A COLD WIND BLOWS

A WIND BLOWS COLD

 

Middle of November, and a big winter storm passed by.  It is over now and on Monday morning, am experiencing a let-down when I look around and realize, tranquil environment in the RV Park, and people have left and only a few hard core people like me, are here.  So it is a quiet morning, and yes, expect that to change as the roads open, the snow melts and the ice permits road travel.  As for me, am here for another week.  Big rig and my driver is out and about, so I am here to enjoy the amenities.  That would be all the coffee you can drink, and a golf course with frost on it, and yes, November and the outdoor pool is closed.  On the inside is a spa tub for you to warm up in.

And I like that after a long walk out in the nature section of the park, where I am for another week.  Car and Driver, and mostly I am a passenger.  Not complaining, to be the one left behind, as that indeed is a state of mind.  Not rushing off to work.  No commute.  Tranquil and Quiet, with plenty of coffee and time to write a blog.  Great way to start this week.  Before I know it, will be Thanksgiving and after that, all the holidays of the season.  It is the time of year that I often find myself traveling.  Off to see the kids and family and anybody who will have me.  Not that being old is a curse of its own making, more like it is the contrast time, when you have time to do the things, left unattended when you were working and raising your family.  Past that now.  Have made other arrangements for the nuts and bolts of life.

 

So here I am, out and about, with no real history of being here before.  So it’s a mini-adventure, and starts with coffee and TV.  Watching the screens for news of what I might be missing, and as it turns out.  I am doing okay.  Missing, but not in a major way.  There is UPS and the retrieval process.   And have decided to give it a rest, back up to the fireplace and get warm.  And that is exactly what I find myself doing.  Warming up, but hope to be invisible in the middle of activity reserved for others.  Talk and Chatter and basic news.  Will use the day to plan for the week.  What exactly do I hope to accomplish, down the road we take?  Will need google map and my computer to see what is in range.  Turns out there are rental golf carts and small cars available.  So its not like I am a prisoner in Old-People’s-Camp.  More like it is up to me, to decide and then act.  And I will, once the nice lady behind me stops offering me more coffee.

 

Flashback to the reason I am here.  Here and it is comforting to know that rain ponchos are provided, if needed.  Of course, inside the RV has all one needs.  Club house and facilities of the place we are parked, has space and a few live bodies.  Once in a lifetime experience, if you register the fact that on this crowded planet, few have followed me to this space, where for a reasonable fee, on this day, have the place mostly to myself.  Has to do with winter storm, and people not traveling and moving around on the road surface.  Waiting for the ice to thaw and the light snow to stop.

 

Am here because I decided I could not stay in the city, in a small apartment and go out of life, without somebody around me, to call 911.  So am doing the out and about routine.  Spending, and no longer saving for a rainy day.  Is a planned progression and a Baby Boomer, end of generation party and celebration.  Luxury to just be.  And that is the reason I am here.  Going out in style.  And found that the RV and Snow Bird style is cheaper than a Rest Home.  Monday and catching up.  Waiting for somebody to come by, with the local news from a live and knowledgeable person, and not news on the TV.

The master plan and the general scope of things is good, but there is room for improvement.  What was I expecting, when in the end, I find myself alone.  Alone in the sense, I am not in the middle of a large city.  Alone with my thoughts and first impressions of this style of being that is somewhat new to me.  What was I expecting?  Comes down to just being, and not being entertained by others.  Dealing with the space and tranquility, like an astronaut in outer space.  Dark and dismal and alone.  Except when I am not and there are visitors asking, “How’s it going?”    “Interesting experience.”, I say and leave it at that.  Not unfriendly, but still finding out how it is out in the middle of an RV Camp, and its raining and I am starting to get cold, so I know this is not a good time for a long conversation.

 

Ready to start my day.  Not Motel 6 and there are no Dunkin Donuts establishments  close by.  Mostly I am on my own, and as if I was at my place in the city on a rainy day, I will curl up with a blanket, keep warm and read and stay busy.  And if somebody stops by, knocks on my door, and invites me out to play, I will consider all offers.  Even if it comes with the expected, “More coffee, Sir.”

 

WHEN STRANGERS MEET

 

WHEN STRANGERS MEET

I want to write a blog about when strangers meet, but before I do that, must use this blog venue and mechanism to air my thoughts and then get on with everything else.  I had a computer crash just last week.  I knew what to do.  Throw money at the situation and just go into Best Buy and purchase the latest and greatest at a very high price for something that ends up on the scrap heap before the year is out.  Running around the countryside in an RV, enduring bumps and vibration and everything conceivable, once you find yourself at the mercy of the road-forces.  So  throw money at the situation, or investigate.

Found myself in a foreign location and where people deal with you in the way they choose.  Sometimes rude and arrogant, they notice you are not a local, probably won’t be coming back, and in some ways this makes you a second class citizen, instantly.  So I had this encounter with sales person #1, who at age 23 or younger, told me how it was or is.  The message came through loud and clear.  I thought the kid was not entirely right, but through long years of training, stayed polite, and left the store without protest.  Didn’t buy anything.  Kid was being local and still young.  Did the smart thing.  Thanked him for his time.  And left. 

 

Gave the benefit of the doubt.  Just left.  Didn’t say anything, but have been thinking about it.  The message left with me.  Didn’t sit well, but when I find some distance, will figure it out and go from there.  Turns out this rude/arrogant salesman approach is keeping me from writing a blog about when strangers meet.

So message received.  It went like this.  Jettison tradition.  Anything you did, 10 years ago, and that would be 2004:  “ Forget about it.”   Learn from your mistakes, well forget about that too.  In fact, it’s a different now.  Make no comparisons with what you did before.  Get rid of erroneous thinking.  Move forward.

 

Of course, there is much more that this young person imparted to me.  And am still working with my thoughts, but see quite a bit of common sense, mixed with a lot of bullshit.  Being I am out in the country, I can smell the bullshit, before I can see it.  But moving along, I realize, we are moving at the speed of light, in so many directions at once, that there is no one way to do life, as it is presented in the moment. 

 

The computer problem was solved in the old way.  Went out into the community and took advantage that I have white hair, and an expensive RV as background for the first look and first impression.  Pull up to a yard sale with a 52 foot diesel rv/personalized bus, and what you get is very unpredictable.  Turns  out good this time.  Walked away with a laptop that allows me to write this blog, about:  When Strangers Meet.

 

There is a problem, but I am working on it.  This blog is inspired by communication I received in the way of personal email, from one who reads my blogs.  So I have two tasks to complete.  Write a blog about:  When Strangers Meet.  Also, to write a personal response to email, from somebody who takes the effort and energy to write AND say, “ I find your blogs interesting.  Tell me more.” 

 

My problem.  The blog will come first, but because I have a word count limitation, when I have baggage and  words and issues, that have nothing to do with you, I blog.  I air it out.  Have my say, and come back on another day, to actually write about:  When Strangers Meet.  But do want to come back with a follow up blog that gives me more content and detail about what I am thinking about when Strangers Meet.  Old way or as the young sales man said, “Wing it.  Fake it till you make it.  Discard lessons of the past.  There is no past. 

Just what happens in the present moment.”

Leaves me thinking, what should be my approach to internet private mail that suggests:  “ Tell me more.”  ??

 

So tomorrow I will be back.  To write about:  When Strangers Meet.  Part 2.  As for the email to my online friend, will give it a rest until I have done the proper amount of personal inquiry, reminding myself that my response will deal with the issue of Meeting A Stranger on The Internet, or   with the second possibility:  Meeting a Stranger:  face to face.  And because I have a word count limitation, it makes me wonder.  Writing and Seeking with those of like-mind:  How is it different then and now.  I wonder.  

Now I will leave you with this.  My lesson for today.  When You Meet A Stranger, things get stranger and stranger.  Believe it or not.  As for me, I copy that.  And move on.  Deferring judgment and  comparisons with a previous experience in a previous time, until I am old, and have more time to think about it, or not.  My blog for today, When Strangers Meet is finished.  But requires more thought.  So actually this conversation is not finished.  Or is it?

 

BARKING DOG

BARKING DOGS

As usual I am doing too many things at the same time.  But as you know, or maybe don’t, is how I roll.  Came across that expression a while back.  “How you roll.”   And then they tell you

something and that is supposed to explain it all.  For the old ones like me, there is plausibility and then there is denial.  At opposite ends of the spectrum, I find myself in the middle.  At this point it is not a big deal and I am avoiding trauma and drama and what comes first, I am pledged to handle it. 

 

But we all know, there are those days when our energy shield is down, and the star wars people invade and after that there is Darth Vedar and the how-we-roll-people, and it all goes down hill from there.  That is me speaking.  We all seem to have our individuality and individual take on things.  It is how we roll.  For now, that is the story line, but am subject to change.  Depends on the day or week we are having, weather and mood changes.  After you, there comes the barking dogs, fighting over the wise owl watering can. 

 

Disturbance and distractions and from that point on, it’s like salmon in a poisoned stream, it takes a lot of years to write a report and get official approval for your version of things.  In the meantime, I have become distracted by the barking dog.  So it’s’ taking over my senses and state of mind, and this blog.  Let’s continue on.

It has taken a while to get my house in order.  Had a computer crash at the beginning of the week, and had to undergo a process to make things right.  Seems I am doing that, and felt the need to blog.  Miss what you don’t have, and when computers are not in functioning status, you notice that all the more.  Regular routine and the things we do, when centered around our computer and our link to the outside, it becomes more important that perhaps it should be.  So it was asking for help and paying attention when others get involved.  I was aware my computer was about to crash, as it did mini-acts of shut-down mania as the week progressed.  Would just go kiss-of-death screen, and leave me wondering what to do. 

 

Mostly, I would ask my traveling  companion if there were any computer stores around where we could resolve things and get back to the way it was.  Advice asked, and now I must practice attending to the other, even its not the way I would have it.  Turns out the advice was, “Give it a rest. Let’s stop for coffee and a walk-about.”  And that’s what happen.  Barking Dog.  Wise Owl.  Am still sorting it out, which is which.

 

Seems somebody had left their dog in the car when they got out, and stepped away.  As was the same thing I was doing, travel companion, steps away.  Dog in the car in the parking area, just barked at me.  Wasn’t sure if I should respond by saying, “Nice Doggie.  Master will be coming right back.  Chill.”  Or if I should be the wise owl and act like I had it all figured out.  Computer Crash.  Out in the middle of nowhere.  What’s a guy supposed to do?  And it seems caffeine is the answer.  Or at least it was for me.  But that’s how I roll.  On a good day.

 

“ Give it a rest.”  And for a while, is what happened.  Then got back in, the how-we-roll machine, and found a place where I could inquire about my computer.  For $40 they offered to do a diagnostic test and then give me a quote for repair.  At the same time, young person had a script to follow, and at that point I decided to further different options.  Like leave the store, roll some more, and see what plan B might be.  In the end, a cheap computer came to me.  Stolen or just yard sale old, I checked it out, and paid out less than $40 for a laptop that does what I need it to do.  WiFi and word processing and Blog machine.  For now that is all I need. 

 

So give it a rest and more caffeine and a few more miles down that road, makes my day more settled.  Writing a blog and that’s what I wanted to do.  Ignore or move away from the barking dog.  Be the wise owl, I am.   Smile at the “Give it a rest.” – person.  And call it a day.  Miles away from yesterday, and the results are sufficient to give me peace of mind.  A good way to roll, away from the difficulties and the barking dog.  Wise Owl and it pleases me, I could finish this blog without more calamity and disturbance.  Distance myself and get on with it.  And that’s it.  My blog for today.  All done.

 

 

Fall Back

FALL BACK  



 

I have decided to give up the idea of right or wrong, suspend the way I have been, and turn at the next green light, and which way I go will be dependent on GPS that guides me and takes over all my cognitive functions.  "Go with the flow."  And see where you end up.  Giving up right or wrong, for the more prudent and pragmatic: "The best way to go is by my side, and if I am having problem decide, let the computer provide the information I am missing, and make your decision making more or less auto-pilot.  Ingenious.  Seek the pain-free way of dealing with change, and on this week’s schedule is Day Light Savings manipulation of the clocks.  Light and Change and Travel. 




 

Basics come with pulling into the Way Station and taking a time-out.  Watch a little football and take a long bath, getting the road dust off, and take in a free breakfast or two, if that is the type of place you frequent.  Out and about, and immersed in trouble-free living.  And I ask myself, "Why didn’t I think of this earlier in life, why did I wait until now?"  The answer is simple.  Read all about if you have time.  If not, glance at the pictures and move on.  One picture equals a 1000 words.  A common thought I picked up on the way to the golden age of leisure-time consumption and passage.



Wanted to write a blog before it was too late.  Have a sick computer and have found out by reading, How-Stuff-Works:  that it is never too late to smarten up and gear up for the impending doom and gloom that follows in the wake of diminishing light, and that man-made-devise we call Day Light Savings Time.  Adjust your body and the clock to take away or give back an hour.  This will happen this week, and I have decided to let the computer do all this for me.  Put my watch in the drawer.  Will not care for the rest of the week, what time it is.  When I get tired I will take a nap.  Otherwise I will use my computer to tell me what is open in the local I find myself.  Will navigate the Best Way Travel Plan. 


 

And if I miss the Sunday football game, it will be okay, as I am out and about, and will be seen not from the stadium, but from a sports bar big screen somewhere in America.  So its not like it has been in the past, where I forget to turn back the clock the night before, and wander off to the stadium on Sunday, to notice there are no people on the street or at the entrance gate.  Way too early, and everybody is sleeping in.  That’s what happens when you Fall Back and gain an hour in your day.  Fall Back.  How to deal with Mr. Grumpy, and road rage and the fallout of diminishing light, is the bases of my blog for today. 


 

And for me, messing with the clock is an ordeal.  My body mechanics become messed up for a week or so, I am grumpy and yes, it takes a while to get it right, Do Things The Best Way, and mostly just shut up and listen to the music and my travel companion, as we breeze on through another town and area, not on our radar, and then it is.  The Best Way and no more right or wrong, just a lot of Mr. Grumpy and people messing with the clock.  And Bettsie-The-Cow says, "Wake up.  I need milking."


 

Am treating the rest of the week as if it is a game show.  Contestants and Host.  Road Rage and blinding headlights when they fail to reset the dims when approaching.  "Ok folks, ready to play the game?"  this is my new approach.  Expecting a serendipitous outpouring of events that has very little to do with my heat and temperature and general downer-mood that comes when higher powers mess with my body clock and the public features of time.  The best way to lean is to be immersed in it.  Let it happen and adjust or just sleep it off.  Fall Back means we gain another hour and can stay in bed.  Real Simple.    Won’t fight it.  Each year for so many I can’t remember, I would fight it all.  The boss.  The government bureaucrat.  And the dogs and cows that want attention.  No staying in bed for the animals and the night-owls.  The best way to survive all this, is to ignore it if you can. 



Realize time travel and living at the speed of light, can make you dizzy and a little off-balance.  But then come back to earth, take a few days off.  Be magically creative and use the wise words of your traveling companion to live and learn, and get over what ever it is that ails you.  Forget about the assassination of the unnamed.  Forget about the indignities you might have felt if paying attention.  Move on and sidestep the downside of time change.  Don’t make a big deal out of nothing.  Blood sugar is low.  Get something to eat.  Best Way Theory suggests the big bang doesn’t have to happen in this current time frame.  Pull over.  Get off the road.  Get the cot and the fishing pole out.  Take advantage of your leisure time status.  Do Day Light Saving a little different this year.  Chill.  



And there you have it.  I’m booked for a few days in a road station.  Let others fight each other and the traffic.  Not confusing this time around.  Pulling into the driveway as we speak.  Can’t wait for a bath and some amenities.  Might be that I am carrying on, and it has nothing to do with you.  For that, I say:  "Best Way.  Do what is good for you." 


 

Its just a blog and he is getting all this off his chest and mind.  Sight unseen and he is happy now.  Companion said it best, "Just stop.  I am tired of your complaining."  Time Change and the football game.  That was yesterday.  Prepare your mind and move on.  That’s what we are doing now.  Into the Way Station for a few days of dancing in the park and a few hours in the Sports Bar on Sunday.  And that’s it.   Go figure.  Fall Back and lose an hour.  Who cares.  Not me.   Not Mr. Grumpy.

Easy Speak

THE SPEAK EASY


 

At first I thought it would be another Football Saturday, college style and its late October.  Halloween and frost on the pumpkin, and all I can think about is spitting the seeds on the floor, yelling at somebody to sweep up this mess, and go for a walk, expecting the mess to be cleaned up, by the time I return.  Of course this is wishful thinking.  Am out and about, and its just myself and the dog and the big screen for entertainment.  Sure, the dog will probably eat the pumpkin seeds, then barf.  Nothing is perfect and the downside is reoccurring.  When you don’t pay a living wage, the results are predictable.  Barf.  Barf. 



 

And this is nothing you want to read on a weekend morning,  when being at work or even taking out the garbage is not what you deal with before sunset.  So this will be a misunderstood blog.  Will take some explaining on my part, and I am caught between the sun and the moon, frost on the pumpkin and he spit the seeds out.  Feel on the floor, and that by itself is disgusting.  Door slams.  Puts sign on the door. 

"Nobody Home.  Beware of Dog."

 

Saturday and the choice is college football, or walking around in the rain and cold until late afternoon when the 3rd game of the World Series will be played.  Baseball in October and you don’t want to hear what I have to say about that, or pumpkin seeds that we recycle as barf and compost.  So I am inspired by recent events.  High School Shooting in  Washington State.  Many in the hospital and some are dead.  Add that to the body-count of those in Canada a day before.  Adds up to a refusal when asked, "Do you want to come to dinner?"  I said.  "No."  Didn’t offer a reason, just said.  "Not feeling well.  Would not be good company."  So that recaps my week and how I find myself early on during this weekend.   



 

Started things out this morning by turning on the computer.  Looking for good news, and good cheer.  Looking for the positive spin, but was on auto-pilot when I typed into the search screen:  North Korea.   Came the news.  More Nuke Power.  Soon a small nuke will be available.  Blend that with orange juice and news more subtle.  School Shooting.  Death in Parliament.   Population decline in South Korea, where the average birthrate is now 1.6 children per couple.  Project this out and in 2060 this means a drastic loss.  And I am thinking: 

"What does this have to do with me?" 

And then its spelled out.  Less people and less stuff.  Less cheap stuff from Asia and Korea.  And they do speak of the unification of North and South, and the release of one of 3 foreigners that have been arrested recently for leaving a Bible in a Hotel Room, or even worse, missionary work near the China-North Korea border.  Add to this saber rattling, exchanging gunfire over the border as a way of signaling the Supreme Ruler is back.  Seems there was speculation that Denis Rodman’s Friend Forever had been disposed of.  Not around for a few weeks, going on a full month.  So it had people talking.  And this is the basis of my blog for today.  

Speak Easy.





Speak Easy and the remainder of this blog might not interest you.  By the time I get home, the pumpkin seed problem will be solved.  There will be no discussion, and I will look around to discover The-What-Next-Situation.  Won’t be talk of the school shooting in Washington State, nor about the difference of gun laws in Canada and the United States.  Instead  I want to tell you about leaving the Television/Computer Stream on, so the dog will have company while I am out.  Turned on Bing Video and went directly to Dog’s favorite show:   WebCam Japanese Girl @ 6.  Fully clothed and sitting there in Kimono, speaking in Japanese.  And this is where Speak Easy comes in.  Its for the benefit of the dog.  So less complicated is better. 

And Speak Easy comes down to a young person speaking Japanese and allowing the dog to be involved.  Japanese Language Lessons.  And yes, its true.  Gorilla’s do sign language and demonstrate some language ability.  Dog, not so much.  But that should not rule out the importance of Speak Easy and the sound of voice in a one-dog room.  No shooting or shouting.  No running.  Have seen on the other cam, that the dog does get bored, and chases thin air and its own tail, but not for long.  



 

Japanese Web Cam Girl # 6.  Takes me back to younger days when I was in school.  Studying languages and foreign culture.  Had to work, so study was part-time at best.  We didn’t have today’s technology.  And local to Global exchange was expensive.  Ocean Cable conversation at $7 a minute, when I was working for $2.00 an hour, part-time.  Had to be smart or at best keep it simple.  And it was a challenge learning Mandarin Chinese and Standard Japanese at the same time.  Speak Easy was not in play in those days.  Was a struggle to catch a word that was familiar.  "Hai  Hai." 

At $7 a minute it was an expensive lesson.  




Not sure how much stayed with me.  I am older now.  Retired, if being on the road with dog and companion is retired as you know it.  Slammed the door and walked out.  Easy Speak reminds me that I know more than most think I do.  Advanced Studies and travel and of course Japanese Web Cam Girl # 6 has brought me up to speed.  Know all I need to know about population decline in South Korea, Bibles and Nukes in North Korea, School Shooting in Washington State, and more of the same in Canada. 



Is weekend.  Have finished this blog.  Not sure how this relates to you and I.  Perhaps with the aid of Easy Speak, you will tell me.  If not, I have college football, World Series and NFL football on Sunday to distract me.  Case in Point.  Barf.  Barf.

Substitute OMOCHI  for Pumpkin Seeds

and

call it International. 


Didn’t make it over last night for dinner, but will come over soon.  Just in case, you wonder.  Is he ignoring me.  Not at all.

Just not feeling well.  Was Depressed.