02.03-expectations
02.03-expectations
Spread 001 [p1–p2]
type: image_heavy | img coverage: L=51% R=27% heading: Expectations
Visual description
The left page opens with the large bold chapter title "Expectations 2.03" above a full-width documentary photograph of Daniel seated inside a vehicle (likely the Airstream), wearing a white N95 mask and covering his eyes with both hands. The photo is captioned "Recorded Sept. 13, 2020, Hood River, OR" at the bottom.
The right page begins with a narrow author’s note dated November 22, 2021, describing Texas weather and the author editing the chapter while wearing an N95. Below it appears the chapter text, including the definition of “EX-PEC-TA-TION,” a pop quiz referencing the mask and smoke, and a discussion of unmet expectations.
A second color photograph occupies the lower right, showing a black portable fire pit on grass with burning logs and visible smoke rising. The image carries the caption “TIMING and THINKING” and a Neil deGrasse Tyson quote.
The mask-and-hands photo functions as an ironic, metaphorical illustration of the chapter theme, visually echoing the author’s note about editing expectations content while masked.
Left page
Expectations 2.03 leaving SCOTOMAVILLE 192 Recorded Sept. 13, 2020, Hood River, OR
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Pop quiz. What do you see? Pointing to my face mask, yes, it’s an N-95. Second question. Why am I wearing this outside? Look for the smoke. Look for the sun. I have unmet expectations and strong emotions. But, I’m getting ahead. Let’s back up. I’ve heard that the true test of genius is to explain complex things in simple terms. I can’t say that I’m about to do that, but I want you to think about complicated things. You’ve likely heard that saying that goes: “when life gives you lemons, make lemonade.” So let’s think about that for a second. Is it possible to make lemonade out of lemons? Methinks no. The best you’ll get is pure lemon juice. But, to make lemonade, you need addi tional ingredients and tools. You need some ex·pec·ta·tion: a strong belief that something will happen or be the case in the future - that you will or should achieve something. AUTHORS NOTE: IT’S 67° AT 4:12 P.M. NOV. 22, 2021 We’re enjoying the warm Texas weather and light breeze with most of our Airstream windows open. Upwind, Sue and her husband are enjoying their mesquite campfire. (below) They thought the smoke would ‘stream’ around us. That’s cute. I thought they’d find it ‘quirky’ that I’m editing this print chap ter on EXPECTATIONS wearing an N95! TIMING and THINKING: Remember Neil deGrasse Tyson: “It’s not WHAT you think that matters. It’s HOW you think.“ I appreciate how my thinking has matured.
Spread 002 [p3–p4]
type: image_heavy | img coverage: L=50% R=0% heading: thing to cut the lemon. You need a container.
Visual description
The left page opens with the lemonade metaphor in body text, followed by a bold “SLEUTHING A SOLUTION” heading and narrative about equipment limitations. At the bottom left, a documentary photograph shows two men—one in a black shirt and cap, the other in a green shirt—handling a large red-and-black board beside a red pickup truck in a sunny outdoor lot. Immediately to its right is a close-up portrait of an older bearded man (Daniel) wearing a green shirt, beige cap, glasses, and blue neck gaiter, looking directly at the camera. Below these photos sits a tight close-up of a camouflage-textured surface with a red hexagonal pattern and a hand touching it. The right page continues the story under the heading “FOILED BY KEITH FREDRICKSON,” with dialogue excerpts and a dark gray quote box containing Keith Fredrickson’s words; the photographs are straightforward documentary images from the journey, used to illustrate collaborative problem-solving rather than any ironic or metaphorical visual device.
Left page
thing to cut the lemon. You need a container. You need water and sugar, or it’s going to be tart. And, you need something to drink it out of
- if you’re going to share.
An expectation of making lemonade requires more than tart lemons - it needs the insight gained by failures - that’s maturity - or guidance from those that have experience. “Sure Daniel, I see your optimism and encouragement, but your life seems to be a bunch of hardships through mishaps and blind-spots.” I hear you. Here’s an example of how things tend to work out for me. I found a solution to a problem not by forcing one, rather I anticipated one as the outcome of ‘learning’ by asking, listening, and watching. Thank you Keith. The wing works great for me. Your efforts and investment are being ‘passed forward’ to the reader this very moment! SLEUTHING A SOLUTION Alex Laudon (previous Episode) said, “Daniel, the thing that’s holding you back is your equip ment. The wing on your foil is... slightly smaller than what you need to learn on. We’ve been able to develop better-balanced gear and so what you need is a much bigger wing for you to have a stable jibe at lower speeds.” So I called Peter Lederer, who made my LP foil, discovering they’re back-logged with production and supply delays. It would be after this season before I’d get a larger wing made. I had no idea how I would go about getting what Keith was holding. (below)
Watch how this happened and mimic me.
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Believing I needed a larger wing, and anticipating that something would happen, I expanded my awareness. I was NOT going to force a solution; instead, I looked for insight. FOILED BY KEITH FREDRICKSON Daniel: Keith, thanks for sharing in this Episode. You’ve done something highly unusual in today’s world - which is to trust a stranger (me) while delivering a solution. Please share what you’ve been through to do this for me. Keith: I decided to get into foiling in late 2018 after my third knee surgery from windsurfing. Wind-foiling looks like a crossover. Peter Lederer is making these here in the Gorge. I bought a foil with strut, fuselage, and wings. I went to Stevenson (a local launch site), rigged my gear, put my wetsuit on, and went out on the river. Unfortunately, I had forgotten the retaining bolts. I sailed about 25 yards when the entire foil pulled out of my board and sank to the bottom of the river. What could I do? Well, I hired a scuba diver. I spent 200 bucks, and he couldn’t find it even with three hours looking, so I gave up and bought another foil (very expensive). Three weeks later, the scuba diver said, “I don’t want to give up on that foil. How about you give me 400 bucks, and even if I spend all year looking, you owe me nothing more.” I said; that’s a no-lose deal. Long story short, I now have two foils. One day, I was at Jensen Beach, and here came Daniel, asking about my LP foil. I have a more recent foil model than Daniel’s earlier model. In addition, my foil has a bigger front wing. As a result, it’s friendlier to ride. I made Daniel an offer, and here we are. Daniel: “Keith, I appreciate your effort and investment retrieving it because it turns out this larger wing is a solution to my riding problem
- one I can’t resolve alone. You know Alex. He
said: “Daniel, it’s your gear that is holding you back.” And here is the wing that I’ve needed. Thank you so much for your anguish and patience and for bringing me a solution. Keith: “Hey, you know we’ve got to make this work. We’re all connected. I believe that if you help somebody out, it’ll turn out well in the end, so I hope you enjoy the foil.” Daniel: It turns out that Keith’s character and generosity, combined with an unexpected loss, and with the diver’s perseverance, on top of Alex’s guidance, all became a solution. I believe you can sleuth solutions like this. I have recorded dozens of stories about collaboration, goodwill, and best outcomes across America. Give it a try. Anticipate progress. “We’ve got to make this work. We’re all connected. It’s my belief that if you help somebody out it’ll turn out well in the end.” Keith Fredrickson Leaving SCOTOMAVILLE 195
Spread 003 [p5–p6]
type: image_heavy | img coverage: L=28% R=40% heading: I believe the 15 mental tools in Volume One
Visual description
The two-page spread opens on the left with a large, full-height documentary photograph showing a man (Daniel) viewed from behind, standing arms-crossed on a rocky outcrop overlooking a body of water blanketed in thick orange haze, with a small crescent moon in the upper sky. Text blocks wrap around the image, including a dark header box on “EMOTIONS OF UNMET EXPECTATIONS” and a smaller embedded YouTube thumbnail at bottom left depicting a Fox News wildfire broadcast. The right page is dominated by a wide, multi-column grid of emotional vocabulary words arranged under headings such as Fear, Confusion, Hurt, and Anger, with a small circular inset portrait of Daniel speaking beside a ChatGPT logo. Additional text in red highlights the section “ACQUIRE A REFINED VOCABULARY,” while footer text credits “Tom Drummond, North Seattle Community College.” The primary images read as straightforward documentary and diagrammatic elements directly supporting the chapter’s focus on observing and naming emotional responses to disrupted expectations.
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I believe the 15 mental tools in Volume One will help you do likewise with your Personal Everest. Apply the tools to: 1) recognize opportunities 2) transform your thinking 3) change your beliefs and 4) build better experiences with the circumstances that come your way. When I say; “life has curves,” I mean that solutions are often burried within simple stories. Consider nuts. They hide inside a shell protected by a hungry squirrel. FIRE AND SMOKE ON TOP OF COVID My intent for the SCOTOMAVILLE Series is to give you evidence of my use of the mental tools and techniques - for you to observe my journey of self-awareness - and to mimic me. I’m not scripting the examples. I’m simply recording. This is my usual launch site (above) with this season coming to an end. There are roughly ten days of sailing left, but we can’t play outdoors due to the smoke. So our expectation of cele brating on the water are confounded. It’s about noon on September 11th, 2020 - an anniversary of the 9-11 terrorist attacks. The news today has wildfires across the entire west coast. (left) Ten percent of the Oregon popula tion is displaced. They weren’t expecting fires and smoke on top of COVID. Unmet expectations are an invitation to open your self-awareness toolbox. The next time something doesn’t pan out for you, try responding by expanding your emotional vocabulary or peeling an onion to understand the root belief behind the intense emotions. EMOTIONS OF UNMET EXPECTATIONS: I felt disappointed, let down, cheated, annoyed and irritable, largely due to events out of my control. leaving SCOTOMAVILLE 196
Right page
Please help me express this in simpler terms: Certainly! Here’s a more straightforward way to express the original text: “My best quality is being an ‘Achiever.’ I can work hard, even overnight, to complete tasks. Although it was hard for me, I had to learn to recognize and describe my emotions better. My knowledge of emotional words was weak, and I needed to improve it before facing another disappointing situation that could stir up nega tive emotions. To grow in understanding myself, I had to deal with triggers, which are sudden emotional reactions that can confuse your mind. It can be hard to find the right words to explain what’s bothering you at that moment. So, take time to learn new words to express your feelings.” ACQUIRE A REFINED VOCABULARY Providence moves once you are fully committed to changing. Initiate change, by expanding your emotional distinction with literacy.
A refined vocabulary leads toward confidence and away from outbursts and squalls. MASTER THE EMOTIONAL WORD LIST: Like holding an ice ax, you can arrest a decent ‘fall’ and avoid injury by mastering an emotional vocabulary before, during, and after each ‘slip’. leaving SCOTOMAVILLE 197
Spread 004 [p7–p8]
type: image_heavy | img coverage: L=43% R=61% heading: Unmet expectations are
Visual description
The left page features a small documentary photo of a person (likely Daniel) holding a brown “BookBaby” cardboard shipping box, positioned next to dense body text under the heading “UNBOXING EXPECTATIONS.” Below it is a larger, eye-level photograph of Daniel (white N95 mask, black cap) and Angelina (clear face shield, blonde hair) standing outdoors beside a vehicle, both extending middle fingers toward the camera. The right page is dominated by a wide, realistic photograph of a ski-lift gondola structure in a mountainous, forested setting, with two young men standing on the roof of the lift car and two seated passengers visible below.
Additional text blocks, including a gray sidebar quote about “supercomputers pointed at our heads” and a red “ONUS PROBANDI” section, run alongside the ski-lift image. All photographs are straightforward documentary shots from the actual journey rather than illustrations or diagrams. The ski-lift scene and the middle-finger gesture carry an ironic edge, visually enacting the chapter’s theme of strangers “jumping into the scene” and unmet expectations of a quiet, uninterrupted moment.
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Unmet expectations are usually a gateway to personal growth - the road less taken I believe. I highly recommend exploring an emotionally rich vocabulary well in advance of the need to friggin scream!
Watch the next two scenes carefully. UNBOXING EXPECTATIONS A few weeks ago, I had an excellent opportunity to unbox my first Volume of SCOTOMA VILLE. Of course, I wanted to do the classic YouTube ‘unbox ing,’ but there were non-stop interruptions and noise and people along with a boatload of emotion... (loud cars and bikes interrupt) Angelina asks, “are you OK?” Daniel: No, I’m exasperated, flustered, and pegged. This outdoor mask mandate is disgusting. I hate this. (taking N95 mask off)
It’s suffocating - especially outdoors. I’m not doing this. I understand the science - the size of the virus and the mask materials at three microns
- 95% reduction. But, I just
wanted to celebrate my first unboxing in a quiet place - and not like this. Not with a mask and strangers jumping into the scene, making gestures, and distracting. INVITATION TO INVESTIGATE When you’re triggered, think of it as an invitation to inves tigate. When an expectation has not been met, dig in. It’s an opportunity to discover more of who you are. You’ve got a super computer pointed at your brain. Use it to know yourself better than it knows you. The race is on.
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That’s something to think about. From the Ford studios in SCOTOMAVILLE. See you next Episode. [closing music] I could not have imagined this scene, shot the next day. I’m not smart enough to script this stuff. Re member what W. H. Murray observed? (page 174) KNOCK, KNOCK. WHO’S THERE NOW? Angelina: We’re on a chair lift at Mountain Hood Meadows. Look at how pretty it without the snow replaced by beautiful wildflowers surrounding us. Daniel: We are definitely not in ‘Purgatory’ and we’re above all the smoke and haze. there are supercomputers pointed at our heads. ‘Know thyself’ is no longer a luxury. for the first time in history it’s a full-out competition. If you believe that “when the student is ready, the teacher will appear” then a triggering situation will include people unaware that you are learning. appreciate them. Angelina: It’s beautiful. The flower blossoms and the buzzing bees are in heaven.
Sitting with Angelina, I launch the drone, but unknown to us, two young men have climbed on top of the chair lift that we are recording from. I pan up... Daniel: Arghh@! Expectations!@#. Why are there always people in my shots?
ONUS PROBANDI: While I’m triggered by unwanted people in my drone shot, I didn’t recognize or value the “unforeseen incidents and meetings... which no one could have dreamt would have come their way,”. In other words, I missed an opportunity to be grateful, to celebrate the beauty with Angelina.
Spread 005 [p9–p10]
type: image_heavy | img coverage: L=14% R=37% heading: -alOMWLN_cA urls: https://youtu.be/
Visual description
The left page opens with a documentary photograph of Daniel standing alone on a rocky cliff overlooking calm water, wearing a dark shirt and shorts, with the large white title "EXPECTATIONS" overlaid across the lower half and "Leaving SCOTOMAVILLE" in yellow at the top left. A QR code labeled "WATCH" appears below the photo next to the YouTube link https://youtu.be/-alOMWLN_cA, while the main body text in red continues the provided excerpt about the 86th upload, 143 videos, arrested development, and transformation. The right page shows a large semi-transparent "RETURN" watermark dominating the upper background, a second QR code for "DISCUSS," and a bottom documentary group photo of four people—Daniel on the left, Angelina beside him, a woman with glasses, and a younger man in a Penn cap—posing outdoors in front of a building with greenery and a dark door. Both photos are real, candid images from the journey rather than illustrations or diagrams, with no overlaid pull-quotes beyond the chapter title. The spread contrasts the solitary cliff scene with the smiling group portrait, visually echoing the chapter's inward turn toward personal and relational expectations without obvious irony.
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YOURT https://youtu.be/ -alOMWLN_cA I recorded the previous two scenes for episode 02.03 within the 86th Youtube upload - nearly three years after starting. I’m now editing the Third Edition of this book with 143 videos. The two closing scenes capture how insidious arrested development, cognitive biases, coping mechanisms, and reactive behavior are. But, they also show something marvelous. They offer extraordinary evidence, by which you and I can observe transformation. I propose there’s a dance we can do with an invisible world. Maybe it’s simply a meaning I’ve given to make sense of chaos - but I invite you to test the idea yourself. I believe familes can be healed with effort made on our future-self. Follow in the way which I began. Document your journey. WATCH
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RTURN You know the gig. Share your thoughts, insights, and get peer feedback, and author support. DISCUSS