Sidetracked Charley

On the road back This was the week I largely divorced myself from the news; disconnected from the ethernet and drove the highways. No long road trip just several hops to neighboring towns. And of course Raton again.  For me driving is meditative. I do not need a cell phone to make it interesting. It is along just for possible emergencies. And most of the places I drive the majority of the trip will be without a signal which is fine by me. I am willing to climb a hill if I must. And trust me OnStar is not available. I like it like that. I don't even try the radio. Most stations I could get, when I can get them, are country western. My crying in my beer days are over. Both of my vehicles have radios I can plug my jump drives into and listen to my tunes. For entertainment I look for bison, pronghorns, elk, and that quality of light which turns the view to magic. If I see none of the above I just drive into another zone as it were. Raton this week was a gift. As was the two d...

On the Edge There was an advertising campaign some years back about which applauded risk. My favorite t-shirt they generated boasted the slogan: If you are not living life on the edge you are taking up too much room.  Playing it safe is not exactly an established life style for me but from time to time I find myself inching away from the risky in life and being careful. It is probably something which I am more exposed to with my current set of older friends (my age) and a health issue or two to deal with. Yes, I probably should not attempt to trim the blue spruce in the front yard by standing on the roof of the pickup. But I didn't see signing up for all night movie shoot in Las Vegas as risky until after listening to the reactions of some friends. The town has hotels I could stay at if I got too tired to drive home. And I threw in my bedroll and an extra blanket in case I wanted to pull over at one of two state parks in root. And yes I was walking down dark alleys in the n...