TWELVE MOONS HAVE PASSED.

By Murph and Freeacre.

Folks, the anniversary I am referring to is us. The Trout Clan Campfire is now 1 year old and I thought I would talk a bit about its history and development.

Over a year ago, I had archived Cyclone’s site because I thought it had value into the future. However, for some reason, the media I had stored it on, (a CD) was adulterated and couldn’t be pulled up, it was right after the last computer crash and mother board going belly up and my attempts to salvage the secondary hard drive. So, I have re-archived both Cyclones and Trout Clan blog site. In the process I started to look at what was said on Cy’s site three years ago up until a year ago when Cy stopped posting. It is very interesting reading. The site is still active and you can go back way to the beginning and see what we were all talking about then. For new people that site is at: http://cyclone696.blogspot.com/

Stoney, you take the honor of being one of the absolutely original readers and commentators on Cy’s site, Rockpicker taking a very close second place by one day in the comments anyway. Over the two years of the site being active, many people showed up, made comments for a time and then disappeared. The original paradigm at the site was political investigation, extrapolation and commentary concerning the political situation from Nov 2005 to Oct. 2007, at which point Trout Clan was moved to our current site.

During the life of Cy’s site, there were a lot of projections concerning what expectations we had about future events in this country and the world. A few of them actually came true. Many of them were too immediate, happening a year or two later, and some haven’t happened, and since the ones that didn’t happen had to do mostly with legal action of entities in our government, we were disappointed.

We have much to thank Cyclone for. His exposé’s on the political happenings of the day were always insightful and drew much interest. It was what appealed to Freeacre and myself and got us involved in the site. Another attribute of the site was the people taking part in the comments. We became enthralled by the interaction and the personalities involved resulting in Freeacre and myself in the summer of 2006 making a trip to Montana and meeting Montana Freeman and Rockpicker and family. What a beautiful time that was.

After a time, about 8 months actually, Cy posted less and less and Freeacre and myself, as well as some other contributors, began to post more and more as Cy had personal problems and he simply couldn’t contribute as much. There was a brief period for a while in late 2006 where Cy rejoined the post before dropping out completely and turned the site over to Freeacre and myself. After the formation of the Trout Clan off shoot, Cy came in and made comments for a few months and then disappeared altogether. We are so glad Cy has made an appearance again just lately. We missed you dude.

Because Cy was unique to the site in that he had contacts for inside information on events, he was able to contribute a lot of data and information the rest of us did not have. When he began to withdraw from the site, the contributions to the posts changed the tone of the site since we all did not have contacts like that, changing from political information and bashing to something else; I am not sure what to call it. In a sense, we become more abstract in our posts and comments. Belgium, Stoney, Carl in Pa, Reality, Freeacre and myself kept the blog alive, making contributions in the form of posts. Thank you all for doing so and providing different perspectives and information.

Which pretty much brings us up to the present. What we have ended up with is quite literally a cyber tribe, passing the talking stick around; with a greatly expanded subject interest that sometimes take a bizarre twist from the posted subject. All of which lends a uniqueness to the site. Freeacre and myself spend a lot of computer time looking at a huge assortment of sites, many of them blog sites. I can unequivocally say this site is quite unique. We have not found another blog site that has the amount of comfort zone in it that we experience. Some do come close. Over the last three years we have watched ourselves and the regulars contributing to posts and comments develop a trust and sharing that we do not find elsewhere. I guess that should qualify us all as a community, even if it is in cyberspace and we are all separated by thousands of physical miles.

Without being presumptuous and steering away from being maudlin, all of you who have stayed with the site, contributed posts, made comments and shared yourselves and thoughts have enriched my life and knowledge base. We also welcome the newcomers to the site. Hope you stick around. I bow in gracious acknowledgment to all your efforts and thoughts. Murph.

From freeacre

As I look back at the evolution of this site, I see three stages. The first was when we were all outraged and fuming about George Bush and his miscreant cabal. Much gnashing of teeth concerning politics, power plays, the inside scoops on the economy, a lot of the information provided by Cyclone at his site, Cyclone’s Real Deal. This, of course, continues to this day with the outrages at every turn.

Then, as the Murphinator and I began to contribute, the content began to include more information on resource depletion, Peak Oil, changes in the economy, our relationship with the earth and serious changes in lifestyle. My history of eight years in a women’s spiritual drumming circle and honoring Native American traditions began to influence the format. Our Cherokee elder, Montana Freeman, greatly enriched our world view with his bold stories, great humor, and intuitive wisdom. His spirit guide, Langusta ( a cricket) became one of the tribe as well, and is a valued member of the tribe even today. This probably would not have been possible if we had not begun to have the value that none of us has The Answer. Rather, each of us shares what is true for us, and together, we gain a much larger perspective. Stoney, as well, is part Cherokee, and his warrior (ex Navy Seal and ferocious father protection energy) essence contributes that fire that warms us all.

The fire is fanned brighter by the incredible poetic breath of Rockpicker, a stone mason in Montana and natural born Irish muse. He paints us pictures that inspire and enlighten and once in awhile bring us to tears. I have asked Rockpicker to send us a collection of poems that he has written on the blogsite. Posting them would be a way to celebrate and acknowledge the heart essence of the Clan, as well as the eye that sees beyond the visible.

Ah, and our far-flung, but invaluable brothers, Belgium (Spirit Across the Sea), an Englishman living in Belgium; Ely from Columbia, and Singapore Guy – who contribute excellent thoughts and practical applications of their vast knowledge, as well as sharing their feelings and poignant experiences. Our perspective is so enhanced by the gift of sharing the view from differing parts of the globe. It’s good to be humbled by how much more they know about what is going on here than we in America know about there. Eventually, the tribal element began to take form, and the campfire was struck and moved to this site next to a river in our collective imaginations.

We are so lucky that just the right people keep coming along and throwing another log on the fire. Our brilliant youngest sister, ras, from Alabama, struggling to invent a new paradigm to live her life by. Our dear Palooka’s Revenge, a wonderful blend of strong masculine as well as feminine philosophies and insightful wisdom. Mrs.p, and Dude, and Dave – all eloquent contributors who give us glimpses into their lives and how they walk their talk.

Some have sat with us awhile and then moved on. But, I believe they know that they are always welcome if they pass this way again. And, some sit in silence with us. We can feel them, and we are happy to have them here as well.

These are challenging times. Most people can’t get their minds around just how significant are the changes required in response to resource depletion, the collapse of capitalism that requires ruthless growth, and the resulting political and social turmoil as it all transforms into something else. These tidal wave like forces re-shape us and take their toll. Navigating these waters requires all the intelligence and wisdom and energy and good humor and love we can muster. Sometimes we lead, sometimes we follow, rant, stumble, heal, and oftentimes we laugh.

In the process of kicking around our ideas of community, freedom, how to build a better world, and how to survive in this one, we have somehow created a cyber tribe of folks joined at the heart and open to each other’s minds. We welcome our new acquaintances, Moonraven, Jacque, Kesher, L.C. and want to hear more from you. With almost 25,000 hits in a year, I know there are many more of us in this circle.

I think it has all been good and very good. I think it is appropriate to celebrate and acknowledge the first full year of the Trout Clan Campfire and all that we have come to mean to each other. October 24, 2007 was the birth of this blog. We’ll keep the conversation going as long as we can. We are looking ahead to some seriously bumpy road. The lights may go out, and we may need to hold each others hand, just to get by. I am so grateful that we have each other.

Yea!! Now how about those trout tattoos!

aho