you slept in it when the temperature kissed the 0º F mark. And you didn't whine.

Hail! Atomic Apples of Doom. You built fire (or borrowed it), you pulled limbs from trees to protect yourselves, you tested yourselves in the white cold. And you didn't whine.

Hail! Atomic Apples of Doom. You shared your limited food, you respected each other, you helped each other. And you didn't whine.

Hail! Atomic Apples of Doom. You were tired, you were thirsty, you were HUNGRY. And you didn't whine.

Hail! Atomic Apples of Doom. It was my honor to share the lean-to with you for two nights. It was my honor to help you strike the flint and steel for fire. It was my honor to listen to you talk unself-consciously as the night deepened. It was my honor to trek the snowy woods with you, to look out over the wintery landscape with you, to assist you when you needed guidance and make sure no one lagged too far behind. And you didn't whine.

The Atomic Apples of Doom in the 2006 Winter Survival program were:

Nate - ex-officio leader whose attitude was light and positive and which didn't flag even in a cold water dowsing in front of his girlfriend

Bennett - silent but deadly in more ways than one, ex-officio second-in-charge

Jacob - gives as good as he gets and more

Drew - poet, Republican and inveterate burrito lover

Johnny - skin and bones who held his own; he felt the pain of cold others missed which he'll be stronger for

Josh - Dude, shades inside or out, day or night; his approval a must for the others

Zack - one speed and always going easy; two left gloves - no matter; melted nalgene water bottle - oh well!

Hail! Atomic Apples of Doom. You know who you are. You know what you did. Be proud. And you didn't whine. Much.

Thanks for sharing an unique experience. I listened while you talked the adolescent talk of males before sleep. I watched while you walked the adolescent walk of males when the girls were present and when it was just the Apples. I watched you share and support each other. I saw you rib and rough each other up and never going too far. Yeah, you went too far in search of fun and it was stupid but you came back safely.

You were great. Thanks for being yourselves. Thank your parents and community for supporting such an endeavor in the public schools. It may have been bitchin' cold but you have new respect for the cold and better understand it. You were closer to nature - whether you will choose to do so again or not is immaterial. You'll fear it less and understand it more.

And no, you probably never will zip two sleeping bags together for a co-ed winter's night anytime soon. But keep dreaming the dream - its natural on a cold night at any age. Keep dreaming, Atomic Apples, it keeps you young even when you want to be so much older.

Hail!




Home Sweet Home for 2 very cold nights. Hand-hewn, hand-built.







All that was between us, a full moon and the crackling cold night.







Fire?? Maybe?? The flint and steel and tinder = fire?





February, 2006 on the Navy Survival and Endurance Training Range.

No outrage.

With each passing week, the government that leads us is exposed, in yet another incident or maneuver, as arrogant, power-hungry and working against the interests of the citizenry. Yet, there remains no outrage.

Politicians baldly change positions to curry votes and positive media coverage only to sponsor or vote for legislation that is opposite the interest of those who give them their job. They mount strawmen to knock down when it makes them appear to be strong and watchful. They write legislation under deceptive titles or lacking enough merit to be able to stand on its own, instead amending it to an easily passed bill of totally unrelated nature. They perform quid pro quo, minimally disguised, for campaign contributions. Yet, there is no outrage.

Corporations control huge chunks of our activities and they control most of the levers in government, if not directly, through money. Yet there remains no outrage.

The media, deregulated, profit-driven businesses now, dance the tune of their corporate masters. When shown to be biased and lacking ambitions that would give the citizenry the information it needs to make informed decisions, there is no outrage.

The environment, though weakly understood by most individuals is under constant stress and abuse by our sheer numbers and our profit-oriented and self-comfort drugged culture. Most Americans see and feel the devastation but few feel as if anything they do will have much impact. Yet, there remains no outrage.

We see individuals all around us who are unhealthy and ignorant in the cause of that ill health. We look to our medical experts who cannot or will not diagnose our maladies and are willing to give us something, anything, to alleviate our symptoms under the guise of a cure. Acute becomes chronic and there is no outrage.

The original aims of the people who fought to separate this country from the heirarchical monarchy and vested corporatism of two and half centuries ago are daily being smudged out. Yet there is no outrage.

This civilization has already seen its zenith unless there is outrage. Outrage from the citizenry to reconnect with its government and to form a life-view capable of incorporating all the people under it as important members. Outrage sufficient to raise the individual from his comfort induced stupor so he joins his voice with another. Outrage enough to interrupt the cycle of government midterm. Outrage enough to reclaim the direction of a civilization's dreams and make them our own once again.

The world will go on without us. Even if we cripple or destroy its ability to support life as we know it, the earth will continue to spin and orbit the sun even as a lifeless rock until such time as the sun consumes it in its own dying days. We can end our days fighting other races and scrabbling for ever more scarce resources. Or we can forge another way out. We must express outrage enough to wake up our fellow citizens and change what we can change today and lay groundwork for tomorrow.