I had one ten day period back in '72 where I was totally alone. But war stories are old news.

The alonest I have ever been was when I went to surf an island off the coast of Tasmania called South Bruny. I didn't see another human for a week--it was awesome!

I also surfed Bali(1979: it was 3rd world back then--not Club Med) and lived in a cave, off and on, for three months. Going to Kuta to get supplies and returning to the cave and constantly doing battle with the fuckin' monkeys trying to steal everything and all the while, keeping an eye out for tigers roaming the beach. I hate monkeys!

I think we have a winner. There's a telescope directly on the South Pole. It can't be reached for nine months out of the year. One guy is there year round. (He tops up the liquid helium when it gasses off.) For shear isolation that's pretty close to total.

I've got one to beat that.

I'm lonely every day because I have a hard time reaching out and talking to people.

Your vorlon spent a few hours in a jail cell waiting for an idiot friend to come get him. Didn't have to sit in there very long to realize the idiot I called to come get me could very well wind up inside with me and then we'd both be stuck there.

Either he was leading a little better life than I suspected at the time, or the jailor didn't check him out very well before turning me lose. I'm thinking the latter is probably the right answer.


It was extremely unpleasant in there alone . . .

About two years ago, I had my heart broken, and no one was there for me. No one understood. I felt pretty alone back then.

I feel you. I've done my share of crying alone in the flat I shared with Sam. The kind of out-of-control bawling that sounds like hysterical laughter. I felt so alone, even I wasn't there.

This past Thursday morning, I had to put down my pug (he was anywhere from 17-19 years old): he had Lymphoma for about 2.5 months.  He had lost interest in eating the foods that he once went nuts for, and he just grew very weak: earlier that morning, his whimpers along with the discontented expression on his face, told me that it was probably that time to say goodbye to him.  As a result, after I had made the decision to put him down and then participated in the process (massaging his head as the doctor made the injection into his hind leg), I definitely felt heartbroken when the doctor said that he was gone.  Once I got home, I felt extremely alone: losing Dude reminded me of how fond I had grown of him and how much I really loved him--all I could think about was that first moment when I grew attached to him and formed my friendship with him over the course of multiple visits to my sister's home (he originally belonged to my sister), which often ended with me taking him home and hanging out with him and giving him special food.

Not something I usually talk about.

But I would say when I was in Sierra Leone. After a VERY long shift dealing with crowded wards and sick patients and staff everywhere, I ended up alone in a small room to get some sleep.

Of course, I couldn't sleep. It just seemed ridiculous going from such hectic bustling to having nothing to do, so far from home.

It's hard to explain if you haven't been there.