Photo-of-the-Week #244 Feeling Lucky? Q Resort & Casino, Winterhaven, California, March 2015

They sure are elaborate. Gambling casinos, I'm talking about. For the longest time the only time I had been in a gambling casino was back in the 80's when I was at the Resort International Casino in Atlantic City to record a seminar on telemarketing. I went down to the casino the first evening, took $20.00 with me (locked the rest of my cash in my room) and returned to my room with . . . $0.00. Lesson learned.

Since that time I've been in casinos in West Virginia, Florida, Arizona, California and Oregon. There may have been one or two other places, but they obviously didn't make a big impression on me. Actually, they all pretty much look (and sound) the same to me. They are glitzy, glamorous and noisy. I can add gambling to the number of things I'm not prone to becoming addicted along with alcohol, drugs of any kind, adrenalin rushes and compulsive buying. Now, I do enjoy eating, but I'm not particularly addicted to any specific thing. What does that leave . . . hmmm, sex? Not sure I've ever found myself in a situation to test that as a possible addiction, well, maybe once. But, I can't say I'm addicted. So, I guess I can cross that off the list, too.

I don't get it. I go into these casinos and walk through from early morning until late at night, actually all night long, there are people there. They sit at the “one-armed” bandits, although they are all electronic now, like zombies playing one, two and three slot machines at a time. It boggles my mind. Obviously, some people must get lucky, but I just can't buy into it. I stay at casinos when I travel because most of them offer free overnight parking for RVers. I'll go in and usually patronize their snack bars and restaurants (many have really great breakfasts at excellent prices). Beyond that, like I said, I just don't get it.

Live free and be happy. EH

Photo-of-the-Week #240 Scene of Latest U.S. Terror Attack, San Bernadino, California, December, 2015

This is not my photo! It's a stock photo I downloaded from the Web. I could have chosen any of a number of photos of the scene of the horrific terror attack that took place in the city of San Bernadino, California this past week, but I chose something that was more indicative of the city.

I was in San Bernadino this past winter. It is a California city of something over 215,000 people. Like several cities in California, it has been going through difficult economic times and is dealing with a bankruptcy. But, I don't care what the specific circumstances of any city, town or village in the U.S., nothing should make it the target of a terrorist attack. And, just as happened in Paris only a few short weeks before, this unsuspecting city was dealt an undeserved blow below the belt. But, even worse, it took the lives of 14 innocent people, physically wounded another 21 and emotionally and psychologically wounded not only hundreds of people related to these direct victims, but tens of thousands who see their hometown and the world through different eyes, now.

My first visit to San Bernadino was in the early 1970's, when the now closed, Norton Air Force Base was part of that community. I was in the Air Force, based in Washington, DC assigned to the Secretary of the Air Force Office of Information. I was on a TDY (temporary duty) assignment in California and was ready to return to Washington. I was authorized to fly home by commercial airline, but chose to don my blue uniform, drive my rental car to San Bernadino and fly home from Norton Air Force Base on the “U.S. Air Force Airline.” That was about 43 years ago.

I've driven through San Bernadino a few times since then and, as I mentioned, the latest time being in December of last year and again in the early part of this year. And just one year later, this horrendous event takes place. Of course, I couldn't have imagined such an event taking place in San Bernadino, or anyplace else in the U.S. for that matter. But, then again, just a little over 14 years ago, in plain sight of where I grew up, two airliners became the weapons of foreign terrorists who ultimately took the lives of nearly 3,000 innocent people that day.

No! I'm not going to be stupid and blame workplace violence. No! I'm not going to be stupid and blame inanimate, brainless, objects, namely guns, for this. No! I'm not going to blame global warming or climate change (whichever anyone wants to call it), racism, religious persecution, the economy, education or anything else for this. I'm going to blame the REAL cause – HATE! It's that plain and simple. For all the good there is in this world, there is a lot of evil and it manifests itself in four ways – HATE, GREED, CORRUPTION and STUPIDITY!

The stupidity part is mainly home-base right here in the U.S. It starts from the top down. I'm so sick of political correctness and our government trying to make us believe we're to blame for all of this. Yes, we are arrogant. Yes, we are affluent in many ways, other than just financial. Yes, we are materialistic, over-indulgent and even shallow. But, in general, we are the most generous, caring, sharing people in the world. We, in general are not the Kardashians or the Trumps or the Obamas or the Caitlyn Jenners or any of the other “over the top,” bigger than life, so called “idols” of American idiocracy. We are just a whole lot of nice people.

Guess what? A whole lot of nice people were massacred this week because they just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. They were celebrating a part of our American way of life when a couple STUPID people full of HATE, and one of them born, raised and educated in this very country, decided they were going to become the judges, jury and executioners of people who never did a thing to them or their child. They were treated like welcome members of The American Way.

People often ask me - because they know I'm a wandering, living free, freedom loving nomad, exploring the country of my origin, experiencing its beauty and wonder and meeting the wonderful diversity of people who make up this great place – whether I carry a gun with me for self-defense. Frankly, whether I do or whether I don't is no one's business except my own. It's another of the personal choices we can all make in our lives. In order to defuse a controversial subject before it has the opportunity to turn into a discussion or argument that I personally don't want to be involved in. I typically will say, I don't. But, only I know the truth and that's going to be the way it remains.

However, let me go on record to say, I support the 2^nd Amendment. No! I'm not an NRA member. I have no need or desire to become an NRA member. But, I know one thing for certain. Evil, stupid, hate-filled, greedy and corrupt people WILL always find a way to get their hands on the inanimate objects we call guns and all their accessories and ammunition and will use them against unarmed people, regardless of whatever controls are put on obtaining and owning such inanimate objects.

Further, they will continue to buy readily available materials and, with knowledge readily available on the Internet, construct bombs, IEDs (as they are now called) and weapons of mass destruction just like these two mad dogs in San Bernadino had. Evil people with no outlook for a future for themselves will embrace ideologies that reward them in their death to take on suicide missions and attacks (and suicide attacks are as old as humanity).

So, my heart, my thoughts and my prayers go out to the families of the dead victims, the wounded and their families and the people of San Bernadino, California for the losses they experienced this past week. But, even more, my heart and thoughts go out to all the personal freedom loving people in the U.S. and the world and ask you to pull your fucking heads out of the sand and start calling evil what it is. Stop blaming it on everything that has nothing to do with it.

I'm sorry, but innocent people will die when right/good stands up against evil and destroys evil. No civilized person is happy about that and none of us condone it. But, that is part of the cost. And, I have to support that over innocent people anywhere being tortured and massacred barbarically and inhumanely by stupid, hating, evil people who don't give a damn who they kill, period.

That's my piece for today. Like it or lump it. I don't care. I love life. I love living it without fear and intimidation. And I sure as hell don't want my life ended because of too damn many politically correct assholes, both in and out of our government, who can't stand up like real men and women and call a duck a duck, a hate monger a hate monger and a terrorist a terrorist and stop this shit! 

Happy Holidays and remember to live free and be happy. EH

Photo-of-the-Week #239 The Badlands of South Dakota, September, 2010

Here is just one of the many vistas of this unique landscape. This is in Badlands National Park in South Dakota. It's one more example of the awesome scenery, topography and geology that makes up the United States.

I drove through Badlands National Park the first time in late September of 2010 when I drove to Rapid City to finalize my change of residence and domicile to South Dakota and obtain my South Dakota drivers license. This is the fifth state I've held a drivers license from and had voting privileges.

It continues to amaze me how much there is to see just in the lower 48 of the United States. I've only scratched the surface and I've been traveling around this country for the better part of 50 years. Of course, a good part of that was on business, so the travel was mainly to major cities and metropolitan areas. But, now, while I've been to most of the major cities and metro areas, my focus is really on exploring the smaller cities and towns and the natural wonders of this land.

Of course, there is even more to see in Canada, Alaska and Mexico. I dare say, I have a lifetime of travel and exploration ahead of me without even leaving the North American continent. There are still a few places I'd like to see overseas, but frankly, with the hassles and inconveniences of air travel these days and so much turmoil in various parts of the world, for the most part, I'll be just as happy to visit the rest of the world through travelogues on large, flat screen, 3D TV's.

No, it's not the same as actually going to the places, eating the food, smelling the aromas and mingling with the people, but I've learned that everyone will die with “unfinished business.” So, I will still be looking for an opportunity to revisit New Zealand and I'd love to get to Australia. I would also like to revisit Ireland.

There are places in Europe I haven't been, but that's okay. I wouldn't mind getting back to Prague and Budapest. I've been to China, but frankly, from what I've seen of the explosive growth and pollution there, it's not high on my list to revisit. I wouldn't mind spending some more time in Hawaii and exploring the Big Island. I'd also enjoy visiting some of the Caribbean Islands and revisiting the Bahamas.

That's a lot of territory to cover in the X number of good travel years I have left ahead of me. Wherever I make it to will be a gift and I'm going to continue enjoying the lifestyle of a nomadic wanderer.

Live free and be happy. EH 

Photo-of-the-Week #205 Blood Moon Over Arizona, Tonto National Forest (near) Payson, Arizona, April 2015

Did you see it? Did you see the Blood Moon on the morning of April 4, 2015? I did and I have the photos to prove it.

I'll be very honest, these photos are definitely not "National Geographic" or "Scientific American" quality. First, I don't have the kind of sophisticated photographic equipment for this kind of photography. Second, the idea of capturing these photos was on the spur of the moment. I was experimenting in the dark of night. And, third, I take photos to document my experiences not to emulate the "National Geographic" or "Scientific American" pros.

A Blood Moon is caused by a total lunar eclipse. This particular Blood Moon was the third in a series of four within 18 months. This series of four eclipses, six months apart, is called a tetrad. There will be a total of eight tetrads between 2000 and 2100. This is the second tetrad of the century. The moon will typically look orange or red and is caused by the rays of sunlight bending around the Earth, which is between the sun and the moon. The color is caused as the sunlight bends through the Earth's atmosphere.

I took these photos from about 5,000 feet above sea level from my camping location in Tonto National Park near Payson, Arizona. The sky was remarkably clear. The first photo of the full, bright moon was taken in the eastern sky at about 9 PM on Friday night, April 3rd. The Blood Moon, lunar eclipse, photo was taken in the southern sky through a hole in the pine trees at about 5 AM April 4th when the eclipse was just about at it's fullest. It was about 40 degrees at 5 AM. I watched and shot photos for about 40 minutes.

The bright, full moon was easier to photograph because there was lots of light. It was almost bright enough to read comfortably. The Blood Moon was much harder to photograph because it was much darker than the bright full moon. Remember, the Blood Moon had no direct sunlight reflecting from it. It was totally in the shadow of the Earth and the only light reflecting from it was coming around the edges of the Earth through the atmosphere.

The camera (and I experimented with both of my digital cameras) was tripod mounted for stability. Obviously, I needed a wide lens opening and it required a time exposure to capture enough light to provide a credible image. I could use a remote shutter release via bluetooth from my smart phone with one of my cameras. Unfortunately, I couldn't get a credible image from that camera.

I don't have a way to remotely the shutter with the camera I used, so I had to actually have my hands on the camera to hold the shutter release down. Thus, it's apparent there was some slight, but evident movement of the camera during the exposure, especially on Blood Moon photo. I used Photoshop to sharpen the Blood Moon image a little before too much pixelization was apparent. But, then again, as stated earlier, this is documentation of an experience and not for publication in a major magazine.

I hope you had the opportunity to witness this lunar eclipse, the shortest to date of the 21st Century. The next opportunity to witness a total lunar eclipse and, potentially, a Blood Moon will be Sunday, September 28, 2015.

Photo-of-the-Week #193 - Griffith Observatory, Griffith Park, Los Angeles, California, January 2015

Here is the Griffith Observatory. The Observatory is prominently located on what may be the highest point in Griffith Park on Mount Hollywood, a 3,000 plus acre preserve donated to the city of Los Angeles in 1896 by Col. Griffith J. Griffith. In his will he also left the funding to build the observatory with detailed specifications. The observatory was built in the mid 1930's as a WPA project during the Great Depression. It was officially opened to the public on May 14, 1935. It is and has always been free to the public in accordance with Griffith's will.

In addition to the huge planetarium theater in the large center dome of the observatory, there are large telescopes in the east and west observatory domes. During World War II the observatory was used to train pilots in celestial navigation. During the 1960's the observatory was again used to train Apollo astronauts for the lunar missions. The observatory has undergone at least a couple major renovations over its lifetime. The latest one took from 2002 to 2006 and included a major excavation project under the observatory to add more exhibit space. It also included the installation of a huge, modern Mark IV Zeiss projector inside the new dome of the planetarium. The older projector was installed in a second theater built underground during the renovations and expansion.

If you look closely you can see the Goodyear
blimp slightly right of center and above the
opening in the clouds.

There is way too much to tell about the fascinating exhibits housed inside the beautiful Art Deco structure. And, as of this time, I have not had the opportunity to experience the inside of the observatory. Pete, my son, and I arrived at about sunset and reaching the observatory on the two lane, winding road leading to the too small parking lot was impossible at that time. So, we found a great vantage point overlooking the Los Angeles Basin and captured photos of the sunset. We later drove up to the top of the mountain, but there was nary a parking place to be found and the traffic and congestion up there was like being on an L.A. freeway at rush hour on a Friday afternoon of a three day weekend. So, this becomes another addition to my life list of places to experience.  

By the way, this photo was taken from about a mile away as the crow flies. The photographic quality, of even an inexpensive point and shoot (in this case, my Samsung WB250F) camera, amazes me. The long lens in this little camera (and I wasn't even close to fully zoomed) provides great detail, remarkably sharp images and, for documentation purpose, very useable photographs. And, while this camera has a 14 mega pixel resolution, I usually use a 5 mega pixel resolution to keep the file size down to allow for faster up and down loading. Ain't technology great? 

The Good, The Bad, But There Is No Ugly Today

Today's article is going to mainly be a photo essay. It is said a picture speaks a thousand words and in this case, I think that's truer than not.

I'm composing this article as I sit parked on the beach in the SoCal city of Manhattan Beach. My son's home is approximately three miles from the beach and the office he works at is conveniently about half way between his pad and the beach. So, this is not a bad arrangement.

The Good!

So, the good is that while My McVansion has suffered an automotive heart attack, I'm fortunate enough to have close family in an idyllic location, especially considering the weather conditions back at my eastern base camp in Keyser, West Virginia. The temperatures there for the past several days have been in the 0-10 degree range at night with 25 to 50 mph winds creating wind-chill temperatures in the -10 to -20 range. Additionally, they have had a nominal blanket of snow on the ground.

So, here is my current location as I compose this piece for, you, my loyal readers --

Surfers on Manhattan Beach, California at
 73 balmy degrees

A small party of onlookers on the beach
in the late afternoon sun

A tanker at anchor off Manhattan Beach

Some volley ball beach babes practicing

Not a bad place to live - if you can afford it

A Pacific Ocean sunset at Manhattan Beach, California

The Bad!

The bad part of this situation is that My McVansion sits about five miles from my present location with a large cavity where its heart (its engine) resided until yesterday. Since my son was kind enough to let me have his car for the day, I took a little time late this morning to visit my micro-condo on wheels and take a look at its current condition.

Here are some current photos of the "patient."

My McVansion with its chest cavity empty - its heart has been removed

The engine block undergoing steam cleaning

One of the two heads and the camshaft
awaiting cleaning and machining

This may be the "bad boy" - one of the pistons is very badly damaged -
the other seven pistons had their miles showing, but were generallyin much better condition.

The NOT Ugly!

So, while this is not a convenient or a planned set of circumstance and turn of events, I don't see anything truly ugly about it. First, I get to enjoy some great time with my son. This is something we haven't had the privilege of having very much over the past decade or so. Second, I'm located in a warm, sunny and very pleasant environment. One couldn't ask for a better situation under the circumstances. Third, this failure of automotive technology was neither planned nor was the expense in the budget, so it's going to take a significant bite out of my resources. However, it will only alter my lifestyle a very small amount.

The upside is that I will have a like new engine in the van that should last many, many miles. This will provide reliable travel and opportunities for exploring more of Americana and the adventures that lie ahead.

  

Beautiful Downtown Tinseltown - Hollywood, California

It's a beautiful southern California day, The sun is out. The temperature is a moderate 70 degrees or so with a gentle breeze and all the local folks and tourists are wandering the streets in their shorts, mini skirts, tee shirts and tanktops. Of course, there is a pretty steady stream of traffic.

I'm sitting in front of the Tiago Coffee Shop next to the Emerson Theater at the corner of Hollywood Blvd. and La Brea. The sidewalk in front of the coffee shop is part of the Hollywood Walk of Fame with the stars honoring those entertainers who've earned the privilege of being so recognized. 

A  few blocks down Hollywood Blvd. is the famed corner of Hollywood & Vine. During the mid-1970's my Washington, DC business, Audio-Video Cooncepts, Inc., aka AVCon, had made arrangements with a Hollywood audio production business located on one of the corners of Hollywood & Vine, to use their address as AVCon's Hollywood branch office. Those were pretty heady days for the aggressive, young, 20 something, recording entrepreneur I was back in those days. It's interesting how time mellows us. 

About five or six years ago I visited Hollywood for what I called my "Final Hollywood Tour" to see what was still around from my days here in the 70's and 80's. To be perfectly honest, I was never enamored of this town. The same is true of New York City. My favorite recordiing center was then and still is Nashville. I was disapointed to find that while most of the major structures were still evident, other than the iconic Capitol Tower (home of Capitol Records), I could only find about two other studios still in operation from the "Golden Age" of my youthful days. Even the building we used for our Hollywood address at Hollywood & Vine had been razed and was a hole in the ground.

So, here I sit, one more time, about 40 minutes from my son's abode in a place that is still bustling, but seems to have changed quite a bit over the years, but doesn't everything?

                                  

California, Here I Am!

Yes, I am in sunny, warm (finally) southern California. But, not without challenges getting here. I'll recap the travels in another post devoted just to the mostly uneventful trip other than my eight day stay in Cherokee Village, Arkansas. But, this is the view from where I am composing this article today.

This is from the small yard, but adequate for my son, Pete's, (and currently, my) needs in the city of Hawthorne, California, one of the cities that makes up what most people call Los Angeles, the "City of Angels." His small house is actually a guest house located behind the small main house that faces the street. It's actually very quiet and secluded back here. I can't see anyone and no one can see me.

Pete's small, but adequate yard

Now, lest I lead you to believe my son lives in some palatial compound, the reality is that his little accommodation is not in great repair, is very Spartan and quite small. But, the rent is extremely reasonable, includes all utilities and serves his purposes quite adequately for the moment.

His very private entrance to his secluded abode

Generation Gap

My son is a member of what is termed Generation X while his father is part of the Silent Generation, the generation immediately preceding the Baby Boomer Generation. So, he and I have somewhat different world views and, yet, we share many of the same values. 

I find it most interesting that while I was born only a year before the "official" beginning of the Baby Boomer Generation, I, for all practical intents and purposes, grew up as a Baby Boomer. My father, would also be considered a member of the Silent Generation though he was born one year prior to that generation and would be considered part of the Greatest Generation, but I share most of his values. I found this all quite interesting as I did some research on the generations for this article.

The thing I find most interesting is that my father (parents) grew up during the Great Depression. This was a time when a large part of the U.S. population lived frugally and without large accumulations of material "stuff." However, he did his level best to make our lives (my two sisters and mine) much better. We lived what would have to be considered something just north of a solid Middle Class lifestyle. Nice homes, two, then three cars, a couple TV's, eventually, we had multiple bathrooms and each of us kids had our own bedrooms. And, of course, there was quite a bit more "stuff" that accumulated.

My son grew up in what would be considered a solid Middle Class lifestyle. Larger homes, multiple bathrooms, extra bedrooms, multiple vehicles and too much stuff. It took me way too many years to realize the folly of bigger homes, multiple vehicles and the accumulation of way too much stuff. Of course, I couldn't imagine how stressful it would be to have to downsize, economize and live simply. It's an ongoing process, but I'm now an advocate of this lifestyle and have no desire to return to the excesses of my earlier life.

Where Did I Go Right? (But, I Really Don't Take The Credit)

The really interesting thing to me is that my son, a member of a generation that became even more self-indulgent, has actually embraced minimalism, frugality and simplicity since he left the nest. Believe me when I say that as an only son, who grew up in an entrepreneurial Middle Class, Baby Boomer home, he was doted on and spoiled. Yet, somehow he found the pathway to greater freedom and happiness at the onset of his adult life rather than dauntingly going through 40 or 50 years of excess and the accumulation of massive amounts of "stuff."

So, as I sit here at his modest abode, I marvel at this interesting circumstance. I guess it wouldn't hurt to elaborate a bit by saying he lives his frugal, minimalist, simple lifestyle by choice. He is a self-made man in his mid 30's. He is currently employed (his first full-time employment in about 10 years) by a division of one of the Big Five international accounting and consulting firms. He earned his stripes as a contractor for some of the largest high-tech and e-commerce businesses in the world over the past decade.

He earns a healthy, six figure (before the decimal point) income with an enviable benefit package. The other people he works with choose to live in high cost housing, drive Bimmers, Benzes and other, so-called, Yuppie cars, shop in the trendy upscale stores, wear the latest fashions, travel high on the hog, etc. He sees this income as his opportunity to create his future freedom. By choosing to live simply, minimally and economically now, he will be able to be free to travel the world and work on his own terms in the not too distant future. He's already a world trekker and has been for years.

The main house, the guest house and the property are all for sale (short sale), so he may have to leave here soon. But, he figures he'll stay here as long as he can while keeping his eyes open for another similar housing opportunity to make a move to when this property sells.

Above is a view of the front of the main house and to the right and below are views up and down the street. As you can see, he's only a half block from the I-405 (The 405) Freeway and he's pretty close to the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), yet, it's amazingly quiet in his small, secluded domain.

While this small place could be considered a larger "Tiny House," other than a few features of the floor plan, I would find this small place very accommodating at some time in the future when it will be time to ultimately hang up my keys. I'm not figuring on that occurrence until somewhere after age 100.

Where Is My McVansion?

Meanwhile, My McVansion, my micro-condo on wheels, is located about 2 miles from my son's pad with a large vacant space where the engine usually resides. It's at an engine rebuilding shop that comes with very high reviews. Unfortunately, after making it 3,233 miles across the U.S. from my departure point of Keyser, West Virginia to 2,500 feet up the extremely steep climb to the 4,160 foot Tejon Pass out of the San Joaquin Valley to the San Fernando Valley, the poor little engine that could . . . just couldn't anymore and had a "heart attack." It's beyond bypass surgery, it needs a complete rebuilt heart. 

So, I had to limp the final 84 miles to my son's place with a barely functional engine. I finally made it over the 4,160 foot pass and the rest of the way by driving on the shoulder (fortunately, pretty wide) with my emergency flashers on, often at speeds of only 10 to 15 miles per hour.

Adding Insult To Injury

Of course, there was one other delay of about an hour and a half when the brand new, right rear tire ended up flat. Fortunately, it happened at a wide place off to the side of the 405 Freeway just 15 miles from my son's house. The new tires were installed at the Walmart in Clovis, CA the day before my "trip from Hell" and only had about 200 miles on them. My AAA Plus membership took care of getting the tire changed. Again, fortunately, I had the spare checked the day before and had it filled when we found the tire pressure was nearly zero.

So, after the engine is replaced, I'll be heading to the Walmart in Torrance, California to have the tire repaired (if repairable) or replaced if it isn't. Once more, fortunately, I had the foresight to take the road hazard warranty.

Circumstances and Choices

Thus, by circumstance, I have the good fortune to be able to spend more time visiting with my son (when he's not at his office about a mile and a half from his home). Since we have been residing on opposite coasts for the past eleven years, we don't have this opportunity very often. I would have much rather enjoyed this visit by choice. Regardless, it still provides me with an opportunity to enjoy his company and learn about and explore his world. But, this is the scary part. I'm finding out how much more alike we've become as he's matured into a sharp, young professional.

I consider myself lucky. I don't know what I did to deserve having such a great kid. I'm sure I made all kinds of mistakes as a father. It's a big credit to him that he still figured it out and is living his life productively, freer than most people his age and, apparently pretty happily.

Life Is Good! 

Living life free and happy is great. There will always be challenges along the highways and byways of the journey and some may certainly be difficult. But, attitude goes a long way to overcoming any challenge thrown your way. 

I'll be leaving a few days later than I planned for Quartzite, Arizona to attend Bob Wells' "Rubber Tramp Rendezvous" (RTR). But, I will get there and that's the important thing. I'm looking forward to meeting up with a bunch of other seasoned and newbie vandwellers and swapping all kinds of war stories.  

Photo-of-the-Week #192 - Tiny Town - Tiny Post Office, Tinnie, New Mexico, December 2014

So, could this photo represent one of the reasons the U.S. Postal Service is losing money every year?

This is a tiny post office in the town of Tinnie, New Mexico, a tiny town in a group of tiny towns I passed through on my way to California. Personally, I don't see any problem a tiny post office like this one. I was once served by a tiny post office in Cross Junction, Virginia. However that tiny Virginia post office served a large part of the rural area of Frederick County, Virginia.

The thing that struck me is I would drive through tiny town after tiny town, all within only a few miles of one another - possibly two to five miles - and each tiny town had another tiny post office similar to this one. It seems to be that there are probably hundreds, if not thousands, of tiny post offices like these across the U.S. Each one has an overhead including to salary for one to two people plus one or more mail carriers, rent or construction cost, land cost, building and grounds maintenance, utilities, insurance, etc. It would be my guess that most of these post offices don't generate enough revenue to pay for their overhead.

So, why not consolidate three, four, five or even more of these tiny post offices into one central, slightly larger post office, eliminating a large amount of overhead and expense. Then, since most of these tiny towns typically has some kind of convenience or general store to support the local residents, let the stores set up a USPS kiosk to offer most basic services. The USPS would sell the postage to the stores at a discounted rate. The store then offers the postal services as an additional line as they do with gasoline and other products.

It's my thought that, while it might not completely eliminate the USPS annual deficit, it would certainly put a dent in it. As an aside, I dropped off some Christmas cards I needed to mail at the tiny Tinnie, New Mexico post office. But, I already had my stamps, so I just deposited the cards in the mail collection box. I could have just as easily dropped thin in a collection box at the local general store. 

Photo-of-the-Week #191 - 25th Reunion, Merry Christmas, Clovis, California, December 25, 2014

This is a one of a kind photo. It, quite obviously, is different than my typical photo of the week. The photo illustrates the best Christmas gift I've had in years. It is a "double reunion."

Pictured, left to right, is my former wife, Cynthia, (and while I had two other long term relationships during my lifetime, one of them being to a second wife, I consider Cynthia my only wife), my 36 year old son, Pete, and yours truly.

The reunions? This Christmas is the first Christmas I've celebrated with my son in 12 years, he moved to the West Coast for the following Christmas. But, I said it was a double reunion. Indeed it was because it was the first Christmas in 25 years that Cynthia, Peter and I celebrated the holiday together.

We now live very different lifestyles. I, of course, have no fixed residence of my own any longer and consider wherever My McVansion is parked for an extended period of time as "home" for that particular period. Currently, my location is Clovis, California. Cynthia, although raised in Fresno, California (right next to Clovis), lives in a condo in Palm Springs, California. Pete lives in the "City of Angels," Los Angeles, California. Pete's home was in Seattle, Washington for just over nine years prior to his move to Los Angeles about two years ago where he rents a nice little house.

Palm Springs, Los Angeles and Clovis are all within about a three hour drive of one another. But, I, being an east coaster, born and raised in New Jersey and having lived the past 44 years in the Mid-Atlantic region (Washington, DC, Maryland and Virginia), have a continent between us since I still remain in the eastern U.S. much of the time.

This is actually a banner year for me. I had the opportunity to spend time with my son once during the summer of 2014 and now again, during the Christmas holiday. The last time I spent time with my son was during the summer of 2012.

This second photo is of Cynthia, Peter and Cynthia's mother (my former mother-in-law), BJ Gardner. The photos were taken in the backyard of BJ's residence. BJ worked with me for many years during the latter 70's, the 80's and part of the 90's. We've been spending time reminiscing about the many projects we worked on together, the people we worked with and met and all the places we traveled to record conferences for clients from coast to coast. During the early years, Cynthia, Pete as a child, pre-adolescent and teenager and I traveled and worked on many projects together.

I think the most important thing is that despite the fact Cynthia and I only spent about 20 years of our lives together, we made it a point to remain friends and to care about each other over these past 25 years. Unfortunately, I see many relationships that have ended in divorce where one or both parties are very bitter and often hate one another. I never felt that way about Cynthia and I don't believe she has ever felt that way about me. It seems such a shame when two people have spent such a significant part of their lives together and then throw all that away to bitterness and hatred, especially if there is one or more children involved.

Additionally, Cynthia's family, mother, brothers and sister, their spouses and children, all continue to embrace me as part of the family. This is a blessing and gift to be truly appreciated.

I hope you also had a very happy Christmas, Hanukah or any other holiday you may observe at this time of year, regardless of where you are or who you spent it with. I also wish you a happy, healthy and abundant 2015 and hope you realize your aspirations for the upcoming year.   

Photo-of-the-Week #190 The Land of REAL Illegal Aliens, Walmart, Roswell, New Mexico, December 2014

I think this photo is pretty self-explanatory. Roswell, New Mexico has made quite a big thing about an event that occurred in 1947. A flying saucer supposedly crashed on a ranch outside Roswell (about 60 miles or so outside Roswell). There they found the bodies of extraterrestrials, obviously, depicted as the lanky green men painted on the windows at the Walmart Supercenter at the north end of Main Street. "Are these real "Walmartians?"

Well, I'm not sure that everyone has the same story. Some people see these denizens of outer space as green while others see them as an ashen gray or almost white. I guess it's all in the eye of the beholder. The city has made quite a small business out of these supposed visitors from some far away planet.

The remains of the supposed crashed flying saucer like flying vehicle along with the remains of the dead and any living aliens have been moved to the secret base known as Area 51 north of Las Vegas. Of course, everything about the 1947 event and the remains of the craft and its occupants is all conjecture. There are all kinds of conspiracy theories and I'm sure, like most events of this kind, it has been blown out of proportion. Do you believe?

2015 Trek #1 - California, Here I Come, #2 Georgetown, Kentucky & Cherokee Village, Arkansas

I left Huntington, West Virginia Tuesday morning, December 9, 2014, after a pleasant breakfast with Patrick Grace and a tour of his current office and book storage space in downtown Huntington.

My next stop was in Georgetown, Kentucky to meet up with another vandweller (part-time) currently, Dan Cordray. Dan has been a reader and commenter on this blog for some time, so we've had a relationship, but hadn't met before. Dan lives out in the country side not far from the Toyota assembly plant where he works as an automation programmer.

Dan is a seasoned camper and a very basic "prepper." By very basic prepper, I mean Dan has prepared himself with food and other necessities for minimally about a month should some kind of natural or human disaster occur. He's far from a full prepper as defined by many prepper Web sites. He's not expecting the "end of the world" as we know it. But, if something happens that forces him to leave his home for a short period of time, he's prepared.

Dan is also a good cook. He prepared a terrific dinner with salmon marinated and packed on a cedar board. All the fixings were with it including a salad. And in the morning, before I left to move on to my next stop in Cherokee Village, Arkansas, Dan whipped up a delicious omelet with bacon and biscuits. Great stop and great first meeting.

After breakfast, about 9 AM, I was on my way to Cherokee Village. This was a fairly long leg of the trip, about 500 miles. I arrived about 6:00 PM at the home of John & Sharon Abert in Cherokee Village, where I joined them for a delicious dinner, parked the van and chatted into the evening. I also spoke with my other Cherokee Village friend, Craig Hines (and his wife Julie) who has been the book designer for most of the books I published during the 12 years I operated my book publishing company, Oakhill Press. We made a date to get together on Thursday for lunch.

I expect to spend about a week in Cherokee Village getting to know John and Sharon better, talk vandwelling/nomading and await the arrival of Michael Tubbs, producer of the new YouTube documentary, "Without Bound," about the mobile lifestyle. Michael will arrive sometime on Monday, December 15th, to capture video footage of interviews with me and with John and Sharon about our lives and mobile lifestyles. The interviews will most likely be on Tuesday, December 16th. Michael will then edit the footage into a YouTube documentary about, yours truly and another about John and Sharon. Should be fun.

I then plan to leave Cherokee Village on Wednesday, December 16th to head westward towards my goal of arriving in Clovis, California on or before December 24th for the Christmas holiday. The next post will be about my visit in Cherokee Village through my departure.

Photo-of-the-Week #189 - American War Memorial, Ash Flat, Arkansas, December 2014

There are so many interesting finds as one travels the United States. This is one of them. My friends, John and Sharon Abert, currently of Cherokee Village, Arkansas (soon to be full-time road warriors and nomads) brought me to this park in a small rural town, Ash Flat, Arkansas. In this park is one of the nicest small community war memorials I've seen in my travels.

These are only a few photos of the site here, but the memorial was very well done. It represented the five U.S. military services and the men, women and service dogs who died and those who were wounded during numerous military campaigns including WWII, Korea, Vietnam, the first Gulf War, the Iraq and the Afghanistan wars.

As a veteran of the Vietnam era, while I can't say I enjoy visiting memorials to all my fallen and injured brothers and sisters at arms, I do feel it's almost a duty to show my respect to them. I was very impressed by this memorial. It was very well done and very respectful, especially for a very small rural town. But, then again, small towns are often better able to express their respect in this manner simply because they are small and the loss of individuals in service to their country is a much more personal event. Most people in these towns know or certainly are closer to everyone in town than are those in larger or very large cities.

2015 Trek #1 - California, Here I Come, #1 Huntington, West Virginia

I FINALLY made it on the road yesterday, Monday, afternoon at 4:30 PM. Whew! It sure does take a lot of time and energy to get packed and rolling when planning on an indefinite period of time and a variety of climates.

Nothing exciting about the first leg. I left base camp in Keyser, West Virginia at 4:30 and arrived in

the Huntington, West Virginia area to meet up with my old publishing friend (from my book publishing days), Patrick Grace at 9:15 PM. I followed Patrick back to his home where I spent some pleasant time with Patrick and his wife, Paula.

Patrick threw me a power line and I powered up My McVansion for the night. Paula left for work very early this morning and Patrick had a church commitment to get to, but I meeting up with Patrick for breakfast in about a half hour.

Today, I move on to Georgetown, Kentucky to meet up with another vandweller, More to come.

Photo-of-the-Week #188 - The GRAND Canyon, Arizona, June 2010

Yes, indeed! It is a grand canyon. There is nothing special about this particular photo except I took it on my first (and so far) only excursion to the Grand Canyon. It's not an award winner and really not much more than the all too typical gratuitous photo of the giant chasm, but it's meaningful to me, because I took it, of course.

My plan was to make my second excursion to the natural wonder on this upcoming trek westward beginning tomorrow. But, I had planned to visit the northern side of the canyon that I'm told is much more scenic than the southern side from whence I took this photo. Unfortunately, due to the two month delay in my departure because of extraneous circumstances, it will be pretty darn cold in the Grand Canyon region already and the possibility of the access routes to the canyon may already be closed due to snow or snow that could fall by the time I get there.

So, this just allows for another opportunity to visit the Grand Canyon National Park and all the natural scenery and wonders therein. It probably won't be for at least another year or two. But, as General Douglas Macarthur was quoted as saying, "I shall return!"

2015 Trek #1 Departure Date Is Imminent

The much awaited (by me) target date for departure on the first trek for 2015 is Monday, December 8, 2014. Yes, I'm calling it the first 2015 trek because it's so close to the new year and the vast majority of this trek will be during 2015.

The van preparation is coming along. It's been hampered a bit, unfortunately, by colder weather and a bit of snow and very cold rain, not to mention some serious wind from time to time. But, I keep progressing. A number of projects have already been completed (alterations, changes and additions) and while the current list of items still looks daunting - it's really quite doable.

Here's the list as of this morning, December 4, 2014:

VAN MODIFICATIONS & ADDITIONS - TO BE DONE - 12-1-14

Buy new larger drawer unit and 8" drawer units

from Walmart                                                               $  75.00

New Wiper Blades                                                        $  35.00

Complete the passenger side wheel well shelf - Ready to install

Raise the galley counter to fit in new larger drawer unit

Wire and install higher current capacity 12 volt sockets in galley

Install side door and rear door window curtains.

Cut and prepare acoustic foam for voice-over booth area in back of van

and install for fit

Mount flexible mic mounting for voice-over work

Build utility double deck shelf in rear storage under passenger side of the workstation.

Permanently mount and wire 12 volt sockets and USB sockets in cockpit

Carefully assign/reassign storage space

 

Mount meter and switch in project box then install and mount in van

Install 12 volt outlets in workstation

Install 7 USB port hub in workstation.

Wire 110 volt outlet in galley from new 1000 watt inverter

Wire 110 volt from 1000 watt inverter to rear power distribution panel

Mount RoadPro 12 volt water/liquid warmer in galley

Create hooks on trash basket to hook Walmart bags on for garbage

Install bubble wrap in windows for additional insulation

Trim green runner to fit

Acquire small throw rug for front section of van by side doors

Design way to mount 5 gallon water container

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Everything that is crossed out has been completed and several of the other items have been partially completed. It's decent weather outside today so anything that involves work that must be done from outside the van is on today's agenda. The next couple days are scheduled to be rainy. Yuck! So, I'll be working on the interior projects.

Sunday is scheduled to be clean up and storage day. I'll be moving any of my excess belongings I have at my friend's house (my eastern base camp) into my nearby storage units. Most of it is stuff slated to be liquidated, YET! Completing as much, if not all, of my downsizing when I return sometime in the spring is my main objective at that time.

I will be posting some photos and maybe even a video walk around and walk through sometime after I get on the road. Meanwhile it's time to get back to work.