Things are swell. Kids are good. I'm healthy, I think. Business is starting to grow. But my friend, Jeff, was here visiting last week. Back in 2007, Jeff and I took a blindfolded trip around Colorado right before I moved here from Missouri. We had no idea what we were doing, where we were going, or how it would end up. We listened to good music, solved the world's problems over tin cups of Scotch inside the pop-up camper, and caught a few trout. 12 years later, two kids apiece, a dozen more years of experience between us, here we are again. The places that Jeff and I traveled to back then are second nature to me nowadays. Back then, it was a total adventure. Now, it's a day trip whenever my wife can watch the kids on a Saturday. Cool thing is though, the West is full of places that introduce new adventure. So is the Midwest. So is the East, North, and South. Ripped barstools facing a weathered, dark wood bar. Coors Banquet on tap, perhaps. Colorful characters that clearly frequent here more than they do their own homes. They know you're from out of town and are skunk eyeing you, so might as well make friends...and keep your hand close to your knife. "Round of Banquets for these boys, please." Biscuits and gravy with green chili poured over top. Eggs over medium, please. Goddamn, that coffee hits the spot. Let's get a full belly before we go fishing...before we start drinking cold beer in an hour. How are the bathrooms here? This river looks too good to be true. Let's look this up....never mind, can't. No service. Fuck it, let's rig up and hit it. There's got to be fish in here. Watch out, man. There's a bear over there. See his giant head sticking out of the water? Let's move on upstream. Goddamn, she's a big girl. Cub with her, too. Good call. Check it out, man. Live music at the saloon tonight. Are there really still saloons? I'm thinking a glass or two of whisk and let's see where the night takes us. Good tunes, man. Uh oh, we're getting the skunk eye from those boogans over there. Shit, those are the boys from the bar the other night! Round of Banquets! Lot of windshield time. Lot of dust. Lot of tunes. Lot of reflecting. Lot of planing out and realizing what's true. And I guarantee, much more than the last excursion, lot of missing our families. But that's part of it. It's full circle. It's a restart...a need that fills a void...an adventure. Like we called it back then: It's the dream. And that's exactly what it feels like when it's happening...and also the memories when you get back to earth. Original pic from '07, before we knew what the hell was at the end of this road.
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AuthorI am Earl. Archives
May 2024
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