Today’s headline is indeed true — that’s the car in the header image. The asking price for this 1982 DMC-12, in case you’re interested, is a shade under $66,000.
The seller, a local rod-and-custom shop, can help arrange shipping, if that’s holding you back. Deb’s cousin has worked with them a time or two.
But that’s not the subject of today’s post.
It’s human nature, of course, to wear our best face for others. (The exception, I suppose, are pity magnets and drama queens. I have no use for either.) We want people to see the side of us that’s strong and successful, naturally appealing, most photogenic, least likely to prompt recoil or revulsion.
Wait — what’s that you say? You don’t care what people think?
That’s some authentic bullshit right there. Everyone cares about how they’re seen and perceived. Stop lying about it.
Yes, I choose carefully what I publish to Ubi Libertas Blog. I don’t tell y’all everything that happens in our Life and on The Mountain. The photos I share are meant to illustrate a story, and I avoid showing what doesn’t serve that purpose.
I’ve been known to crop-out the ugly bits.
Today I’m gonna show you the ugly bits. Some of them, anyway. Nothing quite as ugly as an ’82 DeLorean, mind you, just stuff that dispels any notion that it’s all perfect and perfectly tidy up here.
I’ll get The Big Ugly out of the way first — the massive pile of brush and excavation rubble at the north end of the driveway. It’s one of several brush piles around the homesite, and by far the largest.
Dipstick wears a diaper. He has for years. He’s a sweet boy, and we accommodate his incontinence.
I’ve characterized our 14-year-old fifth-wheel trailer as “tired,” and that’s accurate, but it fills the role of temporary quarters just fine. Thing is, under previous ownership it was “rode hard and put away wet.” Seen from the outside, it’s arguably the fugliest thing on The Mountain.
Under the overhang of the camper’s gooseneck hitch we’ve stashed a pair of water barrels, a folding table and some camp chairs, a compost bucket, a spare propane tank and a collapsible wagon — because that’s where we put it.
Odd and ends that don’t fit anywhere else I’ve “hidden” behind the shed.
Truckload after truckload of structural clay was hauled up here, and that’s what makes our homesite possible. Around the edges, however, and in places we subsequently did more digging, the red mud and rock have become something of an eyesore.
I’m a proponent of junk drawers — in my opinion, a junk drawer in every room is the key to tidiness. This “soft shed” may be ugly, but it was cheap and it hides stuff that’s even uglier. It’s the junk drawer of The Mountain.
Carving out rock for a foundation (one we ended up not building) left an ugly swath between the cabin and The Amphitheater. This winter it’ll serve as a hearth for burning brush. I’m not sure what we’ll do with it after that.
This “speed bump” protects water and power running to the RV. It’s a concession to practical ugliness.
The risers on the septic tank adorn the west side of the driveway like a big green colon. (Think punctuation, not intestine.)
It’s good to have a generator when we need it — and before we were connected to the grid, we needed ours every day — but there’s no way to make it look good.
This “temporary” pole will end up being permanent. It is what it is.
Until we build a porch on the front of the cabin and steps on the north end, these ugly concrete-block stoops will remain.
Getting to the accidental back yard behind the cabin requires navigating an impractically narrow passage at one end or the other. Neither can be widened, really, so they’ll have to be spanned somehow.
That’s not every ugly thing on The Mountain, but it’s what I thought of this morning. And honestly, I tend not to look at my surroundings that way — acceptance is a good first step on the way to joy.
Two years ago today, a 2019 Polaris Ranger 570 Midsize joined our fleet. It’s still the best tool we’ve bought for The Mountain.
Take care of yourselves, Patriots. Stay calm. Stay sharp. Stay free.
#WiseUp #LibertyOrDeath #Ungovernable
#LetsGoBrandon #FJB