Still a bumpy road, with stretches of concrete.

The Bulletin is doing a great job with their quarterly index. Nothing better than to be able to compare numbers on the same charts; it's objective and hard to dispute.

It was always their headlines that I was a little dubious of, but they've gotten much better at that.

"Our Regions Economy Edges Up." Bulletin, 8/26/12.

"...Edges Up..." seems like an acceptable, non-boosterish way to interpret the data.

Three quarters of increase seems like a minimal number to draw any conclusions from, though. And a number of the indexes are still showing the up and down bumpy road.

Two things stand out to me.

The houses sold, is actually kind of impressive, even if 40% of them were distressed sales.

And the Redmond Airport numbers and the Lodging numbers.

What these housing numbers show me, is that we are still getting retirees coming to Central Oregon. Because the jobs numbers sure don't explain it.

And the Airport and Lodging numbers show that tourism is still a strong element.

So, Retirement and Tourism have been our saving grace in all this.

But then, they always were.

As long as we understand that.

Hints and portents and rumors, Oh, my.

So we know that Regal is closing the six-plex where they tend to show art and foreign films. As I mentioned yesterday, this is consistent with their past behavior.

I'm somewhat sympathetic, in that when Linda was working there, it was clear the public really didn't support these efforts very well. Then again, it always seemed like an afterthought for Regal, and they didn't do much to support them.

There is another, persistent and consistent rumor I've been hearing for a long time, which I'm bursting to talk about, but which because of the rules of this blog (try not to publish "rumors") I have to hold off.

But if it happens, (we'll know one way or the other in October -- one way or the other, I'll either admit I was wrong, or we'll all know it) it's going to hit this town like an earthquake.

But if it happens, you can be sure I'm going to make a Very Big Deal out of the "culture and arts" myths in Bend. We like to believe we're big supporters of the arts around here, which I think is only true for "events" but not so much in the everyday sense.

In other words, we haven't had a really great history of supporting the arts, despite all the talk, in my opinion.

The arts that have hung around are always limping. Supported by other means, usually.

We want everything a big city has, but we don't really want to do the work, the daily support, and pay the price.

Ultimately, I think it comes back to the fact that the Bend area has between 150K to 200K people, which SOUNDS like enough to support the arts, but in fact isn't because we just don't really ever get any synergistic energy going.

Because we are isolated, without the infrastructure of a true university, and supported mostly by retirement and tourist industries.

As H.Bruce mentioned yesterday,

"Despite its pretensions to be some kind of highbrow culture mecca, Bend is, always has been and probably always will be a middle-brow and lowbrow town. That's why theaters showing "art" films have never lasted long here.

New York it ain't. Hell, it ain't even Boulder."

I'm not blaming anyone here. I don't think it a lack of quality citizens, or anything like that. I think it is the isolation factor.

There are no towns in Oregon, for instance, that have our situation. Towns in the valley that are similar in size, or even slightly smaller than Bend, have some major advantages over us. From Ashland to Medford to Eugene to Salem to Albany to Corvallis to Portland -- all these towns are interconnected in ways that Bend isn't to anyone else. Colleges, interstates, major industry, proximity. All have synergistic effects, which amp up the possibilities.

In Bend, we have big plans, big ambitions. But often they fall on one person's shoulders, or a very small group that over time loses its cohesion.

We don't have any extra, so to speak. We may have enough to get something started, to keep it going for awhile, but we don't have any surplus energies to fall back on.

No one's fault. Indeed, it's impressive we have as much art as we do -- because of our tourist seasons, they are at least viable part of the year. We seem to attract people who want these things to happen, which is great.

But we also shouldn't be surprised when they don't quite hold up over time.


Oops. We were wrong, but we're a bank, so what?

Thanks to Jesse Felder for pointing out that Bank of the Cascades lied (misspoke? made an error?) about its results in the last half of 2011.

The "...bank had overstated the amount of capital it had on hand relative to its assets.

The error meant the bank incorrectly reported to investors and regulators that it was in compliance with the order's Tier 1 leverage capital ratio during the last six months of 2011.

The bank in 2009 agreed to shore up its capital as part of a "cease-and-desist" order with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and the Oregon Division of Finance and Corporate Securities." THE OREGONIAN

I don't know why, but I've always been dubious of this bank, especially since it was riding so high during the bubble, that I couldn't imagine how they were escaping the consequences.

They are downplaying the "incorrect" reporting; and the way the regulators are handling banks, they'll no doubt skip right past it.

Still...I've been wondering for a long time how they are really doing....

Friday fuds.

I love family and friends.

But.....quiet. Blessed peace and quiet.

**********

I've mentioned before, I read a devastating expose of Lance Armstrong a decade ago that totally convinced me that he was a cheater. None of it was direct evidence, but one would have to be blind not to see it.

Too bad.

***********

We've got shiny new faucets, because the faucets we bought from Home Depot five years ago had cut the water flow to a dribble. The plumber convinced Linda we needed to buy good faucets from someone other than a discount house.

Our son Todd cast a little doubt on the story. Said he probably could've fixed them.

Nevertheless we have some fancy high tech looking faucets that blast water.

Linda loves gadgets and tech.

**********

Panga was waiting at the foot of my bed last night, wide-eyed innocent, like her sleeping with me was the new normal.

She squawked when I picked her up. (Our cat doesn't meow, she squinks....) Poor thing.

**********

It was only a matter of time after Regal Cinema's expanded the Old Mill Theaters before they closed the Pilot Butte branch.

They've done this three times now. (Four if you count the Tower). The three plex on third, and the four plex at the Mt.View Mall. Always self-induced failure by putting lessor movies in the older theaters.

No matter what they say.

It makes financial sense for them.

**********

I'm still hearing persistent rumors about another big box leaving that is going to shock the hell out of everyone if it comes to pass. The latest rumor came from an insider.

I'm still thinking it's some kind of hard bargaining position. But maybe not, because the complex the big box is in has had no trouble renting their spaces....

**********

I gained three pounds with all the dinners out, and beer and wine. Which is shocking how fast it came back. We'd tried to give all the snacks to Todd before he left for Portland, but there are still some laying around.

I'm going to start fresh on Labor Day.

I get a little bag of tootsie rolls from each shipment I get from one of my distributors, and I handed them out to customers yesterday.

**********

Mike wrote us out a check from the family trust for the expenses we incurred during Dad's last illness, which we'd forgotten about, and they added some because of the time and difficulty which wasn't necessary because any of them would have done the same thing but they insisted.

So we can pay off our property taxes in one fell swoop. Yea!

**********

Dreamed last night that we lived in a world where, if you played a vampire in a movie, you couldn't show your face during the daytime. That is, you had to keep up the pretense.

So some movie stars were being daring by walking in broad daylight down the avenue....

Have no idea what this dream means.

**********

Man, it sure got cold at night fast.

We had a mild summer, unlike the rest of the country. I really didn't like the heat we suffered in California, and in the southwest. Really, H. Bruce. You're nuts.

**********

It looks like The Closet is leaving Minnesota Street. Which makes that stretch of four stores a clean slate this summer, I do believe. Other than Trivia Antiques, the building has had a complete turnover. I think they expect more foot traffic than they actually get (whereas, I'm absolutely delighted with whatever foot traffic I get, because I used to get none at all.)

I'll add it to the Goings list the next time any other store comes or leaves.

**********

The End ith coming.

There is a corner preacher around the corner, who's there for about an hour or so every day. I've made light of it, just sort of shrugging my shoulders and saying, "What? You weren't convinced?"

Anyway, what is kind of humorous about it, is that he shouts at the top of his lungs, and -- that he has a pronounced lisp. I'm not making fun of the lisp, just the huge Biblical proclamations with a loud lisp.

I'm told what he's saying doesn't seem to be coming from the Great Book, most of the time.

I wouldn't know....

More thunks.

So the news has been full of articles about how the "Middle Class Share of Income Shrinks." (Bulletin, 8/23/12.) But what does one right wing site declare? Oh, that the middle class isn't middle class because they've moved UP! to upper middle class!

Really? They expect people to believe that?

**********

The article on "Bend Restaurants Are Branching Out" (Bulletin, 8/23/12) was notable for one comment, "The former home of Decoy and Bond Street Grill..."..."has gotten plenty of tenant improvement in recent years, which made the property more attractive..."

Yes, indeedy. It's what I've been saying all along, downtown Bend has this great and probably unusual feature of continually Failing Upward. And leaving beautiful corpses.

Oh, the great American urge to expand and open multiple locations. I'm feeling it myself.

And resisting with all my might.

**********

I don't feel like I have many neutral people who I can talk finances with, so it was interesting to talk to my brother Mike. All my siblings are doing well, but the gulf between their situations and mine isn't quite as huge as it used to be.

But in the end, there is always the mixed message. Save for tomorrow. Live for today.

No one has yet adequately explained to me how you can do both.


Thursday thunks.

Most of my family are heading back to their homes.

Mike wanted to take us out last night, and he mentioned Toomies, which he really likes already, but I wanted to try someplace new, so I suggested Jackalope. It's kind of my ambition to try all the fine dining restaurants of downtown Bend, one by one, at least once.

I think he wasn't expecting it to be quite so nice, based on the name. Personally, I think the name is genius -- down home enough not be intimidating to us non-foodies, while providing the full foodie experience.

Now, it's very hard for me to be a restaurant reviewer because Linda and I are pretty basic in our eating at home. All these places seem like pure ambrosia to me.

So my review of Jackalope: Pure ambrosia. They have a inside/outside court, which was quite nice. Our server was great, but they always seem to be; attractive young people. We even went and introduced ourselves to the chef and family who were eating up front (Mike's idea, I'd never do such a thing) and they knew about mine and Linda's stores.


Meanwhile, Todd spent yesterday cutting down a couple of dead junipers in our back yard -- including the one that split in half in one of last winter's storms. It makes the light seem much brighter.

I wanted to be able to show off my garden to my family, but really it hasn't been looking it's best. This year I decided not to do a lot of cutting back, or subdividing, or moving. I wanted everything just to grow and then judge how they were doing and whether I should move or remove them.

Hey, just because I'm the son of a master gardener doesn't make me a master gardener, I'm finding. I have a whole lot to learn. I need to figure out he pesticide situation, and the watering schedules, and all that kind of thing. Oh, and plants turn out to be expensive, if you want any coverage. A longterm challenge.


At Dad's memorial, my family was talking about what a storyteller Dad was and Tina was, and out of the back of the crowd I hear a voice, "And Duncan! He also is a storyteller!" or something like that, and that made me feel good and I wondered who it was. Turns out it was my son, Todd. "Yeah, they seem to forget about how much writing you do, sometimes....." he said later.

Last I saw of Todd he was heading toward Les Schwab amphitheater hoping to get a ticket to the Franti concert.


It was good to work at my store yesterday. Having so many days off a week is one thing -- I can still drop in for a couple hours at a time. But being off for a week, means up to 14 days between working and that is just too long.

Then again, I settled right into the routine again. The guys are doing a good job. I was noticing that they are really keeping the Pegasus facebook page active, and other than just a bit of squaring away, the store is fully functional when I'm not there.


Panga slept on my bed for the last two nights, which she has never really done before. Because of Todd on the couch, and the dog, Bella, and my brother downstairs. "She's seems to be fit right in," Linda commented.

"Yeah, that's what I'm afraid of..."

I'm sort of surprised that all my tossing and turning didn't disturb her, or her sitting like a lump at my feet didn't disturb me. But I've warned her -- it ain't going to become a habit.

2 + 4 equals= "what happened?"

We held Dad's memorial last night. I think that it went very nicely. We didn't get word in the paper about the event until Sunday and Monday (and this blog) but we had over 50 people show up. The room held about that many, so that was perfect.

Mike and Bets and Sue told Dad's history and some stories, and other people also had some humorous anecdotes.

"You have to admit," Claus, my brother-in-law said to me, "He was an interesting character."

We McGeary's all wore bolo ties. Son Todd showed up, and put one over his t-shirt. Saw my friends Wes and Ev, who had heard about the get-together from my blog and it was great to see them. Started telling them some stuff, and Wes says, "We know. Trouble with your blog is you have no secrets."

I held off drinking for about half an hour and then finally broke down and had some wine. Then a couple of more. So H.Bruce was right; two Xanax and some drinks and I wasn't worried about a thing. What happens is I begin to talk....and talk....and talk....

Hopefully, I didn't say too much.

It was great to see some of Dad and Mom's old friends, too. I'm a socially awkward penguin, and the drinking probably makes me only more awkward, but I tried my best.

Anyway, it was a fine occasion. Dad would have loved it.


So much cool stuff.

While doing my monthly orders, I occasionally let a few extra items slip in, beyond my budget.

I can afford it, I think. It's good to try something different once in a while, shake things up. So then another items slips in and then another.

In every case, I can justify the order because it's an item I think I can sell.

If I do enough of this adding, eventually I'm so far over budget that I throw caution to the wind and start ordering EVERYTHING I think I can sell.

The process got away from me this month, and as I've found in the past, my order basically DOUBLED.

But wait! You said all of this would sell!

Yeah, individually, they all make sense. Problem is, I've found in the past that I can only move the needle from the base average I'm running by maybe 10 or 15%. So, double the orders, and 10 to 15% better sales.

Oh, I have a hell of cool, well-stocked store. But I'm going backward in my cash flow.

Anyway, I decided long ago that there is plenty of good stuff coming in every month, even at the budget level. That sticking to budget makes me pick material I either HAVE to get, or material that I think has a 90% chance of selling, instead of opening it up to material that has a 70 or 80% chance of selling.

The main reason is, I love the flexibility of REORDERING. That is, seeing what's selling in real time and getting more. Seeing whether sales are good or better, and then going out and buying some of the material I passed on.

So I have to go back an ruthlessly cut again.

But, oh, the temptation.

LIfe is interrupting my routines.

I've been bragging about how easy it is for me to lose weight when I want, to write a blog everyday. Well, the last three weeks have made it clear to me that the reason it's so easy for me is that I live a life of routine, with few disruptions.

Traveling and family. Another name for disruptions. eh?

Well, so be it.

Tonight is Dad's memorial. My family talked about it being a informal gathering, but being all the high-powered people they are, it has turned into a bit of production. I've made it clear I don't intend to get up to speak, so I'm off that hook.

Still, this is the very thing that makes me very, very nervous. People I know, people I don't know, and worst of all, people I probably SHOULD know and will be EXPECTED to know.

eh.

Had lots of ostracism dreams last night.

The formal part is only going to be an hour, so I can escape then if need be. Take one or maybe even two of my pills, since I'm not going to resort to my old solution -- gulp down a couple of drinks...

Last night I dug the box of bolo ties out of our storage unit -- Dad was know for wearing a bolo tie everyday. It's a pretty impressive collection -- I didn't know. Each of us picked out one for remembrance, and my sister Betsy is probably going auction off the rest.

Mike is going to spend the day going through the huge box of papers I gleaned from his small assisted living quarters. Dad was a hoarder, but at the end all he could hoard was paper, so there is a ton. Laid flat in a very large and heavy cardboard box.

Did some reminiscing about Dad at last night's family dinner -- it's like a jigsaw puzzle, with each of us have different active memories of different significant parts of Dad's life.

Linda is working today, and even though I'm home I'll be working all day on orders. Tomorrow it's back to work for me.

I'm figuring, I'll get back in my routine around Labor Day.

Smoke gets in my eyes.

Eyes are puffy. Annoying, but what can I do?

**********

Boy, if I was building a house on land that was flooding, I might have second thoughts....

**********

A bit of a brouhaha in the comic retailer world. Apparently, there are such things as "ghost" variants: covers to books that are offered only a few select stores.

Now, I dislike variants. I really, really dislike exclusives. But they are such a small part of my business, that it doesn't really hurt me much.

But it turns out that one of these ghost variants was offered to the board members of the Comics Pro, a retailer group. I'm not a member of Comics Pro. But their stated mission is to represent the entire industry.

So it looks a little cliquish for them to accept an "exclusive" comic that wasn't offered to most of its membership, much less the rest of the comic stores.

I'm not mad about it. What interests me is how small, inside groups seem to lose perspective, and how easily they can be influenced. I know they don't see it that way. But like Caesar's wife, they need to be above any appearance of impropriety.

As in the case with the Bend Downtowners, I'm not a member, and maybe I don't have any right to complain. On the other hand, as an outsider I can bring a different perspective.

**********

I can't tell if I'm seeing lots of unfashionable girls wearing 70's - 80's style jeans, or lots of fashionable girls wearing 70's - 80's style jeans.

**********

"I have to fool my stomach into not thinking it's starving. It has to believe everything is normal -- 'oh, I just forgot to eat as much today."

Wait. I'm talking like my stomach has a brain.

**********

My orders came in way too high, yet everything I ordered is something I think I can sell.

I'm going to take the morning and go over it again, and see if I can't cut it a bit. I need to remind myself that I can always "reorder." But once I've ordered something, I'm committed.

***********

I'm trying a new strategy from July to December. Keep the store fully stocked, and continue to order interesting new stuff. But don't try to bring in entirely new product lines -- don't try to dramatically increase existing stock.

That's a pretty flexible goal -- more flexible than a fixed budget.

And I don't think it's working. I'm ordering too much under those conditions. The definition of "interesting new stuff" is probably a little broad. I'm committed to trying this tack for six months, but already I'm pretty sure it isn't working that well. I'll probably have to come up with a fixed budget, for this to work.

But it isn't hurting us -- I mean, we're making money (just not as much as I'd hoped), and not going into debt, so I'm going to stick to the plan for the full six months.


Why is August slower?

Not just this year, but every year over the last decade. July has been stomping August, which never used to happen. Why the difference?

Could it be (gasp!) the the events in July actually are doing some good? I'll at least allow the possibility. I've always said, we need some actual statistical analysis of the effects of events on downtown business instead of assuming one thing or the other.

We'll probably still beat last August significantly, so the overall trend is good.

But I'd be so much happier if August was comparable to July, the way it used to be.

The only bright side is, September has gotten better over the same period of time, I think because there are still adults traveling around and my business is attracting more adults. We no longer correlate with school days, indeed sometimes school vacations are a negative indicator. In other words, it isn't the kids being out of school that helps us anymore, but the fact that people are on vacation, kids or no kids.

Which is why it is surprising to feel as though we are getting more locals than visitors in August. Is it because they are starting school so much sooner? Or starting back-to-school sales earlier every year?

I miss the old Augusts.

Boring personal stuff.



I'm still tired from the trip, even though I've been home and lazy for 3 days. My eyes are puffy again, I'm pretty sure from the smoke in the air -- somewhere some sage is burning.

My family is in town for Dad's memorial, and we had dinner last night. I avoided the beer and wine, even though everyone else was drinking it. That was hard, let me tell you.

When I was in California, my once removed in-law, Dan, asked me if I thought alcohol depressed me. That got me thinking. Drinking itself if fine. I'm a cheerful drunk, mostly, and when I drink less, I just get more talkative. So that's all O.K. (Though I tend to fall asleep faster these days; which brings about the other problem, that it disrupts my sleep overall.)

No the problem has always come a couple of days later -- I feel off, on edge, more easily upset.

So is that depression? I never thought of it that way, but it certainly fits the bill.

I told Linda that I thought alcohol used to be a stress reliever for me, that I often felt like I had insights, epiphanies even. And that it boosted my creativity often.

None of those really seem to happen anymore, for whatever reason.

Meanwhile, it looks like I lost about a pound on the week I was gone. Not great, but better than gaining.

I have to do my comic orders today, sandwiched between family visits. My brother Mike arrives tomorrow night, and will stay with us for a few days.

All this is why I kind of put writing on the backburner. September will be the time to get serious again. Tackle the novel with another rewrite, doodle with the Epic fantasy.

Summers nearing the end, and I'm somewhat looking forward to getting back to routine.

Saturday suds.

It's pretty bad when you wake up and you're not sure if it's smoke or clouds filling the sky.

***********

Had the impulse to listen to some H.P. Lovecraft songs on Youtube yesterday. When my sister Tina went off after college for her worklife, she left a box of her albums at home. I dug into them. (Caused a brouhaha later, as I was probably not as gentle with them as I should've been -- hey, I was 17 or so!)

I stumbled across this album, even though I hadn't ever heard of them, and it became one of my favorites.

So I'm playing this quintessential '60's acid rock music, (think early Jefferson Airplane) and Linda perks up.

"What's that?"

To my great surprise, she really, really likes it! She just downloaded it for her i-tunes and is listening to it in her office.

I like the way she still surprises me.

**********

Watched the second episode of this season of ALPHA's last night.

I can't believe how good this show is, especially since it comes out of the Syfy channel, which is usually junk.


Friday fuds.

I have a full week of Bulletin's to browse through. I'm going to make little remarks here as I go along.

**********

"WHO OWNS MIRROR POND?" 8/12/12. Bulletin.

Well, if ever there was a case for imminent domain.

Unless we can stick someone else for the bill. Yeah, that's it.

**********

So here we go again. We're having a boom in breweries, and there are calls to ease the "regulations" concerning them?

No -- the boom is the time to enforce the regulations in full, and it's the time to charge for services.

Not after the boom busts. Because, sure a night follows day, that's when the breweries will call for 'help.' ('Cause then they'll be even more adamant they need easing and cost breaks.)

**********

Another brewery?

Oh, wait. This is a meadery.

That's different....right....?

**********

The hordes of humans at the Sunriver pool. So attractive.

People are weird.

The whole of Central Oregon is open to them; lakes, streams, rivers, ponds.

On second thought, having them cool off in a swimming pool is so much better for the environment.

**********

Slot cars are back?

Wow. Like Yo-yo's or trolls, they come back every ten years or so, eh?

By the way, we got trolls in -- the officially sanctioned ones.

**********

"BEND HOME SALES INCREASE, VALUES DROP." 8/12/12.

Sales at my store would increase, too, if I lowered prices by 40%. Of course, since I have a roughly 40% profit margin, that would mean I'd be working for free.

So, yeah. The article seems to be pointing in the correct direction, pointing out that it is new home building that really counts as far as the economy goes. 7 furniture stores went out of business? Well, I remember looking up furniture stores in the yellow pages and contrasting their numbers with the numbers of new houses and realizing that they were in a dire place. I seem to remember more stores than houses. (Even assuming that every new house needs new furniture.)

Anyway, I'm not expecting a construction recovery anytime soon. It depends on whether you believe that the Inventory is really being sold off -- like so many in the real estate industry seem to be touting -- or you believe as I do that there is still tons of shadow inventory to come...

**********

I feel for the kid who wanted to clean up the cinder buttes. My reaction was -- might as well take a teaspoon to a lake. Those places are beyond saving, sadly. I'm thinking they are sacrificial lambs to the yahoos.

**********

One of Linda's nieces was saying that she was going to buy the big ELVIS graphic novel online.

I hadn't heard of it.

Got home and saw it on the "SALE" list, originally priced at $200.00. So I ordered it, even though it was still relatively expensive.

Because she mentioned it. That's how I roll.

**********

When I first met Linda, she was driving a 1956 Chevy that her Mom had given her. At some point during our money troubles, we cracked the block, so we sold it to her sister and her brother-in-law.

During our visit last week, there was Sherman (because it drove like a tank) all abandoned like.

I offered to buy it back, but one of the nieces -- who is an old car aficionado -- is taking Sherman.

Just as well. I'm not a car person, I just hated to see the old guy rot.

**********

Say what you will, the U.S.A. doesn't throw punk rockers in jail.

**********

"Will Central Oregon Ever See a Professional Tournament Again?" Bulletin, 8/15/12.

I loved this quote. "I explained to (a potential sponsor) the success we had...."

Yeah, right. I seem to remember the turnout as being underwhelming, but maybe they have a different definition of success.

Face it, Central Oregon. We have a population of 200,000 people. Driving up I-5 from Sacramento we passed through county after county who had more people than that -- towns over 50K I'd never even heard of.....

We need either more people, or more money.

**********

City Club is having trouble raising finances? Well, again, there are going to be problems with lots of organizations and businesses in Bend who were established during the boom years, because that was their frame of reference. For instance, raising their highest level, 93K, but still spending 96K that year. oops. I bet they wish they had those numbers again.

The problem with booms is that everyone spends at their maximums.

**********

For the average person, the polls seem to be utterly useless this year. Contradictory and volatile.

Just like the media, you can no longer count on anyone being moderate or objective.

Bleh.

**********

We went from the relative coolness of central Oregon, to very humid hot California. By the time we were leaving, it was cooling off, and getting hot back here in Bend. We can pick 'em.

**********

Stayed home yesterday and buried my head in a book. I've found another good fantasy series -- Joe Abercrombie's, to join the Martin series, the Patrick Rothfuss books, and about half of the Lois McMasters Bujold fantasies, as satisfying reads.

That's about it. I've read, oh, I don't know, 30 or 40 or 50 other fantasy worlds -- the first, sometimes the second book in a series -- and given up. That's why I've been reading so many mysteries over the last couple of decades.

Good fantasy is hard to find.

**********

That's it. I'm halfway through the 15th, I'll continue tomorrow.


A fun idea to contemplate, a nightmare to do.

When just even contemplating an enterprise makes you tired, it's probably something to avoid.

It's not the risk I'm worried about. It's the stress and the work.

If I was five years younger, I might do it. It's not my age that worries me, it's the time I'd have to extract the initial investment from the enterprise. That plus, for a number of reasons, even if it was successful, it would probably be difficult to sell for anything near what it would probably be worth.

Finally, so many things would have to go right, that I can look down that path and know it is extremely unlikely. More likely, it would be double the time and double the expense, and ten times the stress. I know this, because I've done it before.

There is only one of me, and I own a store that is doing well, and I can't split myself in half. Linda is busy with her own business, so that isn't an option either. Therefore...

Besides, I've been down this road before, and it's worked about half the time. The half the time it's worked is when I was in one store, and Linda was in the other. So....

Anyway, it's been fun to plan without actually doing it.

The things you can't say.

I was amused by the interviews KTVZ did about local breweries. They asked existing brewers if there were "too many.(?)" Of course, their answer was, "The more the merrier!"

What else were they going to say?

It sounds really bad if you say, "Oh, no. Not another brewery! That could hurt me...."

It's one of those things you never say, even if you think it.

**********

Linda does the majority of driving on our trips. I'm perfectly O.K. with that. It's her car, her baby, and she likes driving it. It's probably 60 - 40, or maybe 65 -35 on some trips.

Macho wise, though, I've noticed guys like to be the drivers usually.

I think it's because I consider I have very little travel endurance. I get tired quickly. Linda say, "It's not the traveling, it's the people. You talk to strangers for a few hours, and you're exhausted."

Hmmm. Probably right.

**********

A couple of other travel observations:

WiFi is terribly erratic, everywhere we go. We've been spoiled by Bendbroadband, I think. It seems to be quicker and more reliable.

Some motels are awful, others are adequate. I actually ask for a cable when possible, which is usually isn't.


Also, the quality of the motels doesn't have as much to do with the price of the rooms as the locations.

I'm sure it all evens out for the chain, but it makes for a wildly varying degree of quality for the traveler. Like I said, the shabbiest motel cost the most on this trip, and the best cost the least. And you can't really know going in...

***********

We decided to drive all the way home from mid-California. (Turlock). Just push on through, 11 or 12 hours, pick the cat up from the bookstore, and sleep in our own beds tonight. Had a good laugh at the Jon Stewart show last night, and slept like a rock for 9 hours.

Out of food, out of clean clothes. I've had enough of this road life.

Traveling is just a series of mishaps.

Or as Bilbo would say, "adventures."

For instance, every motel we hit, I know that there will be at least one thing wrong. We've been staying at the Comfort Inn chain on our trips, which are affordable but provide the right level of ease.

Anyway, our first day out, we get to Weed, Ca, and see the big new Comfort Inn and pull up.

"Oh," says the clerk. "Is it possible you're booked in the Quality Inn?"

I seem to remember that the Comfort Inn was full and we went with the second alternative.

Behind the Comfort Inn, as if hidden in shame, is a smaller beat up motel, which is in the process of being renovated. The room itself wasn't too bad, but it lacked lights, or curtains, or a proper lock and so on, but overall, I'd felt the clerk had done his best. But man, for the most expensive stay on our trip, it was by far the shabbiest.

In the end, we're just there to sleep before moving on, so we just live with it.


Next night, in Redding, the motel is nice and new, but we leave our shampoo behind. We were visiting Linda's relatives in Burney, Ca. By the map, Burney is about halfway between Redding and Weed, so we stayed at the motels and just came back to their house. Turns out, the map didn't really show how long and windy the road is, (or the terrible California drivers, who travel in frightened little caravans.) So Dan thought we were pretty nuts to get up an go and then get up and come back, but that's the price I extracted from Linda. I want a private place at the beginning and end of every day.

Truth is, I can be all social and all for, oh, an hour or two. Then, it's as if I shut down. No more chit chat. No more family (not my family) reminisces. They have a truly beautiful cabin in the woods, overlooking a creek. So I went walking in the 105 degree weather, drenched in sweat. Took their dog, Bear, down to the creek and threw his stick into the water, spent five minutes wrestling it away from him, threw it in the water, spent five minutes wrestling the stick away from him, threw it in the water...

Linda is very close to her two nieces, Norma and Ramona, and I'm really happy for her. I like them too. And Dan, and Linda's brother from La Pine, Dave, came down. Dan took me and Dave on a boony-stomping tour of the outback, which was really interesting -- not really the great basin, but more like southern Oregon, around Ashland.

Next day, went to Burney Falls State Park, which was very picturesque, and packed with people. Came in through the non-charging, backway path that residents seem to know about.

So far, I was getting my long walks in and sticking to my diet. Mostly, because we weren't near any restaurants. Had a one dollar burger at McDonalds, which my stomach -- after being a virgin for 6 weeks -- didn't much like.

So wouldn't you know it, this trip, I had decided I wouldn't take as many clothes. And of course, this trip I was walking in 100 to 108 degree weather and sweating like a pig. Three days left, and I'm down to my last change. Last two days, it will be just Linda and me, and I've warned her she'll have to put up with my stink.

Next night, we stayed at Red Bluff, before we made the big push down to her sister, Mary's, house outside of Fresno. Very nice motel, but...the T.V. was in Spanish and nothing we or the clerk could do would change that. Oh, well. Every motel has it's quirks.

By now, we're "Gold" members at Comfort Inn. "Oh, you're Gold member! Welcome!"

"What do we get for being a Gold Member?" I ask, hoping for a foot massage, or breakfast in bed or something.

"Just means you've been staying with us a lot," she says.

Uh, yeah.

Next day, we headed for Merced. Only a four hour trip from Red Bluff, so we stopped in Elk Grove and watched the Bourne movie. Got lost trying to find the theater. Linda and I have fundamentally different ways of getting places. She will follow whatever path the computer maps out for us, and I just want to study the map and find the most well-defined roads my own way.

Personally, I think my way works best and she thinks her way works best. Which would be all right, I mean we could agree to disagree, and take turns. But our basic mistake is not studying the map sufficiently before we start, and then agreeing totally, in full communication, about our route.

It's about the only time Linda and I can actually get heated over something. Fortunately, we seem to get over it quick. I used to joke that every couple should have to travel with each other before they get hitched. After yesterdays argument, I said, "I take it back. No couple should travel together before they get hitched!"

Got the Merced, and I went on a long walk along a pathway following Bear Creek. The shrubs grow big in these parts -- all the plants do. But there is development EVERYWHERE, no land use planning, and a series of small town (small, I say, but each would rank fairly high up in Oregon in population -- Elk Grove? 150K? What?)

I'm still feeling my way about the proper distances we should and can travel. Too long on some of our Oklahoma trip, too short on some of this trip.

Fresno, I believe, is the farthest south in California I've gone.


The Fates are conniving bitches...and they like to tease.

I've told this story before, but it's illustrative: I went hunting with Dad for years without so much as seeing a deer. Finally, over by John Day, I shot a buck.

I didn't like it. I'm not judging -- either that I'm a wimp for not liking it, or wrong that I did shoot it. It just happened that I didn't like the experience.

So the next day, I walk over the hill and there is an entire hillside full of deer, and several large bucks. (The buck I shot was pretty small, in comparison.) I'm calling Dad on the walkie-talkie, trying to tell him to hustle up there and he's saying, "Shoot!" He wants his tag filled and since I'm there....

Anyway, I didn't shoot.

Next day, I'm ambling along making no effort to be quiet, and this enormous buck -- biggest I've ever seen -- walks to within 20 paces of me, and seems to pose his magnificent head for me, giving me all the time in the world to unsling my rifle and take aim.

But I don't shoot. He turns quietly away, and bounds off.

See what I mean? The Fates like to tease.


So, contemporaneity. (I don't know if that is right usage, but I like the word.) There is this enterprise I've been contemplating, and after long thought and calculation I decided not to do it. For all kinds of compelling reasons.

And then. I find out there is a circumstance that would make that enterprise work much better than I thought.

I shrug it off.

A few weeks, I find out another circumstance that would make the whole idea work even better!

Again, I shrug it off.

And yesterday, I learn something that would improve the odds astronomically!

But I'm shrugging it off.

Still............ I can't help marveling at the big tease.