Lucky

I consider myself lucky. I have more than I need and just about everything I want. I have people who love and care for me. I get to do the things I want to do - for the most part.

I've known other people who are incredibly lucky. Their raffle ticket always gets drawn. Their errant golf shot hits a tree and rolls onto the green. They suck the luck out of the air so that no one else has any. (You know who you are Larry!)

But last week at the inspector conference I witnessed something that was beyond incredibly lucky. There were three drawings. One for an infrared camera, one for a 50" HD TV, and one for $500 cash. The same guy won all three! All. Three. They were all on the last day but not at the same time and you had to be present to win. All I could think was "Dude. You need to get down to the casino! Now! This can't last."

Essentials

To me, essentials are equivalent to necessities. Things you need. When I go in to a camping store, I expect them to have the things I need, like toilet paper and dish detergent. (So I was more than a bit disappointed when we went to FunTown at Winstar and the store that should have had the necessities wasn't even open.)

Last week we were at the Golden Nugget in Las Vegas for an inspection conference. I needed some Tylenol (I think the smoke that permeates the place was giving me daily headaches) and Mark needed hearing aid batteries. Essential.

Now, the store that was on the lobby floor was even called "Essentials" - so you would expect them to have those necessities. We could get the Tylenol but not the hearing aid batteries. For those we would have to venture out two blocks on Fremont Street to a Walgreens. Now, you could get batteries for your camera, your flashlight, and any number of gadgets, but not for your hearing aids. I think someone may be confused about what is and is not "essential".

Some of the other things the Essentials store had - water (yes, absolutely essential to life) beer (not so essential - although some might argue.) This store also had decks of cards, souvenir shot glasses, and t-shirts, which I suppose could be essential if you lost your shirt in the casino.

Today's Music Ain't Got the Same Soul

Ah, Motown in the 60s and 70s. Nothing better. Not sure about now. For the most part, I only listen to oldies. I know some of those old groups are still out there. Like the Temptations. We went to see them on Sunday. One of them (the guy in the middle of the photo) was in the original group that has been performing for 58 years. Assuming that he was 18 when he started (and I don't know, I'm assuming) then he would be 76 now. Good for him! Great job!

But one thing that really stood out for me was the song lyrics. My Girl (my favorite) - "I've got sunshine on a cloudy day." The Way You Do the Things You Do - "You got a smile so bright, you know you could have been a candle."  Lady Soul - "You are my life, you make me whole".

No bitches and hoes. Except for a few "social commentary songs" it's all about how good that woman makes you feel and how lucky you are to have her or how awful it's going to be to lose her.

 Assuming that popular music is a reflection of society, I have to wonder what happened. The 60s and 70s were decades of great social upheaval and strife - far from idyllic. And what I'm going to say next is a broad generalization but I think that back then, song lyrics reflected our ideals more than our reality.  Anyone else have any thoughts on the subject?

Remote Control

As we were driving through Kansas and Wyoming (and some parts of Colorado) I noticed vast farms and ranches. In Kansas I saw a  big farmhouse, several barns and outbuildings, some grain silos and then nothing else for miles around. In Wyoming I saw a mailbox and a fence - and some cows. Apparently the house was too far away to be seen from the road.

I wonder what it would be like to grow up in a place like that. I'm guessing it takes a long time to get to school. Or maybe the kids (assuming there are kids) are home schooled. I wonder what it would be like to live in such a place as an adult. You'd almost certainly be working on the farm or ranch because other places of employment would be too far away, unless of course you could work from home. You might have issues with your neighbors' animals getting into your fields, but you wouldn't get your panties in a wad over your neighbor's failure to mow his lawn or the color he painted his house because you'd probably never see it. But what do you do if you need an ambulance? Or the fire department?

I grew up in a small town with plenty of neighborhood kids to play with. I could ride my bicycle into town. I could walk to school and stop at the local soda fountain for an ice cream on my way home. When I was in sixth grade we moved to a more rural area. I thought we had moved out in the sticks. We had just under five acres but there were still a few friends within walking distance and I don't think anyone at school lived on hundreds of acres. I took a bus to school because it wasn't safe to walk - but it didn't take all day.

And now I'm back to living in a small town. At least it's small for now. (Not as small as it was when I moved here 36 years ago.) But all the changes are good. We've got three restaurants within walking distance. (Four if you count the one we don't go to.) An international airport is less than an hour away. Two grocery stores, nail salons and additional restaurants are less than 20 minutes away. There's a shopping mall and several cinemas about 30 minutes away with new ones that will be closer "coming soon".  Plus a shoe store (DSW) just opened up in that 20 minute range. What else do I need?

I don't think really remote living would suit me.

A Yellowstone Traffic Jam

I was on the lookout for bears, elk, wolves, antelope, and bison. I saw antelope on the way to the park, usually a bit too distant for a good photograph. If they were close enough, we were going too fast to get the photo. We didn't see any bears or elk. We might have seen a wolf - we couldn't be certain whether it was a wolf or a coyote. The color appeared a bit light to be a wolf, but it didn't seem scruffy enough to be a coyote. But what we did see plenty of was bison. They are just about everywhere except in the canyons. You can see their footprints all around the geysers and hot springs. (All the places where humans are warned to stay on the path.) Clearly they don't fear those warning signs. They are responsible for most of the traffic jams in the park. The speed limit in the park never exceeds 45 mph. Safer for everyone. But when people see bison, either in herds or one or two along the road, they stop. Most of the folks who are stopped are taking photos. Eventually the traffic moves. However, if one or more bison decide to get in the road, everything stops. It stops until they decide to move. If it's an entire herd crossing the road you could be in for a wait. They have the right of way and they don't seem to be afraid of people or cars.

Water in Yellowstone

Lake Yellowstone is the largest lake in the park. Lewis Lake looks small on the map but huge when you're looking at it, plus there are a number of other smaller lakes and ponds. There are also rivers - Yellowstone River, Firehole River, Snake River, and Gibbon River to name a few. And almost all of them have a waterfall or two on them.

If you go to the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, you'll see the falls on the Yellowstone River. Again, I know we just scratched the surface of what is there. We had our hiking boots but given the altitude, we were reluctant to hike much of anywhere. What we saw are the things that are easy to get to. I can only imagine that there is so much more.

Yellowstone National Park - Hot Spots

Yellowstone National Park - the nation's first national park. Sometimes it's hard to top the original. It is vast. It is unique. It is stunning. We decided to divide our visit into sections - the thermal features, and then the water features. The thermal features include geysers, fumaroles, hot springs and mud pots. Some are clear blue and appear to be very deep. You can see the water boiling, just like it would at home on your stove. Others appear to be a cauldron of steaming mud. Some smell of sulphur and others have no smell at all. In many places you see mineral deposits that have the appearance of snow at a distance, but as you get closer you realize it isn't snow. We spent four days in the park and I feel that we barely scratched the surface. A good reason to go back!

Old Faithful - the park's most famous geyser

One of many hot springs

Mammoth Hot Springs

Mammoth Hot Springs

Hot water from the springs making its way to the Firehole River

The Grand Prismatic Hot Spring

Boiling mud

The Dragon's Mouth

The ground appears to be dusted in snow