living simply

We are still here and loving the west Tejas fresh air. We have shape shifted many times since landing here and got the lesson that life is what happens to you when you are busy making other plans. Yes it was a culture shock in good ways and some not so pleasant. Given the law of equanimity, I for one, learned that there is the most flow (rather than stagnation) in accepting the dark with the same grace as the light.

We have also learned that The Late Late Show with TV's Craig Fersuson is hilarious and never fails to make us laugh no matter what kind of day we have had.

armadillo roadkill

Well, it looks like the wheel of life brought us to west Texas. We figured it's on the way to Mexico and Midland, TX appeared very much on our path. There were a number of signposts on the way leading us here, but we will continue to vehemently avoid the "Silverado Cowboy Church: Where Jesus is King of Cowboys" (no joke).

I've heard it said that in Texas they don't call it "wind" but rather "fresh air". I guess we'll see about that. For starters, we have family in Fort Worth and Lubbock, as well as in Ruidoso, NM and we plan on exploring Austin, Marfa and Big Bend National Park.

We are looking forward to closing on the purchase of our 1950 ranch house once we arrive in Midland. Then we put our D.I.Y. muscle to the test as we doll up the place in preparation for the holidays and the arrival of guests...

letting go

Here we are after much water has passed under the bridge. The motorcycle is gone. After a rich, full life, too old to make the journey, our dog has gone to the Great Beyond. My son is in NYC for the summer before finishing his last year in college. My job is done. Many of our possessions have been sold and the remainder is in storage for the summer. Our condo has been sold. Now we begin the road story.

After our last goodbyes this weekend, we will pack our car, bringing our cat and a few belongings. We hit the road Sunday heading for Cooperstown, NY to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Then we will make our next stop Cleveland, OH where we will visit the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. From there, we will proceed west to Champaign, IL to spend some time with my parents while we calculate our next move. We have realized many options while working outside the confines of anything resembling a plan.

Beyond that, the future is unwritten...

"Elizabeth: the Golden Age"

We saw the film "Elizabeth" with Cate Blanchett in the leading role and Clive Owen as Sir Walter Raleigh. We were both awestruck by the following passage when Raleigh describes to Queen Elizabeth the New World:

"Can you imagine what it is to cross an ocean? For weeks you see nothing but the horizon. Perfect and empty. You live in the grip of fear; fear of storms, fear of sickness on board, fear of the immensity. So you must drive that fear down deep into your belly. Study your charts. Watch your compass. Pray for a fair wind and hope - pure, naked, fragile hope."

our wedding

Anna and Michael got married by the full moon rise, March 21, 2008 in a tree house, in Bristol, Vermont, on the property of Louise and David Brynn. A few weeks before the "event" we learned from Louise that David is a Justice of the Peace and we asked him to officiate our marriage. At our request, he read a passage from the 1964 film "Night of the Iguana":

"(We) don't regard a home as a place, a building made of bricks, wood or stone. Rather (we) think of a home as something two people build and have between them, in which each can nest, rest, live in, emotionally speaking..."

The full moon is the time of highest emotion, energy and sensitivity. One may notice a heightened awareness of personal relationships.