And the Good Girls are Home With Broken Hearts

Congratulations to Mr. Kalum Tuggle for naming "Fix You" by Coldplay as the Monday Song of the Day. I'll admit it. I saw a trailer for Oliver Stone's World Trade Center which uses "Fix You". Make whatever derisive comments you would like to, but at least I was honest with all of you.

Now that I have had some time to settle into living a normal, civilized life again after spending a summer in the mountains, I am ready to share some thoughts on what that kind of experience will do to you. Throughout the summer when people would ask me if it is difficult to return to living in the civlized world after spending two months sleeping on the ground and forsaking all toilets, I would respond to them with an analogy from a popular film.

I'm not sure how many of you have seen Castaway with Tom Hanks, but there is a scene in the film that communicates some of the feelings that I have after returning from a summer at Trek. After he leaves the island on a raft, Hanks is rescued and returns to civlization. After taking a shower and shaving for the first time in a number of years, he is ready to go sleep in a nondescript hotel room that has been provided for him.

There's only one problem. Hanks doesn't remember what it is like to sleep in such comfort. Instead of sleeping in the large bed, he instead lies down to sleep on the floor of the hotel room. I must interject at this point. Please do not think that when I return from the summer that I do not remember what it is like to sleep on a mattress and instead choose the berber carpet. My situation is not that extreme, but I understand the idea of not knowing what to do with such luxuries.