Who Is Tedra?

  Old navy fleece will forever make me think of you and the first time we really got to know each other. I honestly love that something that ridiculous is what our first real "memory/inside joke" was. We were in Hyannis, sitting on a hotel bed with Cat in someone's random room and Cat and I were talking pretty much fully in our inside jokes (like we usually did) and you were apparently feeling left out and confused and all I can see still is you leaning your face wicked close into mine because you were sitting across from me, looking me dead in the eyes and yelling, "Old Navy Fleece!!" and Cat and I lost it all over again and you were like, "NOTHING you guys are saying right now makes any sense, what the FUCK are we talking about?!?"  You always made time to ask me about Soloe every time we talked....and you have the honor of being the only person (kind of) other than me to make it into all the bullshit court paperwork over the years. Although that bec...

  Ever since I found out that I was like 75% Native American/Indigenous, I have done even more research and dug even deeper than I already was into the Indigenous culture(s) that exist in Mexico...or I should say existED in Mexico. Unlike the United States where there are Federally recognized tribes, Mexico does not operate like that. Different peoples derive from different tribes and some still refer to themselves as part of one of those specific tribes, but most are a mix, or unaware of their own ancestral history. We can break it down really generally into three main ancient civilizations/Indigenous tribes that most people derive from: the Mayans, the Aztecs, and the Incans. The history of those three tribes alone needs to be a whole post in itself, but they were all revolutionary and made their own marks in history. Personally, the area where my family and most recent ancestors are from was Aztec land (Mexico City and surrounding areas). I have always been intrigued by the Azte...

      A shaman is someone who has always been drawn to nature, who naturally hears the whispers of Spirit through the breeze, who welcomes the rains, glorifies in the heat of the sun and connects with the nourishment of the earth. A Shaman embraces each season, rejoices at every new bud during the first stirrings of spring, the harvest abundance that summer supplies, the falling leaves of autumn and the deep dark mystery that accompanies the winter months. The Shamans heart sings at the mere notion of the workings of Spirit, has an affinity with the ways of natural healing and believes in another world of mystical beings. The Shaman is able to connect naturally with this "other world", perceiving the spirits that are all around, in all that is alive. This is the belief system of Shamanism, for it is not a religion, but a world of freedom, magic and connection with the natural world, and that of Spirit. Our ancestors, and other indigenous peoples, lived their lives trustin...

  At this point, I’ve honestly lost count of how many times I’ve gone to detox. On one hand some people might say that’s not a bad thing, but sometimes I wish I could remember certain things…like the first time I met so many of the beautiful individuals I grew to become friends with. The vast majority of them are gone now, most before they even hit the age of 30 and I wish I could do a better job of memorializing all their unique personalities they way I want to and the way they deserve. I’m going to keep writing and hope the memories keep flowing the more I keep up with this shit.               For now, what I remember about my first ever time going to Gosnold is mainly two things - #1: I was scared out of my fucking mind, and #2: I finally felt like I had found my people. The ones who understood what it felt like to live in hell every day but have to keep it together for everyone else around you. They always seemed...

  I took a day trip to the Wachusett Reservoir in Clinton, MA, which is actually the site of the Wachusett Dam. It impounds the Nashua River, creating the reservoir. Construction started in 1897 and was completed in 1905, and at its completion it was the largest public water supply reservoir in the world. It was the largest gravity dam in the world at that time as well.  During construction, churches, factories, homes, and schools within the valley had to be knocked down or moved. Roads and rail lines had to be relocated, a railroad tunnel and trestle had to be built in order to relocate the Central Massachusetts Railroad, and over four thousand bodies had be dug up and moved in the local Catholic cemetery.  As part of this rerouting, a .2-mile long tunnel was built that ran underneath a hill to the northeast of the reservoir. In the 1930s, freight traffic along the route began to dwindle, and by the late 1950s, both freight and passenger service had ceased. By the end of...

  Richard A. Thambash, Jr. :  09/06/1990 – 02/06/2015 24 years old; from Bellingham/Norwood, Massachusetts   “ True Boston fan. He loved the Patriots; his favorite player being Julian Edelman. He never missed a game. He and his father both loved Dwane “The Rock” Johnson, and Richie Jr. would say that is who his dad reminded him of.” (from obituary) Personal Interaction(s) :             I first met Rich in January 2012 at Gosnold detox. It also happened to be my first time ever going. I saw him next in October of 2014 at Gosnold again. He ended up getting a bed at a sober house in Falmouth. We texted each other every day the whole time he was in Falmouth. He didn’t have a vehicle, so I drove him to a meeting with me every night and when he eventually got a job at Sullivan Tires, I picked him up before every shift he had and brought him to work. I would go back and get him again at his lunch break and spend tho...

  Purgatory Chasm is located in Sutton, MA and was named a state park in 1919. According to popular theory, it was created around 14,000 years ago when glacial meltwater that had built up finally burst its restraints and rushed through the area. The torrent was so strong that it ripped through the landscape tearing pieces of bedrock along in its wake, carving the chasm we see today. It consists of a half-mile long stone wash that runs between the massive granite walls. At some points along the chasm trail, the walls rise 70 feet up into the air. Some of the stones overhang the hiking trails and ominously loom over your head. Some points of the hike narrow to cracks in giant rocks just a little over a foot wide. It has plenty of trails that run along side the chasm itself, and one that runs right through the amazing granite walls. I loved visiting this place, and I wish I had planned my timing better so I could explore more. This is a spot that I will 100% be visiting again. There i...