My Answer: Marlatt’s ASS

The other night I had a strange wake up call. It wasn’t the usual “have to go to the potty” call. It was a sense of uneasiness that woke me up. Perhaps it was just the high temperature and humidity in the trailer – so I turned the A/C on. I stayed awake and up, because I wanted to turn the A/C off when my trailer was more pleasant.

Still the feeling was there and it reminded me of an old 50s or 60s song with the lyrics “What’s it all about, Alfie?” Only this time it was “What’s it all about, Tommy?” So, today’s blog will be to share a little of Vagabond Marlatt’s philosophy on life. Maybe you will identify with some of it – or maybe it will help you understand this vagabond a little more.

Back in the 1940s the Gypsies foretold my future. There was a carnival in town and the closest un-controlled vacant lot for the workers was in the field at the end of our block, which was just outside of the city limits. The Gypsies, with all of their colorful horse drawn wagons and clothes, set up a community in the field. Little Tommy went down and visited them and experienced a people with an amazing life style. They were happy, song filling their lives. They enjoyed every moment and didn’t seem to care that they didn’t have the luxury that surrounded them in my neighborhood. They told of all the places they had been and things they had seen and filled me with the desire to become one of them. Many years later in 1995 I joined them as a retired vagabond on the road.

Since I didn’t retire with a fortune and I am now on a fixed (1995) income, I reflected on my career as an engineer and moved into my mobile “Command Module and Adventure Space Station” evolving to my present configuration, which satisfies all of my needs.

When I wonder what is the best way to go, I am reminded of a song – Simple Things:

Simple Things
by Bob Reidenbach, OGP - 31 July 1974

The Lord calls us gently to live and believe In the glory of simple things, like a child glad and free;
To treasure each moment and to hope, come what may,
Like the song of tomorrow with the words of today.

Refrain:
There’s nothing as simple as God,
And nothing more refreshing to the souls of mankind;
Wash me clean, make me new.

The Lord calls us gently to share bread and wine, To give ourselves freely, to love in our time; To reach out and touch someone, to tell them that we care.
Love is what we need to give and life is what we share. (Refrain)

The Lord calls us gently to rise with a hopeful heart,
To put away our doubts and fears, to be light where there’s dark,
To answer the needs of all, to share ourselves as friends,
For when we give ourselves in truth we find ourselves again. (Refrain)

The Lord calls us gently to live life anew,
To see him in simple things, to praise him in all we do,
To know that this life we live is a sign of his peace.
People, there’s a time for change; people, a time for peace. (Refrain)

God had an image of what he wanted us to be and I feel that this song sums up that image.

My answer to adversity is: Repent (change your ways). For example here are some of my answers to my life’s problems: Health – slowing down and doing what is reasonable. Environment – reduce problems to a manageable size. Boredom – Live in/for others not yourself.

I live a life of Materialistic Minimalism – keeping only those things which I need to maintain the ASS and live a comfortable life on the road. I continue to enjoy my family and my friends (many that I haven’t met yet) along the way. When next we meet I hope you will remember these words and understand me better.

I'm still near Cathy's house - getting a lot of "Honey dos" done, and getting ready for our western trip next month. This weekend we will be in Arlington at our son Jim's to celebrate Victoria's graduation.

Back to the Feed Store

Here is where I live in Oklahoma when I visit my wife.

I can’t get to her house when the road is washed out – which is very often. Here are some pictures of the places where the road is washed out. Trying to do the angles and miss the washouts causes the trailer to pitch from side to side and front to back causing too much stress. Everything in the cupboards is also thrown around and mixed up. Even commuting with the truck is a trial and I would prefer not to do it at all.

This and the lack of good computer communications is why I don’t visit Cathy very often.
With the price of gasoline what it is, I have decided to sit here for a while and let my credit card accounts and savings accounts get back into a relative balance. Then after my grandson Jamie’s wedding at the end of June we will start on an extended trip out west. We definitely are going to the Escapade (Rally) in Gillette Wyoming and to visit our friend Frone Hendren in Douglas, south of Gillette. Cathy says she would also like to go visit some of the National Parks.

I am still having problems with the new “protection” that I bought for my computer. AVG has taken over my life and demands that I understand it or it will not let me function. I am reading the entire “help” pages to try and understand.
(Later) Well, I tried to understand, but obviously I can’t understand all of the “help” in the Help pages. I can no longer get online with my Dell computer. This might just be the first step in a large change in my life. Until I can get Jim to see if he can straighten me out I will just go to Norman to the library or to the guest computer at church to send my blog and get my email. Sorry if you are trying to reach me! Maybe I’m not supposed to have an online computer.

Returning to my former life in Texas

There were two highlight to my trip back to Texas. The first one was a visit to the Stennis Space Center (Exit 2, I-10 Miss.), where I reminisced about my career in the Titan and Apollo days. I did observe on the latest rocket engine that they are still using the “Marlatt knot” and my harnessing technique which was developed after the Apollo 1 fire.

The second was upon leaving Slidell, LA and driving through a threatening tornado. The rain was very hard and it washed the truck and trailer very well. It was kind of scary though when the traffic was slowed to about 35 miles an hour. After coming through the storm, I made an extended, 4 hour, rest stop at the Texas Welcome Center. They had an excellent WiFi signal which allowed me to catch up on a lot of things and enjoy relaxing with a good meal after the storm.

I stopped at the Greater Houston Area Chapter of the Red Cross for a couple of days and re-established myself as a volunteer. I have taken on a new “career path” due to my medically induced weight restriction. The chapter has gone through leadership changes and there are more challenges coming due to the elimination of the Southwest Area. The American Red Cross is changing nationwide, with the elimination of about 1000 paid staff and a severe reduction of donations. I did finally receive the national recognition that was to be presented to me last year – when I was not there to receive it.

Heading north, I stopped in Livingston at Rainbow’s End Escapee Park to get my mail, do laundry and get my blood test results from April’s testing. Since the tests showed no problem, and much better cholesterol readings, I headed north to OK for mother’s day, by way of Arlington.

My son Jim understands where to go look in the computer and what it is trying to say much better than I do. He, in an agonizing couple of (or maybe three) hours straightened up some of the messes that I had gotten myself into.

If only I had a good internet connection in Oklahoma…. I will probably not be able to get on line much more than once a week until I get back on the road – where there is good signal!

Coast to Coast – 58 days – The End!

Woman Tours trip from San Diego to St. Augustine finished today. They came in to Anastasia State Park at about 11:30 with a police escort and all of their friends and relatives cheering them on. They went to the beach for the ceremonial dipping of the front wheel in the Atlantic. Some of them couldn’t resist taking a dip too. Then we all had a picnic lunch catered by Island Joe’s at the beach entrance. All 30 of the women completed the trip and they were all in great spirits.

It was the end of my geocaching trip too, so I dipped my wheels in the ocean and headed west – to Texas.

Florida is a great place to visit and spend your fortune, but I don’t think I could live here. For one thing there are too many natural and man made obstacles to travel – rivers, swamps, loose and quick sands, etc. that make getting to the next geocache very difficult. This has been a great week for caching and sightseeing. I now have 1146 caches to my credit and I have still found some different types. My accommodations have been excellent, especially St. Anastasia Catholic Church, where they have 1 ½ miles of parking lot roads to get in my bicycle morning exercise. I am traveling light with only one travel bug and one geo-coin – and both of their missions will be taken care of in southeast Texas.

I just made it into the Central time zone at dusk, so I stopped in Marianna for the night and decided to send out this week’s blog. I expect to be in Houston on Monday where I will meet with my new disaster person at the Red Cross Chapter. It has been a long time since my last involvement and I need to get updated on the latest procedures etc.