May 4, 2009 05:49 - The long journey without gettin' anywhere?
Lloyd, Boonie, Mark and Bobbie... and plenty of others keep me thinking... ouch!
They've all been 'on the road' for a good long while... I've been on the road Before and hunger to get back...
Some of them have 'roosted' for a bit... I'm held to the 'roost' by events...
... But... I think just maybe we're on a 'Journey'... roosted or not... and some folks just might be coverin' a lot more country between their ears than that ticker shows on the odometer.
Some folks, like myself, never seem to get enough of the road... it's got a draw that's deep down inside, an itch that can't be fully soothed. A gnawing hunger we can't put, clearly into words... Much like the Motorcycle saying; If You don't Ride, then you don't know.
For me, I think it's a lot like some sort of a filter. Especially, when a lot of those miles are tallied up on the saddle of a bike. Somehow, it seems to cull out all the useless 'noise' and just leave, in a lot clearer view, that which is important...
Sometimes the lessons are plain, clear and joyful... other times... they punch you so hard in the gut they put you on your knees... begging for air... feeling like you just been run over by a stampede...
Either way... when you come out... the other side... you're a better traveler... whether you're on the highway... or the trail that wanders around between your ears...
... sometimes, the lessons are so tough, you think you can't climb that mountain... that they'll find your carcass... gnawed by 'yotes... and they might... but at least they'll be able to say; "Well, he got most of the way up the mountain... He never quit tryin'!"
... and when the trail gets steepest... Damn!... a hand comes out of the murk... from a friend you didn't know you had... they take a firm grip... and keep you from fallin'... at least on that piece of trail...
Take Good Care Brian
May 6, 2009 18:40 - Sometimes... You gotta just grab trouble by the tail!
Now... I don't know how many of you have gone and read the few stories I wrote in my "Tales of a Cowboy's life" section...
I've told that TRUE story, for a lot of years... and ever' time... I've gotten rolling eyeballs and the definite feeling that they all thought I was a fabricatin', lyin' son of a back slidin' preacher.
Well... I've found Video proof that those evil, nasty critters exist! They are real...
There aren't any clear and verified videos of Aliens... or Big Foot... or a lot of other things... But... in your travels, ALWAYS beware...
... The NINJA Rabbit... especially... apparently... in Texas!
Now... Do you believe in Ninja Rabbits?
Take Good Care Brian
May 8, 2009 06:11 - Disjointed Rambling... In the Storm...
Like Bob Seger sang... "I'm gonna ride till I find what's Right"...
RV Boondocking?... Someday day...
I'm finding twists and turns on this road... unexpected, surely not wanted... but they're there just the same... and no real options but to work my way through the maze.
Mike and Cathy, Mark and Bobbie Deborah, Norman... Judy, His-Self, Lloyd, Rojo, Jim, Steven... Sharlotte... aw hell... you all know who you are... The list has grown long these past few years...
You folks have all become a true treasure to this grumpy Old Geezer.
The mood of near everyone I talk to... is low. Lowest I've ever seen it... outside of the Army... It's hurtful to see so many folks with battered spirits. But I can honestly say... I know how tough that road is... I know what it's like to get to the end of your rope... and find yourself... one more time... hangin' on to the knot!
I keep lookin' for things to hang a smile... even just offer a mite of simple serenity... It's kind of tough... Like a lot of folks, I often feel like I fell off the boat and am adrift in a ragin' sea...
Times are tough for a lot of people... And this Ol' Cowboy is ridin' out a storm of his own... a storm I'll share when it's a proper time... and I've had enough time to figure it out a bit more, and understand it, myself...
Everyone is sayin', "Times are Tough"... sometimes I think we say that a mite too casually... Without thinking about what that really means.
We get lost in the close up details of living, and look up one day to see that we've let life go racin' on by... while we worried and fretted over trivial crap that won't even be remembered ten years from now... if we endure that long.
We allow our lives to be dictated to us, way too often, by the fears and 'responsibility' of others... We allow them to impose, so called, 'Tough Times' on us. We allow them to assign values... even though... their values make us uncomfortable, with the lousy 'fit'.
We let others decide, for us, what is 'best' for us... Though we know better... we let them 'judge' us... though we know better, and we go along with what doesn't fit US... because we lie to ourselves... and want to be agreeable and 'get along'.
Have you ever noticed that, most times, when you get told, the loudest, that you 'need to compromise'... to be a 'good' person... that when you look back, the 'compromise' only seems to go one way?
We tell ourselves that they're pretty damn smart... and know better, and "I need them to tell me which way is up and which is down"... Though, we know better
... and it is that 'shovelin' crap on our selves' that is what I believe are the true 'Tough Times'.
Fact is... Those doin' the Imposin' haven't got any more idea then we do! But if they can get a bunch of people to buy into their line... they can cover up their own worryin' and distract themselves from the fact that THEY didn't have the cajones to run out and grab that Tiger by the tail... either!
We say; "I don't worry about what other people think"... which is the miserable lie. I challenge anyone to convince this grumpy Ol' buzzard that "doesn't care what other people think about me" that such a claim is anything but black water!
You may not change who you are to please them... you may actually like who YOU are, but when you get your Dreams stepped on for being "rediculous"... or "impractical", inconvenient just now, or, "you can't always have your own way... you have responsibilities" (spelled; you don't own your own life - we do)... or straight out; "Grow up, you can't do that, it's time you started accepting reality", it cuts your Heart, clean down to your soul.
... and THOSE... are the "Tough Times"...
Bein' poor ain't tough... I've been flush at times... for the ten years, before the last couple, for sure. But, most of my life, I've been hand to mouth poor. Too dumb to do better? Naw... just too unmotivated by things and money to pursue 'em.
But tough times? Naw... Tough times are those that reside right between your ears... and in your Heart.
Loneliness, Isolation, Loss of Friends and Lovers... The Death of Dreams... Those are the Makings of Tough Times... all the rest is just inconvenience.
If you're poor, and don't eat regular... you lose weight. If you lose your job... and lose your car as a result... you have to walk.
If you lose your Friends, Your Dreams, Your Hope... You lose your Life, You lose Your Soul.
What's the answer? Keep on tryin'... Fight through the tears... grit your teeth through the pain... wail at the moon... curse that red headed devil... wrap your arms around your Friends... let them, wrap their arms 'round you... and Hang on.
Take Good Care Brian
May 13, 2009 06:30 - The Sun always rises...
This has been kind of a cold spring mostly, in more ways than one... but we finally have a good bit of sun for which I'm grateful.
Been ridin' Slick up in the hills a lot lately. Miles through the canyons, clearin' my brain. Funny how well a motorcycle works at doin' that... It's likely the biggest part of the 'draw' of Motorcycles for folks like me... Sittin' on that bike... splittin' the wind... for that bit of time... I'm ridin' easy... and all is right with the world...
Problem comes in... when you have to come back... and climb off. All the scams and cons and bludgeonings are still there waitin' on ya... and you still have to wade through the murk...
If I can find a way to maintain that clear thinkin' that comes to a person, while they're on the bike... when they're OFF the motorcycle... I'll have something to bottle and sell!
Motorcycles and Horses seem to have a lot of the same effect. Somehow, they cause priorities, at least for a little while, to come clear and in proper order.
That of course don't make the road any smoother... but at least a fella can have an idea of which turns to make...
I suppose the trick is to maintain a proper and consistent dosage of ridin'... to keep things ordered right. :-)
Not much of a problem there... Slick an' me are rollin' ever' day!... unless it's snowin'... and even then... it's got to be hangin' on the road... or I ride anyhoo!
Which means... that V Star Motorcycle is in strong need of a pair of tires and some other tinkering to keep him roadworthy... Which, like for a lot of people... most people? has to be sqeezed into a budget that's gettin' squeezed more all the time...
I've picked up some few more hours at the ranch store... to help stretch what's gettin' squeezed... and like ever'body else... for now... I'll just keep puttin' one foot in front of the other...
Take Good Care Brian
May 18, 2009 05:31 - Riding in the Dark
I haven't posted in a while... but it's not 'cause there's not anything to say.
I've always wanted this site to be 'up'... and fun.. and about laughter... but I found myself, these past days...
Running against the wind.... and no matter how hard I run... the wind has just gotten stronger... the biggest storm I've ever been in...
The storm I'm in has nothing to do with this site... RVing or Motorcycles... or even selling houses I don't want... It's consuming my time, my energy... and a good bit of me...
I'll be writing here... once I get some sort of a handle on it myself... but right now... I'm just hangin' on...
Just hangin' on...
Too many things all at once... testing my beliefs, my very foundation, and my endurance.
Sometime, in the next very few days... I'll get 'something' settled out in my head and I can let you all know... till then I'm just...
Hangin' on to that knot at the end of my rope...
Many Thanks Folks...
Take Good Care Brian
May 19, 2009 20:11 - Running Against the Wind... and the Wind Just Keeps Rising...
[***I've been writing this post... for a few days... some around me say I shouldn't... "keep it quiet and private"... but... the only things that have kept me going, for a long time now... are the Friends around me... both here, and close by, in the flesh. I feel a need to be open with you... and the support I get from you... though uncomfortable at times... 'cause I'm used to being the one who takes care of people, not the one in need... is so much needed I can't give it words...
The past three weeks have been the worst three weeks I've ever fought through in my life... Nothing is answered yet... or settled... and I know, what we are dealing with here... millions of others have had to deal with... as always... I hope to help somebody else.. riding the same trail... from my lessons... and as always... I'm learning so much more... from the friends around me that have already covered this ground... without them sharing their experience with me... without them hanging on to me... so tightly... I'd have been gone... long ago... I can't say often, or deeply enough... Thank You... and you know who... YOU... are... From the bottom of my Heart... Thank You.****]
Where do you go when the road you've been following disappears?
When you look up... and it's fell out from under you? It's just... gone?
When everything you've thought, believed and lived by is shaken, and broken, right down to its' foundation?
You find yourself fighting your way through the dark... and you can't see... anything?
This may be the most difficult post I'll ever have to write... I'm breaking in two as I write it.
Likely it will make a few of my more recent posts... make a mite more sense to those of you that have followed my trail for a while... Though... nothing makes any sense to me right now.
My world has gone, off trail, knocked me to my knees... and shattered everything I thought I knew.
First, Little Laurie passed... and that opened up things in me... from long ago... once those flood gates opened... other things, long 'stuffed' came busting out as well... I know I'm being 'ambiguous' here... but some things... just have to remain private.
The result though has been a torment I've never endured before... My ego has always told me I was a tough nut... "Billy Bad Ass" as one of my 'Guardian Angels' puts it... this time has shown me what a crock that act is... I'm as weak as a pup... and as needy.
I'm sittin' here, brushed up in my 5er, 'cause that's where I live now, alone, for the past couple of weeks.
The Eagle is parked on the farm of a Friend... Who gave me a place of refuge in this storm I'm ridin' through... and my heart is busted.
...Heidi and I have separated... Hunting for a little breathing space... To get some perspective.
I'm not going to hash out our difficulties, here, in front of the world... That shall remain private...
But, I felt like I had to say something... You've all been so fine to me... I can't help but be as open and honest with you... as much as I can be about this... a few have 'sensed' something, 'deeper' than the financial difficulties everyone is enduring, goin' on, from my posts of recent weeks... and have written me... and your concern and words of support have been more valued than I can ever put words to.
It's taking me a while to sort through the pieces... and make any sense out of it... and... I still haven't.
I'm walkin' on marbles... tryin' poorly... to hold my balance...
Everything I knew is turned upside down... and torn in two. I somehow feel like I've let people down... From Heidi to you folks. I've talked so much about family and friends... that this has cut right down to the bone. I question everything I've ever thought or believed...
I'm scared of the future... I can't see it... all murky, confused and uncertain... but... I cannot continue the past as it had gotten to be... That's all I can say about that...
I'll take the heat... the blame... the fault... Whatever the world wants to throw at me... Here I am... It can take it's shots.
It'll have to forgive me, if I don't shoot back... I'm plumb out of anger and fight.
I told a person I wrote to... It's kind of like; You love your leg... but if it gets too badly infected, all you can do is cut it away, to save your life... I think maybe two people, who still love each other, can get into that same place. Over the years they grow and move in directions in such a way they find they simply start erasing each other.
To save each other they must move apart... It's like cutting off your own leg... as heart rending and shattering...
Like I told him... I don't know we are there... too confused and clouded at this point to be making any decisions. I told a friend here... the only decisions I'm making now is what I'm having for supper...
My only goal; for us to work and try to find some Friendship to nurture. For us, for my Daughter, for our coming Grand Child... that would be a fine thing.
So I sit here... tears drippin' on the keyboard, at a life all twisted, torn and confused.
Too tired to try and push it into some sort of a plan... just wantin' some quiet in my head to see if there's some way for a truly busted man to sort it all out.
The Saving Grace that the Boss has sent me, in all this, in addition to my visiting with all of you, and the Friends here that have become a strength for me... is a small number of people I work with...
The past couple of weeks has shown me, clear and plain, how much I had misjudged them... And, that I've had far more, true Friends, than I'd ever calculated.
In this mess I've found myself in, those Friends... seemingly just waiting to save my kiester... have done just, exactly, that...
The past few weeks... as I came to 'know' that my life was circling the drain... and I plummeted into an ever deeper, darker, hole... and it started fillin' with water... and I started goin' under... They saw... They reached in and took a good firm grip. They've taken turns... and held my head up enough, so I didn't drown...
Without 'em... I don't believe I'd be here right now... I truly don't. They are the true treasure I have in this life. My Guardian Angels...
I don't know where this journey I'm on is taking me... Time will tell if I can ride the horse I've saddled. One thing for sure... This ain't no gentle kids horse... and right now... it's stickin' my head in the sand... Stickin' it Hard... 'bout ever' third jump...
I'll keep gettin' up... and climbing back on... till I learn how to make the ride...
Until then I'll thank the Boss above... for the Friends he's sent... and I'll thank them, for forgiving me... A Cowboy with a broken heart... for not having seein' 'em, standing, right there, long before now.
They know I see them now... I've made certain sure of that... and it's a failing I intend to never again repeat. I keep putting one foot in front of the other. One Day at a time. My Friends keep telling me; "There is life on the other side... just hang tough cowboy... we know... you can make it."
I have to say... their confidence and support is the only thing keeping my nose out of the water.
***** Yesterday morning, Tuesday morning, my Step Father passed, in his bed, at home in Tucson, surrounded by Family. Makes a fella really look at himself and wonder. "I must have really done something bad to Get the Boss this riled with me."
It has been a couple months that are testing my endurance, like it's never been tested before. They say the Boss will never give you a burden you can't bear. His confidence in me, like that of my 'Guardian Angels', far exceeds my own.
Bottom line? I'm a basket case... without a basket...
Thank You... each and every one... You Know Who You Are. You are, in my eyes, standing right there, backing up my Guardian Angels... and I am a fortunate man... wealthy beyond all measure, in the things that are truly of worth.
I know this was extra 'windy' and rambling... Thanks for listening... and for anyone riding the same trail these days... look around you... there are Friends, standing there... There are. All you have to do is allow them to help. Allow them to help you back to your feet. You don't even have to ask... just allow them. It's the most heart filling thing I've ever known... and the most humbling.
Take Good Care Brian
May 21, 2009 06:28 - No Matter What... For the Rest of the World... Life Goes On...
I'm Dry Camped on a Friends Farm, east of Fort Collins... Tucked in behind the windbreak in a nice quiet spot... Just me, the Eagle, and Slick...
I can say, that Slick, good a bike as he is... don't haul that 5er worth a damn!
I've been living 100% on solar since I parked here... got a little short when we had three straight days of rain... but otherwise, even though I've still only got part of the planned solar array, on board... I've been holding above 12.4 volts on sunny days... and that's with a few hours every night on the computer...
Water comes in 5 gallon jugs... so I'm a mite conservative... Grey water... shhhh.... I'm helping irrigate the windbreak... :-)
The Blackwater will be a bit of a problem... I'll have to borrow a truck to haul a blue boy when I need to dump... Otherwise... It's quiet, secluded, and cheap.
Just about as soon as I set up... a Robin Couple started building their new 'house'... and set up housekeeping shortly after... Hard working lil buggers. Momma started sitting a set of eggs almost immediately.
A couple days ago... I noticed she/they were acting kind of different... Reaching down into the nest a lot... Didin't seem long enough... but I snuck out and snatched a quick pic while they were "changing the guard".
They sit right outside my desk window... so I check 'em each morning... Kind of a nice start... considering everything else that's going on.
Take away all the surrounding trials... and the pace I have right now would be pretty restful... a welcome thing.
I keep thinking, OK... NOW... I can have the time to catch my breath... deal with some of this load...
But... Not yet.
Heidi's mother called her yesterday morning... Her Father went into the Hospital Monday... some sort of Bacterial Kidney infection that's spread... little information... but the 'rain' just keeps falling... another 'stress' both she and I could do without...
Just have to stop... close your eyes... and take a slow breath...
The Memorial for my Father is Tuesday... We're leaving either late Sunday or very early Monday to drive down to Tucson... It will be a pretty quick trip... just three or four days... I'm thinking I'm going to leave the laptop here in the rig... and just take a small break from things... so that's why I'll likely be 'out of pocket' next week.
Many Thanks for all the consideration I've recieved the past few days... It's been very much appreciated and humbling.
I feel like the Darkest part is past... I can feel a small bit of solid ground under my feet... a long trip ahead... but, a small bit of Hope is restored... Thanks only to those around me/us that have risen to the occasion to support us in unexpected ways...
What lies in store down this road is unknown... but the Journey continues... The Search continues...
One day, the Boss willing, and with the support of so many Friends that he has sent Both of us, we will find our way back to that Good Life.
Take Good Care Brian
May 22, 2009 07:28 - It's a Long Long Road... The Journey Continues.
... and as always... with a good bit of 'rambling'... Why am I such a Yonderer and a Rover?
Am I running toward something? ... or away? Maybe a bit of both?
Trying to leave the sorrows and the Dark Times behind? To find the Sunrise? Hoping it's just around that next curve... or the one after that...
Whichever... or however... it seems, it's always been... "Against the Wind"...
It becomes a part of you... part of your routine... Gotta just keep moving... "Gotta keep rolling, gotta keep searching, till I find what's right"...
But what do you do when the very foundation, of everything you've been and thought gets shaken? Rattled right down to the ground?
...When You're 56 and you're right back at the starting line?
When your heart is pulled from your chest and left for 'yote bait...
You can't go back... and the way forward looks so damn steep and rocky? You look around... and see... No One... You seem to be alone... So weary you wonder if you can pick your foot up even one more time?
I look East... and no trail... no dust... no smoke... No one... West, the same... South is barren desert and the Sea...
The only trail I see... is up this Mountain... Steep... Rocky... Icy in spots... Lots of deadfalls and I can even hear a Bear of two... hunting...
I know those are there... been bit hard... Chewed on... Bleeding freely... Not dead, not done...
But... Battered like I've never been before...
Then, there's a noise... and they come drifting out of the misty woods... The Bears?... naw...
Friends... True, loyal, genuine, Glorious Friends. More of 'em than any man has the right to.
One at a time... Unbidden... selfless... no expectations... just simply, the Best People I've ever been blessed with.
They've picked me up... held me close... Till the darkness receded...
Those Close friends, I hadn't realized were even there, bound my wounds... held my head, and my heart... But wounded I remain...
This Journey has become something new and different... blessed by the riches of so much Friendship, it will continue... on whatever open road I can find...
You're not dead... till they're throwing the dirt in your face... till then... you keep on... one foot after the other...
With a precious friend on each side... holding you up... I've found myself blessed with so many... guess they'll have to take turns!
I don't know what to say... Have you read the comments I've recieved the past couple of days? I sit here... reading those words... and I'm left nearly speechless. (and for me to be anything near such a thing... is noteworthy!)
I can feel their hands, and their spirits, lifting me up. It's the most amazing thing I've ever seen or experienced in my life.
Such a response, from what I once thought were total 'Strangers', or simply acquaintences, has shaken me right down to the ground... again... but this time... in a good way... and opened my eyes to possibilities...
I never conjured up any sort, of such a fantasy those few years ago when I started this site... This was to be a 'Lark' of sorts... it has become so much more... so much better than anything I ever imagined... Sweet is the only word I can think of...
The only thing I can think to say is just that, in my heart is the conscious thought... I hope that one day... I am given the opportunity to honor the Friendship I've been given... without those Friends having to endure the trials that brought them to me.
The past weeks are living proof of what I've written about before... The only thing, of true value, are the Friends we gather along the way.
If, 10 years ago, you told me I'd be seeing the crowd that has gathered around me, that I find today... I'd have accused you of trippin' on bad drugs! :-)
I am honored and blessed beyond my belief... Lordy! Do I have a lot to live up to!
Thank You Boss!
Take Good Care Brian
May 27, 2009 08:47 - We sent an Old Soldier Home Yesterday.
We laid the remains of Carl Petersen, my Father, under a Palo Verde tree, yesterday afternoon. An Old Soldier, of the 42nd Rainbow Division, finally gone home... His last patrol.
I was able to say good bye... and salute the man... and the Soldier.
Funerals are sad and joyful at the same time. The sorrows of loss and all the things you wish you hadn't said... and what you wished you had... balanced out with the times that things were 'right'.
Carl and I had a rocky fifty years. My Father died when I was but three, and few memories exist of him. Carl came along, and married my Mother, some five years later... and this lil', cowboy gave him considerable grief and tested his patience right from the get go... to a little boy... that giant of a man was an intruder... and I had to protect my mother and sisters... so I set him to 'Running against the Wind'... right from the start.
He toughed it out... did his duty to family as he did his duty to country... While we battled for most of fifty years, about just about everything, and had agreement on considerably little... what we did agree on was duty, honor, family... Things he taught me. While ours might not have been a soft and mellow association... we did learn to respect each other...
Took me till I did my tour in the Army... to truly come to understand the man. What others saw as non-demonstrative, or un-emotional... I came to know as the rigidly imposed control on emotions... of a man who has marched straight into Hell... and managed to march back out again... leaving many behind. Those who have not gone there... can't know... That tight, controlled 'coldness', is the only way a lot of soldiers can 'Deal'...
I never went hungry. He taught me to never quit... and do the right thing... no matter the cost... one of the things helping to carry me now...
A great part of who and what I am, is due to that man. We may not have had a relationship of hugs and laughter... but he taught this Cowboy how to be a man. For that I will respect and Honor him.
The only thing I can say is; Welcome Home Old Soldier.
Take Good Care Brian
May 31, 2009 05:52 - What Now?
Don't ask me! I'm not the guy in the know these days. Every time I've thought maybe, just maybe, I'm gettin' a handle on this deal... I get knocked back a few steps, and left wonderin' all over again.
Sittin' here this morning, the sun is filtering through the trees of the windbreak... my Robins are havin' their breakfast... while I sip my coffee, and try to figure out some goal for the day.
I keep hopin' for some sort of a miracle, that will get us both through this ordeal with a minimum of pain... but I'm thinking that's a futile hope. The best I can hope for is that there is a sunrise, not too awful far down the road, for the both of us... when we can wake up, with a peaceful smile on our faces, and find that the anger and hurt has been put aside... That we can, both, start seeing LIFE... ahead of us again.
One thing I've found is that this ain't no short piece of work. It's the often mentioned two steps forward... one step back, slog.
... and it's a hard thing... where every choice and decision you have to make is difficult... where there are no easy choices. Where every thing you do is uncomfortable and you, know, it's going to cause more 'trouble'.
But, it's like taking off a bandage that's sticking to a wound. There's no easy, painless way. It has to come off... and you don't want to hurt anyone doing it... but no matter what, it's going to hurt. You stall, you hunt around... you try to find alternatives... and in the end... the only way is to just take a hold and rip.
Maybe that's how I got into this 'fix'... stalling and hunting for alternatives, too long. It could be that my own stubborness has not been a real positive attribute.
There is some light in all this I guess... I wrote this past winter a good bit about minimalism... My finances coming through this are going to require the adoption of a pretty strong menu of minimalism! I can't afford Ol' Big Red... and have had to put that truck up for sale... 'course, like the house... No One is lining up as a buyer...
I believe I'll be having to swap out to a more economical rig for my tow vehicle needs... and a 'snow vehicle' come the winter... Slick don't do too fine when the roads are icy... another in a string of 'missed judgements'... lesson learned... I hope.
The Eagle is serving well... I'm using a bit under 5 gallons of water a day... and the people down wind aren't complaining yet... I'm practicing a good number of the water saving tricks I've picked up over the years... one of the best, to tell the truth are those baby/wet wipes... Dang things actually work pretty good for the 'in between showers' cleaning up... and cleaning the kitchen etc. with the counter type wet wipes keeps me from using water for that chore.
... and even with only half the solar array I'd planned... I'm keeping up with my power needs... add a panel or two and I'd not even be needing to pay much attention to my battery level... I'm watchin' close now... but still not breaking below 12.4 volts... usually still up at 12.5 or 12.6 volts, in the morning... So my RV Solar power system is serving me well.
One thing, that is pretty Huge for me... as far as holding things together is concerned are my two websites... This one and motorycycle-touring-the-good-life.com.
While the economy continues to sit in the bottom of a toilet bowl... my websites continue to grow, if slowly... and continue, through the google adsense, to provide me nearly 30% of my income... which, without it... those 88 cent, Wal Mart 'microwave meals for a King'... would even be un-affordable! :-)
So... many thanks to all the readers who have stayed around through this long running ordeal... I'm hoping that the next year will see a turn toward more 'upbeat' stories and a return to the pursuit of dreams and LIFE.
Time to get myself ready for another day at the 'ranch store'... one foot in front of the other...
