It Just Is

I'm driving to town to drop trash, get wood, and groceries for critters mainly. The road is torn up with little work arounds all over it where people just can't be content with the road the way it is. They have to make new roads off the old roads and then it gets wider and wider. I use to enjoy going in the little side pocket canyons. There was always a side blotched lizard that would be perched at the highest spot in the canyon ruling all that he can see, fifty feet or so. Now there's so much traffic they have all moved on.

Use to be the roads were for sightseeing but now all the weekend warriors are all about going fast. The thrill seekers. More rescues for me when they make mistakes. Use to be one a month, then a week, and now it's averaging about two a week. Most not serious but the more accidents the higher the odds some will be serious.

On the way to town or taking Linny to school everyday oncoming traffic once you left the pavement was courteous to nod, acknowledge the adventurer. On this day forty or fifty vehicles go by before I get a nod or a return of mine. Linny and I would tip the cap to the first one, hand signal the second, drawn out nod of the head to the third, wave the fourth, thumb up the fifth, see how many different acknowledgements of the morning we could think of. That's over. There's so much traffic your arm would be worn off. Still when I got to San Diego I realized my one day of traffic is 15 seconds of San Diego traffic.

I pick up mail and there's a couple of checks from people that used a side by side and didn't have cash or a check on them and sent it as promised. I see a guy skateboarding on the red rock of Star Ship Enterprise as I come back.

Couple of disc golfers arrive at the lodge just before me so ten dollars total. They give me twenty. I go to give them change and he says "No." Got to be a lot of people who have stiffed you over the years let me apologize in part for them." Five minutes later two more guys show up to play. He hands me $20. I go to give him change and he says "Keep it. Six years ago my buddy and I came to play and we didn't have any money and you let us play. It's bugged me I've owed you $10 all these years. We're square."

Couple days later a family checks in. The son casually wanders the property playing an Indian flute. It's relaxing. They have a little dog that Jax is enjoying playing with and the mother is carrying around a chicken. She says it was born with a deformity and the other chickens pick on it all the time.