Sidetracked Charley

  When more than two years ago I lost my basic flip phone which I loved and stubbornly clung to I declared I was not getting another cell phone. I had the Motorola flip phone only because I never ever wanted to stop at a phone booth in Espanola. But that is a whole other story. My tech smart sister bought me a Samsung Galaxy 50A smart phone and put me on her AT&T service. I saw it as a leash (and that is a whole other story too). I had argued I was not smart enough for a smart phone and for a while just turned it on when I thought my sister might call me. A practice I had employed for a while with the flip phone. Starker and another story. I never wanted to be that reachable again and did not give the number out to anyone. Really. I began learning its features just because of its ability to take photos which are awesome. And then sharing said photos like women my age share pictures of their grandchildren though with me it was Thicke or my latest painting. But to do any of that ...

Transition A lot going on in my life since my last entry on this blog.  It is difficult when you are in the middle of a swamp to obtain the prospective to get yourself to solid ground. Especially if the solid ground is controlled by others or nature: things beyond your control. One of those things in the midst of the swamp was losing my flip phone. The pockets on women's jeans and even the small flip phone did not fit together. This was not the first time I lost my emergency connection to the world but it was significant to the point I did not want to buy another cell phone to again lose. How much time had I wasted on looking for that black thing which once found I had to go looking for glasses to read the messages on it. And to make matters worse it happened when I was frustrated with my server not having a working-well-enough website. So cutting to the chase my sister bought me a smart phone and put me on her service. I always argued I was not smart enough for a smart ph...

One of my favorite lines from Pirates of the Caribbean. And very good advice for anyone, but especially for those living close to nature and far from emergency help. Or vacationing here. Between my father with his survival training, training as a pilot, and living and working in an area surrounded by mountains and forests I am probably more alert to my surroundings than the average. And that is before adding the photographer part. All that is probably also why I have never bonded with my cell phone, which is an antiquated flip phone with no bells and whistles. And I cannot see me ever getting a smart phone. Frankly, they are dumb, because if you are zoned in on taking that selfie you are unaware of the cliff behind you. Or the smoke filling the horizon, or the massive thunderhead building uphill on the trail you are following. Setting off for a slot canyon hike south of Kodachrome State Park in Utah my sister and I were busy strapping on camera bags and clipping on water b...