More than half empty...

     The question was asked by a good friend of mine who also blogs at www.wanderingterp.com ; The wandering terp asked me “What would you do if you woke up, and you were the last person left on earth, but everything still worked?”

     I figured there are two ways to answer this question, politically, and honestly.  I will try to answer honestly, because if you were the only one left, who the fuck cares about politics anymore?  The truest form of freedom would be all that you have.  You would have it, and be embraced by it.  I think it’s hard to fathom the type of responsibility you would actually have to take for yourself.  We take for granted all the little things in our lives that other people take responsibility for.  You aren’t going to just hop in a 747 and fly across the ocean to see Paris; it would be a quick way to end your fragile newly found freedom.

 

     Honestly, I would wander, moving from one city to the next trying to figure out how the world works.  I would probably go through a period of getting used to being so alone.  Coping with that I think would be the hardest part.  Waking up and realizing that there is no one, anywhere, and all these things were built for them, for everyone, but all of it was left to me.  I think that would be incredibly difficult to handle. 

     Once I got to a point where I could handle it, I would probably find the nicest car in whatever city I was living in, and drive.  I want to say that I would go somewhere familiar, somewhere that felt like home at least a little.  With everyone gone though, that would change things.  I once went back to Portland, OR where I grew up after I became an adult.  Everyone that I knew there either moved on, I had forgotten them, or had moved away.  The familiarity with the city was gone; it had been years since I had lived there.  Even the elementary school I used to attend felt different, cold.  There is value in familiarity, and often we place that on objects, places, or things; but I have learned through time that people are what make the memories so cherished.

     Maybe after I got over that, I could find things to do that would pass time, but it would never feel like visiting places with family.  There is a certain level of frustration, enjoyment and nostalgic things that happen when you have people to share a vacation with.  Stress still happens, but it’s a different kind of stress, and it never feels as bad as the same thing when you aren’t on vacation.  I think that would take a lot of enjoyment out of wandering.

 

     I would definitely find a nice rifle, and some rounds to put in it.  This is of course for practical reasons.  Once I run out of things in my fridge, I want to be able to hunt.  Oh, and a fishing pole, that would be important too, not only would I be feeding myself, I would be passing time and time would go very slow with no one around.  After that, I’m not sure what I would do, maybe nothing.