Mt Graham - Near Safford

Perched atop a hill some miles east of Willcox (on I-10) too close to the highway and with a stiff breeze, I was on schedule to arrive Albuquerque to spend a week with Ms. Cook celebrating our 31st anniversary. The forecast was for rain.

But the heartbreak of shingles was too much. Between the fatigue and the pain, I could barely get up to attend to morning bidness...there was no way I was gonna do justice on the dance floor or on the deck of our yacht at the forthcoming Elephant Butte Cup. So, after cancelling the reservations and invoking nomad logic (Ah ain't been thar!), I went north to Safford.

Thatcher and Safford are contiguous like Colorado Springs and Denver...but smaller.

Mt Graham

(from SW of Thatcher)

"Pano" (below) -- $650.00 camera on a $50.00 phone.

Once I realized the deal, I put a lot of effort into returning it.

But Verizon has more caveat's than a car salesman.

The little rain that fell at camp

put a new dusting on the mountain

Sunset

Shootist

I was nearing Willcox, AZ around 3:15pm and decided to wash my hair b4 going into town. I thought I was away from any houses and pulled off onto the south-side shoulder of W Airport Rd.

I had my hair soaped when I heard shots and the sound of a bullet striking metal nearby. There were trees along the road blocking my view but it sounded as if the gun was aimed in my direction. The shooting continued and I could hear ricochets whining away. I finished up and with shots still coming, slowly pulled forward. The shooting stopped as soon as I started moving. 

As I emerged from behind the trees I saw a guy standing next to a blue-gray house wearing a black scarf over the lower portion of his face. I had the window 1/2 down and seeing me he waved an AR-15 above his head; I continued to slowly drive past as he concentrated on walking toward the house entrance. 

I got the address from Google Maps...8487 W Airport Rd, Willcox AZ 85643 in case you wanna stop by and see if you can engender a repeat performance.

2 hours later I contacted the police. They said cuz no witnesses it'd be his word against mine. I said I just wanted to file a report for future reference. But it was nearly 2 a.m. b4 I fell asleep.

Things are getting out of hand when people start shooting at tourists stopped for a few minutes on the roadside.

Pomerene Rd Mailbox

 

A real mo-hunker of a cat-claw behind it

Gallery of Dreams - St David

 Two in one - gallery & cat fixes.

Luckypee Snickerdoodle - Snicker, to his intimates

Sea of Cat Claw

So dense youse gotta do it in the road

Years ago, while researching desert ascetics, I read about a goat farmer near Cascabel. He'd built a platform with shade and invited folks to come there to contemplate. He sold goat milk and meat. 

He's been dead a while, but I've wanted to go see. Cascabel is due north of Benson, AZ.

It was near dark when leaving Benson and threatening rain. Rather than wander into the unknown, I went south, past St. David to a campspot that's so gnarly the only traffic is Border Patrol. 

Now, five days later, I'm still bed-ridden by the pain from the herpes zoster (shingles). Yesterday, with my last dose of oxycodone, I washed dishes, my hair and boiled some eggs, but I'm now down to half a liter of water.

The pain has been worse this morning, as if my thigh has been scalded. Any movement, the slightest touch of fabric, is enough to wrest a cry from even my stoic lips.

They sent a new prescription for oxy to the Walmart in Benson, but I need to get packed and it's a long drive. Fortunately, it's warm enough to go without clothes...until Walmart.

Though not a believer, I suspect my karma was tainted that time I was late with Smith's dinner.

Annah Faulkner's Last Request

Courtesy of EXIT International

Annah Faulkner's adieu 

Ms. Faulkner's novel: The Beloved

Arlington Abstraction

 

Look closely at this image. The gradations in values are amazing. The balance is exquisite. 

This Small Thing...

After decades of keeping my head in the sand I'm being drawn back in. But I'm looking for positive examples of change and, interestingly, as with ZOOX, some of the main people involved are women.

Join me in appreciating the humor as Mindy crosses her arms, strides across the screen and ends on a note of irony about our "humanity."

Shingles

Once in a while things get difficult. My left knee started having twinges. Then, the sciatica, dormant for two years, reignited with a vengeance making it hard to walk even a few steps.

The burning sensation was so bad it hurt to lay my thigh atop the other. I've never had an outbreak like this and attributed it to brushing against some plant while pantsless in the wilds. Finally though, when I could barely make it to the bathroom, it was time to touch base with my physician. If there's a benefit from Covid, it's that the medical community is more comfortable communicating electronically.

Now, two days after starting avalcyclovir augmented with some oxycodone, things have quieted down and for the first time in several days I was able to get some sleep. The nausea is annoying, but I may have lost a pound...or even two!

Grosssss! 

Earlier today, March 18, I discovered Simple Living and Simple Travel's blog. This evening I chanced upon this little story. It includes superb photos of the amazing things our medical technology can accomplish, but they're not for those who are uncomfortable with human anatomy. I've not ever seen a horror movie, but this little story definitely put my "difficulty" in perspective. 

Spring Equinox

The sun rose & set at 6:28.

It's a full moon 

I'm weathering a perturbation in a field a few miles north of the Bisbee-Douglas International airport.

Mr. Nose - Leading the Way

 

And she cuts hair, too.

Kelvin, Arizona

White Canyon Wilderness

It doesn't seem all that well-known though there was the usual bevy of pickups with empty ATV trailers at the top of the hill. The main road is passable enough, but the ancillaries looked intimidating. Here and there along the way were piles of oranges, tangerines and grapefruits. Each pile looked about the size of a pickup load. Three were fairly fresh, perhaps even this year, but one was little more than a large brown spot...suggesting it's been going on for some years. Better citrus than refrigerators, I guess.

Vitol

In the last two weeks the price of oil has increased $30/barrel.

Vitol, the world's largest commodities trading company, is privately held. As such, they are not required to and rarely disclose "numbers," but in the article below, from 2018, they claim revenues of $231B. One can only speculate about their political influence.

The Danes have spearheaded (funded) much of the expansion of commerce throughout the world including, in the 1600s, expansion of the slave trade.

The article also gives insights into Vitol's thoughts about the times ahead. It's interesting to note the mention of climate change, a concept still viewed in this country as leftist propaganda.

Lastly, based on the ethics of the day, one could easily surmise that the last administration helped engineer the Ukraine scenario to enrich the coffers of the chosen few. I mean, they were obviously priming the pump by agreeing Jamal's death was "just one of those things."

https://www.vitol.com/vitol-2018-volumes-and-review/ 

Parting On Cochran Rd

We've had almost a month together. It's been enough...though we both want more.

Waiting For Godot

I finished the 9th grade with Ds & Fs but passed the G.E.D. with a score more than adequate to enter the University of Texas at El Paso.

Instead, at age16, I went north to a concert in Denver featuring Jimi Hendrix, Big Brother & the Holding Company, Frank Zappa and several others. Afterward, in Boulder, I was inducted into Spring School, an alternative for dropouts. One of the other student's dad was renowned Beckett scholar, Vivian Mercier. 

I read it on one of my early LSD trips and imnediately declared it "my bible." 

I laughed so hard during Tricklock's production in Albuquerque I tipped over the chair and fell on the floor. What might've at another time been a faux pas appeared to be appreciated by the actors and, I like to think, spurred them on to the performance that 30 years later remains a high point of my life.

Cogitating on what to do next, I thought to travel the west attending performances. A fine whim if ever there was.

Waiting For Godot (2001)

Directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg

Barry McGovern - Vladimir

Johnny Murphy - Estragon

Alan Stanford - Pozzo

Sam McGovern - boy

Lucky's Speech

Stephen Brennan - Lucky

Attempted Incognition

As with the cottage of the thousand-year-old woman in The Golden Key by George MacDonald: so many doors invisible from the outside and only openable from inside.  

Gillespie Bridge & Dam

A unique spot amidst a wasteland of agriculture. Last time I was here there were pelicans.

One can only imagine the riparian magnificence that prompted the construction. A local link to its history. Library of Congress history. 

She was up at first light and on location before the birds had a chance to realize.

Photos by She of the Capri

Sunset

Swallow's Nests

Egrets & Cormorant

Harry Belafonte is Dancing In His Grave

 A bit of levity amidst the turmoil.

Banana Boat Song

Wickenburg

Ambling about.

Vehicles in middle distance.

In town, Katie & Mike gave us a tour of the newly renovated Chamber of Commerce building. Once the train depot, they're standing beside the scale used to weigh the freight as it passed from the loading platform onto the train.

Katie Davidson & Michael Wallace

Wickenburg Chamber of Commerce

The conference table was crafted from extra floor boards.