Today's word is "REMOTE"

I was sitting outside, breathing in the freshly scented air with strains of the many flowers blooming in Chuuk, when I was overcome by feelings of being remote.  The remoteness of these Pacific islands is palpable.  I am one-third of the way around the planet from my home and family, and that is far enough to make it impossible to reach out and touch someone.  If we were farther west, we would actually be closer to "civilization" in the presence of the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Asian continent.  If I were asked to point to the part of the globe that is most remote, I would point somewhere near here.
Remote is such a well-worn word; we use it as a one-word noun to mean that electronic device we use to change TV channels, play a DVD, or even change the temperature on the thermostat.  That derives from the phrase "remote control", which is what it was called shortly after I lost my job as the primary means to change TV channels, by twisting the dial on the set.  That term came about to describe the wonder of being able to control the television without getting our fat butts up off the sofa, and at the time, it was a miracle.
The word "remote" really means something that is a great distance from anything else that might provide a context.  When we tell people that Chuuk is west of Pohnpei, or west of the Marshall Islands, there is usually no reference point for them to understand where you are talking about.  If we say, "south of Guam about 600 miles" only a few can place that on the map.  But if I tell someone that if they fly to Hawaii, they are half-way to Chuuk, they begin to comprehend.  Hawaii provides a reference point, a context.
In Oklahoma, remote means you live at least a half-mile from the nearest neighbor, and to really be remote your neighbors should be barely known.  In Chuuk, you are at least 400 miles from the nearest neighbor, and most people have never heard of that island.  That is REMOTE.
If you live within a close community, a city, some well-populated place, and you like having the feeling of being surrounded by other people, you wouldn't want to live in a remote place.  Heck, you wouldn't want to live in a small town.  But if you crave independence, and revere the concept of rugged individualism, you might want to get away from the city and travel to a place like Chuuk - a remote location.
That is what you get when you come here; a sense of separation and solitude and distance from the human spoilage of the planet.  We have telecommunications, when it is working.  We have electricity, and you can depend on it most of the time.  We have a community, albeit small.  But mostly we have the ability to breathe air that has no industrial pollutants, air that is scented with flowers.
That is because we are so damned remote!!