Update: In retrospect, this post seems really depressing, but I thought I should note that I am very excited and relieved to be going on vacation. It’s the first vacation Leah and I have had since we went on our honeymoon to Montreal two years ago.

I started a post yesterday called “The Last R Stands for Recycle”. I also read an article in Marketing yesterday about how our behaviour is changing and what used to be symbols of power and wealth—like Hummers—are now symbols of greed and arrogance. Or at least, they are everywhere but in Calgary. I think for most people are aware that, in the gamut of the three R’s (reduce, reuse, recycle), that recycling is the very least we can do and on Sunday, while eating lunch with friends, we celebrated that in 2009 Calgary was finally going to have a recycling program. Calgary, welcome to the new millennium, you are a couple years late, but it’s great to have you.

We all have to make decisions and/or are influenced by the world around us to change our behaviour. I have found even the process of purchasing a home to way heavy on my conscience. Our footprint will undoubtedly get bigger, but we will also be able to do more green projects (red wigglers here I come). And so I have to make decisions about how I live my life and the choices I make and know that I have an impact. Which leads to the fact that Leah and I are going on vacation next week.

Can vacations continue in the same fashion as they always have with the American nuclear family? Everyone packs into the station wagon and drives somewhere. This pursuit is likely to change. It’s of one of those questions like how can I enjoy the abundance of North American life while others starve? I think the answer to that question is that you can’t deny your own right to experience life, but you can’t deny the suffering of others. We try to be aware and help in the ways that seem right. Similarly, driving across country or flying to another country doesn’t help the world all that much. Flying is shoving tons of emissions into the upper atmosphere and it’s affecting the planet. But can we deny ourselves the experience of the Rocky Mountains or the Canadian shield or the lakes of Manitoba or the oceans?

I want to see the world and save it. I don’t have an answer that can do both. Leah and I have made plans to visit and camp in Idaho next week. Which is where Josh Ritter comes in. As you likely know, Josh Ritter is one of my favourite artists. That’s him up there in that picture. I took it at his concert in Calgary. Josh is from Idaho and has the most beautiful song about the state. Plus, our realtor told us about an amazing campground. We will be staying at the Albeni Cove campground, 10 feet off the Pend Oreille River. And I hope it’s as beautiful as the song (the lyrics for Josh Ritter – Idaho).

So I gave up a life of crime, I gave it to a friend of mine. I get the feeling that my life of crime has a lot to do with this planet.

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