As Close As We're Gonna Get

The road goes past a game water entrenchment and ends about 500' (152 m) from the Kofa boundary. I managed to walk 200' further, but despite having taken my meds the angina flared and had me wondering if I'd make it back to the car. I'm still not in the habit of pocketing the nitroglycerin before ambling about...and after nearly two years, still not used to being this constrained.

It's at those times, when pain refuses to be ignored, that it helps to be in a place so beautiful. One can, at least for the moment, side-step the remorse (self pity) that lurks at the edge of consciousness. 

Emerging from the bush, I was hailed by this venerable majesteria with a noble und basso "HalloOOO!"

I almost laughed aloud at the nose-snorts and barely-suppressed titters as this one gleefully beckoned me, "Come closer."

And these two friends, nestled in close to each other, looked as cozy as two can be.

The saguaros! Lending their stately verticality to the owls and others that rely on them.

Quartzsite

My power of recollection being what it is, I have to wonder if the change is as dramatic as it seems. Where I recall two vehicles in 2017, there were now 20 or more.

My energy being what it is, I had to wait until I'd recovered from the move in order to move again. I took advantage of the cavalcade to hand out Western Watersheds' newletters, a somewhat similar experience to

Amanda Palmer: The Art of Asking

Amanda Palmer standing on her box giving away flowers.

Each encounter, in the wilds, is personal. The general paranoia being what it is, I feel as much like an ambassador of goodwill as a purveyor of information about livestock depredation. 

Wishing You Were Here

Being far from a large city as we are, one surmises there must be a mine or powerplant nearby. There was a time not too long ago when no one thought about air quality. Besides, it was out in the desert where no one goes.

 

But at a distance of less than a couple of miles, it's concerning. (Donchya just love that...it's concerning? For a while we had meme, now: concerning. But, you know, meme's not a word yuh kin be watchin' tv with a Bud in yer hand and use in a sentence real easy. It takes, yuh know, a certain amount of je ne sais quoi. But concerning, ennybody ken use that.) 

Sweet Pie a.k.a. Paul Winer

Thanks to the internet, Paul Winer is once again famous.

In the video below he recounts how he broke up a fight between two motorcycle gangs (3:52). 

His story is succinctly told on the blog A Year On The Road.

Mr. Winer is also a talented artist. 

But he's best known for originating the aphorism: Fuck 'em if they can't take a joke. It's the chorus of his greatest hit. My favorites are My Nothing and a song written for his daughter who died when she was 8 1/2. "In an effort to live with what you never lose...your blues, you have to lift up." 

(Article abt annual fundraiser for Celia's Rainbow Gardens and other social services.)

He's on the left, formally attired (in a jacket) for our interview.
Nov 17 was a bit cool.

Above is the REAL star....Felicia.