August 6th, 2010

August 5Th, 2010:

My good friend Robert stopped in today to have me analyze some rocks which he found at the local "Bear Lake" today. Usually, when one of my students graduate, I never really see them again, so I was happy to see Robert. Robert was one of the best teachers aides I've ever had. Kind of like Sherlock Holmes "Watson", Robert is one of the most unique students I've been lucky enough to teach. He is smart, intellectual, and had no problem correcting me when I occasionally proved to be an asshole. I have the utmost respect for Robert, and he is also a writer, which makes him a bit tortured, which I completely understand. Robert is A man of keen intellect, ideas, creativity, and a certain knack of telling an entire classroom to "Shut their pie holes", OK maybe not an exact quote. But the classroom generally listened to him!

We wound up hanging out for 6 or more hours, hitting a coffee shop, then to the local thrift store to buy me some much needed furniture, and a few other errands. Damn its

good to have another like minded friend in this town. Most adults around here bore the piss out of me. Most are money grubbing, baby making machines it seems. Few

can see the world that exists in between making money, and raising kids. Most of the people I've met that exist in this obscure world, turn out to be Writers. Artists seem to be more self centered and focused on their own egos. Writers, learn as much as they can about what is around them. Few are stupid. I am far more proud to call myself a "Writer" than to admit that I am also a visual Artist, and a decent Musician. Ego is a thing which is best avoided.

Tomorrow, Robert and I will attempt to get thousand dollar organ from the pad, that my son was forced to vacate after a mere 6 weeks. It was a scene from "Animal House", but the bastard should have moved my organ first, and not just left it there.

I really don't understand how some of today's kids are so selfish. Hopefully we will

be able to get it back, it would look great here in my apartment, plus I love playing it!

Spent the rest of the night listening to "John Teshes" late night soft rock radio show on a local station, where "John" dispenses practical wisdom in between songs. Not classical wisdom, but advice like: " The studies show that people with fewer computer programs are less likely to get viruses". I miss a lot of the old songs that he plays, and I am completely sick of hearing "classic rock" which consists of the same thirty songs it seems, with "Hotel California" and "Free bird", completely overplayed.

After a dinner of Indian "MRE" food, which consisted of potato and Chana "Chickpeas", washed down with a few beers, I was able to kick back and enjoy the

sights and sounds of my new place. The city has a pulse and a life of its own which

changes hour by hour. I remember the old line from a Doors song "The cars hiss by my window, like the waves, out on the beach", and can see the similarity between the sounds of waves and traffic, that Jim Morrison seemed to notice. Traffic is not one

constant sound but a mixture of many different sounds, which ebb and flow in their intensity. Growing up next to a busy road allows me to keep my windows open, with the radio sounding in the foreground, and the waves of traffic in the background. It is a beautiful mixture of sound, and I can also do some reading while listening to this grand symphony.

Today with Robert, I bought a vintage green chair on casters, so I can roll it where I need it, and a matching pair of well built end tables, that are relics from the 1950's, both the chair and tables were outdated but in mint condition, and seem to fit in the

120 year old apartment with no clashes whatsoever. I don't want a couch, since I don;t plan on many guests at once, plus I want to save the floor space for walking around, and possibly doing a few more paintings. I also will require a desk for writing but the only ones available were huge and heavy. I might use a small card table or something, but would prefer something a bit more classy, like some of the small antique roll top desks that I've seen. I do need to watch the money since I also

plan to buy a professional saxophone, which I can play at the top of this building late at night, once I regain a certain amount of proficiency, that I have lost over the years.

Just to learn "Blue Trane" by John Coltrane, and play it with feeling, is mainly what

I aspire to do. I know I can play it, but to play it with finesse and love, should prove a challenge. In order to accomplish all this painting, music, and writing, I plan to

not subscribe to Cable or Internet this year. Of course I explained all that in my last blog.

So far being TV less has been easy. We will see once the days get shorter, and the sidewalks icier.

The next morning, I got up and had to clean the camping stuff out of my trailer. Then picked up Robert and Luiz (another one of my ex-students), and we managed to lift the organ from Logan's old place and into the trailer. The hard part was lifting 400 pounds of Hammond Organ up two flights of stairs, but luckily my wonderful son and his buddy, helped us get her into the apartment. I was truly beat.

Saw a gorgeous black Mercedes"S500 sedan, at the local car lot. It was black as hell, with black rims and very low profile tires. The car appeared to be perfect, and with only 118,000 miles, I fell in love with this beauty. So I took it for a test drive and loved it. Until the black smoke started coming from under the hood. I'm sure its just a small issue, like a tiny amount of oil leaking onto the exhaust manifold, but still. The car is $9000, and would cost me $350 per month for the next two years, and it better be perfect! I really don't need a car, but it would be nice to have this one, if only I could trust it. Of course I would have to keep her in a storage shed during the winter, so it would be like being married to Pamela Anderson, while living in another country.

Now I am having a giant salad and a beer at the restaurant where my son works. Been sitting here for two hours working on my blog and paying some bills. But my stay is getting a bit stale, so its time to return to my loft, and get the organ set up, install the foot key board, and jam the night away.

August 3rd,

Tuesday, August 3rd.

Lets start this from Sunday, Aug, 1st: Woke up from a phone call from my brother in law "Dave",

who was down stairs, waiting to take me to the DFW airport at 6:30 AM. After 4 hours of sleep

(I never get enough sleep before plane rides). Dave is a wonderful person. He goes all out

to help other people. He picked me up from the airport 12 days before, and has gone all out

as a kind host, along with my gracious sister "Robin", and three of their five wonderful children,

which were fun to visit with. This trip was a great success largely due to these fine folks. My

Mom, gets a lot of credit as well, she went all out for me to have a pleasant stay. I constantly

brag about my mom, mainly because she is a good human being, and really cares about me.

Got to DFW in plenty of time, didn't get strip searched or my nadz squeezed like the forward

trip, so things were fine.

Got held up in Denver for a few hours, which caused me to miss my ground transportation

from Salt Lake City, to Logan, but it turned out ok. Damn was I sleeping on each leg of the

journey! Both times I was next to some kid but once the plane flew, I was in "Lala" land,

so i didn't have to talk to them. Frontier, is a comfy ride as far as fat tall guys are concerned

avoid AA and Delta, if you are a big dude or lady.

The drive back to Logan was pleasant, with a very nice bus driver, who was fun to

talk to. Big, happy, corn-fed redneck, He "was constantly parroting the "Rush Limbaugh" version of the "State of American Politics",

but was such a novice that I countered with my liberal political views about what we really

should do regarding Health Care, and he didnt notice that I was a bit of a Socialist, I

did agree with much of his agenda, but he barely understood it himself. We had a nice

time, and before I knew it: I was finally home after 12 hours of travel and waiting. Funny

how by focusing on what you agree on rather than dwell on differences, can make a

normally volitile political arguement into a pleasant conversation. Hopefully the dude learned

something new. I didn't.

Dropped off at my school, where I had my Kawasaki waiting in my classroom. I drove to

the "Crystal Inn", and landed a room for a total of 65 bones per night. It was a step up from the

neighboring "Super 8", but was only 10 bucks more, and served dinner, as well as a full breakfast

which included eggs and meat for once. The jacuzzi sucked in comparison with the "8",

but one has to experience different things on occasion. Next time, I will flee back to the

place with the superior Jacuzzi, no matter how bad the rooms stink in there!

Monday morning, I booked another day at the Crystal Inn, thinking that I might need two days to

find a new place to live. Within 20 minutes I found a wonderful loft in Down Town Logan Utah!!!

This one was the best out of the 5 available. It is huge! in comparison to the others. I have a

beautiful view of Main Street, with the Gorgeous Mormon Temple, and the Wasatch Mountains in

the background. The Tabernacle is in view to the far right. And the County Seat and Courthouse

is nextdoor to the left. But the most important thing to me is that I live nearly above

the excellent "Chicago HotDog Stand" that hangs by the courthouse each day. I know and love

the "Gwynn" family who runs the stand, and they do have the best hotdogs in the entire

county! So "Hot Dog Stand" front property is highly important to me.

And the list of positives goes on and on: I can walk the half mile to where I work. The floor I

live on is an Art Gallery in the hallway, with paintings on each side of my door.

The Apartment itself is considered to be "A Penthouse Suite", since it is much larger and prettier

than the others up here. With 12 foot ceilings, and three great windows in the main room,

and a large bedroom, with the same ceiling, I pay $450 per month! This includes all bills,

cept cable and internet. I can finally bank some money this year!

The loft itself is beautiful! Inside is painted a "Van Gogh" Yellow. The floor a greenish brown,

which will soon be partially covered with my big chinese rug, my mother gave me long ago. The

carpet is a nice one. I plan to have it cleaned before I bring it into this nice place.

Since I essentially live in an Art Gallery, and I am an Art teacher, it is only natural to do a

bit of Art . I will due a few paintings and sculptures soon, but I don;t want my writing or

music to suffer. I am so inspired here at this place, that I believe that I will be producing Art,

Writing, Music, on a daily basis, without all the hassels i used to have regarding my dog, llama,

saltwater fish tank, son, mean neighbors, ect. Here I want to just creat some new stuff!

and I have the confidence that it will be an Amazing year for creativity!!!! To further enhance

the creative process, I plan to do without Cable Tv or the Internet. I will stick to my big

Grundig, wooden, modern radio, which is far mor entertaining than the tube. I got plenty

of internet during the day, and if I need internet for auctions or something outside working

hours, I can take the laptop to a variety of places, the best and closest is "Cafe Ibis", which

will also serve you some mindblowing coffee! This Apartment, looks like 20's technology,

and I plan to keep it as it was 90 years ago. I can read while I listen to the radio. Why pay

80 per month for cable. I still have a tv and dvd player, I can still watch that shit on the

weekends or something. I can still check my email and facebook on my phone. Why

pay 80 bucks for cable tv and internet, when I dont need or want it? I would rather save

the money and winter in Hawaii or something.

I finally got to spend my first night in my new place. I did spend some time during the day

here. I inflated my airbed, but the sheets and blanket on, put the matching pillow cases

on my new pillows, (yeah, I know its gay), but I bought a new bed and accessories for

less than a hundred bucks, and it looks cool and modern), with the built in air-pump, I

managed to get a firm twin sized bed that sits pretty high off the ground, for cheap, and

its quite comfy. I brought my snake in from Logans place, and bought a big plastic truck

box, which will do for a boa habitat, giving her much more space, and wheels to pull her

cage along without bothering her. So my 12 foot cube like bedroom has my bed and the

boa cage, and nothing else, cept the "WINDOW TO NOWHERE". The window is in the buried

interior of these old bulidings, and has been closed to the top, bottom, side, and just exists

as dead space. In fact. The space that my bedroom window looks out of , sees a dead

land without much much light. I can see a blocked off door, 6 feet from my window,

but it is barred shut, with no place to step if some soul happened to open it. I cant see the

botttom of the space between my window and that door. There is another door on my left,

and its blocked as well. The light above is blocked also. This space is a perfect cave!

I plan to unlock this mystery later, but it does bother me that my window facing there has

no lock at all. My front door is impenetrable. but this mysterious space, which is enclosed

like a tomb, can be opened from the inside or the OUTSIDE! I am at the mercy of the

inhabitants of this large dark crawl-space. I look down from that window, and can't see

the bottom. No worries, its impenetrable. I do worry that "Princess the Boa" might

escape, since she isn't locked in, and might push the screen open and crawl down that

abyss, that must certainly lead to HELL!

\Tonight: Was the first time I got to experience the Loft and the various, sites, sounds, voices,

ect. which comprise the total experience, of living ground zero of a small old metropolitan

area. Approaching 9 Pm,, the traffic declined and the temp was getting nicer. I took two

trips to bring the groceries and cleaning supplies to this new place. After putting things away,

I was finally able to kick back and listen to the radio and watch the traffic and people for

a while. The view of the nearby mountains with the sunset reflecting off of them was

amazing! These mountains ,were reflecting the sunset which occurred over the mountains

across the valley, from the western mountains.

Once, darkness, and loneliness set in I was flying, sitting alone in a dark massive room, with

all giant windows open to the unknown. I kept the main lights off, cept a big lavender candle in

the privy, which provided me with enough light, Song after Song was brilliant on the giant wooden

radio, I surfed the internet with my phone, and practically did a victory dance, on the beauty of living

in a cool place such as this! The magic continued all through the night, I was longing to write

about it, but kept getting amused by one thing or the other. I couldn't get to the computer fast enough,b

but finially got to it before all the magic was lost. Unfortunately, By the time i got the computer going,

the magic was lost. I will try to add more and describe it tomorrow night, the colors, the feeling, being

there, sounds, ect..... They were spectacular tonight. I hope to learn more for there is always much

more to learn, And Learning, is what I live for. I can't imagine not having the passion for learning.

view

July 28th, 2010

Dad and I hit the extensive breakfast bar, I had the biscuits and gravy, which was passible I must say. After going back to the room and sleeping that off, we headed to my old school in Elgin, Tx/, then another 30 miles to the old German town of Fedor, where I spent many nights of 7 years drinking with the local Germans, back when I had a ten acre paradise close by.

My old friend and storekeeper "Clarence", was still there as unchanged as the place that he had operated for the previous 30 years. Clarence is like the wise older brother that I never had. I spent thousands of hours talking to him, and still consider him one of the wisest and smartest people I've known. Never were we "running buddies", but he was more a teacher. Completely self-educated, and only a German speaker until the age 12, Clarence managed to educate himself, while making his own existence in the hot south Texas sun. For some reason, I spent 7 years going to "the School of Clarence" and I grew up considerably due to his influence, I am

lucky to have found a friend like him, and he seemed pleased with the way I have turned out, after many years of absence of contact. Clarence and I had a nice conversation, exchanged news (many of my drinking buddies were dead). After slowly drinking two beers, the conversation lapsed a bit, and there wasn't really much else to say. Dad and I then drove the 60 miles back to Austin in search of "Indian Food". I enjoyed the restaurant hunt, but my traveling companion was getting tired, so I gave up and drove to the nearby "Pappasitos", which is as lame as its ever been. Give me a tiny 6 tabled Mexican place, with a Mexican Mama as the cook, in the bad part of town, any day of the week.

After a 4:00 lunch, we went back to the palace and promptly feel asleep. Dad crashed for good it seems, but I've been kickin' back, watching, TV LAND, and surfing the net. Looks like

my $450 downtown Logan Art Studio Loft is still available! (I have to find some living space, in a few days after touching back down in Logan this Sunday). I'll probably go for the $650 town homes with garage, so I can work on my bike during the winter. I plan to try both out and make the choice next Monday, I'm excited about it!

I have had an excellent visit to Austin, but tomorrow... I must go. I could spend a month here and see a different friend everyday, and probably even meet some new ones. Many of the people in Logan, UT. are friendly, but its just not the same. The LDS in Logan are more "Church Friendly", which seems to run deep if you go to church. Most will always help you move, or build something, and most are positive on the surface, as are most Texan's. I am just more comfortable with the Texas way. Texan's are polite as a general rule. Since dueling was legal in Texas, far into this century, we tend towards politeness. We also fight when our honor is disrespected, (my last fight was only 5 years ago). The Utahns are very quick with aggressive driving (even in shopping carts), aggressive acting, they call you by your last name, even my students, but quickly get confused when you call them on it. I generally just close my tongue, and refrain from reacting to disrespect up in Utah. I feel as a visitor there, and I don't want to have to return too soon . Both places have good folks, but the Texan way is the way Im used to.

Utah, does have way nicer schools, and they spend far less money per student for this. Texas education systems would benefit by studying Utah's, I made about the same salary in both places, but Utah has better benefits, treatment and professional respect. Texas treated us like dogs by comparison. Maybe it was the particular school district I was in, but the benefits are much nicer in Utah in general.

Although, I have few good friends in Logan, I plan to give it one or two more years up there. I am tired of the long frozen winters, but since I plan to hook up a side-car to my bike, I will have a reason to get out and ride during the darkest cold days, and make the best of it. I am also going to be living totally alone for the first time since 1985 and 86, when I lived alone in Commerce, Texas, while working on my sculpture degree. It will be a challenge, but after being alone, most of the summer, I kind of liked the change. Probably be dating a bit more now, and the Mormon ladies are alright by me. Most seem to have their religion in check, and are pretty normal people. I am looking forward to this new school year, and I plan to

make the most of it.

Tomorrow morning, Dad and I will, have a final breakfast with my Daughter Athena, and her husband "Nick", who I don't know too well, but Athena is absolutely crazy about him after 6 months of marriage! Nick is soft spoken, puts off good vibes, I hope to hang around with him a bit more in the future. I like the guy!

Then we shall return to Dallas. I look forward to seeing my Sister and Brother in law, my Mom, my other sister and husband, old friends from Dominos, the Kiesers ect... I do know that my older Sis and her husband "Dave" will take me to dinner or allow me to hang out at their house, or swim in their pool. They are amazing hosts. I will be forever grateful for their kindness and class. I feel welcome in Dallas for sure...

July 27th, 2010

We arrived in Austin, Texas on July 26th, and drove around looking for a decent hotel for my dad and I. I wanted a place with a balcony so dad could read the paper and drink coffee for a few hours, and allow me to sleep. After much searching, we wound up at the "Drury Inn", although hard to pronounce, is a very nice place and a good deal. We got a suite, with separate kitchen and living room with can be closed off to the sleeping area. All this FOR 100 BUCKS A NIGHT! This does include free internet, cable, two hd tv's, free full breakfast, big cheap dinner buffet for free. And is situated next to an excellent Sports Bar in case I get tired of the free stuff.

They offer three free drinks per person as well!!!! I love this place... My only complaint is that they lack a hot tub or jacuzzi, but this room is as large as a one bedroom apartment, and perfect in every way. Usually I overlook minor things in a hotel room, but no hidden issues here.

My Daughter and her Husband stopped in an partied for a while, joined us for dinner, then left back to there townhome. My old bandmate "Ken" stopped in around 10 PM and we went to the sports bar next door and had a few laughs and drinks. We got back and drank a few more, since we had a lot to catch up on.

I woke up around 1 PM., went to find my daughters place, which turned out to take a long time. Seems the townhouses are practically under a huge highway clover leaf, but once we found it, we could see why she picked the place. It is a very well established group of townhouses, with three pools, large trees, and the sound of the nearby freeways were not really noticable. We watched "The Charge of the Light Brigade" with Errol Flynn, My daughter and hubby like cool old movies as much as I do. My dad was able to spot the actors, since he was alive during their time. We then left to get a lunch and wait for my other daughter and grandson to bring me my old paintings, which I left at my old house in Bastrop Texas.

Had another great night overall. Glad I decided to to visit my old city of Austin again, after three years. Going back to Utah, will be harder once spending time at the Capital of Texas. Utah, is not Texas. Utah, is quite A nice state, but it is "Not Texas", and Texas is my true home.

July 25th, 2010

Spent three nights in a row since July 20th with my Sister and Brother in law,  and a few of their kids.   As usual they treated me as an honored guest,  taking me to dinner each night,   and being kind in general.    My older sis and husband,  are the greatest hosts imaginable.   My parents, being excellent hosts as well,  set me up in a "catfree" room,  and I have enjoyed my stay more than usual due to this.  

I really enjoy the "Trinity Hall" restaurant in Allen, Texas,  which is a quite authentic,   Irish Pub with a fair amount of English cuisine.

Friday,  I hung out with my old friends "Charles and Melissa",  spent the night partying by their parents pool in a very large house out in the country of the North Dallas area.   Met another old friend Brian that night,  hadn't seen him for twenty years.   We all played trivia, under the north Texas Stars.  Wow!  Its nice to know people!!!!!

Saturday,  I hung out with my Persian (Iranian) friend "Reza",   and a friend of his friend,  a lovely lady in her late thirties,  whom I'll refer to as "Mal",  since I don't know her entire name.

Reza,  took me to a couple Persian restaurants on Saturday,  and our conversations,  were mainly politics,  but "Mal" a visitor,   was decent in her English,  and fun to talk to as well. Reza

is always trying to fix me up with Iranian women,  and that "Mal",  seemed a bit fluffy, but worth a second gander.   She wouldn't make a very good camping companion is my guess.

Had a good time watching "Fiddler on the Roof",  an although "the movie glorifies Jews",   (in Rezas words),   We both still enjoyed it due to the humor and choreography.     Later Reza went to bed,  and turned up the Persian radio,  in the nearby hallway before he crashed.     I didn't know why he likes a loud radio at night,  but I forgot about it,   and tried to watch another movie,  and could only hear part of what was said.      I tried to sleep and with the radio screaming in my ear,  and the ambient 82 degree temperature I layed in a pool of sweat until four oclock in the morning.  Finally,  I pulled out my own radio and shoved the earphones in my ears,  then it sounded like loud English bullshit,  with the persian loudly in the background.

Two hours later,  Reza spares no noise,  and once I informed him of my lack of sleep, graciously allowed me a couple more hours, before the banging in the kitchen woke me up for good.  He said it was my own fault for not waking him up about the noise, or the temperature...  I told him that I don't feel that a humble guest should be a "complainer".   Which is exactly what the bastard accused me of a bit later!

After a decent breakfast of cream cheese on bread,  Reza starts to talk on the phone in Farsi, for the next hour or two,  while pretending to make that evenings dinner.    So I sit from 11 AM till 2 PM in a chair,  with no TV,  one Persian newspaper,  and watch him talk on the phone and slowly prepare a meal, that might have taken me thirty minutes to cut up and put in the slow cooker.    He did notice my total boredom and asked me if I was bored?

    I said "Hell yeah!  I'm bored", but I had no way out of there,  and that "watching him talk on the phone for hours at a time in a foreign language,   was going to cause me to kill myself,  unless,  he could kindly take me home to my parents".   He said "Ok,  but let me finish getting the cooking ready right quick"....   So I remained in a chair for another hour...... then he went into his room,   I assumed it was to get his keys and to drive me away from this dungeon.   He didn't return, for the next thirty minutes. 

   By 3:30 PM,   I had enough,   by then I was relegated to sitting 4 and one half hours in the same chair with absolutely nothing to do, watch,  talk to, or anything.  This is the worst treatment I've ever experienced as a guest before,  and I had no way to leave,  since Reza is the one who brought me there.   I had asked to go several times,  but was kindly put off.

    At 3:30 I was done. Voting with my feet,  I left his house,  slid down a few alleys,   cut through a few yards,  and was on a major street in the City of Plano,  and went inside a "Starbucks", and had a cup of coffee.   I was about to call a friend or taxi for a ride, but   Reza soon called me, and picked me up,  I told him I would only enter the car if guaranteed that I would get a ride straight home.     Reza did apologize,  I did as well,  but I don't think he realized how rude he was.  I did try to explain my point of view without damning his point of view.   But Reza,  is a bit thick once ya get to know him.

   I wanted to stay a good friend,  and I know he made a dinner for me.   So  3 hours later,  I went back to his place using my dads truck, (so I would have a way outta there),  and went back to eat the dinner that he made for me.   I enter the house,  and Reza instantly talks on the phone ignoring my existince, for another 20 minutes,  again speaking in a language that I could not follow at all.     I cannot stand being ignored for that long, especially since I'm supposed to be an honored guest in his house.    I simply DO NOT DO THAT SHIT TO PEOPLE!

   Then he got off the phone for a minute and another phone call erupted at which point I went into his back yard,  where I could at least look at a few trees and the sky or something FOR THE NEXT FUCKING 25 MINUTES!!!!!!!~

Once he got off, he came out back and I tried to explain to him how I felt, without bitching or anything.  He said that he had 43 calls that day and that he would lose business if he shut of his phone.    I tried to explain again how,   as a guest, that listening to a 10 to 50 minute phone call, in a foreign language, with absolutely nothing else to do,  is no fun at all.   He really didn't get it.    I was being real,   informative,   kind,  but he could/would not grasp my point.

I ate my dinner fast,  and was going to leave ASAP,  when a couple of his friends showed up.   I really enjoyed talking "Anthropology of the Iranian Race" with his friend "Syed",  who was funny as well.    We and Syeds girl were hitting it off quiet good,  when Reza pointed out to them "What a complainer",   I was.      ( I guess he didn't want us to get along,   he must have been pissed).   But the ass,  brings it up to his friend,  Syed.    I just casually threw it back at him,  and Syed seemed to know what an old stick in the mud,  Reza really could be.  Syed,  seemed to understand my side.  Even told me "that Reza was just a politition and was running for the "Ayatollah of Dallas"!   which was funny as heck.  

  I really  didn't want a war with my old friend Reza,  so I bid, Syed and his companion (most lovely lady),  good bye,  and left before it got dark.   I don't like driving in the dark much,  but I got home  ok.

Damn,   you think you know someone and DAMN!   I guess people change.   

Tomorrow or Wednesday,  Dad and I are going down to Austin Tx. to see my daughter Athena,  and her husband "Nick".     I haven't seen them much over the years,  and am really looking forward to it.     I've had a nice visit to Dallas so far,  and have seen many of my old friends, relatives, ect...    One more week to go.   I promise to keep you posted.

July 20th, 2010

Last night I started to turn in early, when a knock at the door in my outside hotel room surprised me at 10:30.   It was my excellent son Logan who wanted to hang around a few hours before I left in the morning.   Too bad my morning was to start at 6:am.   So we sat on the balcony and drank more than a few beers,  and actually had our first real time since, he moved out back in March.   We both had a good time just talking and being real.

Went to bed around 2 AM,  and took every precaution to insure I would wake up a scant 4 hours later.   I set my phone alarm,  called the desk for a wakeup call,   tryed to set the hotel rooms alarm clock,   even set an online alarm clock so the computer would wake me.      Out of all this,   my cell phone,  and the front desk were the only precautions that woke me this morning.   This computer doesn't stay on the online wakeup notice,   so that one failed.   I couldnt figure out how to set a modern cheap alarm clock that the hotel provided for me.   But I did wake up!

Hit the excellent breakfast in the morning and they had meat!!!!  The first complimentary breakfast,  I've witnessed where one could dine on sausage, waffles, and all kinds of continental fare.   I ate like a horse,  and walked the three blocks to the shuttle pick-up sight,  so I could get to the airport,  by 10:30.    The driver allowed me to ride shotgun in his Mercedes van, which was a nice ride for a shuttle service.    I went in and out of consciousness for the long 80 mile drive to the Salt Lake City airport,  still tired from the food and the lack of sleep.

I got to the airport,  and neglected to remove a couple small swiss army penknives from my ruck sack,  and even forgot about an 18 inch sharp wire saw, which could remove a human head in a matter of seconds.   That combined with the Russian Passport cover I use,  caused the powers of homeland security,  to frisk and feel me up for 30 minutes, while asking personal questions,  and searching carefully through my entire rucksack.    I pointed out that the underwear in the rucksack might not  be clean, but they laughed and continued doing an all to thorough job, including feeling up my privates,  and butt crack,  but they did wear gloves, so it wasn't humiliating for me at all.  Then they mailed my weapons collection to my post office box back in Logan,  and I was on my way.  Nice to feel important,  like I was a national security threat or something.    Dumb-asses,   prolly let a thousand Arabs pass me without searching any of them.  I'm sorry,  I see nothing wrong with racial profiling as long as its fast, professional, non-demeaning,   then figuring out a record system so that it doesn't happen more the once.

Barely made  the flight from SLC to Denver.

I must add that "Frontier" Airlines,  actually has room for big and tall people to sit.  Unlike Delta, and American Airlines,   seating is not excruciatingly painful or uncomfortable for the person next to me!    I hear "continental" is also humane to big fat folks and their neighbors.

My excellent Brother in Law,  was most kind,  and picked me up from the airport.   He also took me out to dinner three nights in a row.  My Brother in Law and Sister "Robin" are incredible hosts.    I am very happy to be related to them.   They have 5 excellent kids as well,

since they are wonderful parents.  Trust me:   I am a good judge of what makes an "Excellent" kid.  Of course my parents were most kind also.   They have bent over backwards in order to 

make my stay comfortable.   I am allergic to their two cats,  but they created a "cat free" room for me to sleep in.  This wasn't easy I imagine.    Don't like to comment about my family life on a public forum too much.   But it sure is nice to be living among family after two years of virtual solitude.

JULY 21st and 22nd:   Nothing much to report,   nice to be at home.   Met up with my friend "Dan",   and hung around for a couple hours.  Then went back out to eat with my brother in law and parents,  and had some large Margaritas,   which got us all F' d   up to some extent.  Tried to watch some movie about the last days of "Tolstoy",   dad and I were out like lights,  but Mom watched the entire tear jerker.   The music put me out pretty fast. Looked like a decent movie, but...  it was sad.

Forgot to mention that I am bound for Austin next week in order to see my daughters,  and pick up a bunch of my old Art work,  which is too large to mail.    My younger daughter and son-in law,  are  going to be teachers!      Living in the City of Austin and starting their careers as educators makes this dad quite proud!   I can't wait to see them.

July 17th, 2010

July 17th, 2010: Thought we were going to get some rain today, big storm clouds came in from Idaho

during the second day of 99 degree temps. 99 degrees is the hottest I've ever seen it here, but its stil

l a joke when compared to Texas standards. Yes, it went up to 100 degrees for 2 hours, after starting

the day at 60 degrees, and its already in the 70's by 8:00 PM. I still love hearing the people bitch

about it, and no humidity? Hell, I find the temps perfect as can be, but would like some rain, its

quite dusty in my campsite, and the rain would keep the road dust from covering my camp site.

Had a visitor today. I wasn't here but the bastard walked off with the hot dog buns, I had stashed in

my guitar case. No trace was left. What could it be? The tree and ground squirrels would have

broke in and made a big mess, leaving a holey bread bag, and crumbs behind. A bear would have broke

into the cooler and ate the hot dogs, drink mixers, milk, beer, ect... Then I saw the bastard, I should

have known that the three foot high mound at the edge of my campsite was built by an animal. The

"Bastard" is formally called a "Marmot", which is a very large rodent, about half the size of a beaver,

that weighs about 15 pounds and looks like a giant hamster. I have witnessed Marmots at a distance

before and I absolutely love these animals. Many are afraid of them, afterall they are essencially rats that

probably kick your ass if you pissed one off. I think they are cute.

I plan to buy them (they usually come in pairs)some food before I leave, maybe go to the feed store

and buy them a bag of corn for the wintertime. I will try to get a picture of their mound, they moved 1000's of

pounds of dirt to built this thing.

One my my favorite things about moving to a new state is to check out all the new life forms, with

insects and plants to capture my notice at first. But after three years, I've seen many new types of

birds, fish, mammals, and reptiles as well. For instance we have two types of mosquitos here. One

is a small slow lame-assed mozzy, that I can usually feel and squash before getting bitten. It does carry

the West Nile Virus, but not really many cases up here. The other type annoys me the most, called the

"tree hole mosquito, they live in holes filled with water in the trees. They are fast, large, and take a bite

and move before you can slap it. They are few, and do not spread the aforementioned virus.

After Borders, I went to see Logan again, had coffee with the boy, then went to grab some lunch before

taking him to work, we wound up eating at his restaurant. I try not to bug him too much, but after a

month without my own place, lonelyness begins to creep in. I find myself talking to strangers, blabbing

all kinds of personal shit, then leaving once they have that "this guy is wierd" look on their faces! Ok,

I exaggerate but this does happen from time to time.

Stopped in my classroom to feed my lion fish

and noticed that my custodian and friend "Cathy" beat me to it. She had a few goldfish, in a bucket

and the fish was laying on the ground in "digesting" mode. So I put the other ten fish in another bucket for

the lion fish to eat, when I visit Dallas in a few days. Today is a little over a month since I been camping

and hoteling it. I think I hoteled it about 60 percent of the time, a fact that I am ashamed of, but I did

have the money, and it becomes all too convienient and easy. But I'm committed to make it till Monday out

here which will be 6 days of constant camping, which is my record in the truck camper. I am still learning

and getting my camping logistics down, there is an awful lot of preparation when trying to assess the

things you really need and the things you can do without. Adequate clothing is essential, as is water

and a way to light a fire. But I didn't need 15 sets of clothing, since it takes up a ton of room, or three

different jackets, 7 knives, three guns, ect. I will get smarter each time, because the less clutter, the easier

it is to find the necessities. And the less weight the truck has to pull. Since I'm getting 7 miles to the gallon,

losing weight would need to happen on a long trip somewhere. The mileage is so bad, I've never had the truck

out of the valley.

So I passed the "Shit Time", and made it out alive once again. I plan to rename the "Shit Time" to the

"Bastard Time", but since there is a famous "Bastard Time" quote by John Steinbeck, and the meaning

a completely different one, but "Shit Time" sounds so crass, and "Bastard" is my all time favorite word,

I think its fitting to rename "Shit Time", to "Bastard Time". Sorry John, in your treatise you referred to

"Time" itself, as a "Bastard", and called the whole thing "That bastard Time"!

John knew the time was coming, the skinny Bastard died at age 68 from

a heart attack, to the chagrin of us fat bastards, who enjoy watching the skinny not outlast us. I know this is

morbid, but would you like to constantly here the tragic news that YOU were always gonna die early? I hear

it daily, I try to work on the weight issue, and the constant prognostication of my doom, are not appreciated.

I'm aware of my medical conditions, I work at it and many times am successful. My conditions are all stress

related in the first place. My job is what causes me stress. Hopefully it will cause me less stress this year.

But, when I hear of skinny people dieing of heart attacks at age 40 or 50, I do get a rush of confidence, though

I am not glad that the individual is gone. I really wish that Steinbeck would have lived 100 years or more. I feel

cheated, that he died so young. I love every thing the guy ever wrote. It was all good. I even liked his log

report when he helped his Zoologist friend with collecting little marine animals in the tide pools in the Sea of Cortez.

His friend was the crazy Zoologist, featured in his books "Cannery Row" and "Tortilla Flat", the best of Steinbeck.

So tonight was beautiful once again. I am nearly out of kerosene, so my camp is dark tonight, with only one

lamp protecting me. So I overdid the campfire, and sparks were flying into the dry trees and grass, so I shut it

down with a few shovels of dirt, some old water, and a piss or two. I don't want to be known as : "The teacher

who burned up Green Canyon", and it is dry and windy tonight. I am a paranoid careful bastard in times like

these. Maybe I'm old enough to learn from watching other peoples past mistakes.

The dark campsite tonight is really bringing out the stars and constellations. They are bright and easy to see,

since I don't have all the lanterns keeping out the wildlife. I am unafraid after spending last night in the total

dark till morning, and nothing happened. If the lions didn't live here, it probably wouldn't be as fun. And

the large male wolf that was shot last week, in Franklin County, about 18 miles north of here makes it even

more fun. Bears, haven't been seen in this part of the mountain range in years, but they do exist within 20 miles

of here, which means an odd one can make it here in one day. I'll live. I used to swim in lakes with large alligators

and many water moccasins, and 300 pound gar fish. Most animals just want to get along for the most part. Unless

wounded or hungry, or rabid, a big guy like me will be fine. Yet I do admit my fears freely, they are just another thing

to overcome. People that refuse to admit their shortcomings, generally are liars and self-deluders. Once ya start

lying to yourself, your credible life is over. Everything, is a fantasy after you start lying to yourself. People like

that are totally lost. Be honest with yourself above all else folks: then you can work on your issues. Keep telling

yourselves falsehoods, or blaming others, and things will not change for you. WORD.

I'm listening to some really old classics on the AM radio, by the campfire with little light and I can't see beyond

the picnic table I'm sitting at. Unless I look at the stars I am surrounded by total darkness. The lovely music

destracts me enough to sit here and write at One AM. I will retire soon due to the cold, but I want to squeeze out

a few more words before I go, perhaps I like to hear the sound of my own voice, and my own stream of conscience.

I did check out a nice apartment today. It was called a "Down town Penthouse", also an art studio, it looks pretty

cool, and I do love living in an old "DownTown" Building, which is right smack on main street, of a city of 50,000, souls.

The tall ceilings and brick walls are nice. The maze of ghetto hallways and the roof one has to walk across at night

looks to be a challenge, but for $450 per month? Its a steal.

July 17th, 2010: Thought we were going to get some rain today, big storm clouds came in from Idaho during the second day of 99 degree temps. 99 degrees is the hottest I've ever seen it here, but its still a joke when compared to Texas standards. Yes, it went up to 100 degrees for 2 hours, after starting the day at 60 degrees, and its already in the 70's by 8:00 PM. I still love hearing the people bitch

about it, and no humidity? Hell, I find the temps perfect as can be, but would like some rain, its

quite dusty in my campsite, and the rain would keep the road dust from covering my camp site.

Had a visitor today. I wasn't here but the bastard walked off with the hot dog buns, I had stashed in

my guitar case. No trace was left. What could it be? The tree and ground squirrels would have

broke in and made a big mess, leaving a holey bread bag, and crumbs behind. A bear would have broke

into the cooler and ate the hot dogs, drink mixers, milk, beer, ect... Then I saw the bastard, I should

have known that the three foot high mound at the edge of my campsite was built by an animal. The

"Bastard" is also called a "Marmot", which is a very large rodent, about half the size of a beaver,

that weighs about 15 pounds and looks like a giant hamster. I have witnessed Marmots at a distance

before and I absolutely love these animals. Many are afraid of them, afterall they are essencially rats that

probably kick your ass if you pissed one off. I think they are cute. I plan to buy them (they usually come in pairs)

some food before I leave, maybe go to the feed store and buy them a bag of corn for the wintertime

I will try to get a picture of their mound, they moved 1000's of pounds of dirt to built this thing.

One my my favorite things about moving to a new state is to check out all the new life forms, with

insects and plants to capture my notice at first. But after three years, I've seen many new types of

birds, fish, mammals, and reptiles as well. For instance we have two types of mosquitos here. One

is a small slow lame-assed mozzy, that I can usually feel and squash before getting bitten. It does carry

the West Nile Virus, but not really many cases up here. The other type annoys me the most, called the "tree

hole mosquito, they live in holes filled with water in the trees. They are fast, large, and take a bite and move

before you can slap it. They are few, and do not spread the aforementioned virus.

After Borders, I went to see Logan again, had coffee with the boy, then went to grab some lunch before

taking him to work, we wound up eating at his restaurant. I try not to bug him too much, but after a

month without my own place, lonelyness begins to creep in. I find myself talking to strangers, blabbing

all kinds of personal shit, then leaving once they have that "this guy is wierd" look on their faces! Ok,

I exaggerate but this does happen from time to time.

Stopped in my classroom to feed my lion fish

and noticed that my custodian and friend "Cathy" beat me to it. She had a few goldfish, in a bucket

and the fish was laying on the ground in "digesting" mode. So I put the other ten fish in another bucket for

the lion fish to eat, when I visit Dallas in a few days. Today is a little over a month since I been camping

and hoteling it. I think I hoteled it about 60 percent of the time, a fact that I am ashamed of, but I did

have the money, and it becomes all too convienient and easy. But I'm committed to make it till Monday out

here which will be 6 days of constant camping, which is my record in the truck camper. I am still learning

and getting my camping logistics down, there is an awful lot of preparation when trying to assess the

things you really need and the things you can do without. Adequate clothing is essential, as is water

and a way to light a fire. But I didn't need 15 sets of , since it takes up a ton of room, or three

different jackets, 7 knives, three guns, ect. Every little thing also needs its own place, and you will have to

find it within a minute, this is hard to do. Perfect organization of over a hundred small and medium sized objects

, and if the object is something essential, like a "lighter" or "bug repellent", or "rain pancho", you will miss it dearly

and possibly have to break camp and find a store.. This is why I bring 5 or more lighters, and just as many flashlights

I did run out of batteries in all but one flashlight, and ran out of kerosene too, if it wasn't for a tiny keychain flashlight

last night would have been a dark son of a bitch. I will get smarter each time.

So I passed the "Shit Time", and made it out alive once again. I plan to rename the "Shit Time" to the

"Bastard Time",but since there is a famous "Bastard Time" quote by John Steinbeck, with a totally different meaning

(he was referring to "time" itself, as a Bastard). "Shit Time" sounds so crass, and "Bastard" is my

favorite word, I think its fitting to rename "Shit Time"to "Bastard Time". John knew the time was coming, the

skinny Bastard died at age 68 froma heart attack, to the chagrin of us fat bastards, who enjoy watching the

skinny not outlast us. I know this is

morbid, but would you like to constantly here the tragic news that YOU were always gonna die early? I hear

it daily, I try to work on the weight issue, and the constant prognostication of my doom, are not appreciated.

I'm aware of my medical conditions, I work at it and many times am successful. My conditions are all stress

related in the first place. My job is what causes me stress. Hopefully it will cause me less stress this year.

But, when I hear of skinny people dieing of heart attacks at age 40 or 50, I do get a rush of confidence, though

I am not glad that the individual is gone. I really wish that Steinbeck would have lived 100 years or more. I feel

cheated, that he died so young. I love every thing the guy ever wrote. It was all good.

So tonight was beautiful once again. I am nearly out of kerosene, so my camp is dark tonight, with only one

lamp protecting me. So I overdid the campfire, and sparks were flying into the dry trees and grass, so I shut it

down with a few shovels of dirt, some old water, and a piss or two. I don't want to be known as : "The teacher

who burned up Green Canyon", and it is dry and windy tonight. I am a paranoid careful bastard in times like

these. Maybe I'm old enough to learn from watching other peoples past mistakes.

The dark campsite tonight is really bringing out the stars and constellations. They are bright and easy to see,

since I don't have all the lanterns keeping out the wildlife. I am unafraid after spending last night in the total

dark till morning, and nothing happened. If the lions didn't live here, it probably wouldn't be as fun. And

the large male wolf that was shot last week, in Franklin County, about 18 miles north of here makes it even

more fun. Bears, haven't been seen in this part of the mountain range in years, but they do exist within 20 miles

of here, which means an odd one can make it here in one day. I'll live. I used to swim in lakes with large alligators

and many water moccasins, and 300 pound gar fish. Most animals just want to get along for the most part. Unless

wounded or hungry, or rabid, a big guy like me will be fine. Yet I do admit my fears freely, they are just another thing

to overcome. People that refuse to admit their shortcomings, generally are liars and self-deluders. Once ya start

lying to yourself, your credible life is over. Everything, is a fantasy after you start lying to yourself. People like

that are totally lost. Be honest with yourself above all else folks: then you can work on your issues. Keep telling

yourselves falsehoods, or blaming others, and things will not change for you. WORD.

I'm listening to some really old classics on the AM radio, by the campfire with little light and I can't see beyond

the picnic table I'm sitting at. Unless I look at the stars I am surrounded by total darkness. The lovely music

destracts me enough to sit here and write at One AM. I will retire soon due to the cold, but I want to squeeze out

a few more words before I go, perhaps I like to hear the sound of my own voice, and my own stream of conscience.

I did check out a nice apartment today. It was called a "Down town Penthouse", also an art studio, it looks pretty

cool, and I do love living in an old "DownTown" Building, which is right smack on main street, of a city of 50,000, souls.

The tall ceilings and brick walls are nice. The maze of ghetto hallways and the roof one has to walk across at night

looks to be a challenge, but for $450 per month? Its a steal. Hope I can get the place, that will leave me another

$100 to rent a heated warehouse for my motorcycle stable.

Later...

Humm: Not sure about the Marmot picture , hope you can read the text over it.

July 16th 2010

Morning: (I still have to transcribe this mornings writings from paper, since my computer's batteries were dead, pretty funny dreams and stuff, well worth coming back to.)

Afternoon:

July 16th, 2010: Not much interesting really, did get a shower at the Sports Academy, did laundry

at Logan's best, cleanest, and most expensive Laundromat, costing 8 dollars to wash and dry two loads of clothes. But they should last two weeks. At the laundry I got to check my e-mail and charge my phone and computer batteries as well. My size 44 shorts now are falling down if I put my keys in my pocket for weight. I got to walk around all day pulling up my pants, or holding my belt loop in one hand while I walk. I am very happy about this! So I lost about 2 inches of waste matter, but my weight is the same. Swimming does build lots of heavy muscle so I hope that is the case here.

I then hung out and drank coffee at my son and room-mate's house, they really are a nice group of young men. They party a lot, but the kids are alright. Then I get a call from my bike mechanic, who tells me I can get my CB 900 custom's front brake pads installed today, so I went to the school (my bikes are all in my classroom this summer), fired up the old girl and drove to Mikes house, who installed the pads in about 30 minutes. Riding the 28 year old bike, which is much smoother and better put together than the much newer Concours. I plan to sell the newer bike as soon as I return from Dallas. Those old Hondas are well made bikes. I also want to add a sidecar to the bike so I can drive her during the winter time, since three wheeled bikes don't fall over. Got the bike fixed, put her back in my classroom, drove back to Logan's house to get my charged up computer, grabbed some groceries, and headed back to the campsite. Keeping busy during the "Shit Time" keeps one sane, when spending the past three days in the mountains. Now I'm typing this while listening to the optimistic "Sean Hannity", tell us how great the country is going. I do find him entertaining, and a bit less hateful than Rush (I get busted for drugs alot) Limbaugh. The sky is falling message does get old after a while. I am having hotdogs tonite, so I better start cookin.

Wound up playing the guitar and singing by the campfire, about 10:30 a carload of young women showed up yelling "Is this the party of so and so", I pointed the flashlight at my scary face and yelled "No party here! I'm just an old man! hahaha!" The girl shouted an apology, and I just laughed and shook my head. I guess they missed out on my one man party!

Fell asleep in the chair by the campfire. Woke up at 6 in the morning, all the fires and lanterns were out by then, it was morning. Since I was wearing shorts and a t-shirt, my core temperature was quite low at this point so I put on a coat. Can't believe I can sleep soundly in a chair all night long, in the pitch dark, in lion country! Funny, I didn't drink much last night, I was just tired from the hotdogs I guess. My god I am cold inside, I drank a hot cup of coffee and boiled two more dogs, in order to raise my core temp. Then I went to the camper and slept another 5 hours. At 11 AM, I was doing fine and drove down to the valley below, and have been drinking coffee and writing my blog at Borders book store. Great place to wait out the "Shit Time", today should be nearly 100 degrees here, might have to go for a swim to celebrate.

I will resume todays writing with my next blog (July 17th) and be sure to recheck when I add

July 16th's morning blog. It should be quite funny, but it rambles a bit.

The picture was one I took of Soda Springs Geyser, that I took about 9 days ago.