BLAZE

Most every Sunday, I deliver packages as an Assistant Rural Carrier for USPS. It’s become a kind of spiritual practice, a predominantly silent meditation and a ritual of service. I drive a 30+ year-old vehicle (commonly referred to as an “LLV”). On occasion, I’ll listen to an audiobook or some tunes, but the engine is fairly loud so my thoughts, and there are many, do nicely. This past Sunday I occasioned upon an apartment complex that I’ve encountered before along my routes, but also one that I recall visiting back in my undergraduate days. There’s been a pull memory ever since I re-encountered it.

This time though, I went further, all the way to the back end, where the parking lot reaches the tree line, and found a bando handball court. Painted in varying/fading shades of aqua, I entered, beguiled. My voice echoed. I imagined projections along the walls, karaoke, musical chairs, hidden murals - an explosion of possibilities. And, just beyond, a large pocket of undeveloped land - ripe for a trail….

Over the years I’ve discovered that wealth is just as much about access as it is about currency. I’ve had a handful of years where the money has approached middle-class levels, and even then it’s been on the edge of income. Never investments or some other kind of appreciating financial vehicle. But I’ve always had expanded access in some regard - an ease with people, experiences, and spaces that, if not unlimited, broadly applied. I also learned from a young age that it’s best to be told “no”, rather than make the assumption that I couldn’t have, or do, or go, or make. This is the essence of OUTCHEA. Natural spaces can be accessible to everyone. In Gainesville, more often than not, nature is in our backyard. A wealth of resources and an experience of luxury that only costs the willingness to explore…

(((DEVELOPING)))