Occupation of Independence

 An English-speaking North American doesn't get too much of a chance to experience drastically different cultures while traveling in North America.  So when that traveler goes through an Indian Rez , it can be seen as a long-overdue chance to experience a different culture.  New Mexico has quite a few Native American reservations . There are people -- usually from blue counties on the coast or Europe -- who think there is something chic about the Rez, with all the art and handicrafts.  That was particularly true in the tourist town I was in.  I am not so taken in by all that.  I expect theft, homelessness, and pitiful dogs hanging out at gas stations. So there are at least two ways to see Reservations.  My purpose here is not to decide which viewpoint is the correct one, but rather, to use the tension between these two viewpoints to have a more interesting travel experience. An uncollared dog was walking around the parking lot.  The nearby high...

I will spare the long-suffering reader my stump speech, and write only about fresh manifestations or embodiments of it.  A great example of that happened lately in a small mountain range in southeastern Arizona . There was a secondary tourist attraction nearby.  The rocks were fun to look at.  And there was a little bit of history, too. I avoided most of the visitors, and chose a nearby area that featured a different kind of scenery.  The grass had big seedheads on it -- it looked like a kitchen scrub brush.  This grass was tawny and was left over from the last monsoon season .  Just imagine how lush it seemed at the end of last year's monsoon season -- it is no exaggeration to call it a miracle. And there were water resources in my hills, as well.  That is no small thing in Arizona.  The hills were soft, feminine, and useful: I sighed with relief when thinking about these things.  And so I want to know: do other long-term travelers out-grow...

What luck!  I like the 1964 movie, "Becket", and while searching for it on You Tube they suggested a new digital restoration of the movie on the Shakespeare Network.  The movie had twice the effect on me because of Khamenei's murder in his home, just a couple weeks ago. During the movie, analogies came to mind between the victims of King Henry II (of Normandized England) and Iranians' attitude towards martyrdom.  The analogies fizzled out quickly and then reappeared.  It was all quite tantalizing. The characters in "Becket" were always talking about honor.  King Henry II claimed an aristocratic woman (who was in love with Becket) just as a test of how loyal Becket would be when the chips were down.  Would Becket live up to a previous promise to Henry II by turning the woman over to Henry? When the woman learned that Becket was relinquishing her to King Henry II she said to Becket, "You've not found anything in the world to care for, have you?...

Somewhere in Arizona I saw this protest message.  It is probably caused by requirements for expensive, replacement, gasoline, storage tanks at gasoline stations, such as in California?  Well, I have long ago confessed to being a geo-bigot and love to make fun of California politics and culture. Be that as it may, shouldn't the protest message really say something like: "Keep Trumpanyahu's war policies out of Arizona tanks."  My goodness, this could turn into an expensive travel season.

 Ahh dear, the premature heat wave!  But there was some good news on this morning's ride.  For one thing, the discomfort made the experience less touristy and more authentic.  Also I actually encountered a well-designed gate on some BLM land .  Yes, I know that it sounds silly for a grown man to get excited about such things -- but I do! This isn't so silly when you consider how I struggle with these gates from time to time.  And how you go away with torn clothes.   And can you believe I was admiring something as simple as a lone, yellow flower that was different than the yellow/orange poppies you expect at this time of year: My goodness, I am becoming too easy to please!  But, back to the gate issue.  I rode down a small hill, and not too fast, because I was feeling hot and thirsty and a little punch-drunk.  It was only the last few feet that I realized that this gate was semi-invisible: I managed to get stopped, but just barely. T...

 There is a way to find an 'off-ramp' to the geopolitical crisis brought on by Trumpanyahu's attack on Iran and their murder of Iran's leader. 1. Eliminate all American sanctions against the nation of Iran. 2. Remove American military bases from Iraq and the Persian Gulf. 3. Make Israel submit to international inspection for nuclear weapons. These three things are all feasible.  And they are no threat to the American economy or military security.  So what's the problem?  We would simply need an American president who was loyal to America.  Is that asking too much?

I felt it welling up inside me: disgust and anger.  And yet it was glorious! Arizona is having a February heat wave , as if being ungawdly hot for 9 months a year isn't good enough.  And I was working outdoors, during the heat of the day, on rebuilding my wooden leveling ramps.  I tried to work in the shadow of my van, but the verticality of the sun in late February was making that difficult. "Glorious" in the first paragraph was not meant to be theatrical or facetious.  This is ranch country in southeastern Arizona, and it has become quite the little tourist trap, commemorating its glorious cowboy past.  But how do you experience the reality of ranching in 1890?  By looking at pretty sunsets?  By researching the area on the internet?  By going on a ranger-led hike?   Hell no, it ain't about prettiness, although there is quite a bit of beauty here: It is about soil and grass and grazing cattle or horses.  I still don't understand h...

 Before I left the desert-wasteland for this winter, I did a double-take at a certain saguaro cactus : You might think, What's the Big Deal.  It's just a classic saguaro postcard.  But that's the thing: I spend most of the winter in deserts that are marginal for saguaros.  You might be surprised how sickly most of them look.  The specimen above is thriving! Did it just get lucky genes?  Or are saguaros so picky about conditions, that perfect soil and weather only occur occasionally?  I wish I knew more biology .  Sometimes I start doing homework and become instantly bored with all the jargon and memorization needed. How could plants so picky about conditions even come into being, in the first place?  And then you have plants and critters on the other side of the spectrum: they are so adaptable or so tolerant that they can live just about anywhere.  Consider the coyote as the perfect example of that. At any rate, we have fled the desert ...

 Do you remember how people watched, time after time, the 9/11 videos of the Twin Towers coming down?  People couldn't believe what they were seeing.  There was some cheering in various parts of the world.  The gist of it only took a couple spectacular seconds. What would happen if Iran sends some missiles into the big, beautiful armada of the Trumpanyahu regime?  Imagine a burning, smoking aircraft carrier.  It could make for an hour of spectacular video footage.  Imagine the mighty symbol of American strength listing at an extreme angle, support ships hovering nearby trying to rescue lifeboats, sailors jumping off the sloped deck into the water, and flames and fuel explosions! It might provoke a world record of  schadenfreude.   That wouldn't be surprising, considering that Washington DC and Israel might be the two most hated nations in the world. In the future, history books would always show this image when writing about the end of the A...

 Whether it is good or bad, I seldom try to watch new movies.  But I made an exception on Tubitv.com with " The Music of Silence ", a semi-biographical story of the blind singer , Andrea Bocelli .  It deserves praise for a good story and the lack of the usual components of modern movies, such as insane violence, bedroom scenes, rainbow flag worship, etc. It is enjoyable for most viewers to stick for an underdog, and that is especially so for a blind person.  But it is almost too easy.  Most people remember the " Miracle Worker ", with Anne Bancroft and Patty Duke , in the Helen Keller story.  So the path has already been well explored.  Halfway through the movie, I started to think that the viewer needed more of a challenge, in the same way that an outdoorsman needs to get off of heavily-used trails that have a brown, carsonite sign every 100 steps. Much to the movie's credit, it showed a scene when a heavy female singer spontaneously joined Bocel...

 The ATV'er slowed down and then stopped to talk.  Was he a javelina hunter ?  It turned out that he was a ranch hand at a nearby ranch.  He was taking out big brown blocks of food for the cattle.  I love asking questions about How Things Work and how people make a living.  And how animals make a living. He was quite scientific about the nutrition of these big blocks, but struggled a bit with the verbiage.  Finally I helped by saying, "So you mean that even the ranchers near [redacted] are hippie-dippies ?"  He nodded yes and laughed. Our talk helped me slip into my annual infatuation phase with grasslands and trees in southeastern Arizona .  That might sound strange to some people, but spend a couple months in mid-winter along the lower Colorado River and you will feel a lust for anything that isn't rubble or cholla . Arizona Sycamore Tawny grass and live oaks Planet Earth certainly has some goodies, but the desert isn't one of them. T...

 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...

For over 50 years, the specter of 'Iran closing the Strait of Hormuz' has haunted the world.  Is it a realistic fear?  Doesn't Iran need to sell its oil as badly as China needs to get the oil?  Why would Iran want to hurt BRICS countries?  China is providing some assistance to Iran these days, so it is not in Iran's interest to weaken a developing alliance. Of course, closing the Strait shuts off the oil from the Arab states, and not just from Iran.  This would make the Arab countries more hostile to Iran in an era when Iran is trying to become friendlier to Arab states on the Persian Gulf.  Some of the Arab countries have closed their airspace to Israeli-American bombing of Iran.  But was this done out of the goodness of their hearts or perhaps because Iran threatened to close the Strait? How selective could the closing off of the Strait of Hormuz be?  Iran doesn't really have the navy to provide protective convoys to friendly countries. These ar...

Hegseth et al. must be thinking: Can you believe these nambie-pambies and their "stupid rules of engagements?"  Americans seem resistant to Trump's desire to impose IDF ( Israel Defense Forces) methods across America.   If he succeeds, it will be the ultimate triumph for Netanyahu and Israel.  IDF methods won't even be considered news if they become normalized.  The genocide in Gaza will magically disappear: how can it be a genocide if they are just using 'normal' law enforcement methods. After the entire population of Gaza has been exterminated, Congress can pass the " Gaza Freedom and Democracy Reconstruction Act ."  It will offer government-guaranteed 1% loans to build casinos and hotels along the Trump Riviera. I wonder how fast the grass is growing in Greenland ?

 What a great wildflower season there should be this March, in the desert.  Of course, a snowbird may leave before the wildflower season in order to escape the heat.  But the wildflowers can be impressive.  A couple years ago I wallowed in desert poppies at a well-known place near Tucson : The long-suffering reader knows that I am prone to anti-tourist snobbery.  But still, who won't admit that standard tourist-industry memes at well-known locations feels too much like 'consumption' rather than 'experience?'  And does it really do you any good to see 10 million identical specimens of a certain flower or tree? What happened yesterday was at the opposite end of the numerical spectrum.  In perfect -- that is, mildly chilly -- weather, my little dog and I were biking along, on a dirt two-track .  We were climbing.  We were huffing and puffing.  And I wasn't exactly sure it was the correct route.  Then this surprised me: It was the firs...

 When you forget about the usual (visual) orientation of human visitors to the desert, and look at it from the viewpoint of shoes and tires and dog paws, you might appreciate the importance of different types of texture.  Eskimos are supposed to have many different words for snow .  And we have the same need in the desert for all the different forms of texture: round (alluvial) gravel , sharp volcanic rocks , coarse and packed sand in arroyos, powdery dust, hardpacked desert pavement , good or bad traction, and cholla segments . I saw a new form of texture yesterday that I never thought of before, in the desert.  It was a deja vu experience.  Way back when, I ran across the advertisements for some kind of landscaping service, called " Barefoot Lawn ."  What wonderful, nostalgic images that brought to mind!  It makes a person think of running across the lawn when you were a child, on summer vacation. That is what this image brought to mind: My little d...

Several times on this blog, I have quoted Samuel Johnson 's "...as I have gotten older, I have come to call a man a good man on easier terms than before." (not an exact quote.) A corollary is to have humbler expectations of the human condition.  And that approach certainly works with You Tube .  AI rubbish is ruining You Tube.  But what can a person do about it? It has helped me to focus on some of You Tube's successes, such as musical performances .  Although it really makes no sense to make a video of instrumental music or singing, it is still a good and free way to become acquainted with music you didn't know about.  And for opera , a video does make sense. Thanks to a few seconds of opera in a movie I was rewatching, the "noooo more Rice Krispies , they're all gone, the Riiiiice Kriiiiispies!" song was brought to my attention.  You Tube had several versions of the song available.  They are all wonderful.  My favorite  "Vesti la Giubba...