My wife says I’m “different” since I came back from Arizona. Well, good.
Right now, around 8:00 a.m., she’s halfway to Tres Piedras, on her weekly commute to Alamosa, Colorado (90 miles away) to teach advanced piano at Adams State. She’ll spend the night there and come back in the morning. That way she doesn’t have to drive home in the dark. For those of you who don’t know, the 60 miles or so between here and the Colorado state line is entirely open country — the stop sign at US 285 doesn’t count, and for that matter, neither does Tres Piedras! — that means “three rocks,” BTW, and if you know anything about the regional culture, it doesn’t take much to guess what those would be. I’m glad she handles it this way. You need to keep a sharp eye out for elk on those open stretches in the dark, because those guys are big…
Hobbes the Wonder Cat on this New Mexico morning
So now one day per week, I get to leave the dishes in the sink. It’s amazing how fast the bachelor pattern kicks in. One thing that’s NOT kicking in anymore, however, is a whole constellation of behaviors that used to make me hell to live with. For one thing, the life-long depression is gone. This doesn’t mean I’m hot shit now, because I’m still pretty much dazed. It’s like the stone got rolled away, but I’m still lying in my shroud, listening to the birdsongs in the early morning air, the way one might rest for a while, half-awake, in the quiet dawn of a day with no obligations or appointments.
That’s primarily why I haven’t been writing much of late. I’ve just needed to stop and see what needs taking care of in my own little corner of the universe. The main question, naturally, is: what do I want? I can’t help it that I’m 63 years old and only now got to this point, that’s just the way it is. (If you were me, you’d be lucky to have made it this far, anyway.) Sometimes people meet me and wonder if I’m “retired,” hah! They have no idea.
I may be weird, but I’m also in the forefront: no one will be able to “retire” any more, regardless, and hell, I’m already there!
Related posts:
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
John,
Stormy Sunday Series #3 is an incredible picture! Thanks. I miss the chatter about the Vibe. How is it doing? Did you ever have an alignment performed or does the steering just seem natural now?
Thanks again for the great pictures – for someone living in Ohio they are a daily treasure!
Hi Bill!
You inspired me to write about the Vibe again. I think all your questions are answered there.