now it's gone, nothing but a thong, think it's a country song

awaiting a musical score...

a beige skirt on an open field
those long days of living
wondering and forgetting, never giving
knocks on Sundays; deal never sealed

years of coffee, standin’ out back
finding middle ground
those days he came ‘round
but baby won’t do flat pack

dinner at gaps and quiet visits
a left open question
hanging and wanting, our obsession
left at home; show with my tickets

years of coffee, standin’ out back
finding middle ground
those days he came ‘round
but baby won’t do flat pack

the end comes and across the floor
a sudden final grab
standing and waiting, a final stab
from my life; off forever more

time away over such distance
the short line extinct
too far away, we always blinked
nothing to help; a lonely existence

years of coffee, standin’ out back
finding middle ground
those days he came ‘round
but baby won’t do flat pack

reno and london shows and parks
the long miles erased
pulled to the stairs, once embraced
finally we solved; and lit the sparks

no staring at shoes, no wonder out back
together on holy ground
these days he comes around
but still, my baby won’t do flat pack

men of mud, dr. atkins, and my text message

Blind doings can be hazardous; always danger lurking over the horizon. As an example I'll speak of my cellphone skills. Catching up on a few texts this morning, heading out the door, click-click-click and send...off I go. Off IT went, to someone who probably didn't need to know about my Anatomy study skills. As it where, I completely trusted my phone and its ability to sort out what I REALLY meant. No need to double-check anything, click-click-click and send. Easy peasy, blind faiths is go easy. Which brings to mind the infamous Atkins Diet (stay with me...). We'll say that the diet plan is similar to my little cellphone screen and what I believed was a simple plan that needed no oversight. Nothing to support its success, "trust me, everything's well sorted". Do this, do that and everything'll be peachy. Much like my blind trust in my button-mashing ability, and the beautifully easy use of the phone, I think the diet was nothing but an idea that seemed to be the easiest way from point A (big) to point B (small)....AND with bacon! Jump on board! I think that in hindsight (can we call it that now? Does anyone even remember the Atkins Diet?), everyone would agree that eating bacon, eggs, steak, eggs, bacon, and more steak to the near exclusion of grain, fruit and vegetables is ludicrous. Really...raise your hands. Okay, I'll start (visualize my hand in the air 'fessing up to horrible texting skills). So, off the diet went into the dustbin of bad ideas just as my text message flew off some unintended (but easily amused)cellphone owner on the East Coast. The point isn't that trust and belief are bad, it's something that should taken with some thought...and not just texted. Trust and absolute belief in anything can be bit dicey. And with that, I'll refer you to the New Yorker article on Mud and Man. Off to the gym....

sunday waffles

A few times a week I drive into town (really it's just around the corner) and pass an old, dilapidated gas station that sits on the southwest corner of a four-way stop. It's almost overgrown, no idea how long it's been vacant, but the sign surely gives some clue; I'll bet a research grant could be awarded. The keystone of the mystery would be any idea of what the second digit was the day it closed: 2? 5? 9?. Maybe by combining the tumbleweed growth, the number, and some really good cypherin', I could come to solve the puzzle. Maybe I'll jump the fence and dig around in the weeds for the fallen digit...the 'fallen digit'! Maybe, in the end, I don't want to know. The other picture is of my local Indian-owned, government-subsidized gas and tobacco station on my end of town. It's the cheapest in town...for what that's worth.

Drove into Reno this morning ($12 of gas right there!) to get the NYTimes (so I can romance someone with my crossword prowess), school supplies (Super Wal-mart), and Sunday morning waffles at the Pneumatic Diner. I know you're asking "why are they called Sunday morning waffles?", well, because they only make them on Sundays...easy. In the end, I ordered the Huevos Rancheros as always; and in the end, they were excellent as always. Nice coffee and a lemon fizzie rounded out the meal.

Calling the girls tonight to check on their weeks. Details to follow....

Love to all...

Greenspan reports strong ecomony; textbook prices rise!

Just a few days of summer remaining for me. I stood in line at the WNCC bookstore yesterday afternoon and purchased (mortgaged? financed? gnashed my teeth?) textbooks for my Chemistry and Anatomy classes that kick-off Monday night. Maybe I'm venting, but $460 for two courses worth of books seems a wee bit expensive. Afterall, the two classes (eight credits) only run $510 total...trying to do some ratios in my head. We also have a three-week training evolution, sorry intelligent design, starting at Fallon this week. I feel like I'm in high school again...the dogs days of summer are quickly receding in the mirror, loading my backpack and heading back to the autumn of class. I thought about saying I felt like I'm in college again but I didn't really do much in college, funny. If I might add a bit of sport to the morning; this marks the first time since the 70s that I've not cared one iota for the forthcoming college football season. Talk about something so opposite from the earlier memory of feeling like a high schooler again. Anyway, after 30 years of Nebraska football I've given up. Not because last season was so bad, but because I loved 'running' football and the program has jumped to West Coast populism. No fullback? No counter-trey? Nothing I need to see. If I want West Coast offense I'll watch USC. I think I decided this over a pint of stout in the Detention Bar at our hotel in Portland. I'll ask my receptionist for the notes. A final thought? Dad always said school should start after Labor Day and be done by Memorial Day and I agree. School before next weekend's Cantaloupe Festival in Fallon? I protest...

ah, the Dutch

I could have written this completely true, dead-on dissertation of the Dutch and Amsterdam (click on the following days at the bottom to get through the whole story). All who know me (and I think that's everyone) know my inclinations to Holland as a whole, and Amsterdam in particular. In the battle of cities I've seen and loved, Amsterdam sits above Florence in the worldwide cast of characters. Don't confuse the worldwide cast with the charted, ranked, tallied (and then altered) cast of cities I would/could live in...that group is ever-changing and will no doubt come up soon. But Amsterdam...hmmm, the museums, the people, the location, such a dream...I've often thought about moving there. Okay, the coffeeshops, 'shrooms, and hookers aren't necessarily well researched for me (some for some reasons, some for others...). If nothing else, it made me laugh out loud, and that's something.

northwest green

A week-long sojourn to Washington state made for some welcome color and relaxation. You know, Fallon is famous for "Hearts of Gold" Cantaloupe that's grown along the banks of the mighty Carson river, but the entire area is mostly high desert scrub. The trip northwest gave Christine and I a chance to get out of very hot, and humid in her case, environments and put-on some 'perfect weather duds'. A two-day trip to Portland at the end of the week simply added to the fun as we saw the classic Chinese Garden, Rose Garden and Japanese Garden over the course of a half-day. I was able to meet Christine's long-time friend (and fellow Army-destructor) Shawn and her...her...her Mark while in Seattle. A few get togethers, some sushi and the new Miyazaki movie one evening, bookended by the 'girls having coffee'. As expected, by me, there was much salmon to be had, places to be seen, city streets to walk and Mt. Rainier for a hike. We ALMOST didn't do the hike down at the mountian after the excellent planning for the day after sushi and day before Portland, but some little bird convinced us to get up and get out. We've done hiking at Tahoe, seen the sights, but Rainier was more (most?) fabulous. Don't believe me? See the pictures. We were hosted (fantasically) by Connie and visited a few times with Heather, Michael (in between his high-profile travels...), and Ben. In fact, tip o' the trip goes to Michael for getting us to head to Sunrise, Washington and hike the Bourroughs Mountain trail at Rainier. We made it back to the airport (in time! no running!) and safely home on Sunday the 14th...with a Southwest Airlines bonus of 300 clams because I so righteously volunteered my seat and hopped on a later flight. I AM gracious.

back to school

Both Laurel and Sarah are back in school as of the 15th. Laurel has Ms. Ouren for fifth grade and duly reports that there are 21 kids in her class at Oakdale. I asked her if she found everything to her liking and she told me that sometimes it's a bit boring and she finds herself staring at the lava lamp. Apparently Ms. Ouren has a lava lamp on her desk which is near Laurel's at the back of the room. Fifth grade and already caught out by groovy 70's stuff. Sarah had to decide over the summer whether to stay at Cienega H.S. or move to Empire, which is the new high school in Vail, AZ. She decided to stay with most of her friends and finish the last two years at Cienega. I, for one, would have gone to Empire, it's closer and they are a school that has gone to issuing iBooks to all the students versus using textbooks. Nothing cooler, is there? Plus, that new school smell! I start Chemistry and Anatomy on Monday and will be in class Monday - Wednesday evenings here in Fallon. My lab coat is ironed, my periodic table t-shirt (with glowing radiation symbols!) is clean, pencils sharpened and notebook at the ready. This should be fun...Love to all

a quick shot of the summer

Catching up and decided to post some pictures of the Bear from our visit in July. I flew into Omaha and we did the round trip drive to the Cities for a visit with Anne and the Apple River. I think Laurel got through 8 or 10 books during the week while she waited for the new Harry Potter. We took our annual trip to the Minnesota Museum of Science in St. Paul (see the lab coat) and a day of tubing down the Apple River. Almost lost her glasses, and then almost lost her, as she fell off her tube in the final set of rapids. Luckily, I had my super powers available and nabbed her from the gates of death....the Apple can be diabolical. The picture from Anne's back porch should be blamed on either Anne or Char...who had the idea for s'mores can be debated. We only had them after dinner twice that week...addicative.

the genesis

So, the dealio. Sometimes doing everything just once seems best, and the thought of repeating things can be unduly cumbersome. Don't much care for the phone: lots of holding, signals, moving around the house, dialing...all that stuff. Much easier to bring everyone to one place where pictures and daily life can be relived...at least in some small part. Much nicer then worrying of email and endless diatribes about the state of affairs. Here it is, something updated many times a week, something (hopefully) broken up into little nibbles so if you don't want to hear my rants, you need not.

The weekend is here and I'm off to the Tahoe Rim Trail tomorrow morning. Pictures to come from that trip, the hike a few weeks ago, a scamble near Mt. Rainier and a few shots of the Bear. Patience....