The State of “As We Wonder” March 2024

It’s been quite a transformation along this journey of fourteen months. This all started with the intention of living on the road during my resupply of Bev’s backpacking adventure, and after that adventure had ended.  But, as I’ve known for many years now, making long-range plans is like betting against the House in Las Vegas.   You might win occasionally, but long-term the House comes out on top, making your plans looks like a Jackson Pollock painting.

When Puddle Walker came down with a bad transmission, it became necessary, very quickly, to formulate new plans. I simply did not have the money it would require to replace the transmission, nor did I have faith in Puddle Walker that she would last me very many more months even if I did give her a transplant.

Mind you, and some of you might find this hard to believe, none of this was what I considered to be bad news.  I am all about letting life come to me and adjusting on the fly. I find every hiccup to be an opportunity to make something new and exciting happen, and this was no different. I needed to hunker down, save some money, use Puddle Walker as a stationary home, and decide what to do when a plan came to me.

I now refer you to my writings about Simple Living.  At no time did I contemplate going into debt to fund a solution. I was perfectly all right staying in Olympia; it did not bother me then, nor does it bother me now, six months later.  Some people I suspect would find this all unsettling if it was happening to them; I am not one of those people.  The novel “Siddhartha” had a profound effect on me for a very good reason, and I am currently living by the lessons learned from that book. I do not fight life. I do not struggle to make life conform to my desires.  I can find happiness on this farm school, where I currently live, as easily as I can traveling the backroads in search of America.  America, quite frankly, is anywhere I may be.

So, I wait. I have several scenarios playing out in my mind. I am waiting for inspiration to choose one of those scenarios for me.  I am still leaning towards having Olympia be my home base, and traveling by car, at least around the western states. I am still leaning towards selling Puddle Walker and purchasing a little larger domicile, perhaps a 21-foot travel trailer, perhaps an 18-tiny home on wheels.  Those decisions have not been made, but I suspect they will be made by May.

As for this website, and the YouTube channel, what was originally the intention has morphed, and I’m fine with that.  Perhaps, rather than a “traveling channel,” it will become a channel where I talk about my simple lifestyle, try to inspire others to simplify, and then toss in a potpourri of “Travels With Maggie” or perhaps some “Storytime With Maggie” videos similar to my Facebook Live events.

I am, quite frankly, amazed that almost all of my original followers on YouTube are still with me.  The channel is nothing like what you signed up for, and the fact that you have remained loyal to me throughout all of the transformations, well, gives me the warms and fuzzies. So thank you very much.

And that is my State of the Channel Address this March, 2024. Again, thank you so much for the support you continue to give me.

Interested in buying me a coffee? Follow the link below to “Buy Me A Coffee” under Bill Holland.

https://www.buymeacoffee.com/billholland?fbclid=IwAR3sbU01IghxJxNXFR0ybuEkhs8p14gIx7aF4l3WTMTXSOyS9tAY7SulqEY

And, if you would like to become a patron, you can find me on Patreon under As We Wonder; three dollars per month, it all adds up, it all give me some validation for what I do for so many hours each week.

And I have a drawing every two weeks on Facebook Live, Wednesdays, 6:00 p.m., and the winner wins a personalized short story, written by me, about the subject of their choice, or a copy of my memoir, “And the Blind Shall See.”

Peace and blessings to you all!