“So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservatism, all of which may appear to give one peace of mind, but in reality nothing is more dangerous to the adventurous spirit within a man than a secure future. The very basic core of a man’s living spirit is his passion for adventure. The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun.”

~Alex Supertramp

This quote said by Alex Supertramp is so true. People get so annoyed with the everyday life and yet they never try to do anything about it. The people just continue to live their life of security because they are afraid of what is out there for them to behold. Alex says, "So many people... will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservatism, all of which may appear to give one peace of mind...". To me, this means, they have been brought up being so protected by society that they don't want an adventure. Alex then said, "reality nothing is more dangerous to the adventurous spirit within a man than a secure future. The very basic core of a man’s living spirit is his passion for adventure." To me, he is saying that all men and woman have a desire to be adventurous but it is masked and shrouded by the need to have a "regular" life which makes the person end up viewing the life of adventure, through the peepholes of the masks, as "weird" and "unneeded". I think Alex says it is dangerous because not having adventure in your life takes away from your ingenuity and creativity, leaving you as a "normal" and nobody likes a "normal"...

"The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun." I try to live this quote as best I can because it is absolutely true. It is a fact that when you experience new things, time seems to be moving slower and you are living longer compared to doing the same thing old thing over and over. This is so because the brain processes the new experience which give it that slow pace, giving you time to enjoy the moment while you process it. If you are constantly experiencing new events then you are constantly processing new things. If you are constantly processing new things then life moves slower. If life moves slower, the more you enjoy it.

Alex exemplified this by Giving up his "regular" life after college to go on an adventure. He was one of the few people that was unhappy with their life in society and decided to actually do something about it and instead of finding his peace of mind in a life of security, conformity, and conservatism, he finds it in a life of adventure. He went out into the world and traveled as far as he could. He went to Mexico, California, South Dakota, and many other places to experience new events and see a new sun rise everywhere he went.

My life has definitely adapted to a life of security, conformity, and conservatism. I find safety in living life like a "regular" and think it would be absurd to stray away from this life because I would not know what to do with myself. I wouldn't know how to survive. If Alex heard me say this he would probably question me, asking questions like: "Are you really happy with your life?", "Could you be happier in a different life?", or "Have you really ever thought about escaping that life?". I believe he would ask me these type of questions to see if I really was all for the life of a "regular". I believe he would tell me to just follow my heart and to do what makes me happy. Alex isn't a bossy guy so he wouldn't push for me to follow his type of lifestyle. I'm sure he would believe in my to make the right decision...

"Bitch Bad"

"Bitch bad.
Woman good.
Lady better.
They misunderstood"

I thought women hated being called the B-word?
If that is the case then why do so many women enjoy it if the word "Bad" is in front of it?

Poems for Alex

The Snow Man

One must have a mind of winter 

To regard the frost and the boughs 

Of the pine-trees crusted with snow;

And have been cold a long time 

To behold the junipers shagged with ice, 

The spruces rough in the distant glitter

Of the January sun; and not to think 

Of any misery in the sound of the wind, 

In the sound of a few leaves,

Which is the sound of the land 

Full of the same wind 

That is blowing in the same bare place

For the listener, who listens in the snow, 

And, nothing himself, beholds 

Nothing that is not there and the nothing that is.

 – Wallace Stevens

As I scavenge for poems, my paths cross with this one and my mind instantly thinks of my good friend, Alex Supertramp. He crossed my mind because he would tell me how much he wanted to deal with the cold and rough Alaskan wild and this poem pretty much describes that environment in such a serene way with the connection a person need to make to one's self to survive and enjoy it all.

Stevens says, "One must have a mind of winter... and have been cold a long time". This reminded me of Alex because I noticed he tends to be a little "cold". He never really gets too attached to the people he is around and ends up leaving not too long after meeting them. That's what he did with me... Right when I was getting fond of that kid.

Steven also says, "...and not think of any misery in the sound of the wind" which can also relate to Alex. He was a pretty mellow guy; he never really seemed worried about anything, like he had everything under control. He just seemed to not have any worries.

Lastly, Stevens says, "...For the listener, who listens in the snow, and, nothing himself, beholds, nothing that is not there and the nothing that is". This means to me that a person must be humble to enjoy the simple things in life. Alex was always humble. He worked hard but did not brag about it when people complimented him about it. I Believe he will do well in Alaska.

REBEL

Rebel is Great

Rebel is fun

I want to be a rebel

Image of a Man

Shadow of a God

Rebel fascist

fascist fascist

Rebel questions

not follow

Iron fist

Do we need that

Rebel Rebel

Rebel is Great.

 – Anon

This was another poem I found which reminded me of Alex. This is about being a rebel. Most people may not call Alex a rebel but I think he is; he goes by his own rules, sets his own path, and ignore all authorities. This poem reminds me of him because Alex is a great kid ("Rebel is Great"), he knows how to have fun ("Rebel is fun"), He is somewhat a perfectionist the way he hates flaws in others and in himself ("Shadow of a God"), and he sets his own path ("Rebel questions not follow")

Alex was a rebel that found his was in the Alaskan wild where he met his inner self... May he rest peacefully...

Walking From South to South

"I'm leaving. I won't be back for a while... Or maybe never...". That was the last thing I told my family through a text right before turning off my phone and boarding the plane to Santa Cruz, Argentina, South America.

On the plane I thought about my quest: What was I trying to prove? Is this a smart decision? I came close to a point of regret but I've come too far to regret anything. I was at the point of no return. Where would I return to? That life of stress I'm trying to escape from? Hell no.

A light came on overhead followed by a flight attendant saying, "Please buckle your seat beats as we prepare to touch down in Santa Cruz, Argentina Airport". The next thing I knew I was collecting my only bag and stepping out of the airport into a new life. I didn't know where to start. I didn't have a map, a phone, a GPS, iPod. Only things I had were the things in my bag. I wanted to pack light so it wouldn't be too much work to walk around (because that's what I would be doing most of the time) so I only packed 3 outfits (Along with the outfit I already have on makes 4), A sleeping bag, a handy-dandy Swiss army knife, a few hundred dollars, and a watch my dad gave me a while back to give me the time. I wanted to ask one of the many buzzing bodies zipping passed me, left and right, for directions but what good would that do? I was a person that spoke English, stranded in a Spanish speaking country. So I said, "To hell with this!" and walked in any direction I please.

There were a few destinations that I wanted to go to while I was in the south but my main goal was to walk from the bottom of South America to the top of South America, visit as many places and meet as many different people as I can, and just be stress-free.

I walked and walked and walked. I walked with a thumb up to every car that drove passed me. Surprisingly enough, I got a ride from almost half the people that passed me. People down here are way more generous than then the people "up there". Even though they couldn't take me far, I still appreciated the ride and the conversation. Even though we didn't understand each other's language, we still knew what each other was talking about. Crazy, huh? I asked most of the people how to get to Rio de Janeiro and it was like we had to play charades to try and understand what each other was trying to say; it was a fun experience. Eventually, I got the directions and I was on my way.

Weeks later I got to my dream city, Rio de Janeiro. The sun was shining, a slight breeze was blowing, the people were buzzing, and the birds were singing. Rio was the place to be. Beautiful women. Beautiful Food. Beautiful beaches. I didn't know where to start. Maybe I'll start at the Corcovado Mountain & Christ The Redeemer Statue. I climbed the hill up to the statue and basked in it's glory and beauty. To my left, I saw a couple kneeling down, say prays to the statue. To my right, I saw 2 little boys kicking around a little beat up ball. On the ledge, I saw a man playing a guitar and singing. He was not playing for money. He was playing simply just to play. In Rio, I noticed the simplicity of life; how not everything had to be apart of a bigger scheme.

Rio became my second home but after staying there a couple months, it was time to move on. I went up north to Venezuela. There's a mountain over there by the name of Angel falls and I've heard it was beautiful.

I've also heard it was the highest waterfall in the world. I wanted to go to try and climb it without any gear. I walked and hitched hiked all the way to the way to the waterfall. When I got there, I was a bit stunned of how high it actually was. The mountain towered over me and seemed liked it was stretching passed the ozone layer. The roar of the falls echoed for yards and the sound of the insects and birds mixed with the falls roar to create the most beautiful song of nature.
I circled the mountains. Looking for a place to approach it and begin my ascension. When i found the easiest way up, I began immediately at the next day's sunrise.
After hours of climbing I finally reached the top and I went over to the edge to see how far I've come.

Good thing I was wasn't afraid of heights.

I sat on top of the falls for hours thinking: I wonder what life would be like back at home? Does anybody miss me? How hard would it be to go back? Do I really want to go back to that hellish and stressful life? I walked to the ledge and looked down. "Is there anything left for me to do in this life?" I leaned forward, over the cliff. The hours it took to ascend took only seconds to descend but it felt like hours. on the way down I thought: what was I trying to prove? Is this a smart decision? I came close to a point of regret but I've come too far to regret anything. I was passed the point of no return. Right before impact with the ground below, I closed my eyes and took in a final breath and at that moment, My soul departed and I went to a better place.

Back at the top of Angel's Fall, there was a note that I left on a piece of wood that had words carved out by a knife. the note read: "Life is complete".

Accidental Murder?

Accidents happen, right? But is there really such a thing as an accidental murder?

The couple of Pipín Ferreras, a cuban man, and Audrey Mestre, a french woman, a pair of record setting free divers, seemed to be the perfect fit for each other. They spent time with each other. They loved and respected each other. They encouraged each other. They competed against each other. What more is there to ask for? With so much love in the relationship they had, why is it that Audrey ended up dead and that Pipín is to blame? 

It all began when a woman by the name of Tanya Streeter set a new record by diving 525 feet deep, almost 100 feet deeper than Audrey's record. This cause Audrey's retaliation. But she was scared. Pipín's record was only 6 ½ feet away. She didn't have the guts to break his record so she said she would try to reach somewhere in the middle even though she knew she could do better, Audrey and Pipín both knew she could do better so Pipín encouraged his wife to go beyond his record. Maybe 538 ft deep? Or even 544 ½ ft. How about 551 ft? Scratch that, 558 ft. He even pushed her to go down to 597 ft deep. She told him she would not go that deep but only to 561 ft, 36 ft less than what he wanted.

Something about the day of the dive was off. The sky boomed with thunder and lightning, the waters were choppy, and most of their crew and safety hands were not there. Only 15 boats full a spectators and reporters, a few of their crew, Pipín, and Audrey was there. Before the dive the crew prayed to Changó, the Santería god of storms, and by mid afternoon, the sky was clear. Pipín prepared His wife for the dive since the shortage of crew members. While checking the are in the tank that would bring the sled back to the top, he only opened it to see if there was air in it and when he heard the hiss of the air he closed it back up. He never checked to see if it was at the right pressure; a huge mistake.

When she went under and reached her depth, she pulled the pin to inflate the bag to bring her back to the top but it didn't inflate; a common error that happens. But was this occurrence an accident? Audrey was stuck at 561 ft below the sea for more than 2 minutes, with more than 200 pound of pressure on her body. To help the lift, the bottom safety diver, Pascal Bernabe  inserted his mouth piece tnto the lift bag to add air nad the sled began to ascend... But not high enough. Pascal offer her his mouth piece so she could breathe in air but she wouldn't accept it for some reason. Maybe because she thought people would render her dive a failure if she took a breath. She would've accepted it from Pipín. But he wasn't there.

After 3 minutes and 50 seconds, Audrey lost consciousness and drifted away from the sled. Pascal grabbed her limp body as he ascended. Pipín threw on a suit and dove in, meeting up with Pascal at some point to take his wife to the surface. 8 minutes and 38 seconds after her last breath, they surfaced. She was rushed to the hospital after been giving fail attempts at CPR. By then it was already too late.

There are rumors and questions going around. Where is the video of her dive, taken by the camera attached to the sled? Why were there so few safety divers? Why wasn't Audrey wearing a self-inflating wet suit? Why wasn't there a harness-and-pulley system that could've cranked her up from above the surface? Why weren't there any doctors or intubation tubes on site? Why is this the first death in this sport? What about Berttoni's and Fernandez's death? How does a man who doesn't even wear a seat belt in his car end up in charge of safety for the world's deepest dive?

All these questions circulated around the time of her death. I believe that this was an accident. Why would a man kill he was madly in love with since day one? There were some points that could've been changed so Audrey would still be alive. Pipín could've the air pressure. The complete crew and replacements should've been around so nothing went wrong and a crew of medic could've been there just in case something did go wrong.

Everyone is entitled to an opinion. I've stated mine based on the evidence I've collected. From what you have read in this article, you can compose your own opinion. you have the puzzle piece, connect them to see what kind of opinion you can create...