11:40 PST
The Woolley Mammoth
Welp.
This is it.
One last night in the Woolley Mammoth and I'm outta here. Well. Technically tomorrow is my last night at the Woolley Mammoth, but there's a good chance I may not have the capacity to recall all of the details of tomorrow. There's rumor of a freak gasoline bonfire... So I'm writing now. A preemptive goodbye.
I've got my favorite Bon Iver album spinning on ye olde Iphone. Won't have that much longer. It's been fantastic having a pocket computer like that. But I'm also kind of excited to see what life is like beyond the answer machine. It'll be good to have to use my brain again instead of just my thumbs. There's no doubt I'll miss having that instant gratification and access to information. But my hope is that I'll sacrifice one intelligence for another kind. One that can't be lost when the battery bows out. One that can run on beans and rice. And one that I won't have to worry about losing my huevos for down south.
I'm going to miss this place. No doubt. I've been around a few places and this place is special. It's not the most stringent stickler for sustainability or permaculture nor is it a crazy party house that's lit up all the time. Both of those are environments that I find myself attracted to so far in life. But nope. It's not those things. It's more.
The Woolley Mammoth is a perfect balance of what the world needs right now. It doesn't need crazy stinky hippies chaining themselves to trees. And it doesn't need raving rednecks shooting and burning everything in sight. The world needs a combination of the skill sets and mentalities that both of these groups tend to bring to the table. It's not about picking side. It's about learning how to live. Together.
The most important piece of the puzzle is the owner - Jeff Kraus. He's a dreamer. Like so many of us, he sees an incredible potentiality in the world; what it could be. How it could all work and flow if resources weren't just rationed but allocated accordingly. Waste becomes fuel and living sustainable becomes enjoyable instead of an effort. Jeff is changing the world. He's changing HIS world AND those around him by providing a playing field to test out this hybridized hypothesis. He's bringing great minds together, fostering them and giving them the freedom to experiment with their own worlds; all while working collectively. And THAT may be the most difficult part. He's not an ascetic warrior suffering silently in want. He works hard, but he is comfortable and he is happy. So yeah. I'm going to miss this place. There aren't many like it. But who knows. I may be back.
In a couple of days I'll be on a plane to Guadalajara, Mexico. Up until about three days ago, I would get a shot of adrenaline every time I thought about my upcoming journey. I felt unprepared. Not physically. Mentally. I had everything I needed to go. All my gear. Most of my ducks were in a row on the home front. I had a couple of things to work out with the banks, but I was pretty set. Nope. Mostly, I just realized, "Damn. This is really happening. I've waited so long for this and now it's finally here. Boy. I'm kinda scared. This experience isn't going to open new doors for me. It's going to blast open the floodgates."
I've been waiting for the opportunity to take off like this - leave everything behind and just go... Ever since I can remember. This is what I want more than anything. And the reason why it scares me is because I think I've always known that I may not come back. There's too much world out there. I have to see it, taste it, touch it. I want to be up to my ears in it. Alive in every moment. And maybe... If I'm good enough at it - I can make it all work somehow. And I'll write about it.
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