HOME FROM THE HILLS

Here I am back from the trip. Had a wonderful time with my son and his partner in Monument Valley. While we were there a dust storm hit. Visibility went down the tubes, and we got sandblasted besides. You couldn't even smile in that dust without feeling like you'd spent a weekend at the beach, sort of like that polishing stuff they use at the dentist. Bad. And the wind followed us as we headed east once our rendezvous with the boys was done, so we were never out of if until we made it south of the Panhandle.

While we were traveling, calling on my SO's customers, we did take the time to stop and see the Rocky Mountain National Monument. Spectacular canyons and vistas. Also a hairy drive up some mountain roads without guard rails. Both of us have a phobia of great height so this part was unpleasant but I braved it long enough to get pictures.

By the time we got home, we were all ready, especially the dog. She pouted the last two days we were on the road, but was jubilant at the sight of her front gate. We were in two cars, since mine was still at the long term parking in Austin, but we arrived at almost the same instant. As usual, it's good to be home.

I read an excellent book while on the airplane, and finished it in Grand Junction. NEVER LET ME GO by Kazuo Ishiguro who also wrote THE REMAINS OF THE DAY. At the end of NEVER LET ME GO, I was moved to tears, and that doesn't happen often. It also is one of those books that leaves you thinking, and feeling you have some profound new understanding. As a writer, I admired how well he pulled off the first person narration, an unreliable narrator at that. Halfway through the book you realize that you know more than the narrator does, and that is not an easy thing to pull off. Anyway, I recommend it to anyone who enjoys excellent writing and a story that will linger in your mind.

Also while we were gone, I got some good ideas for magazine articles. I seem to be thinking along that line more and more often lately. Now, if I will just sit my butt down and do it! That's always the hardest part for me, especially since I stopped working for the paper. I seem to have a perpetual case of the lazy-es. Or something like that.

Onward ....