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| First things being first..
If I were writing this on any other night, I might explain the last 6 weeks in vivid detail, but quite honestly, I'm beat. Suffice to say, my 40ft achilles heel is gone..I have driven a stake into that vampire. As I type, I'm settling in for my first night in my new trailer and it already feels more like home than the other one ever did. I say I, because though the dogs are of course still with me, my new trailer is a horse trailer and they can't climb up onto the bed compartment (yet) their preferred sleeping arrangement...and to say the least, they're out of sorts.. I finally said enough was enough a few weeks ago when, surprise, surprise I had a bit of bad luck with the old trailer...it started someplace between Gallup and Grants New Mexico when I got a quadruple BLOWOUT (that's okay, no one else had ever heard of it happening either) and suffice to say it lead to major setbacks on every level I can think of, and finally lead to me limping into Flagstaff, AZ after a show at the IFR rodeo in Oklahoma City and the Denver Indian Market...
But as big a pain as that trailer has been the last two years, life has a way of bringing some perspective at just the right time...read on... But for the Grace of God... I knew it would happen one day...I just spend too much time hiking in the in woods for it to elude me...I'm usually in remote places, where if something goes wrong, it's you and your maker, which is why there was so much perspective given to me on this day in the woods just outside downtown Flagstaff. The snow was still deep throughout the city but weather had been warm all week here. The dogs were of course thrilled to be getting at least two great walks each day, while I was less than thrilled to be spending four nights in another Motel 6 while my trailer was being worked over. So as we were making our way through some deep snow near the end of our afternoon walk, I saw something that looked like it didn't belong....I actually go through life that way...looking for things that don't belong, but I digress... Anyway, as I got closer and the dogs continued their digs through the snow after Prairie dogs. I saw what looked like a log with boots...new boots...so I moved closer until I could see that the "log" was not a log at all and the equally new backpack, jeans and a jacket, had not saved this man. I looked at him for a moment and told him he deserved better, then called 911... another first for me. The woman on the other end said “What is your emergency”...I replied there really wasn't one...anymore...so I explained the situation but added that she should tell the arriving officers that I had dogs but they would be tied up so they didn't need to worry themselves over barking dogs and do something stupid. As I hung up, my photo journalism instincts flickered for a moment and I took a few shots of the "scene", but as I took the last shot, my words from just moments before flickered even more strongly...that he deserved better, so I deleted them. Besides, the arriving cops would be taking more than enough shots and as I said...he deserved better.
Now don't quote me on this, but I think Flagstaff has about two murders a year and given that it is a new year, I think the first officer to arrive wanted to make sure they filled their quota early on. As he pulled his patrol car to the side of the forest service road where I told the dispatcher I would meet him, he shrugged his shoulders as if to say, "Well where is it?" I yelled, "You might want to get out of the car first!", but what I wanted to say was, "Come with me, I've hidden it in my secret spot where no one will ever find it." Little did I know that, that is what he had already deduced. For as we moved into the woods toward the area where the body lay, I pointed to it, but "Johnny-on-the-Spot snapped, "I know. Now stay out of the area and wait for the next officer by that tree." I told him I needed to get my dogs first, to which he replied, "Your dogs?" I didn't reply and he didn't pursue it. But then why would he? One dead body trumps three live dogs every time, especially when the killer is in your midst. Before I could untangle the dogs from the branches I had tied them to, every other on-duty police officer in Flagstaff had arrived and the next officer called me over, so I decided to leave the dogs where they were. As I moved to MY tree the second officer approached me and asked me for my license. As I handed it to him, I could only think, "Dang! Arizona drivers license and South Dakota plates. I'm going down!" He then wanted to know what I knew.."Not a lot", I said. "I was hiking with my dogs and saw the body, so I called 911. "Did the dogs find him he queried?"...figuring I was trying to take all the credit, I guess. "No, they were more interested in the prairie dog holes, I saw what looked like a log with boots on. And since I hike enough to know logs don't wear boots, I walked over to it.", I said. He laughed, but not for long. "Which way did you come from?", he said again trying to trip me up. But I was a step ahead..."From that area where all the foot and paw prints lead up to the body." I said. Why are you up here?, he asked. "My trailer is getting fixed in town and I take my dogs up here to walk them twice a day." As I told him where I was staying, an Animal Control officer arrived on scene and approached us with a look of shock on her face. "That poor guy", I just saw him walking those dogs the other day." she said as she looked at my three tied to the tree. "I was the guy walking those dogs the other day.", I said frustrated. "You were walking his dogs?, the officer asked now confused.... "They're my dogs, any dogs he had are probably dead too...if he had them.", I said even more frustrated. To which the Animal Control officer said, "The call came out that the dead guy had dogs?" "I have a crappy trailer which is bad enough, I don't need to be dead too." I said. There were plenty of more questions to be asked and some of them twice, but once it was all cleared up and they got my room number at the Motel 6, my license plates and an oral swab (not really), a third officer with more stripes said I was okay to leave...I liked him best...but not enough to stick around or or go back to that area the next day. And in all honesty, if I am ever to find another body while hiking, it shall rest where it lays, along with my sincere feelings that it deserved better. Random thought Admittedly my life on the road these days leaves little time for my hobby of observing pop culture, but one I still can't wrap my head around is the fashion statement (I assume that's what it is) of wearing baseball hats with all of the promotional stickers and price tags still on them..sure it's posted on the internet somewhere but i'm not interested enough
'Those who forget history are condemned to repeat it. I've never been a fan of those Western re-enactments that are so common in theme parks and Old West tourist towns like Tombstone, AZ, but this one was sure entertaining. While walking the dogs in Fountain Hills, Arizona at the Fountain Hills Great Fair, we began to climb a grassy knoll when a Pomeranian no bigger than a shoebox came running down the hill in a suicidal charge. Outnumbered by 3 to 1 and giving away some 200lbs, the owner was clearly distressed. This was of little concern to my "all talk, no bite" boy, Chief as he clearly saw a great victory before him and lead the counter attack. Fortunately for the Pomerainian , history did not repeat itself and there was no "Last Stand" on this day, because as Chief neared the end of his 16 foot leash, the owner's desperate cries for her dog to retreat were heeded, and all the brave warrior, Chief, could do, was watch as CUSTER the Pomeranian returned to his owner to live and fight another day.
The Mystery Known as Man It's the kind of behavior a guy thinks is cute when he first meets a girl because his ego is big enough that he thinks it will stop once they're together, but... I'm in Apache Junction tonight watching the prettiest girl in a cowboy bar havin' a grand time dancin' with nearly every guy in the bar. Not surprisingly, the only guy not enjoying it, is the guy who brought her to the bar. Not real sure whose judgement is worse in this scenario.. Random Thought I watched a bull rider have the ride of his life the other night...his score? Well, there wasn't one... he was leaving the parking lot of the Apache Junction rodeo on a horse that decided to get crazy... there was no crowd, no applause, and no score...just an appreciative audience of one and still he never stopped smilng...just another day at the office...for both of us.
Couldn't help Myself (some may find the following to be too much information) It was a bout 6:30 in the morning at a truck stop in New Mexico when I entered the men's bathroom only to see a line two deep waiting for a stall. This is a particularly busy time for truck stop bath rooms in any state, not just New Mexico. Now normally I would have left, but that was not an option this time 'round, so I took my place in line to wait. Not surprisingly, within seconds, there were three more guys behind me...and now the wait began for six of us...and we waited. After several more minutes and having moved up in line just one spot, it was interesting to see the grimaces and and sweaty brows that began to emerge...along with the unease, a palpable anger began to emerge and never have the words "S*^%t or get off the pot" seem to carry so much weight. Well through much toe tapping and coffee cups thrown into the trash cans, another stall opened up...I was next. Compared to the others, I was doing pretty well...but even so, if the others in line were of a like mind, we wanted to drag the guy wearing the Addidas from under the stall door and pummel him...he had been in there when we arrived and was showing no signs (not sure what sign we might be looking for) of leaving. I think the stress of my thoughts had taken hold and suddenly I wasn't doing so well either, but just then a stall opened up. We were all hurting, but I quickly overcame a fleeting thought to offer my spot to the guy behind me who was catatonic. I closed the door behind me. Once in I heard the door open and someone cried, "Oh man!...I chuckled, but there would be time for laughs later... this was about taking care of business...so I did and within 1 minute I was already remerging from my stall. The looks of appreciation on the assembled was one of "shock and awe". And it soon turned to smiles and laughter when I proclaimed, "Gentlemen, THAT is why you eat a salad every now and then!" I washed my hands and was gone...never to see my fellow travelers again.
Location, location, location! Now I don't know much about the shoe shine business, so perhaps I'm out of line, but one of the mind over matter techniques I implemented while waiting my turn in that god awful line, was to ponder whether there might be a better location for this shoe shine machine than a truckstop in Springer, New Mexico. And a second look at those in line with me only reaffirmed that opinion. Foot In Mouth...kind of , sort of Actually I'm not guilty of any foot in mouth infraction this time around, but if you should ever be taking a leisurely stroll around the canal at the Wild Horse Pass casino near Tempe, Arizona and marvel at the prisitne Coyote paw prints that are forever preserved in the recently poured cement walkway...well...they aren't exactly Coyote prints...or at least not pure bred Coyote. I guess the mix felt cool on his feet, because Diesel just didn't want to be dragged out of it. Yet More Proof We're a Nation in Decline! C'mon, if you can't behave yourself at a Chucky Cheese, you're leading the decline.
I was walking through a supermarket parking lot when I heard the always annoying thumping base of a car stereo playing Hip_hop at massive decibels...as I always enjoy lookng at a real life jackass, I scanned the nearby cars for the offending party when I eyed a brand new Cadillac pull into a space. As I craned my neck to get a better look, I saw a man who had to be 75 years of age BLINGED out and pounding his steering wheel while singing along with every word of the song. I'm not sure who was more disgusted, me or his very refined wife who was entertaining these antics as she sat next to him very quietly. As I highlighted in an earleir Roadnotes, British news sites quiz their readers on things like identifying the natural wonders of the world and wildlife. Here in the formerly great USA, this is what MSNBC wants to see if you're keeping up on. And lastly, around new years (another reminder how long it was since the last RoadNotes) the Phoenix police department put out the yearly warning that gunfire at midnight, which the reporter said said was popular in some foreign countries...hmmmm..which ones... (damn that Canada)...will not be tolerated. To add impact to the story, they interviewed a father from a country other than Canada who had lost a daughter to such revelry several years before. Still distraught and through tears, he said "Little childrens should not have to die just cause they are out playing on New Year's eve." My only thought was that perhaps little childrens should not be up and playing outside at midnight on New Year's or almost ANY OTHER NIGHT OF THE YEAR!
Random Thought I think I've pretty much got a grasp on how the stars and the galaxies work, but what I still can't figure out is how I haven't snapped an ankle yet as the dogs pull me around Prairie Dog colonies in the dark on our nightly walks. Things I've Learned: Tthe dogs have aquired a taste for potted meat and beef raviolis that I get at the dollar store...and the truth be known, while I don't have a taste for either one, when mixed together, I sort of get the appeal. I know it's a novel concept, but I am perfectly capeable of giving with no strings attached. Some people seem to doubt this. I've spent more money on showers in the last month than I have in all of my previous years...on this planet...of course I've never paid for a shower before...$27 and counting. Truck stop showers
are far cleaner than you might think. And cleaner than most folks
bathrooms that I've used.
I'm the only person
in America (I've never been outside it other than Mexico & Canada
and they don't count so I don't know if I can claim world wide)
who gets in line at a grocery store and pays for what I want without
an issue...it seems so anyway. Every time I let
the dogs off leash at night in the wilderness, a rabbit dies...not
my wish , but neither the dogs or the rabbit care about that it
in the end. I'd no doubt have
a much easier go of this photography thing if I put out a series
of Cowgirl calendars rather than what I already do... it's that
dang fulfilled thing that keeps tripping me up. No dog should
have eight litters in five years. No dog owner should
wonder why his puppy is PECULIAR when she is one of eight litters
in five years....grrrrrrr..... They say blood is thicker
than water...ungrateful relatives (not mine) who take advantage of this are
lower than low. I know you never
touch a man's hat, but cowboys who wear hat bands with tassles make
me want to pull them...the tassles, not the men. I don't know good
fried chicken from the bad....I rarely eat it so that may be why,
but just the same...and in the end, not sure it matters. I get suckered by every"Our World Famous", "Our House Specialty"
claim on the menu every time...and most of it ends up tasting like
ass, so why do I persist? It's not uncommon
for people to give me things at shows to bring me luck...it's extremely
common for them have the exact opposite effect. Patsy Cline's "Crazy" has an entirely different meaning for me
when I'm doing laundry in a Springer, NM truck stop at 4:30 in the
morning. And I Wonder Why I'm Single... I've heard a lot of couples discuss topics and say things to one
another that I thought perhaps I could learn from, but what I heard
from a gentleman to his wife at the Fountain Hills show last month...well...I
just don't ever see myself being that giving. As the couple passed by, the gentleman turned to his wife and tenderly said,
"Honey, would you like to split a beer?" My friend Joe (who is married) summed it up best when he said in
disbelief, "Well why would you do that, then you'd only have half
a beer?" More Than Worth A Look On a more serious note, another friend sent me some information
on the transporting of horses to slaughter in double-decker trailers.
I was unaware of this issue not to mention the secrecy behind the
problem. Well, after a three year battle, the USDA was finally required
to release pictures of horses who were injured or killed. The images
are graphic, so DO NOT LOOK if you are squeamish. As always, do with this information what you will. Graphic
IMAGES And finally, in another case of we had to kill it to save it,
The Phoenix zoo has blood on their hands after Macho B, the lone wild Jaguar
to roam America's southwest was euthanized after it's health began
to deteriorate after repeated captures and collarings. All of the so called experts are of course playing down their role in this magnificent cat's death, but
you be the judge. Until next time....be well and as always, please excuse any typos
(and you know who you are) and most importantly, "Save a Horse,
Ride a Mustang." |
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