Geocaching Ups and Downs

So, it's been another year and then some...  OK, two years and then some, since I last posted on this blog.  I've come to realize I don't like writing blogs so much when nobody ever reads them.  The worst feedback is no feedback at all, ya know?  But, then there are times when I just want to write about my experiences whether or not anyone else cares.  Geocaching has been on the back burner for a while.  Life has its way of showing you what you need to do and when you need to do it.  At any rate, I have to go so far away from home to get more than a couple of caches, and only occasionally do new ones pop up in my area.  They're mostly inscrutable, unsolvable puzzles.
Anyway, life has its ups and downs, and geocaching does, too.  That's just how it goes.  

Yesterday was an up day.  I spent the day in Alameda, gathering just a few caches, then drove into Oakland for a couple more.  While much of the Bay Area, including my home in the South Bay, was sweltering around 100 degrees, Alameda and Jack London Square were a very comfortable 78 with a nice breeze.
I met a street character as I was walking back to my car from Jack London Square.  As I passed by, I heard him say, "Even the police don't know I'm ICORPS."

Well, I just knew this would be interesting.  I turned around and said, "You're ICORPS?"
He said, "Yeah, do you know ICORPS?"
I shook my head.
"You don't know ICORPS?  I'm the military CIA.  I go all over the world to kill people."
"Oh, OK."
He muttered a few other things about his job as an ICORPS assassin before I could ask him:
"So, where are you going next?"  I imagined a story of how he planned to track down Edward Snowden, or possibly go after Morsi or some other newsworthy figure.  But he waved his hand in a dismissive gesture.

"Ah, I'm dead."
"You're dead?" I asked.
"Yeah, I mean, I don't.. I'm 64 now. I'm dead."

Then his face brightened.

"But I got a 33 year old lady chasing me!" he bragged.
"In a good way?" I asked.
"Yeah!  And you know, she's got a son, and I said to her, 'do you want a daughter?'"
We both laughed, and I wagged my finger at him, saying, "Oh you..."
I did not say, "dirty old man."  I left it unsaid.  Then I said, "Well, you have a good day," to which he replied, "You have a nice life."

Street people can be colorful and interesting, but I often wonder how many people even notice them.  Oakland has lots of street people.  As I continued to walk around the downtown area, I saw some that looked very colorful, some that looked very scary, and some that just looked sad.  It made me sad.  I've always been just one unfortunate incident resulting in a very large bill away from being on the street myself.  But I know there's an element of choice, too.  I know how to rescue myself, if need be.  And I have lots of friends.

Anyway, this is not the kind of ups and downs I was referring to in the title of this post.  I was actually going to complain about tree caches.  I hate them.  I cannot climb trees or fences or anything even remotely vertical.  I have a hard enough time staying vertical myself!  I went splat on the sidewalk just a few days ago, and have two nasty bruised knees to show for it.  I also wanted to complain about caches that make me have to sit on the ground to reach them, because getting back to my feet is also difficult, especially if I have to roll onto my knees.  Those were the ups and downs I originally intended to write about.  But, that wouldn't be my style.