unplugged post redux

12/30

Here I am back in Hilton Head, SC. I am writing this in Word because I don’t have internet access. Actually, that is not true, I do have access but it is dial-up and rather than take the chances of losing my entry, I just assume write it here and upload it later.
I am watching Dragonfly with Kevin Costner. I remember when it was released, right around the same time as the Mothman Prophecies. From what I gather it is a movie about death and what happens next. I suppose, well rather I know I am far from qualified to speak of death and those that grieve. But to the grieving I can only imagine that death is viewed as an end. But I often wonder if it is a beginning. I am in no rush to find out to be sure and I certainly don’t possess the essence of faith that the devoutly religious have that affords them the comfort in believing in an afterlife. Certainly, I do hope there is something beyond the grave but I am neither a scholar nor a follower of theology. But it seems to me that death and whatever lies beyond is perhaps just a change. I once read somewhere that magic is just change and thinking back on the life I have lived and the changes that I have experienced, both subtle and drastic, than it would seem to me that death is similar. Obviously there is now way of proving this but if death is just a change of state than perhaps death is just the beginning of more changes. Who knows if there are more changes beyond the absence of a beating heart, a breathing lung? Only time will tell I guess.
Anyway, I am back in SC and there is something truly strange about this place. First off, after the sun goes down the place creeps me out royally. I am not afraid of the dark and God knows I have spent plenty of time in dark places but there is something eerie about this place. Walking outside there is a strange stillness and the only thing I can compare it to is the calculated stillness of a predator before it strikes its prey. This place is unlike anywhere I have ever been. I have traveled all over the world and nothing feels as foreign as the South. I know I have only been here a night but this place is so strange.
I am looking forward to going into Savannah in the next few days for school. That place also has strangeness to it. There is a kind of magic that seemingly keeps it protected and apart from the world around it. It is a beautiful city and I have a very strong feeling that going to school there will present many new adventures. My new home has a sort of melancholy loneliness about it. The fact that I am living in an empty house with no friends of family for miles certainly doesn’t help either. It is really a learning experience to completely uproot yourself and start somewhere completely new. Even though my car is packed full, the value of those possessions really becomes apparent when all you have is an empty house. More than ever I am learning that humans are truly social creatures. The people down here are characters all. The way they speak could alone occupy my attention for hours. This new start down here is promising to be very interesting. I only hope I have the strength to record it all.
Speaking of adventure, if you have to drive from Rhode Island to South Carolina I highly suggest you bring people with you. The drive is long, often times slow, and very lonely. There are many unique roadside attractions that I will surely write about in a later post. However, the one reason I wish I had someone to drive with is so that I could sleep. Being awake for 10 hours a lone in a car gives you a lot of time to think about things but never enough to time to bring those things to closure. If I have one weakness, it is being given time to think …