An End to Travel; PT; Catholism and Environmentalism

Have arrived, finally, at our destination in Texas. After dumping my things in the lodging room, I went for a walk-about on post. Everything was, more or less, just where it was last time I visited, only with browner grass and much less standing water.

The intervening two and a half years have also significantly changed my perception of "too far to walk". (To be fair to my physical fitness back then, it's also about 60o F less than it was then.) This time, I'm looking forward to wandering about on post, when I can't convince one of my classmates to give me a ride.

Back in my room (20 ft by 19 ft, including bathroom and kitchen area, woot!) I unpacked everything. The next nine weeks will be the longest I have spent anywhere since (*counts on fingers, then toes*) the middle of September.

Speaking of physical fitness:

An article on Fit for Combat by JD Johannes, is here. I know I've read Johannes's blog before, but I can't find it now.

During this class, we're supposed to be following the Crossfit method, about which my traveling companion/classmate is quite enthusiastic. (He's not so impressed with what he's heard of the implementation during this course - he spent his time deployed doing the 'real thing'.)

Me, I'm looking forward to a regular schedule and a gym within easy reach. It's been more than a month since I finished Airborne (and 2 months before that when I took my last PT test) and as I've gone running perhaps four times in that month, I know my physical capability has drifted downward.

***

Walking about, I found the post chapel (too late for Mass, alas, and they do not have an evening service now as I seem to remember from the last trip.) Picked up a bulletin, schedule, and assorted reading material, including a copy of this week's Our Sunday Visitor. The backpage editorial discussed Pope Benedict's 2010 World Peace message, which was released for the Copenhagen climate summit. The whole message can be found here.

I have the History Channel on behind me, playing Life After People - a fascinating exploration of what the earth would be if all of humanity suddenly left. Three of the films that have caught my attention this winter are Avatar, The Road, and The Book of Eli - each dealing with the end of the world and people's interactions with nature on different levels.

A website that I've linked to before is Catholic Conservation Center.

***

Two more "Best of" lists for the last year/decade: Ebert's Best Films of the Decade and Time Magazine's best movies, books and theater of the Decade.

***

The Saint of the Day is The Most Holy Name of Jesus. The concept - the power and magic and salvation embodied in a name - makes me shiver. In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God.