jdw. musings

Manifest Destiny. The Oregon Trail. Oops! You've died of dysentery! Nice. There's nothing quite like a role playing game where it's commonplace to shit yourself to death.  Very realistic, and great for children!  Elementary school computer class usually bore with it an ample amount of time to play " The Oregon Trail,"  a game as old as time, and a great way for a teacher to squeeze in a midday nap as we prepared our wagons for departure. The real fun would begin when it came time to name our pioneers after one another, and then of course heckle and cackle at whoever would be the first settler to contract yellow fever and perish under the digital sun while trailblazing out West. Draconic? Yes. Fun?  Of course !      The drive from Peoria, Illinois to Los Angeles is roughly a 30 or so hour drive, and about 1,600 miles. Plenty of time to gradually lose sanity amongst the rolling hills and jagged, snow covered cliff peaks. The drive carves throug...

    The time has come. Godot has arrived, and the Iceman has cameth and goneth. I never thought that I would start a Blog. Even now, when I spent hours trying to understand this godforsaken website, I still cringe on the inside. Will I turn into one of those self help websites that teach you how to breathe correctly with 30 different guides on posture and technique? Or maybe I'll be a travel guide, where I'll show you how great my life is (with pictures) in order to prove to you how cultured and refined I am. Endless possibilities.           Years of scoffing at reviews of local breweries and vegan soap menageries had turned me off to creating an online journal for all (or none) to see. But then I graduated from college right in the middle of a mass plague, and into a virtually non-existent economy; so, naturally my stance on Blogs has lightened up a bit. What's the point of trying to be a writer if I neglect to share all of my thoughts and o...