we talkin' 'bout practice!! practice, man!

the apple falls not far from the tree...my son is a sports maniac. he loves to watch all kinds of sporting events on television. he will even sit with me to watch less popular offerings such as soccer and lacrosse. more than watching, he (like any real athlete) would rather play. golf, basketball, t-ball, soccer, football, swimming, volleyball, it really doesn't matter; he is ready to go. he loves to go to live games of all kinds. we've been fortunate to go to many different types of sporting events in many different cities.

right now he is playing in a basketball league. today marked the first game of the season. as usual, he got himself worked up into a frenzy of nervousness all morning long. here is where he and i diverge. i rarely was nervous before a game; he always is. he vomited in the parking lot as we were walking to the gym.

two seasons ago, he was so upset before each game that he decided that he wasn't going to play. he practiced his brains out with his team; but, when it came game-time, he was unable to get in the game. it drove us crazy. threats, bribery, peer-pressure were absolutely without effect for this kid. he didn't care. when he has made up his mind, that is the end of the discussion. i finally compelled him to play in the games held at the sbc center before the spurs game. not enough of his teammates were going to be able to make the trip; so it was either he play, or the whole team would have to forfeit. of course this would mean that the opposing team would be unable to play also, and we thought that was unfair. he played, and did pretty well. the caveat was that he required me to be on the court with him and follow along, up and down the court with the "peleton."

this morning, while jman was "earlin' in the parking lot" , i was reminded of a couple of my friends from high school:

galen cox was a fantastic football player. he was a linebacker and punter on our team. we selected him as one of our team captains. every game from seventh through twelfth grade, he puked his guts out right after stretches. i'm not sure what the rest of us would have done if he didn't get sick, so expected was this ritual. his nervousness had no effect on his play; he was voted all-district, cen-tex, and region when we were seniors.

when mike thomas moved into the area just before our eighth-grade year, we were glad to see him. not only did his dad own most of the schlotzky's sandwich shops in austin, mike was big. we figured he would be a good addition to our football and basketball teams. he was. mike was a tight end, and a good one. he also got nervous at game time. on the day of our first eighth grade game, we were stretching on the field. mike had expressed to us that his stomach was not feeling normal and he thought he might be sick. we didn't think much, because galen was puking his guts out at the time. all bets were off when, a few minutes later, mike's gastro-intestinal system relieved itself through a much smellier option. poor mike had to make his way from the high school field down to the middle school field-house while trying to not let his befouled backside be seen by anyone. after a shower and a change of clothes, he gamely returned to the field ready to play.

fortunately, jackson's extreme nervousness doesn't affect his love for playing, or his quality of play. you just have to watch out for the semi-digested pile of scrambled egg sandwich in the parking lot.

thanks for the mammaries

i was just reading an article on the msnbc website. this particular subject comes up quite often, and i am surprised by the responses i read and hear on the topic.

apparently "babytalk" magazine has recently published an issue wherein the cover has a picture of a beautiful baby nursing on the discreetly positioned breast of his mother. apparently , up to a quarter of the respondents replied in less-than-positive ways. from the article: "I was SHOCKED to see a giant breast on the cover of your magazine," one person wrote. "I immediately turned the magazine face down," wrote another. "Gross," said a third.

as one who has never nursed anything (and never will), my opinion may be quite ignorant and without real value. nonetheless:

at one time, i had a similar squeamishness concerning the public use of breasts as anything other than advertisement. that may read as being quite crude, i am just trying to be forthright. i recall several occasions when i was in close proximity to a nursing mother and my anxiety level was skyrocketing by the second. in retrospect, my apprehension was undue. none of these ladies ever asked for my assistance or assessment. each mother took the time and effort to "retain her privacy." i guess my nervousness emanated from the fact that when a woman exposes herself i tend to get a bit uncertain. can i just pretend i don't know what she's doing? should i avert my eyes in a 180* manner? is it o.k. for me to glance, in an effort to act cavalier. at what point will she think i'm trying to be voyeuristic should i not be obvious in my attempt to provide the privacy she deserves? all of these are contradictory questions that fly through my mind like so many farm animals and beds and schoolmarms in dorothy's cyclone.

that was then. when my wife got pregnant, i immediately began to research everything i could that related to my pregnant wife and my unborn son. the breast feeding debate was one of these subjects. it goes without saying that breasts were devised with this biological purpose in mind. it is only through advanced science that the "lift and separate" function evolved. i couldn't possibly recite any of the statistics i read concerning the brain development of breast-fed versus formula only children; but, it was greatly in favor of the "nature boy." i understand that the bond which develops between the mother and child in this scenario is unchallenged in its depth. these factors all pointed to the obvious conclusion that our child should be breast fed if my wife was willing. as she read much of the same materials as i, she was equally convinced.

nursing is not always as easy as its biological and evolutionary design would have us believe. as such, charlotte signed up for a how-to class at a local maternity shop, and i decided to go with her. it sounds odd; but, this is my kid we're talking about. i had been to every one of her obstetrician appointments, so i didn't see any reason to not be involved here also. things went along quite smoothly until a pretty attractive woman in the class voiced her concerns to the class about the shape and size of her nipples. fortunately for me, the instructor told her that she would examine said nipples privately, and after class. i was already beginning to feel like a sex offender at that point.

after six months of watching my wife nurse, being in the company of friends nursing, and discussing every conceivable nursing topic with a few of my la leche league "lactivist" clients; i came to be quite comfortable with the whole situation. on the rare occasion that a lactating lady exposes her bosom to feed her child in my presence; i act as if nothing could be more natural...because, this is exactly the case. if she is at all worried about my presence or curiosity or maleness, she should consider that before unclasping her bra.

some say that they abhor public nursing because they don't want their children to see mammaries, or have to explain to their children what is happening. i don't understand being so afraid of one's children as to not even be able to discuss the most elementary of bodily functions with them. if you can't explain breastfeeding to a twelve year old, how on earth are you going to deal with nocturnal emissions or menstruation. broaching these subjects seems much more daunting. no wonder so many people these days are so disfunctional...their parents have taught them to avoid the realities of life by pretending they don't exist, or should be hidden in the back room like a dirty secret. what a shame.

as it stands, only the brazenly enhanced and displayed bustline causes me noticeable consternation.

british invasion

i have been having a hard time pulling myself from in front of the television this week. the open championship (british open) is being contested in liverpool, england. from roughly 6am to midnight, one can get coverage of all things open championship. obviously, the actual play only lasts for about 10 of those hours, but post round analysis is nearly unending.

the open is my favorite of the so-called major championships. the game of golf was invented and perfected on courses just like those used in the open championship rotation. in most cases, these are the exact courses played by the creators of the game. the game played in these locales is vastly different from the home game played by millions of americans. whereas we fan something off of a perfectly manicured, computer and agronomically enhanced emerald carpet of grass, these gentleman clip a ball off of brownish fairways sculpted by time and livestock. our roughs can be 3-inch deep black holes of turf terror, where they hack out of foot-high wisps of dried out "hay." it just looks cool. our american players often intentionally hit into a bunker because the play out of a bunker is typically lower on the penalty scale than from the rough. in the open, you may not be able to even see the green from your bunker. they are that high...in the fairway, no less. hell bunker? the sands of nakajima? forgetaboutit.

our own national open is a great tournament. unfortunately, i don't know that i am sure that it is a fair assessment of a player's whole game. remember bethpage when so many were unable to even reach the fairways because they were cut so far from the tee on several holes? ridiculous. what about pin positions and greens shorn so close as to create payne-stewart-at-olympic type of situations. come on. rough so thick and long that one's only recourse is to chip out laterally? i don't like it.

augusta holds a very fine tournament each year. it is so well know to us that a true golf fan can describe with alarming detail each hole on the back nine. i have not yet been; but, my friends who have been have all said something to the effect that its beauty is indescribable and unable to be translated worthily over the television. that is something i need to see. the history created by playing the same tournament on the same course each year is wonderful. the back nine on sunday is so fun to watch because the swings can come so fast and be so dramatic. on the other hand, i hate that their response to today's technology is to change the nature of the course by adding ridiculous length, planting huge trees all over the place, and adding a "second cut" of grass. actually, i guess i'm ok with the length. you can't have people hitting driver/wedge to a par 5. still, i wonder what jones and mackenzie would have done.

as i'm not sure which tournament should be considered the fourth major (pga or player's championship) i won't add anything about them. they each pale in comparison to the other two,anyway, so who cares. i'd rather watch colonial.

keep it on the low down. down low. no doubt.

i have a theory that all of us participate in an activity that should be embarrassing to reveal. i don't mean anything that is a true vice...gambling, pornography, drinking, adultery. i just mean something completely innocuous and simple. as an example, i will reveal one of mine:

i love walt disney world. charlotte and i first went in 1996 and we have been back at least a dozen times since then. charlotte has been 3 times in the past 6 months. sadly, i have been only twice in the same time period. our son is only six; but, he has been 6 times, and he thinks every kid goes to disney world every year. of course, this is not my secret. who could possibly feel silly about being fortunate enough to go to the happiest place on earth all the time?

my habit is one of participating on a message board for people planning trips to walt disney world and people who just want to hold online discussions about all things disney while biding their time between disney world trips. the thing is, i hardly ever respond to or begin discussions because most of the people on the site are stupid. the main topics (that get discussed and rediscussed ad nauseum) are "what's your favorite ride?" "what's the weather going to be like while i'm there?" and "how are the crowds during_____week?" every so often someone will post a question about "gay days" at disney world. not that the questioner is at all judgmental, he just wants to know how crowded it will be. yeah, right.

almost everyone creates some kind of cutesy online name containing a lame play on words dealing with disney or disney characters; like pooh"n"pigletspals. no offense if that's your tag. then they'll enhance their signature with lists of their numerous trips to "the world" and where the offender stayed during each of these trips. worst of all, they will post a picture of their kids who usually look like they need to spend more time walking around the park and less time riding in a stroller eating their 3rd premium mickey ice cream bar since lunch.

it sounds as if i am a disney snob (if there is anything so pathetic) ;but, i almost never read anything on this site that i didn't already know...except that the brazilian tour groups in the summer cut in line alot. that kind of analysis usually costs extra.

it all makes me wonder why i go to this site multiple times every single day. the only reason i can conjure is that i have to do something habitually, and i don't drink.

i got to go...i can't remember the best place to watch the fireworks in the magic kingdom. i better go check the latest poll.

p.s. check out buzz with his horns up. too cool.

he makes me look like a piker

when i was a kid, a new family moved into our town. the bordines were very familiar. the oldest son was my age, next came a boy the same age as my brother, their sister was exactly the same age as my little sister. we lived at the top of the hill, and they lived at the bottom. their family was deeply religious, as was ours. each of the kids were at least moderately intelligent, so we all shared classes with the kid of the same age. the only big difference was that the bordines didn't have a father in the house. in point of fact, their move to wimberley was precipitated by the self-inflicted death of their dad. i can only guess that a fresh start thousands of miles away seemed like a good idea.

paul was the oldest boy. he was about 11 when they moved in and he had problems. the events of his life had caused such stress and trauma in his psyche that he had developed a bleeding ulcer. somehow, his mom found out that we lived very close to them and she asked my parents to encourage me to befriend her son and help him fit in so he would relax and his health might improve. from this inauspicious beginning was born a long lasting friendship. we were close friends for the next 7 years even up to the point that we drove to our high school graduation ceremony together.

paul and brad were also like us in that they loved to read. some days, we would walk down to their house, and all four of us would just lie around reading to ourselves. i think it was one of them that introduced us to the great brain and all of his adventures.

this series of 7 books were written by john dennis fitzgerald and published beginning in the late 60's. they are all written from the perspective of j.d. who is the younger brother of tom, the title character. tom, or t.d., is smart, conniving, honest, loyal, and greedy. go figure that personality. these stories all tell the tale of their turn-of-the-century, southern utah, catholic childhoods. that they lived in the center of the mormon universe was of particular interest to neil and myself. we read these books over and over until they were falling apart.

one of the reasons i enjoy the harry potter books so is that they vaguely remind me of these books from my adolescence that i love so much. both series are sweet, innocent, full of mischief and adventure, and are funny. the great brain books were a direct contrast to the horror novels that i was also immersed in at that age. perhaps the incongruity of the two subjects is what endeared them to me so strongly.

i was reminded of them recently while in salt lake city. neil asked me if i had found the old catholic academy where the brothers in the stories spent their secondary educational years. i hadn't even thought about it,; but, after the phone call i was very enthused to find this evidence of the real lives portrayed in the books. unfortunately, it is no longer surviving. well, what are you going to do?

if you're me, you will pull out your copies of the great brain books and start re-reading stories as familiar as if i had lived them myself. they are still funny and interesting. i discovered that mr. fitzgerald was actually born in price, utah, which is a little more than 3 hours south east of salt lake city. adenville, utah and the adjoining mining town of silverlode are fictional towns. i did a little research on the internet (for what that is worth) and found that "great brain" students (i find it odd that such persons exist) postulate that these towns were based on the real utah cities of leeds, utah and silver reef, utah.

i've begun reading some of the stories to my son. i am glad to hear him chuckling and seemingly enjoying that which is so dear to me.

thanks, paul.

p.s. i found that a movie was made in the 70's using the first book as the storyline. i'm not sure what it might be like since jimmy osmond played the role of t.d. fitzgerald. i'll begin looking for it nonetheless. i also discovered a claim that t.d. died while serving in WWI, though i have no idea where this information is said to originate. interesting, though. another source (with the state historical society) claims that t.d. was still living in price when j.d. died in 1988.

are you talkin' to me?

i've perfected the art of grocery shopping. i thought i should let you know, just in case you want to copy my swing.

before i get out of the car, i have inserted my earbuds in their proper places. then as i walk through the store, gathering items, i listen to the music of choice at a high enough decibal level as to not hear the conversations of anyone i pass. on the off chance someone speaks to me, i don't care because i can't hear him anyway. i am pretending that there are so many people around because i am at a concert. i know it's juvenile; but, it helps me keep my imagination sharp.

if i have 20 items or less, the experience is ideal because i can utelize the self-check option and leave the store without interacting with a single person. if i have alot of groceries, the theory breaks down a bit because i have to speak to the checker. even i am not rude enough to keep my ipod blaring during this transaction...but here's hoping.

going after 11:00 has great merit, too; but, there is a shortage of checkers available late-night, so i can get stuck in line too long if i can't check myself.

i have to go to the store tonight, so i better go upload something soothing onto my ipod.

not so wiesy

a few weeks ago my brother and i were discussing the beauty of the concept of schadenfreude. if you don't know, schadenfreude is a german based word defined as: pleasure derived from the misfortunes of others. today, count me in.

i am not at all a fan of michelle wie. today, in her most recent attempt to make the cut in a men's tour event; she blew up to the tune of 6 over.

so as to not let this degenerate into a pedantic rambling; let me simply say, "how's about you win something -anything- before you start blowing off your mouth about playing in the men's u.s. open or the masters. playing on the big-boys tour is fun and all that; but why don't you try to experience the sensation of winning on the women's tour before getting in over your head with far superior talent. right now, you are merely the golf equivalent of anna kournikova...just less hot."

some say that she is more than welcome to play on the tour because she attracts so much attention on tour and sells alot of tickets. this is definitely true; but, courtney love teeing it up would get alot of attention too, and i don't see anyone giving her any exemptions. i guess they are equally qualified...neither one has ever won a professional event.

i realize this is a 16 year-old girl i'm writing about, so some part of me is ashamed for feeling so much animosity towards a kid i don't know; but, i hope she blows up tommorrow too.

respect your elders

about a month ago, i received unexpected and uninvited news. i am still wrestling with the outcome of this change in my life.

charlotte and i were asked to go to the stake center to meet with a friend of mine who is a counselor in the stake presidency. i really had no idea what they could possibly want with me, but the formality of the meeting assured me that it wasn't anything to do with a tee time.

i was informed that a change was being made in the bishopric in our ward, and our bishop had requested that i act as one of his counselors. i can assure you that this was close to the last thing that i expected to come out of his mouth. i didn't know how to react, so for a while, i didn't. when i could think of something to say, what erupted from my lips was "so, what do i have to do?" after discussing what would be expected of me (including the dreaded "wearing of the suit") charlotte gave her approval when asked. i said, "well, of course i will do it, although i am going to need alot of help and training." i was assured that i would have ample opportunities for instruction and guidance.

i was quite upset over this change for a while. i am not one to tell a priesthood leader that i am not willing to accept a request to serve the Lord; but, i was certainly not pleased with the situation:

1. i already had a calling in church that i loved and i didn't want to jeapordize that position. i taught seminary last year, and it was the best calling i have ever had in the church. i am no longer allowed to teach this class. someone else has replaced me.

2. i am not one who seeks church leadership. too often, people think that if you are in a position of leadership in the church that you must be overly pious, doctrinally omniscient, and perpetually ready with the paramount in problem-solving perspective. i am none of these things.

3. in order to be in a bishopric, i had to be ordained a high priest. this was, perhaps, the biggest blow. i enjoyed being an elder. i have always considered the elders to be the guys in the ward that really get things done. need a service performed? call the young guys, they'll get it done. how's that family doing? i don't know, ask the elder's quorum president. your kid is sick? call the elders, they'll be right over to give a blessing. i know that the high priests and the relief society do these things, too. i am just telling you how i have always seen things.

4. i was an elder's quorum president in the past, and i really enjoyed that position. obviously i'll never do that again.

5. the last thing that i can think of that concerned me was the make-up of our ward. there are not alot of young couples in our ward. subsequently, there are not alot of elders in our ward. i was concerned that by taking two of the active members of the elder's quorum and making them high priests, we would be further weakening what i perceived to be a struggling organization. goes to show what i know. in the last 5 weeks 5 new, young couples have moved into our ward. i understand there is another family coming in the next few weeks. lucky thing the Lord is in charge. it is abundantly obvious that left to my own devices, i would run things into the ground.

so far, this calling is nice. people seem to be excited for me -exactly WHY- i can't say...but excited, nevertheless. i feel the desire to talk to people i have only nodded to in the past. this behavior is good for me, as i am more desirous of isolation in my natural state. umm, i'm not sure what else, at this point.

the down side is that it seems like more meetings than anything else. as elder's quorum president, we went out two nights a week and visited people we felt needed to be visited. maybe they hadn't been home-taught in a while; maybe we knew they were going through a difficult time; or maybe they just were people we felt could use a visit from us. i enjoyed this kind of service. it made me feel like i was doing something important and making a personal difference to the individual. i'm sure we will do these kinds of activities also; but, usually my nights out involve being up at the church building, being seen, shaking hands, attending the meetings going on up there, and putting out small fires. that's o.k., and i know it makes a difference to people to have me around because they are misled into thinking that i am someone important based solely on my current calling; but it isn't what i would choose to do with my time.

my solace is that i know as long as i am doing what the bishop asks of me, i am doing what the Lord needs me to do at the time. i can do that.

there's more pretty girls than one

i love lyle lovett. i don't know him; but, if i did, i imagine i would like him personally; though what i mean here is that i love his music. certainly, he is in my top 5 recording artists.

i remember when he was married to julia roberts. at the time it was very fashionable to ridicule him in print as being the "toad" or "ugly duckling" in their relationship. i felt differently. i figured she was the peter lawford in the arrangement...a marginally talented "beautiful person" trying to increase her value by tagging along with unmeasured talent. very few agreed with me. whatever.

before i discovered lyle lovett; and, eventually, met my sister-in-law (and her family) ; i wasn't aware that there were highly intelligent people who entered and subsequently graduated from texas a&m. i was pleased to be proven wrong.

charlotte and i have seen him 3 or 4 times in concert. the first time, we decided to buy tickets at the last minute. we were literally in the very last row of the majestic theater. it didn't matter, the concert was fantastic. we left the theater and immediately went to a record store to purchase all his music we didn't already own. we still love it all.

tonight i was listening to lyle's music in my car. the lyrics of my two favorite songs are included here. i wonder if i will ever tire of hearing his east texas drawl ease clever and poignant lyrics into a microphone. i hope not.

NOBODY KNOWS ME

And I like cream in my coffee
And I like to sleep late on Sunday
And nobody knows me like my baby
And I like eggs over easy
With flour tortillas
And nobody knows me like my baby

And nobody holds me
And nobody knows me
Nobody knows me like my baby

But it was a dream made to order
South of the border
And nobody knows me like my baby
And she cried man how could you do it
And I swore that there weren't nothing to it
But nobody knows me like my baby

And nobody holds me
And nobody knows me
Nobody knows me like my baby

And I like cream in my coffee
And I hate to be alone on Sunday
And nobody knows me like my baby



THIS OLD PORCH

This old porch is like a big old red and white Hereford bull
Standing under a mesquite tree
Out in Agua Dulce
And he just keeps on playing hide and seek
With that hot August sun
Just a-sweatin' and a-pantin'
Cause his work is never done

And this old porch is like a steaming, greasy plate of enchiladas
With lots of cheese and onions
And a guacamole salad
And you can get'em down at the LaSalle Hotel
In old downtown
With iced tea and a waitress
And she will smile every time

And this old porch is the Palace walk-in
On the main street of Texas
That's never seen the day
Of G and R and Xs
With that '62 poster
That's almost faded down
And a screen without a picture
Since Giant came to town

And this old porch is like a weathered, gray-haired
Seventy years of Texas
Who's doing all he can
Not to give in to the city
And he always takes the rent late
So long as I run his cattle
And he picks me up at dinnertime
And I listen to him rattle

He says the Brazos still runs muddy
Just like she's run all along
And there ain't never been no cane to grind
The cotton's all but gone
And you know this brand new Chevrolet
Hell it was something back in '60
But now there won't nobody listen to him
'Cause they all think he's crazy

And this old porch is just a long time
Of waiting and forgetting
And remembering the coming back
And not crying about the leaving
And remembering the falling down
And the laughter of the curse of luck
From all of those passerby
Who said we'd never get back up

This old porch is just a long time
Of waiting and forgetting
And remembering the coming back
And not crying about the leaving
And remembering the falling down
And the laughter of the curse of luck
From all of those sons-of-bitches
Who said we'd never get back up

can you recommend a good place?

one of the things we have tried to teach our son is the importance of the temples of the Lord. perhaps his real interest began when the temple in san antonio was being built. as we live in an area close to the temple, and are in san antonio often; we made much effort to visit the temple site often in order to observe its progress from foundation to completed facility. he loves to see the temples and has 8 x 11 prints of a couple of dozen of these beautiful monuments to our desire to serve God.

a new tradition has been started in our family over the past couple of years. when we go on a vacation we make efforts to go out of our way to walk the grounds of the temples in the area we are visiting. due to lack of time and child care, we aren't generally able to enter the temple for worship. instead, we walk the beautifully manicured gardens of the temple and take photos of jackson with the temple in the background. occasionally all three of us are in the photo, but more often than not; it is just the little j-man. we sit for a few minutes and think about our family and why the temple is an important place to us.

last summer, we went to las vegas, nevada. we visited temples in las vegas; st. george, utah; and mesa, arizona. the mesa temple is, perhaps my favorite temple, so it was nice to be able to sit in its shadow once again. its design -reminiscent of the temple of solomon- is so classic and simple and beautiful. st. george is a fabulous building, and its place as the oldest working lds temple holds special weight with me, as well.

this summer we visited 11 temples on our way to and from salt lake city, utah. of course, the salt lake temple is the great, glorious traditional temple of the church; and, it is every bit as beautiful in person. it was a considerable disappointment that we left utah without entering this house of the Lord for education and inspiration.

here are the temples we visited this last week. i've included pictures with some of them:

-monticello, utah
-provo, utah
-mount timpanogos, utah
-jordan river, utah
-salt lake city, utah
-bountiful, utah
-ogden, utah
-logan, utah
-manti, utah
-albuquerque, new mexico
-lubbock, texas

it won't get any better than this; and it will never be this good again. i hope jackson isn't too disappointed next year with only 3 or 4 temples in the rotation.

who knew horace greely was so prescient?

i have mentioned in the past that one of my great loves is the american west. i am fascinated by the lawmakers and the law breakers. i love the story of the american indian, although it breaks my heart to consider their history with the white eyes. i love the tales of exploration, discovery, and freedom that are found in the past. some of this adventure - well-tempered, of course - can still be found if you know where to look.

one of the things i love the most about the west is the terrain. even these many years later, one can easily see the rugged, forbidding nature of this wilderness that caused our ancestors so much anguish and labor as they attempted to tame it. its beauty (in its divesity) is something that doesn't cease to bring me joy. mountains, bluffs, sandstone sculpture, canyons, desert, mesas, spring-fed pools and snow-fed rivers are distributed across the west. it is beautiful.

we just returned from a road trip to salt lake city, utah. charlotte was to attend a conference, and jackson and i tagged along for the experience.

the drive from san marcos to salt lake is a long one. we passed through the hill country of central texas and the desert of west texas before turning north to the high desert of central new mexico. this land doesn't appear to hold much that would entice a man to settle here, but that is just what occurred in this place. this area is the origin of the chisolm trail and the home of billy the kid and the lincoln county war. the navajo have considered it sacred from time unknown.

in gallup, new mexico we spent the night at el rancho hotel. built by the brother of d.w. griffith on the edges of route 66, the el rancho is approaching its 70th birthday. it was the jumping off point for the production of dozens of westerns filmed in the gallup area in the 30's, 40's, and 50's. ronald reagan, barbara stanwyk, kirk douglas, humphrey bogart, and betty hutton are some of the famous past guests at the el rancho. we stayed in the alan ladd suite. it is a grand old place and worth the effort to find it. by the way, those in the know purchase american indian jewelry and art in gallup. the quality is fantastic, and the prices are highly affordable when compared to santa fe, phoenix, et al.

after driving through the navajo reservation in new mexico and utah, we arrived in moab, utah. the arches national park, canyon lands national park and monument valley are all within a short drive of this beautiful, red treasure. think big thunder mountain railroad...but for real.

from there it was through the valleys and over the mountain passes to provo, and salt lake city. although at the foot of a beautiful mountain range, i was slightly disappointed in salt lake city. perhaps i have been tainted by the too frequent exultation offered by lovers of the salt lake area. by contrast; the cache valley, which houses logan, utah is wonderful.

on our way home from salt lake city, we drove south on I 15 to I 70 and turned east. there began a 110 mile stretch of the interstate which contains access to no services at all. it was well worth the inconvenience. we were treated to a continuing array of beautiful topography. the crest of each mesa seemed to reveal a new type of canyon different from the ones preceding it. the only shame was that i was unable to appreciate it as much as i could have had i not been required to focus on the roadway as much as i was. it was a glorious stretch of natural beauty.





we made our way through moab -again- on our way to durango, colorado. durango is an old mining town in the tops of the mountains. charlotte and i spent much of our first vacation in durango, and we love returning to this mountain village as often as we are able. of course we stayed at the strater hotel, which is one of our favorite hotels. the strater is nearing its 120th year anniversary. it is a restored victorian hotel which housed louis lamour while he wrote much of his sackett family anthology. we'll always return to the strater. we went to the bar-d chuckwagon and even jackson had a good time.

the only event worth noting from durango to home was our short stop at the blue hole. it was crowded and loud, but the water was still cold enough to make me catch my breath and blue enough to strain belief. swimming in the blue hole almost makes me believe in the thinking behind the idea of "healing waters." don't laugh; i wrote "almost."



i loved this trip immensely despite the great distance traveled. i am fortunate to have been able to share these places and experience with my beautiful wife and the little boy that i love so much. this is what really makes these things so valuable to me.

i can't wait to return, even if it's to a place i've never been.