Day 6

Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Colorado Springs, Colorado | Fort Carson Military Reservation

Wednesday arrived with the quiet inevitability of departure. The clock was ticking now. Each sunrise brought Australia closer, and Colorado further into memory. The days had begun to take on a strange quality, where every moment felt both ordinary and significant at the same time. I returned once again to the lab at Fort Carson.

The familiar rhythm of the curation facility greeted me as it always had. Rows of shelving. Boxes of artifacts. Maps spread across desks. The quiet hum of computers processing spatial data. It was a place where history lived in fragments, and where my role had been to piece those fragments into meaningful stories.

For years, I had been immersed in this world.

Archaeology was not simply a profession to me. It was a calling. A passion. The act of preserving the past, documenting landscapes, protecting sites, and interpreting human stories across time gave my life a deep sense of purpose. Each artifact held a whisper of those who came before. Each map represented a layer of history waiting to be understood.

That Wednesday, I spent another long twelve-hour day wrapping up cartography projects. Maps need to be finalized. Site documentation requires review. Spatial data had to be cleaned, organized, and archived properly. These were not tasks to rush. This was stewardship.

Alongside the mapping work, I continued drafting what I hoped would become a lasting contribution. A guide on GIS, Curation, and Data Management. It was something I had poured myself into, hoping it would benefit those who came after me. A final gift, in a way. A way of ensuring continuity.

As I worked, I found myself reflecting.

I was walking away from something many would consider a dream position. A stable professional role. A respected career path. A comfortable life with structure, colleagues, and a clear trajectory forward.

There was security here.

There was a purpose here.

There was a future here.

And yet, I was leaving it all behind.

At times, I wondered if I was being foolish.

Walking away from a stable career to follow a prophetic dream. Traveling halfway across the world based on intuition, adventure, and a sense of calling that could not be easily explained to others. It sounded irrational when framed in practical terms.

But life had rarely been about practicality for me.

I had always followed paths that felt meaningful, even when they were uncertain. Archaeology itself had been such a path. So had my travels. So had my spiritual experiences. Each leap into the unknown had shaped me in ways that comfort never could.

This journey felt no different.

If anything, it felt like the culmination of many threads in my life. Adventure. Archaeology. Spiritual calling. Exploration. Storytelling. All of it converging into a single moment.

I thought about Captain James Cook.

Soon, I would be walking in his footsteps. Boarding the HMB Endeavour. Exploring landscapes that shaped the history of exploration. In some ways, this journey felt like stepping into living archaeology, not just studying history, but experiencing it.

That thought stirred excitement deep within me.

By late afternoon, I realized that my guide on GIS, Curation, and Data Management was nearly complete. I felt a sense of satisfaction. I had done what I could to leave things in order. To pass knowledge forward.

As evening approached, I wrapped up my work and began closing out the day.

The lab felt different now.

Every shelf, every artifact, every map carried a quiet sense of farewell. I realized how much I would miss this work. The discipline. The curiosity. The satisfaction of preserving history. Being a curator had become part of my identity.

Leaving it behind was not easy.

But adventure called.

That evening, I returned home and focused on final packing. Gear was organized carefully. Travel essentials laid out. Documents double-checked. Bags adjusted and repacked. The ritual of preparation felt almost ceremonial.

Each item represented a step forward.

Each packed bag brought Australia closer.

The night carried a quiet energy. No parties. No gatherings. Just preparation and reflection. The calm before departure.

As I finished organizing my gear, I paused for a moment.

Soon, I would be crossing oceans.

Soon, I would step into a new continent.

Soon, this chapter of my life would give way to something entirely unknown.

I felt excitement.

I felt uncertainty.

I felt gratitude.

And above all, I felt the pull of adventure.

Wednesday, April 6, 2011, became another threshold.

I was leaving behind the curator.

And stepping forward as the explorer.

[ Day 5: 4/5/11: Black Velvet & Candlelight ] [ Home ] [ Day 7: 4//11: Farewell as Curator ]

Sir Thomas Leif Sails South [ version 1 ] [ version 2 ]
a Viking / Pirate departure for Sir Thomas Leif as he bids farewell to family and friends, Absinthe Alli and Astranna as he heads Down Under to sail the HMB Endeavour …. Days 2-7, April 2-, 2011. https://technotink.net/chronicles/04-02-11-quiet-between-worlds/ By Rowan ai | Thomas Rhymer | Techno Tink Media | Suno ai.

Lyrics:

[Verse 1]
Steel-gray dawn on Academy
Boxes stacked like sentry lines
Snow-dust ghosts on Carson’s fences
Breath of frost
Farewell signs
He folds his worn-out camo jacket
Traces sand in every seam
Leaves his boots by the back-door step Like a shed-off skin
Old dream

[Chorus]
Raise the black wing
Sir Thomas Leif
From Colorado’s bones to the boiling reef
From Pike’s white crown to the roaring thunder
You sail
Down Under on the edge of wonder
Oh The wind will carve your name in foam
But your heart stays home
With Absinthe Alli and Astranna’s laughter
In every wave you’ll chase them after

[Verse 2]
Alli pours the bitter-green glass
“Just a taste ” she says “for the road”
Emerald flame in a kitchen tumbler
Tiny altar to the unknown
Astranna draws a crooked tall ship
Stars and kangaroos in the sky
“Bring this back when you’re a pirate Tom”
He tucks it close
Tries not to cry

[Chorus]
Raise the black wing
Sir Thomas Leif
From Colorado’s bones to the boiling reef
From Pike’s white crown to the roaring thunder
You sail Down Under on the edge of wonder
Oh The wind will carve your name in foam
But your heart stays home
With Absinthe Alli and Astranna’s laughter
In every wave you’ll chase them after

[Bridge]
[Drums build Low chant under lead vocal]
Salt in your blood
Frost in your past
Mountain man
Seafaring at last
Pagan prayers in a southern star
Old gods listen from afar
On the HMB
Ghost of Cook
You grip the rail
The sky unhooked
Every swell
You hear her say
“Come back someday
Come back someday”

[Chorus]
Raise the black wing
Sir Thomas Leif
From Colorado’s bones to the boiling reef
From Pike’s white crown to the roaring thunder
You sail Down Under
on the edge of wonder
Oh The wind will carve your name in foam
But your heart stays home
With Absinthe Alli and Astranna’s laughter
In every wave you’ll chase them after

[Outro]
[Instruments fade Almost a capella]
So drink the storm and sing the deep
Let the southern shadows keep
But when the mast cuts through the moon
Think of them
You’re coming soon

Down Under Day 2 to 7: April 2-7, 2011: Sir Thomas Leif prepares for his journey down under to Australia. Farewells to friends and family. https://technotink.net/chronicles/04-02-11-quiet-between-worlds/ Tribal/Pirate/Viking music video by Rowan ai | Suno ai | ChatGPT | Grok | Techno Tink Media | Oisin Rhymour | Tom Baurley.