Historical Motivation

I hadn’t hiked the day before, because it was raining. It was raining again today, only now it was 15 degrees colder and much windier. I was sick of being inside and wanted to go into the woods.

I started thinking about Gorock.
http://cutris.blogspot.com/2005/10/gorock-stick.html
Would Gorock, the prehistoric man who was so skilled with the “Gorock Stick,” have sat inside his dwelling because of rain? No, he would have been out hunting for food.

Perhaps, I thought, we should not think about those such as Elliptical Jones, who preferred to sleep on his couch, rather than go out and do something. Sure that one day he did get up and he took his virtually unsinkable ship out. The fact that the ship sank later that day near the Cape of Good Mushrooms is irrelevant. The day may have ended in disaster, but Elliptical Jones had both the skill and motivation to cause that disaster.

Would it be so difficult for me to hike for a couple of hours in gale-force winds, rain and 40 degree Fahrenheit temperatures? I was starting not to think so.

I thought of the future. I remembered how on Star-date, 103103.1 Alexander Horatio Cutris would disguise himself as a Klingon and infiltrate the High Command on Kronos. He would steal the Sword of Kayless and so force the release of Federation prisoners and reestablish diplomatic relations. It would also be Alexander Horatio Cutris who would single-handedly win 11 victories at the defeat of Rumsfeld on the Dark Planet of Cheney. Yes, we must always remember the future to avoid living in the past.

I put on a sweatshirt, stocking cap, nylon shell and knee boots. I started my two-hour hike through the river bottoms. I moved at the expanse shrinking “Pace of Cutris.” I needed only to make it to the “Tree of Much Damage,” before I could turn into the woods and head back. Along the way I saw two magnificent Bald Eagles. After finally reaching the “Tree of Much Damage,” I headed into the woods, where I saw a Great Horned Owl and two White-Tail Deer.

By the time I reached my car, I was quite warm from my hike. It was definitely good that I had gone out in the rain. I had only needed to remember the past and future to influence the present, which later became the past… and the future. It was a good day to hike after all.