On a WW2 bomber
My patio fan cranks to life
If only it could blow
Life into
Lost in distant wars.
I enjoy the wind
Appreciate their sacrifice
And know it will never be enough.
Tuesday, May 30, 2017
Desert Wind
Like a ghostly prop
On a WW2 bomber
My patio fan cranks to life
If only it could blow
Life into
souls
Lost in distant wars.
I enjoy the wind
Appreciate their sacrifice
And know it will never be enough.
On a WW2 bomber
My patio fan cranks to life
If only it could blow
Life into
Lost in distant wars.
I enjoy the wind
Appreciate their sacrifice
And know it will never be enough.
Sunday, April 9, 2017
Wrong Turn
The Loma Verde trail in the Saguaro National Park. Specific destination, a defunct copper mine, one mile from the trail head. But I misread a sign and ended up at Pink Hill Lookout.
Not a bad view, actually.
Just as far to push on as go back. I found the mine and some copper ore on my way back. The day was cool but dry.
A four mile loop. Glad I brought plenty of water.
Not a bad view, actually.
Just as far to push on as go back. I found the mine and some copper ore on my way back. The day was cool but dry.
A four mile loop. Glad I brought plenty of water.
Friday, April 7, 2017
Desert Blooms and Desperate Allergies
Winter storms have produced an exceptionally beautiful bloom.
Unfortunately they produce pounds of pollen.
Yesterday, Deb and I were enjoying a snack on our patio. I sneezed so many times that my eyeballs popped out. I heard them splat against the glass table between us.
Deb shoved them back in. But I can't see very well and my eyes hurt.
We were enjoying deviled eggs at the time.
I wonder if she put two in... and I ate my eyeballs!
Tuesday, March 21, 2017
Listen
One night, many years ago I was angry with a family member. So I drove into the mountains as far as I could until I had to stop. Road blocked, snow ahead.
A U-turn and several downhill miles, brought me to a pull out adjacent to a trickling creek. I unrolled my sleeping bag in the bed of the truck and regarded the stars. A moment later I felt sunlight beyond my eyelids.
I was not ready to wake up.
I heard a sound. Not the usual one under the circumstances: A twenty some year old seasonal ranger asking "Sir, you realize you are camping out-of- bounds?" I'd talked my way out that situation numerous times.
No, no.
This was a different sound, one that I've spent nearly 30 years trying to describe.
My eyes snapped open to the broad undulating wings of a hawk passing overhead. It receded over the road, out into the canyon below.
Still I hear that repeated sound...
Using mere words, the best I've come up with is "waft" or the indicative" wafting".
Employing a more mechanical approach: an umbrella slamming full in a strong breeze, the sound of a parachute blissfully opening after throwing oneself out of an airplane (something I've not yet done).
But everything falls short. There is no way to describe what I heard that morning, let alone my attendant emotions.
All the more reason to talk little, write less, and experience more.
A U-turn and several downhill miles, brought me to a pull out adjacent to a trickling creek. I unrolled my sleeping bag in the bed of the truck and regarded the stars. A moment later I felt sunlight beyond my eyelids.
I was not ready to wake up.
I heard a sound. Not the usual one under the circumstances: A twenty some year old seasonal ranger asking "Sir, you realize you are camping out-of- bounds?" I'd talked my way out that situation numerous times.
No, no.
This was a different sound, one that I've spent nearly 30 years trying to describe.
My eyes snapped open to the broad undulating wings of a hawk passing overhead. It receded over the road, out into the canyon below.
Still I hear that repeated sound...
Using mere words, the best I've come up with is "waft" or the indicative" wafting".
Employing a more mechanical approach: an umbrella slamming full in a strong breeze, the sound of a parachute blissfully opening after throwing oneself out of an airplane (something I've not yet done).
But everything falls short. There is no way to describe what I heard that morning, let alone my attendant emotions.
All the more reason to talk little, write less, and experience more.
Monday, July 11, 2016
In The Two Minutes It Takes to Read This...
You Too Will Be Able To Identify Any Rock, Anywhere On The Face Of This Earth!
We are packing up to move from a hellhole of heat, monsoon mosquitos, dangerous critters and returning to the relative safety of California.
I've moved my rock polishing equipment here to an oppressively hot and bug ridden shed but still managed to professionally polish a "boat" load of profitable gems and minerals.
It occurs to me as I sit here at our dining room table sorting out these recently polished rocks and putting them into baggies and sorting them according to the various rock types, THAT ANYONE COULD DO THIS. IT'S SO SIMPLE!
1. First of all there's Leaverite, one the oldest of stones. I mean it goes back to the beginnings of mankind when a young slope-headed cro-magon child asked his father while walking along a beach/mountain/desert, "Hey, father, would this stone make a good arrowhead?"
"Hell no, that's Leaverite!"
"Leaverite?"
"Yes, you dumb cave boy, as in "leave her right there"!
2. As time went on and humans developed a more discerning nature about rocks worthless as weapons or for profit and polishing this type of rock also came to known as "crapperite" and "shitterite".
3. Then mankind further evolved and discovered a rock sometimes referred to as "Politerite" as when a genetically worthwhile close relatives hands you a rock and asks, "Is this a good one?" That's the stone that gets tossed right back into the surf (or dirt) when your wife or grandchild is not looking.
4. Another valued stone is Butterite. Nothing is more useful than this stone, known for its flat and smooth surface, an essential find when you've forgotten to bring toilet paper.
5. Of equal value is Stealerite. It's found in the back lot of rock shops in seedy places like El Paso or Ciudad de Juarez--which are never open and, hence, obvious fronts for the drug trade. Use an old person's mechanical grabber to steal rocks from the other side of chain link fences. But be on the alert for individuals with firearms when collecting this particular mineral!
6. Of greater value is Scamerite. This could be a mineral soft as chalk like calcite which polishes to a beautiful sheen in less than 5 minutes--and instantly explodes into dust when dropped from any height greater than two inches. Or it could be another mineral "coastal moonstone" which is actually a common agate afforded unrealistic value simply because it can be collected at a rich beach area in the vicinity of Cambria, California. You can scam people into paying enormous sums for this rock. Just be sure to market it as such. The FBI has recently shown an interest in people who sell this mineral as a real moonstone on EBAY, real moonstone being an actual gem and not native to an area where agate, crapperite, and shitterite are commonly found.
7. The mineral of greatest value is "Holyshitterite!" It's a priceless gem found only on those occasions when a wife or grandchild presents a rare rock like petrified wood or an actual arrowhead in an area where such finds, and joys, are clearly not expected.
So there you have it. The next time you sort rocks, remember you only need seven baggies!
(Unless you're traveling in a jeep with a guy named Bob. Then there's Bailerite, where a passenger jumps out onto a dirt road, promising to be back in two minutes. The jeep idles, grows hot, and twenty minutes later this guy, named John, returns with an angelic smile and several pounds of apparently useless rocks)
In that case, you need gunny sacks, not baggies and way more than seven.
We are packing up to move from a hellhole of heat, monsoon mosquitos, dangerous critters and returning to the relative safety of California.
I've moved my rock polishing equipment here to an oppressively hot and bug ridden shed but still managed to professionally polish a "boat" load of profitable gems and minerals.
It occurs to me as I sit here at our dining room table sorting out these recently polished rocks and putting them into baggies and sorting them according to the various rock types, THAT ANYONE COULD DO THIS. IT'S SO SIMPLE!
1. First of all there's Leaverite, one the oldest of stones. I mean it goes back to the beginnings of mankind when a young slope-headed cro-magon child asked his father while walking along a beach/mountain/desert, "Hey, father, would this stone make a good arrowhead?"
"Hell no, that's Leaverite!"
"Leaverite?"
"Yes, you dumb cave boy, as in "leave her right there"!
2. As time went on and humans developed a more discerning nature about rocks worthless as weapons or for profit and polishing this type of rock also came to known as "crapperite" and "shitterite".
3. Then mankind further evolved and discovered a rock sometimes referred to as "Politerite" as when a genetically worthwhile close relatives hands you a rock and asks, "Is this a good one?" That's the stone that gets tossed right back into the surf (or dirt) when your wife or grandchild is not looking.
4. Another valued stone is Butterite. Nothing is more useful than this stone, known for its flat and smooth surface, an essential find when you've forgotten to bring toilet paper.
5. Of equal value is Stealerite. It's found in the back lot of rock shops in seedy places like El Paso or Ciudad de Juarez--which are never open and, hence, obvious fronts for the drug trade. Use an old person's mechanical grabber to steal rocks from the other side of chain link fences. But be on the alert for individuals with firearms when collecting this particular mineral!
6. Of greater value is Scamerite. This could be a mineral soft as chalk like calcite which polishes to a beautiful sheen in less than 5 minutes--and instantly explodes into dust when dropped from any height greater than two inches. Or it could be another mineral "coastal moonstone" which is actually a common agate afforded unrealistic value simply because it can be collected at a rich beach area in the vicinity of Cambria, California. You can scam people into paying enormous sums for this rock. Just be sure to market it as such. The FBI has recently shown an interest in people who sell this mineral as a real moonstone on EBAY, real moonstone being an actual gem and not native to an area where agate, crapperite, and shitterite are commonly found.
7. The mineral of greatest value is "Holyshitterite!" It's a priceless gem found only on those occasions when a wife or grandchild presents a rare rock like petrified wood or an actual arrowhead in an area where such finds, and joys, are clearly not expected.
So there you have it. The next time you sort rocks, remember you only need seven baggies!
(Unless you're traveling in a jeep with a guy named Bob. Then there's Bailerite, where a passenger jumps out onto a dirt road, promising to be back in two minutes. The jeep idles, grows hot, and twenty minutes later this guy, named John, returns with an angelic smile and several pounds of apparently useless rocks)
In that case, you need gunny sacks, not baggies and way more than seven.
In The Two Minutes It Takes to Read This...
You Too Will Be Able To Identify Any Rock, Anywhere On The Face Of This Earth!
We are packing up to move from a hellhole of heat, monsoon mosquitos, dangerous critters and returning to the relative safety of California.
I've moved my rock polishing equipment here to an oppressively hot and bug ridden shed but still managed to professionally polish a "boat" load of profitable gems and minerals.
It occurs to me as I sit here at our dining room table sorting out these recently polished rocks and putting them into baggies and sorting them according to the various rock types, THAT ANYONE COULD DO THIS. IT'S SO SIMPLE!
1. First of all there's Leaverite, one the oldest of stones. I mean it goes back to the beginnings of mankind when a young slope-headed cro-magon child asked his father while walking along a beach/mountain/desert, "Hey, father, would this stone make a good arrowhead?"
"Hell no, that's Leaverite!"
"Leaverite?"
"Yes, you dumb cave boy, as in "leave her right there"!
2. As time went on and humans developed a more discerning nature about rocks worthless as weapons or for profit and polishing this type of rock also came to known as "crapperite" and "shitterite".
3. Then mankind further evolved and discovered a rock sometimes referred to as "Politerite" as when a genetically worthwhile close relatives hands you a rock and asks, "Is this a good one?" That's the stone that gets tossed right back into the surf (or dirt) when your wife or grandchild is not looking.
4. Another valued stone is Butterite. Nothing is more useful than this stone, known for its flat and smooth surface, an essential find when you've forgotten to bring toilet paper.
5. Of equal value is Stealerite. It's found in the back lot of rock shops in seedy places like El Paso or Ciudad de Juarez--which are never open and, hence, obvious fronts for the drug trade. Use an old person's mechanical grabber to steal rocks from the other side of chain link fences. But be on the alert for individuals with firearms when collecting this particular mineral!
6. Of greater value is Scamerite. This could be a mineral soft as chalk like calcite which polishes to a beautiful sheen in less than 5 minutes--and instantly explodes into dust when dropped from any height greater than two inches. Or it could be another mineral "coastal moonstone" which is actually a common agate afforded unrealistic value simply because it can be collected at a rich beach area in the vicinity of Cambria, California. You can scam people into paying enormous sums for this rock. Just be sure to market it as such. The FBI has recently shown an interest in people who sell this mineral as a real moonstone on EBAY, real moonstone being an actual gem and not native to an area where agate, crapperite, and shitterite are commonly found.
7. The mineral of greatest value is "Holyshitterite!" It's a priceless gem found only on those occasions when a wife or grandchild presents a rare rock like petrified wood or an actual arrowhead in and area where such finds, and joys, are clearly not expected.
So there you have it. The next time you sort rocks, remember you only need seven baggies!
We are packing up to move from a hellhole of heat, monsoon mosquitos, dangerous critters and returning to the relative safety of California.
I've moved my rock polishing equipment here to an oppressively hot and bug ridden shed but still managed to professionally polish a "boat" load of profitable gems and minerals.
It occurs to me as I sit here at our dining room table sorting out these recently polished rocks and putting them into baggies and sorting them according to the various rock types, THAT ANYONE COULD DO THIS. IT'S SO SIMPLE!
1. First of all there's Leaverite, one the oldest of stones. I mean it goes back to the beginnings of mankind when a young slope-headed cro-magon child asked his father while walking along a beach/mountain/desert, "Hey, father, would this stone make a good arrowhead?"
"Hell no, that's Leaverite!"
"Leaverite?"
"Yes, you dumb cave boy, as in "leave her right there"!
2. As time went on and humans developed a more discerning nature about rocks worthless as weapons or for profit and polishing this type of rock also came to known as "crapperite" and "shitterite".
3. Then mankind further evolved and discovered a rock sometimes referred to as "Politerite" as when a genetically worthwhile close relatives hands you a rock and asks, "Is this a good one?" That's the stone that gets tossed right back into the surf (or dirt) when your wife or grandchild is not looking.
4. Another valued stone is Butterite. Nothing is more useful than this stone, known for its flat and smooth surface, an essential find when you've forgotten to bring toilet paper.
5. Of equal value is Stealerite. It's found in the back lot of rock shops in seedy places like El Paso or Ciudad de Juarez--which are never open and, hence, obvious fronts for the drug trade. Use an old person's mechanical grabber to steal rocks from the other side of chain link fences. But be on the alert for individuals with firearms when collecting this particular mineral!
6. Of greater value is Scamerite. This could be a mineral soft as chalk like calcite which polishes to a beautiful sheen in less than 5 minutes--and instantly explodes into dust when dropped from any height greater than two inches. Or it could be another mineral "coastal moonstone" which is actually a common agate afforded unrealistic value simply because it can be collected at a rich beach area in the vicinity of Cambria, California. You can scam people into paying enormous sums for this rock. Just be sure to market it as such. The FBI has recently shown an interest in people who sell this mineral as a real moonstone on EBAY, real moonstone being an actual gem and not native to an area where agate, crapperite, and shitterite are commonly found.
7. The mineral of greatest value is "Holyshitterite!" It's a priceless gem found only on those occasions when a wife or grandchild presents a rare rock like petrified wood or an actual arrowhead in and area where such finds, and joys, are clearly not expected.
So there you have it. The next time you sort rocks, remember you only need seven baggies!
In The Two Minutes It Takes to Read This...
You Too Will Be Able To Identify Any Rock, Anywhere On The Face Of This Earth!
We are packing up to move from a hellhole of heat, monsoon mosquitos, dangerous critters and returning to the relative safety of California.
I've moved my rock polishing equipment here to an oppressively hot and bug ridden shed but still managed to professionally polish a "boat" load of profitable gems and minerals.
It occurs to me as I sit here at our dining room table sorting out these recently polished rocks and putting them into baggies and sorting them according to the various rock types, THAT ANYONE COULD DO THIS. IT'S SO SIMPLE!
1. First of all there's Leaverite, one the oldest of stones. I mean it goes back to the beginnings of mankind when a young slope-headed cro-magon child asked his father while walking along a beach/mountain/desert, "Hey, father, would this stone make a good arrowhead?"
"Hell no, that's Leaverite!"
"Leaverite?"
"Yes, you dumb cave boy, as in "leave her right there"!
2. As time went on and humans developed a more discerning nature about rocks worthless as weapons or for profit and polishing this type of rock also came to known as "crapperite" and "shitterite".
3. Then mankind further evolved and discovered a rock sometimes referred to as "Politerite" as when a genetically worthwhile close relatives hands you a rock and asks, "Is this a good one?" That's the stone that gets tossed right back into the surf (or dirt) when your wife or grandchild is not looking.
4. Another valued stone is Butterite. Nothing is more useful than this stone, known for its flat and smooth surface, an essential find when you've forgotten to bring toilet paper.
5. Of equal value is Stealerite. It's found in the back lot of rock shops in seedy places like El Paso or Ciudad de Juarez--which are never open and, hence, obvious fronts for the drug trade. Use an old person's mechanical grabber to steal rocks from the other side of chain link fences. But be on the alert for individuals with firearms when collecting this particular mineral!
6. Of greater value is Scamerite. This could be a mineral soft as chalk like calcite which polishes to a beautiful sheen in less than 5 minutes--and instantly explodes into dust when dropped from any height greater than two inches. Or it could be another mineral "coastal moonstone" which is actually a common agate afforded unrealistic value simply because it can be collected at a rich beach area in the vicinity of Cambria, California. You can scam people into paying enormous sums for this rock. Just be sure to market it as such. The FBI has recently shown an interest in people who sell this as a real moonstone on EBAY, real moonstone being an actual gem and not native to an area where agate, crapperite, and shitterite are commonly found.
7. The mineral of greatest value is "Holyshitterite!" It's a priceless gem found only on those occasions when a wife or grandchild presents a rare rock like petrified wood or an actual arrowhead in and area where such finds, and joys, are clearly not expected.
So there you have it. The next time you sort rocks, remember you only need seven baggies!
We are packing up to move from a hellhole of heat, monsoon mosquitos, dangerous critters and returning to the relative safety of California.
I've moved my rock polishing equipment here to an oppressively hot and bug ridden shed but still managed to professionally polish a "boat" load of profitable gems and minerals.
It occurs to me as I sit here at our dining room table sorting out these recently polished rocks and putting them into baggies and sorting them according to the various rock types, THAT ANYONE COULD DO THIS. IT'S SO SIMPLE!
1. First of all there's Leaverite, one the oldest of stones. I mean it goes back to the beginnings of mankind when a young slope-headed cro-magon child asked his father while walking along a beach/mountain/desert, "Hey, father, would this stone make a good arrowhead?"
"Hell no, that's Leaverite!"
"Leaverite?"
"Yes, you dumb cave boy, as in "leave her right there"!
2. As time went on and humans developed a more discerning nature about rocks worthless as weapons or for profit and polishing this type of rock also came to known as "crapperite" and "shitterite".
3. Then mankind further evolved and discovered a rock sometimes referred to as "Politerite" as when a genetically worthwhile close relatives hands you a rock and asks, "Is this a good one?" That's the stone that gets tossed right back into the surf (or dirt) when your wife or grandchild is not looking.
4. Another valued stone is Butterite. Nothing is more useful than this stone, known for its flat and smooth surface, an essential find when you've forgotten to bring toilet paper.
5. Of equal value is Stealerite. It's found in the back lot of rock shops in seedy places like El Paso or Ciudad de Juarez--which are never open and, hence, obvious fronts for the drug trade. Use an old person's mechanical grabber to steal rocks from the other side of chain link fences. But be on the alert for individuals with firearms when collecting this particular mineral!
6. Of greater value is Scamerite. This could be a mineral soft as chalk like calcite which polishes to a beautiful sheen in less than 5 minutes--and instantly explodes into dust when dropped from any height greater than two inches. Or it could be another mineral "coastal moonstone" which is actually a common agate afforded unrealistic value simply because it can be collected at a rich beach area in the vicinity of Cambria, California. You can scam people into paying enormous sums for this rock. Just be sure to market it as such. The FBI has recently shown an interest in people who sell this as a real moonstone on EBAY, real moonstone being an actual gem and not native to an area where agate, crapperite, and shitterite are commonly found.
7. The mineral of greatest value is "Holyshitterite!" It's a priceless gem found only on those occasions when a wife or grandchild presents a rare rock like petrified wood or an actual arrowhead in and area where such finds, and joys, are clearly not expected.
So there you have it. The next time you sort rocks, remember you only need seven baggies!
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