On The (Other) Road ~ 1

Dear RSVP Group,

I've long had a notion (probably common) that one of the things one

can do in the 'After Life' is review one's Earth Passage . . .

celestial Tivo or something.

The problem, of course: it'd take 58 years to (re)view 58 years . . .

unless there's fast forward.

"On the [Other] Road" is kind of like that.

This is posting from Ft. Lauderdale, FL. In an hour or so, I depart

for N. Miami Beach, FL / Adele's.

I composed what follows yesterday . . . but it cyber-vanished moments

before I was ready to send. No time to retrieve . . . AmTrak departed

in about 1.5 hrs. and the walk back to the station was approx. 3 mi.

So, back to YESTERDAY . . . while NOW unfolds.

* * *

I'm reading / writing this from the Library / Learning Center of the

Hillsborough Community College in Tampa, FL.

At 12:45 p.m. I board AmTrak for Ft. Lauderdale. I intended to take

the train to Adele's tomorrow, but seats for Friday were sold out. I

don't want to arrive a day early, so will overnight w/ an old friend -

Valerie Ong and her longtime partner Tony (Reggae drummer from

Belieze.)

Val is THE reason I found Bar Harbor . . .

Graduating early from Vanderbilt to join her in Aix-en-Provence (doing

her junior year abroad), I traveled for days . . . to discover Val's

French teacher had fallen for her. My presence was not entirely

welcome.

Back then, I had NO idea what 'feelings' were . . . much less what I

might BE feeling. After a very brief . . . 'so what do I do NOW'. . .

in Paris, I returned to the USA.

February 1972 . . . limbo . . . I did not want to return to Nashville

or Florida. Why not hitch up the New England coast, see what I might

find to occupy myself for 6 months until I make the turn to Law

School.

It was one of the snowiest Winters in memory (MY memory at least . . .

) Still, I traveled easily, circling one community on the map and then

another. After reaching Eastport, Maine (arbitrary destination), I

planned to return to 3 or 4 circles, pick one, and settle for a bit.

When I got to MDI / Bar Harbor , I felt as if I had found THE place!

A job and place to live in the middle of Winter '72 was another matter

. I backtracked to Ellsworth, rented a small apartment next to St.

Joseph's Catholic Church, got hired to clean the church (a.k.a.

janitor), and began to draw / paint one of the post-Christmas

poinsettias every day until it died from lack of water.

The poinsettia NEVER died.

I never went to Law School.

* * *

9.4.08

In addition to adjusting the Adele visit, I'm making other adjustments.

- Weekend w/ Grandma.

- Monday morning, I visit Sherri's Mom and take the car for delivery

to Maryland.

I'll pause to visit Doe's best friend Margie (she now resides w/ her

daughter in a very small, off the beaten trail, town in Georgia . . .

approx. 6 hrs. N. of West Palm Beach.)

Then, instead of visiting 'sites of interest / potential futures

(i.e. Beauford, SC, Wilmington, NC, the Redeveloped Baltimore

Waterfront, the Holocaust Museum in D.C., Burlington, VT / Sassaman's,

etc . . . )

- I'll visit w/ the Clixby-Crains for a couple of days / stop to see

Cheryl + Chris Corson (33 miles away. They purchased one of the LARGE

Polaroids from the DoeGlow Show.) Then,

- Book it to the Rockies as quickly / cost effectively as possible!

There are a few things I'd like to do in early-October (Midwest / VT

in particular), but can be more present then / there if I have a job /

place to live FIRST . . .

I'm not entirely vagabond-ish.

* * *

'Color' (stories from the road so far), musings, and commentary should

fill the NEXT chapter . . .

(Did you see / hear Palin's acceptance speech last night?! "What's the

difference between a bulldog and a hockey mom? . . . )

I think Conservative Talk Show Host Glenn Beck . . .

(http://www.glennbeck.com) . . . "The Future of Talk Radio: Where

Entertainment Meets Enlightenment"

. . . wrote her speech?!

As they say in Peanuts: "Agggggggghhh . . ."

PeaceOut,

Bob

P.S. If you have ideas about, contacts with, suggestions for my Rocky

Mountain Ski Search . . . thank you in advance.