Just like the rat.

So, this is sort of a before and after. Before, on Monday, I was down by the East River again with Burger and was looking for some more of the Universe's Amazing Occurrences when I found this instead. I am sure that on a better day I may have been able to see the beauty in a used condom and a bloated, furless rat missing the skin on it's skull but I'm not a Monday person and this just bummed the shit out of me. So I wrangled the family into the mini van and took us out of this hell hole for a better life, if only for 2 days.

This is the After.

...It is a swimming hole in the Catskills that provided a semi religious experience and gave me a chance to breathe some fresh air and watch some logs burn. I got to jump into some water that was so cold and fresh that it felt like I was rinsing off my bones and on top of it all I got a chance to see my friend Aaron. Aaron and his dog Beluga.
We all ate some food and talked some shit and slept in our tents.
It was awesomely rejuvenating, so much so that I felt like sobbing and barfing the whole drive home. I suppose that this is just part of the whole process of taking a little break from your life, the inevitable return to the... life I guess.
But I learned that it is important to not let these feelings of sorrow and barf keep you from getting away in the first place. This is what I used to do, "Why bother even leaving?" I'd say, "You only have to come back." Which is silly because it misses the entire point of going away, but what did I know?
Not much I guess.

NOW I know of some killer places to cleanse my soul and some cheap places to stay while I do it.
Pretty great if you ask me.