CHOOSE FREEDOM

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writing

Lemmy was a good Buddhist
Spin the Bottle
Nobody asked me, so I’m asking you
Falafel stop
Dear Jenny
An Ordinary Disaster
This little hawk
Lost bits
Flying, Flow and Awareness
Entering Romania
I was a teenage boozehound—
until age 48
I used to love shopping
Fear, Flow and Freedom
Conferences are not the kind of three-way you’ve been hoping for
Matchmaking is the killer app for conferences

Instagram

Two views of my bridge, and the colors and shapes

Two views of my bridge, and the colors and shapes surrounding her. I wasn’t planning to come back, but springtime in California sure ain’t bad. Nature is the first and the ultimate inspiration. Lots of fresh air out there.

I visited my city today, the city I grew up in, sk

I visited my city today, the city I grew up in, skated all the hills, played a million games of bar-room pool, sucked in the air from a thousand starlit rooftops.
I crossed my bridge today; the bridge I’ve swam, sailed, walked, run, cycled, blazed across on many motorcycles, kited, kayaked, and even climbed.
Our cities are dying. They will be reborn, but never the same. Not that I would wish for the same. Change is good because change is life, even when it’s dangerous. Even when it’s horrific.
San Francisco dressed well for me today, the air glowing and pristine in the spring sun, the purple water matching green and gold sky, sea lions dancing in the tide.
I don’t know when I’ll be back again. Peace and strength are what’s needed now, everywhere.

Back in California, happy to still be able to get

Back in California, happy to still be able to get outside during post-travel quarantine and crank some tunes while I run. Thinking of my old friend Noah Peacock who loved Megadeth, my new friend Joaqson Moreira who was stoked that I had all the early Metallica material on my phone during our recent 12 hour drive from Rio to Valadares, and all the rock and roll women that have inspired me and, indeed, been a joy to know. .
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#itsmadeofmetal #crunch #rockandroll #trailrunning #startwithyes #fearisjustamessage #changeeverything #leadyourselffirst #lifeisoutside #alwaysready #adventure #sceglilibertà #escolhaliberdade #eligelibertad #izberisvobodo #choosefreedom

A few days ago I was in Baixo Guandu, still trying

A few days ago I was in Baixo Guandu, still trying to “decide” whether to return to the U.S.
I went for a walk up the hill that overlooks the Rio Doce, feeling the tropical heat soak into my body, thinking about the situation unfolding.
Everywhere. Even a few days prior, I had been thinking of staying, but the signs were turning, and it was becoming clear that the impact of the virus, including restrictions on movement, will likely be similar everywhere.
Taking that walk allowed me to feel what my body was telling me. While I adapt well, I don’t operate at my best in the tropics. I _felt_ anxious because I was no longer in the right place. It was time to move.
At that moment, I was at the end of a long thread; alone in a small town in a foreign country, wearing running shorts and an iPhone, my flying backpack in a hotel room nearby, the rest of my possessions in an apartment 100 miles away. I made the decision to catch the afternoon bus to Valadares and reunite myself with my other bag.
Arriving in the small city of Valadares that evening, it was clear that things were changing rapidly. The news was nonstop “virus” and while there was no panic at the supermarket, people were stocking up. I went back to the apartment and bought a ticket out from Belo Horizonte, a regional hub with good international connections and away from the big cities of Rio and São Paulo.
The following day (Thursday) I took the bus up the local mountain for one last flight in Brazil. My thoughts were already elsewhere. I had a short flight, packed up, slept, had a morning run and then got the bus to Belo.
Waiting for my flight to Panama City, the lighting in the beautifully modern CNF airport flickered off and on, and off again, beaten by the thrum of a solid tropical downpour. Thankfully the lights came back on and my flights to Panama and on to San Francisco went smoothly. After landing I took a bus north to Sonoma, where my parents met me with my van.
I’m glad I chose the exit that I did. Nobody knows where we’re going from here, but one thing is for certain: we’re all here together.

I’m on my way out of Brazil today — a bus to B

I’m on my way out of Brazil today — a bus to Belo Horizonte to catch a flight back to San Francisco via Panama.
I’ve been very conflicted about whether to go back, but I made the decision a day or so ago that now is the time.
A big part of me wants to distance myself permanently from the USA, which is part of the reason that I left 8 weeks ago on a one-way ticket. I wasn’t planning on settling in Brazil though, and it feels like the right thing to go back to California for now, even in the middle of all this insanity. It’s going to be the same here in #Brazil for a while too, like everywhere.
I went for a run this morning and smiled at all the other people out for their morning exercise. The path along the river is laid with cobbles in a beautifully familiar and very Brazilian graphic pattern. I will try to carry that feeling of calm with me as I travel back home.
I 🖤 🇧🇷 and I will be back, hopefully in this lifetime!

Chasing Enzo’s on a B wing in Baixo Guandu today

Chasing Enzo’s on a B wing in Baixo Guandu today, thanks to serendipity, the internet, paragliding, and a very kind and thoughtful invitation from @cedarwright
There are a few of us now quite pleasantly stranded here in Brazil for the foreseeable future—and just as I was starting to feel a bit lonely, I was able to connect with a bunch of other wandering exiles, get a bit of a morning sanity check, and then go flying in this *incredible* landscape with a team of some of the world’s best pilots.
Where do I live? Am I coming, or going, home? At the moment I have an Airbnb in Valadares and van in Sonoma but I’m in a hotel room in Baixo with just my small flying backpack and some underwear and a toothbrush that I bought here after landing. It doesn’t seem to be the time to travel, nor to rush off anywhere. Here is where you’ll find me for now.
I felt anxious this morning until I went outside and looked at the sky.
It’s going to be different—and the whole world is going to be different.

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