There's Primal... and then there's Primal.

We love to think of good old Mother Nature as our friend.  How many times have you heard, "It's good for you! It's Natural?" There is a tendency among Primalists, Naturalists, herbalists and a host of other -ists to equate 'natural' with 'good.'  In some cases this is true.  Eating more 'naturally' and enjoying better health and happiness is what this blog is all about after all.  We should love, respect and preserve Mother Nature... but don't expect her to return the favor.  Jackals, mosquitoes, box jellyfish, ebola, poison oak and deadly nightshade are all natural after all.  Every so often we forget that Mother Nature has her eye on the big picture and is at best neutral when it comes to our little lives.  It's not a good idea to push her.

Recently a friend of mine decided to look Africa in the eye and dare it to kill him.  He is maybe the fittest, toughest and smartest person that I have ever met. He was well-equipped and well prepared both physically and mentally to take on Africa on it's toughest terms. It damn near succeeded anyway;  Africa is good at killing people.  He isn't dead because he was surrounded by good people with access to a lot of resources, he was lucky as hell and because frankly he is freakin' superman.  His Doctors say that any normal person in his circumstances would have died. They aren't entirely sure why he didn't die.  So now my pal is in a hospital in Texas looking at a long road back to health and he's lucky as hell to be there.  God bless you Rain Man and get better soon.  Preferably after the urge to kick your ass has passed.

You don't mess with Mother Nature.

My own recent experience with Nature-red-in-tooth-claw and was much less severe and the consequences less lasting. It started innocently enough.  Linda and I were walking around Westport and I noticed one of the many deep-sea fishing charters companies along the waterfront.  I've never been deep-sea fishing before and rather to my surprise I found that I wanted to. We talked to a few of them about the sorts of fishing trips they do and what they cost (less than expected) and decided that I would go bottom-fishing.  Spend a few hours on a boat, do some fishing, have a new experience and come home with lots of nice fresh Rockfish and Cod.  What could go wrong?  I talked it over with my Dad and he agreed to come along and even pay for the trip as my birthday present.  Plans were made and I was very much looking forward to the trip.

So the other day I picked up dad and we made the three-hour drive to Westport, got a hotel, had a nice dinner and turned in. At 4:30 am we got up, dressed, grabbed some breakfast and showed up at the Charter Service's offices only to be told the charter was cancelled.  Conditions this morning had turned out to be too rough for bottom fishing- but there were spaces available on the salmon run that was about to leave... we looked at each other.  What the hell- we were here, right?  Might as well.

I am not sure what part of 'too rough' failed to register with us but the nice lady in the office called the boat and had them wait for us as we grabbed our coolers and scurried across the street to the dock and onto the boat.  A quick introduction and safety brief and we were off.  Racing through the heavy seas in the pitching boat to our fishing spot was exhilarating.  After an hour or so we arrived at our fishing spot, were briefed on the equipment and got our lines in the water.  In less than ten minutes I was reeling in a salmon!  It was sadly a couple of inches too short to keep but it was a good start. It was in fact the high-point of the day.

For one thing we discovered exactly what constitutes 'too rough' for bottom fishing.  Eight to ten foot swells. In an ocean liner or Naval destroyer these are not much.  In a thirty-foot fishing boat though... I won't swear that the keel of that boat never saw daylight.  At one point I was wedged between the rail and  deck-house looking more or less straight down into the trough of a wave. Ouch.  After an hour my Dad, who is never seasick was. An hour after that so was I.  To add insult to injury the fishing was terrible.  In the end Dad felt enough better that he returned to fishing and caught a good-sized salmon but again could not keep it.  We were only allowed to catch farm-raised salmon and his was wild so it was thrown back.

By the time we had to put back into port everyone had caught a fish but only two were 'keepers.' It was still worth it despite the seasickness and no fish; I got to spend a couple days with my dad, got to deep sea fish, caught my first salmon.  Yeah, I got seasick for the first time- not on my bucket list- but what the heck.

I also got a graphic reminder that while pursing a more natural diet and lifestyle is good Nature is not our friend.  Bearing that in mind we need to remember that just because a thing is 'natural' doesn't automatically mean that it is good, or that man and all the products of his civilization are bad.

Speaking of natural and the works of man sunlight is natural and with summer coming on we should discuss that.  You need a certain amount to make vitamin D and stay healthy.  Getting out and about in the sun also has other benefits- makes us feel happier, it's pretty and all that.  But it's one of the many natural things that are only good for you up to a point...  Yes, our ancestors lived out in the sun all day long. But sunlight isn't what it used to be. Sunlight has not changed over the years but we have changed sunlight so to speak; more precisely our industrial society has changed the atmosphere so that it doesn't protect us from the sun like it used to.  Vitamin D is good.  Sunburn and skin cancer are not.  As in so many things moderation is the key; get some sun and then get out of the sun, put on a long sleeved shirt and a broad-brimmed hat or whatever.  How much sun is enough? That is a very individual thing but if you are in danger of a sunburn you've had enough.  Don't use sunscreen unless you cannot avoid being out in the sun longer than you should be.  God knows what's in that stuff and what it's doing to you.  Yeah, they tested it and it's not going to kill you right away but better safe than sorry.

Speaking of hats they are definitely 'Primal.'  Current depictions of 'cave-men' more and more often portray them wearing hats on one sort or another.  Hats make sense; your head gets a lot of blood-flow and that tends to transfer heat into or out of your body depending on whether it's hot or cold.  Cold? Put on a hat.  Hot? Put on a hat.   It worked for them in the way-backs and it still works today.

Yesterday was my birthday. 29 again?!  Who'd have thought...  Predictably the diet went off the rails for the occasion.  I had a friend over and we all went out for Pizza.  The Rock Woodfired Pizza specifically.  With a hand-cut potato-chip appetizer.  And a coke. Hey, nobody is perfect.  Special occasions are special and I am not going to beat myself up over the occasional lapse... But between GTHDD and my birthday I think we've used up the month's allowance.  So I am going to go cook us a nice 'primal' breakfast from natural ingredients and then we need to get our day started.