Going on an Adventure

Flying off in spite of my fear

This afternoon I’m headed northward to attend my son’s graduation from Navy boot camp. I’m very proud of him, looking forward to seeing him for a couple of days, and it’s bittersweet as he won’t be home for a long time as he has a series of training classes and schools for the next year to get him fit for his job in the Navy.

I like to travel and see new places. I really hate flying. Well. To be specific - I hate the security kabuki theater involved in it these days. I can remember a time before. I’ve had some really dreadful experiences with the TSA (I hesitate to say traumatic, except that the last time I flew I was bothered (I want to use other words here, and decided not to do so) by an agent) and I really don’t want to fly, ever again. But there really isn’t another practical way to do this trip, my son really wanted me there, so… I’m going to gird up my soul, and do it. I’m taking measures that will hopefully prevent unpleasantness. I won’t have any visible jewelry (I’ve had an agent try to steal this). I will have my hair loose, to keep any male agent from having an excuse to run his fingers through it (which was assault, unwarranted, and there was absolutely nothing I could do about it. Balance of power. And yes, this was different than other occasions where they wanted to examine my long hair, it was not simply checking it, it was lingering repeated touches). I refuse to be a victim. I’ve survived worse. I will hold my head high, and endure what I must, to be able to live my life in the way I want. I could give up my freedom to move around the world out of fear. Or, I can simply ensure there is no way to have the same problems. And I can vote for representatives who might in time eliminate the horror that fear saddled the American people with.

Well. That was unpleasant. I hadn’t realized until I started writing just how much this was weighing on me. Travel has ever been perilous. It wasn’t until the advent of the automobile, and then the airplane, that it became commonplace. Less than a century. Before that we had trains, which were slow and dirty, but allowed migration at scales undreamed of in the era before, in sailing ships and by horse or ox-drawn wagons. There have always been those who existed by preying on travelers. It’s simply that for the last couple of decades, they have been hidden under the cover of law. Which is hardly the first time that has happened, either.

I’m trying very hard to conquer my anxiety over this, so I can enjoy my trip and seeing my son for a while. I’ll be starting out in a small airport, where it will likely be easy enough to get through and the odds of the perverse working are lower. Coming home through a very large airport will be the problem, as it’s far more likely that the predators will be lurking in the larger numbers. Human nature is such that there will always be those who thrill in the ability to have power over others, who want to be able to touch those who shrink from them while they smirk and know they can proceed to fulfill their desires with no check on them.

I will be fine. I’m just going to have to push through this and once it’s done, I’ll feel better. I’ll hopefully get to the point where the idea of getting through the security so I can fly doesn’t make me so anxious. There are places I want to go that I can only reach by boarding an airplane, and I refuse to give up my adventures out of fear of the predators who lurk in ambush. Those are everywhere. It’s just that by putting myself in proximity, I’m making myself vulnerable. And that makes my backbrain very unhappy. Writing this out is an attempt to get the logic to override the emotion.

I’m not taking a computer with me on this trip. So I may not be able to write a post until I return - I do have my Saturday post scheduled, at least - although I can do Notes to check in. I enjoy my interactions here with all of you, commenters and writers alike. Substack has been an unexpected and wonderful revival of the blogosphere, and it makes me happy.

Today I’m going to lean into the happy things!

Speaking of which, I was playing with MidJourney this morning, to create a visual prompt for MOTE, and remembered that making pretties with the AI tool is very soothing. Plus, it’s fun to pair up art styles and mess around with timelines, techniques, and see what I get. I think I’ll keep doing this while I travel, to take my mind off it. It’s a good game to play!

Prompt: going on an adventure, art style of John Singer Sargent and Erte --ar 3:2

Prompt: going on an adventure, art style of Beatrix Potter and Gaudi --ar 3:2

Prompt: Going on an adventure, art style of Hokusai and Joaquin Sorolla --ar 3:2

Prompt: Going on an adventure, art style of Escher and Edward Lear --ar 3:2

Going on an adventure, art style of Lawrence Alma-Tadema and Kate Greenaway --ar 3:2

So what artists would you like to see me mash up? Keep in mind I’m only working with artists that are in the public domain, basically if they have been dead for a century. Help me stay in my happy place with art and amusement!

Now that I have figured out how to edit on mobile, here is the Rembrandt and Picasso mixup for The Scuttlebutt

And in the style of mashed-up Raphael and Dante Gabriel Rossetti for AC Young.