Stuck

This isn't quite us, but yesterday we DID get stuck in the mud in our 'new' RV and had to be pulled out by a huge tow truck. Not exactly the beginning we'd hoped for. We're off this morning on our maiden voyage. Back in a few days with a full report.

The rights of dogs

This morning at the harbor I pulled Annie Bones to the curb to allow a 70-something-woman with shoulder length gray hair, a long filmy skirt and a flowered scarf to pass by us on the sidewalk. She stopped, stepped to the side and motioned us forward.
"Dogs have rights too," she said. She smiled as we walked by.
"Good morning," she added.

Harbor at high tide

The long slow groan of inert boats
chained in the back harbor,
immune from high tide
the sound of thunder comes not from the sky
but from the boats knocking together
in their struggle to be free of one another

Authentic

When things are slow, you can always steal from your friends.
(compliments of www.aerophant.com)

Dressed for success

It's such fun being a writer. Especially when you know you're looking good.

Keeping warm

Today in the rain, I saw a woman on a bike that was covered in fur. She, however was wearing a tank top.

Sugar Daddy

Yesterday at the movies, (Slumdog Millionaire), I saw an old man eating a Sugar Daddy and I remembered when I was a kid how one Sugar Daddy could last a month. How I'd tire of it and put it on the corner of my dresser and come back weeks later, dust it off and it was good to go.

Obama addiction

Our friend, Cynthia brought us an Obama cake tonight. We're hooked.

Settling for Nimoy

We went to a high school auditorium in Whittier, (Nixon's hometown) in 1972 to see George McGovern when he was running for president. The place was crawling with secret service men, their heads on springs, from left to right and back again scanning our eager faces.
We waited over an hour and McGovern still hadn't arrived.
Finally, Leonard Nimoy came on stage and announced that Mr. McGovern was stranded in some airport somewhere in the midwest and couldn't make the gig. Instead Mr. Nimoy entertained us with an hour of Dr. Spock stories and in the end he urged us all to vote.

Under cover in the house of a commie

In 1962 I saw President Kennedy's motorcade from the front porch of my house in City Terrace, (an LA neighborhood.) The house was on a hill and I had a clear view as the string of limos approached the I-10 freeway.

We rented the house from a communist named Barbara, we were all hippies, led wild anti-establishment lives and it was considered just too bourgeois to be thrilled by such a thing.

So, I watched but kept my excitement under wraps, like a real secret agent.

What's a tree to do?

We've had summer-like temps in California for two weeks and while we're running around in shorts and Tevas and basking in our good fortune, trees are losing their leaves and sprouting new ones and flowers are blooming when no flowers should and I'm just wondering what must be going on inside those little branches, inside those accidental buds?

It's about time

Moving day

The Obamas are moving into the White House today and we're moving into our new little tin house on wheels. Right off the bat we've got something in common.

Mr. Montalban

I met Ricardo Montalban in the 60's when he visited the office in LA where I worked. He came off the elevator with an entourage, swept into our room on the 4th floor, looked at me and said, "Nice typewriter."

Sun City

I spent yesterday afternoon painting a table red and blowing bacon-scented dog bubbles to Annie Bones.

Forgiving

We're driving south on 101. A car in front of us is going 45 and weaving.
Me: Watch out for that jerk. I think he's drunk.
Irene: I'll pass him.
Me: Give him a wide berth.
Irene: Where's the coppers when you need them.
Me: Watch out. What an ass....
Irene: No, look, he's just playing a trumpet.
Me: Oh, well...that's much more interesting than a drunk.

The long long trailer

It's easy to get caught up in the moment, especially if you're us. Yesterday we bought a very big RV. Today we will try to find some place to park it when we're not wandering the backroads of America.

The worms are coming

Yesterday Annie Bones and I were sitting in the room we call The Nest when we suddenly heard a great crack! in the house. We both jumped up and peered into the living room. Our gigantic arty mirror which weighs too much for one person had fallen off the wall.

This morning I stepped outside to say hi to Calabasas, a neighborhood dog. Our neighbor's flagpole, empty of flag was rocking vigorously from side to side. I watched it for half an hour. The trees around the pole were calm but the pole continued to thrash.

These events combined with my equilibrium problems lead me to believe the earth is growling beneath our little neighborhood. I'm reminded of an old horror flick where giant worms wormed their way through a little town devouring everything in their path.

Passing it on

Irene was standing in line at a local store when a woman ahead of her had to run out to her car to find a receipt so she could return something. Everyone waited. When she came back she was given a $10 store credit. The woman turned to Irene, handed her the credit and said, "Happy New Year." Irene paid for her purchases with the $10 and had $1.37 left over. She turned to the woman behind her, handed her the excess and said, "Happy New Year." It could have gone on all day if the money had not finally run out.

The Mystery Couple

We have no idea who these people are. We met them briefly at a saloon in Bisbee, AZ and they asked us to take their picture, giving us their email address and we promised to send the picture on. Well, of course we lost the address and I'm sure they look every night into their computer certain that the two 'ladies' as he kept calling us, would not let them down. (Stan and Janet...it's not you, is it?)

Before the movie

One night in Arizona we camped at an abandoned drive-in theatre. There were speaker poles sticking up out of the desert and a string of very old Christmas lights dangling from a window threshold.
During the night something woke me up and when I peered through our RV window I saw two coyotes frolicking around the snack bar, just like we did when we were kids, wearing our pajamas waiting for the movie to begin.
I swear I heard the coyotes laughing and I'm certain I could smell the scorch of pop-corn.

The Triangle T and small crimes committed

On New Years Eve we camped at the Triangle T, a ranch near Dragoon, AZ. When we got there we went to the office, a wooden building straight out of Bonanza. We stood in a small room that looked a lot like a parlor out of 1890, finally we rang the little silver bell near the doorway of a second room. When we heard voices we peeked into the office-like space.
A young man staggered out of yet another room wrapped only in a blanket. He slumped on the desk chair, his hair hanging over his face, "What do you want?" he asked us. He was joined by a woman in a pink satin skin tight dress with bright blond hair, lots of askewed make-up and multiple tattoos.
"We're checking in," we said.
"Just pick a spot," he mumbled.
"When do we pay?"
"Pay later," he said, clearly at the end of his patience.
So we picked a spot by a boulder and were asleep before 9:30. The next morning we drove to the office to settle up. The place was closed. No one around.
We would have left some money but we had no idea how much to leave, so we skipped, starting 2009 with a small crime under our belts.

A matter of balance

Recently we drove through saguaro cactus country in southern Arizona. These amazing 'creatures' can live to be 200 years old. They don't grow 'arms' for at least 75 years. They have very shallow root systems, can weigh up to a ton and the arms grow in exactly the position that will provide balance to the huge plant.

For the last week I've been suffering from a mysterious case of vertigo. It's kept me somewhat hobbled and fuzzy-brained. I haven't been to the doctor because the doctor will just shake her head. And though I'm not quite 75, I've decided growing more arms is my best bet.

No doubt

One of the things I miss most when I'm on the road is movies. This week, to make up for lost time we went to two: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button with Brad Pitt which we liked a lot and yesterday, Doubt with Meryl Streep and Philip Seymour Hoffman. Meryl Steep is one of the finest actors around. Her performance in this film is nothing short of awesome.

Taming the beast

Today I am determined to get control of this book I'm writing.

Road fatigue

One late afternoon on a long narrow empty road we were looking for someplace to park our little RV. We'd been driving for hours when we came to a town with no apparent name. There was a seamstress shop and next to it a sign that I thought said, "Physic Insects". What it said after a night's sleep was "Physic Insights". Amazing how a nap can change everything.

Amenities

In Tombstone, Arizona we stayed at a rustic RV park. The main 'rule' read: Clothesline for paying guests only.

All in a morning

Staying on a friend's land northeast of Bisbee. Annie hunts and devours rabbit turds to start her morning.

Sand-hill cranes form a perfect 'v' on their way to breakfast in the corn fields.

The sun rises over the Chiricahua Mountains and is shining off the Cochise Stronghold.