8/04 the long ride to Bellingham.

It's now day 3 on the boat. After yesterdays stop at kitchican we go straight through to Bellingham, a trip of some 36 hours. A long and somewhat boring trip at that. I woke up to fog, very very thick fog. So now we ride through a tunnel, a long tunnel. It's morning now so I have 24 hours to go.
I have just about finished "the journey" by james michener
It's been very interesting reading about the difficulties the gold seekers had in 1897, and comparing them to my very wimpy issues during my travels. Those men  and women had to be made of stone.
I on the other hand am made of flesh and blood, and apparently many bones that tend to creek each morning when I get up. Today was better as my bones seem to be falling back into their traditional location.
So the trip home looks like I will be running across the top of the country before diving down into the heat and and making the final push for home. It always feels good to be on the way home.

The trip so far has been everything I had hoped for. I found small roads that led to small towns that most travelers never see. I can see how anyone that lives their lives in these small towns could have a vastly different understanding of our nation than I do. If you watch tv and see the government spending all this money on roads, healthcare for the poor, subways, trains, food programs for children, aide to other countries, thousands of government workers,
and the list goes on and on, it might be hard to see how all this benefits you and your community. I think the bigger picture might be harder to see from here. The vast majority of Americans live in larger citys, they are the ones that buy the goods these small towns produce. They are also the ones that pay most of the taxes. New york city puts in way more to the federal government than it recives back. On the other hand rural towns get back much more than they put in.  They also benefit in ways that they take for granted. The fedral interstate system transformed this nation, but in todays world we won't even collect and spend the money to maintain it. With out this system these small towns would never be able to get their produce to market. The electofication of our nation brought all of our nation together in ways that those that pushed for it never would have imagined.
We have always worked together for the greater good of all, until now. It's is if we have turned into a nation of I got mine so you can get your own. They say the wealthy pay all the taxes, but everyone knows when you ask them that the rich just hide there money off shore or use some tax loop hole to avoid paying anything. We collect taxes on income, so the wealthy call the source of their money something else. The middle class and the working well off pay the taxes. They carry the load. They do the hard work of getting up everyday and not only provide for their family they provide for their nation.
I have met many interesting people on my trip, young and old, rich and poor, and people from all over the world. Crazy Walter from Germany, the two Swedes and few from south america just to name a few.
I road for days in Canada talking first hand to as many as I could. The boarder is just a line on the map, but the difference between one side of that line and the other is easy to see. And you can see it many ways that you might not expect. In Canada you can use US money dollar for dollar, but here in the states their money is no good, even though the shop owner would get 10% more for there goods. The towns are clean and everyone seems to go about their day in a slow but steady pace. Everyone greeted my with a smile and was always happy to help.
So as you can see things have slowed down here on the ship. I will get back to finishing off the call of the wild by jack london. (his mothers maiden name was chaney) and leave you with this. Perspective is important, but the truth is still the truth, changing your perspective may give you a better understanding of it but the truth still remains the truth.