Pilgrim Shadows

     I am looking for stories and traditions related to bridges and bodies of water.  If you or someone you know have any stories of haunted lakes, rituals of going to a certain bridge at a certain time, or anything along this nature please contact me.  I can be reached through comments on LiveJournal or email at daniel.felts@smail.astate.edu.  I appreciate any help that can be offered.

-Daniel Felts

On Monday I turned 21.  This is the major milestone that so many of my age group look forward to.  Personally, I'm looking forward to 38 so that I can start my mid-life crisis.

Last night I left my apartment and headed to the library to work on some French homework.  A lady failed to stop at a light while I was going through an intersection.  I saw to it that she did come to a stop, by God.  I slammed on my breaks but still managed to hit her on the driver's side.  Union Street speed limit is 25mph so the impact wasn't too bad.  Her SUV is banged up on the side; my front is warped, missing a headlight, and unable to start at the moment.  We emptied out my truck, which is a feat in and of itself, and it was towed.  I'm glad the officer stayed in her patrol vehicle and worked on paperwork, I don't know how I would explain everything that was in my cab.
I should have a rental soon.

I'm receiving some bad vibes from this semester.  I believe I'll do well in three courses, the other two have me worried.  Victorian literature is a subject which I enjoy and have a decent familiarity with.  The professor, however, strikes fear into the hearts of the stoutest of men and women.  I don't know how her tests are yet, but I've heard some discouraging things.  The other course is Women Writers.  I chose this with the hopes of getting into some contemporary literature focusing on issues of gender in society as well as the women's liberation movement.  Turns out we'll only be studying medieval and renaissance women writers.  This has done nothing but further any of the few chauvanistic ideas I maintain.  We've spent one day looking at the medieval remedies used by Hildegard of Bingen.  I can't get into the material.  I hope that this changes as the course goes on but I doubt it.  I've tried to take really detailed notes in order to make up for the lack of reading, but Dr. Malpezzi has a monotone voice and mainly reads selections from the text.  Thus there have been some very detailed doodles created during this time.

I'm not even working toward my degree anymore.  I'm only working to keep my scholarship with no actual goal in sight. 

     During a study of the story of Samson, a question came up that's led me to look at our world today.  The question was regarding Samson's age.  The story never specifies how old Samson was when things started or how many years passed during it all.  We do know that he was old enough to leave his father's house and marry; that means he was at least thirteen years old.  Samson is usually depicted as a brutish and burly man in his late twenties or possibly early thirties.  I, however, picture Samson as being either 16 or 17 years old.  He has been raised from birth knowing that he is a nazarite and has an oath to God; he breaks it regularly.  When he feels he's been wronged he takes it out on as many people as possible, always using the same response of "I'm only doing to them what they did to me".  He'll do anything when pressured by a pretty girl.  All of these characteristics scream teenage boy.
     This subject made me think of our own society.  Leaving the house to join the workforce and get married at age 13 is no longer the social norm.  Medical science has given us greater longevity; society banks on this fact and no longer worries about growing up in a hurry.  One is legally considered an adult at age 18 in the United States of America, but many don't look at themselves as adults until they're well into their twenties.  As generations pass, responsibility is pushed further and further back.  I've read articles referring to my age as the boomerang generation, we go off to the real world and in a few years return home.
     Thinking further on this line made me look to the future.  It's not that far-fetched to see the average person not leaving home until their mid-twenties.  In a few hundred years the average lifespan could pass into the triple digits.  Should this occur then people could live at home for three decades due to the lack of rush.  This seems only natural; it keeps the population in balance.  The greater the average life expectancy, the greater the average age of marriage and childbirth.  This directly proportional relationship is what keeps the population from surging out of control as people live longer.

     Sometimes I have mixed feelings about the shift in comic books from being aimed at children to being aimed at adults.  But today I'm in favor of the shift because of an issue I read.  X-Factor is one of the many X books, it's more character driven than the others and seems to work on a smaller scale.  The latest issue dealt with the group seeing a counselor.  I've liked every issue of the series, but this one resonates with me.
     I seem to take more comfort in a fictional character having problems similar to mine than I do if an actual person does.  I suppose this is because I know that characters are made to be approachable by many people, so I know that many people are having the same difficulties.  Though with an actual person I could have someone to talk to and we could help each other along; I still find the idea of it being common more comforting.
     I guess that means I'm thankful for comic books.