Chapter 1 Episode 3. January 13, 2017 - 'The Office' - A Safe Space For Escapism

I do not know if it is a good idea to document any perspectives on today’s date, “Friday the Thirteenth”? No, I am not a “Templar Knight” who has just returned from the Middle East after fighting in the “Crusades”.  I am not a soldier of anybodies temple.  The church’s murder of all those soldiers on that day back in the middle ages is where this superstition originated.  These soldiers (Knights) evolved into the current Order of the Masons organization who had a real influence on the establishment of the moral values of our country.  Not fighting for a religion was obviously a bedrock policy of their new country.  That political history lesson being said, this day does make me reflect on who I am and why I do and believe the things I do.  To reflect properly a person has to have a good place to do this serious inner reflection.  In my last episode I spoke about the “peacefulness of sitting in a tree stand in the solitude of the woods”.  That was a place of reflection that was lost due to the realities of life.  I needed to replace that escapism from the world around me to keep my insanity in check.  I needed a safe place that was easy to get to and offered me that quick relief from those everyday stresses and it had to be part of my everyday life’s functions that was socially acceptable.  After much thought on this subject I realized that this “man cave” was used by me everyday as a means of escape and rejuvenation.  An “R and R” place just for me.  That place is my “office”, better known as the bathroom.

While I am on “my throne” in my office I catch up on all my reading materials, plan my day, reflect on all of life’s lessons, make many major decisions, plan meals (depending on how my reflective session is “going”), and exercise a major muscle group all at the same time.  Over the years my choices of reading material has changed.  In my youth the Boy’s Life magazine was traded in for that magazine that was able to be read while holding the pages in a way that the illustrations were presented in a more informative manner but, that was adolescence and that magazine had a special holder, hidden under my mattress!  As the years passed Field and Stream and US News and World Report took over.  Now the AARP and AAA monthly periodicals dominate my offices book holder, which is the top of the toilet tank.  Life changes, views change but a sacred place to reflect is still needed to provide that small respite of escapism.  I prefer my office to those little electronic tracking devices called cell phones as a means of escaping the world around me.  I prefer my office to help me cope with life rather than using some kind of mind altering liquid or chemical concoction that makes men act like barn animals.  I find comfort and peace in my office and it gives me the strength and resilience to breach that door and attack life with a renewed spirit of seizing the day (Carpe Diem)!  Okay, that is it for now, I hear the Charmin calling.

-Poppa