Occupation of Independence

Young people probably tune-out oldsters when certain phrases come out, such as "I remember when...," or "It happened 50 years ago, but I remember it just like yesterday." But the thing is, good ol' Gramps was right after all.  Because it was 50 years ago when my Grandpa -- a lifelong farmer -- was reminiscing about his one and only scenery vacation to Colorado.  There was a change in the barbed wire fences when he reached the Great Plains compared to a Prairie State further east.  Then he caught himself, smirked, and said, "You don't want to hear about that.  A young man needs so much excitement..."  And I can remember it like yesterday, dammit. Indeed, I have noticed how satisfied I can be with things that don't seem flashy or exciting.  The other night it defied the weather forecasts and gave us a nice little shower at 4 in the morning.  On the morning dog walk I was impressed by how fresh the sagebrush and grass smelled.  It was dead calm....

Fuses blew and circuit breakers snapped open.  Such was my head when I learned that the only laundromat in town would not accept quarters.  They wanted me to pay upfront for a card, and then use a credit/debit card to load up a balance on the card.  The instructions were printed on the wall.  About 16 steps were needed. As an alternative, I could download an app onto my phone and pay that way.  I was shocked to learn that the washing and drying machines were connected via bluetooth to the customers' phone, so no card was necessary. from istockphoto.com There was a telephone number on the wall.  Amazingly enough, a human being answered it.  He explained that the former laundromat owner went out of business partly due to vandalism of quarters at the machines.  The man who answered my call was a personable young fellow, and soon he had me in the mood to see this whole infuriating experience as a game to have fun with.  The app wanted me to set u...

What could be more shameful than your country actively aiding the extermination of a people?  It makes an individual in America tune the whole thing out -- it is too depressing to think about.  But that will just guarantee that the murderous people win.  The alternative is to look for some help, some escape, from this shame. Apparently elections are a false hope.  We have had a Democrat administration and now a Republican administration actively participating in the slaughter in Gaza.  To hell with the Blue versus the Red -- in either case, the Media and Congress are complete slaves to the Israeli lobby. If we back off from the daily news and take in a long-term view, we see public assemblies going through fundamental changes from time to time, typically because of some crisis.  Think of the changes the English Parliament has had over the last few centuries.  Or consider King Louis XVI reconvening the French Estates-General, only to watch them reconst...

There is no shortage of postcard scenery in northeastern Oregon.  I could have camped at a spot where this view would literally have been out the front door:  And I enjoyed the view for a few seconds, but quickly lost interest.  I wanted to find something that wasn't such a tourist  cliché.  What sort of surprises could I find out here, if any? There was a sagebrush and grass ridge that made for surprises and delights.  Those are the words I use when I can pedal my bike uphill in something other than granny gear.  It was proving to be a great ride.  Near the high end we ran across this: The mountains were OK, but what really grabbed me was the soft, gently uphill curves on that dirt road. There wasn't much traffic on my dirt road.  But there were more houses than expected.  Perhaps this was an old mining town.   The locals weren't the kind of people you would probably want to talk to.  They were stereotypical rural yahoos ...