Occupation of Independence

 Do you ever think you are too easily and eternally pleased with something, and that you should try harder to be dissatisfied?  Maybe you just aren't raising the high jump bar high enough? Ahh, but what a fine thing it is to be completely satisfied, time after time, year after year!  When I find a spot in Arizona that isn't choked with chollas, like some places: ... I am satisfied with it -- with no questions asked.  We can put up with cactus spines and goathead thorns with no problem.  But damn those chollas! And here we were, finding another interesting arroyo within walking distance of my camper.  We had never walked this one before.  It was pleasantly cool and was totally unused by the motor-crazed morons.  What a nice surface it was for doggie paws. I unsnapped her because she usually stays confined to the arroyo proper.  And running free is so much fun for her.  Then the coyotes started yipping, close.  She is only 21 pounds, ...

 I stubbornly cling to the notion that it is good for a person to pay attention to what it is happening in the world.  But it is important to give yourself some relief, some soothing thoughts, during all this. For Americans, books and movies about the Battle of Midway can provide soothing thoughts.  On the British side of the pond, it might be even easier.  I downloaded "Mrs. Miniver" from  Archive.org .  In the movie, Brits of all classes were working together.  Nobody had any doubt about the necessity of the war.  Everybody knew who the good guys and the bad guys were. Such a mindset is a bit believable.  People got their news from the BBC , virtually a branch of the British government.  Naturally that does not make for brutal truth-telling.  But that is not our concern in this post -- soothing is. The movie had quite an effect on me.  Everybody was so polite and wore such nice clothes.  The actresses were lovely, ...

 " Independence " is an easy word to praise.  It is not so easy to practice.  Once this winter a friendly camping-neighbor approached me.  We had several good and long conversations.  These days I try to respond positively when somebody else takes the initiative, but I never take the initiative myself.  Call it the 'triumph of experience over hope.' Spending so much time alone makes a person feel a bit unhinged or cranky.  You are free to develop opinions that are out-of-step with the ignorant masses.  Then you wonder if you are getting a little crazy or whether the other people are. For instance I have rolled my eyes at the pickup truck trend of the last 20 years.  Finally I ran into a channel that put out the same sort of rant that I do.  Validated, at last!  It is fun to find worthwhile channels on You Tube and to shout them out.  

 A strong hiker once told me that he disliked walking on the loose gravel of arroyos in the desert.  But dogs love a surface like that -- only a beach could be better.  Every now and then you find an arroyo that has a packed, tight surface.  Sometimes this happens after rains.  But most arroyos are indeed rather loose to walk on.   Somehow I only recently noticed the firmer and higher arroyos that run parallel to the main arroyos.  For fun, let's call them arroyos altos , using fake Spanish.  Apparently arroyos altos see water flow much less frequently than the main arroyo, arroyo bajo .  Therefore the arroyo alto has less rounded, pebble-like gravel.  And it has more dirt and vegetation.  But it isn't as sharp and uncomfortable as the main part of the desert. While enjoying walking on one of these arroyos altos the other day, my dog took after her first jackrabbit of the entire winter!  With all the green vegetation in...