Like so many things in life, we know how we got to be in the position we are in, but don't want to admit it. Me, I was walking quite merrily down a road that I thought was well travelled. It seemed everyone was going the way I was going. Sure, I saw the forks and turn offs, the other paths, but I kept going the way I thought I was to go. For myself - yes, for others - yes, out of habit - probably, out of some sense of (misguided or not) duty - yes. And now, here I am. Stuck in a swamp, up to my waist in muck and stagnation. The smells around me are putrid, decaying life. And yes, swamps look wonderfully cool and beautiful from a boat, canoe, airplane, or some other means to keep you out of the mud. But once you are stuck, that is a different story...

I had bought this watch on a whim. The man on the TV said it would last forever and it would, in the words of a competitor, "take a lickin." I should have known that any off brand, particularly one named "Promise, " would break as soon as I hit the swamp. I looked in vain at the watch. 3:16. Same thing it said two hours ago; same thing it said this morning at dawn and last night at dusk. 3:16. I guess I am lucky even to have a broken watch. It takes my mind off of my real problems, even for just a second (I guess it is a second, the second hand no longer moves with "a determined sweep around the brushed metal face" of my watch).

I have been wandering aimlessly around this primordial paradise of mosquitoes, gators, rats, snakes, maggots, flies, leeches and various and sundry other pests for weeks now. I find what little food I can, but I am starving. My legs are weak, but probably no weaker than my determination. It has gotten increasingly hard to pull one foot up from the water and mud and put it down in front of me. I never know what I am going to step on or in. I never know if I will loose mu footing or my foot. The suspense is maddening. Stepping blindly here is like, if I can be so trite, playing twister with Death, and Death cheats. (My apologies to Twister, its manufacturer, Twister fans and anyone else offended by the analogy.) I have been standing in this spot now for quite awhile, contemplating my next move. Wondering if I should just lay down in the water and let nature take its course. Wondering if I deserve to go on, if anyone really notices me out here, or misses me out there. That was when I saw the flashing and decided to investigate.

A piece of metal - maybe from a cola can or something. I couldn't tell by the small bit I held or the washed out colors. In fact, the only thing I could read were some code numbers - you know, the ones some computer prints on the side of a can for reasons unknown to the average drinker. The code is faded and tough to read, but not impossible. 139-17-18. I have no idea what the makers of this bit of metal meant by the number. Curious. I walked over to this spot without much trouble and my hunger pains have been displaced for a time by my curiosity. But the reality of being lost in a swamp is still there, and I quickly return to my morbid ruminations.

And another distraction. I am not sure how I spotted it, but it seems as plain as day to me now. A tired old saying, really - plain as day, but I have no others. This distraction looks like a bit of cardboard. It too has only numbers upon it. Again the coding of some unknown manufacturer has provided me with some brief respite and goal. This code is just as mysterious to me as the last. 31-24. Why are these numbers put on things, and what can they be used for. I haven't a clue. This time the morbid thought don't return as quickly, as i look about for my next mystery, my next treasure.

43.5. Found on a piece of Styrofoam floating in a nameless swamp. 12/12. Found on a bit of glass. The glass rounded and dull, safe to the touch. Looking back at the day, I have come further than I would have ever dreamed. I have travelled through this swamp without getting eaten, falling, or losing my way. These numbers are providing a path, a way through the swamp. They are giving me a distraction from the dangers and the hunger. They are hopefully leading me out of the swamp. Magic thinking, maybe, but so far they are the only things giving any sort of results. I guess I will know in time...