Cat lady?

Oh,honey,I've been called worse....

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/30/fashion/Cats-Internet-Adoption.html?ref=fashion 

Travelogue

Part Three:

Grand indeed

“Who the hell
Books a trip to the Grand Canyon                                                

when they have chronic vertigo?”
The thought flashed through my mind
Less than a week before I left
On my journey

                                                                       
Through Sedona,
the Painted Desert
Flagstaff
on a highway
in a van
on a tour
To get there.

The day was
a bit grey
and cloudy
and suddenly
very very windy
Perfect
for less tourists
more viewing space

I stepped out
of the van
And there it was.
The woman next to me said “Isn’t it beautiful?”
“No,” I said, “Actually, it looks like a painted movie backdrop.”
It took some time
for my eye
to connect
to my mind
and my mind
to wrap around
The ubiquitous vastness 

I had viewed in                                                              
photographs
films
paintings
t-shirts

Formations called
Vishnu’s Throne
Shiva
Deva
Named by a cartographer
who loved India
and it’s temples.

The wind
whipped
the heavy gray
and fluffy white clouds
across a clear blue sky
casting rapidly dancing shadows
Like watching a time lapsed film
Peaks and plateaus
played hide and seek.
In the distance
grey showers
poured into chasms.

It was sacred
It was ethereal
It was humbling.

The Grand Canyon
is more                                                              

than you can fathom.

The sun shone brightly
and it hailed
Small perfect frozen
white specks.

The ride home    
we ran parallel
with a smudge colored
dust storm.
I watched
tumbleweeds
roll
across the highway.

My life was
changed.

in loving memory of Jacob- the brightest star in the Canyon.

Part Two
Sedona:The World’s Largest Rock Garden

Sedona is part
old folk’s retirement home
Wildwood NJ boardwalk
New Hope/new age
podunk USA

Plunked down

In the middle of
the most goddamn exquisite
red rock garden
In the world    

                                                       

It is a town divided
By locals
and tourist.

“Slow-dona”
(as the locals call it)
Featured in countless
Westerns and films
Where “The Duke”                                                                                             

 made his mark*
Now filled with
casual
yoga pants
t shirts
hoodies
Nava-faux**
It is not a fashion town.
                                                                         
Sedona is
spiritual
and energy                                                                                           

Vortexes
(I was hoping to get sucked up into one
But only felt
My hands tingle-                                                                 

may have been my circulation problems)
 

Carved into
oxidized

 rusty
dusty
red rock
Layers upon layers
years upon years
Formations
with names like
Snoopy
Queen Victoria on her Throne
Bell Rock
Formations
that rise and fall
shift and change
Colors that reflect
 sun                       

moon

clouds
shadows                                                                     
seasons

Alive with                                                                                     

light
flora
fauna

“Don’t bust the crust”**
Guides my hiking.
Oxidized
rusty
red
dust
Clings
To my black hiking boots.
My souvenir.

*It is legend that John Wayne carved “The Duke” on red rock throughout Sedona

**Nava-faux: excess of silver and turquoise jewelry, often combined with cowboy boots and braids, stylized commercial graphics designed to imitate petroglyphs

***hiking reminders posted throughout trails to minimize disrupting cryptobiotic soils

A BIRTHDAY TRIP
TRAVELOGUE

IN THREE PARTS

  

Part one

“Getting there is half the fun...”

I’ve been flying for nearly four decades 

I remember
Flying was:
Travel agents
The smoking section of the plane
The occasional pat down in a curtained room
Checking up to two bags for free
Luggage with no wheelies
Carry on for a toothbrush and extra panties
Metal eating utensils
Warm food served to everyone
Warm hand towels for everyone
Travel was glamorous

Oh how times have changes.

Flying is :
Expedia and Travelocity
NO SMOKING anywhere/anytime
 Passing through TSA
Perhaps being subjected to a full body scan
Rules and restrictions on ounces of carry on liquids
WiFi for purchase
Food for purchase
Extra charges for:
an aisle seat,
checking a bag
early boarding (to avoid the charge/inconvenience of checking a bag)
Travel is tedious

No more little kids getting to sit
 in the cockpit
with the captain
Maybe put his hat on

No more
Friendly Skies

No more
Fun

ASHES FOR ALL
 Another perspective...

Ash Wednesday

Ashes

Are not just for practicing Catholics

Those cold black smudges

Cross the forehead

And prompt strangers to say

"Excuse me, you have something on your forehead."

Those cold black smudges

Fade into the day

and are washed away

Universal reminders 

of 
the impermanence
of

All that is this

Life

" From ashes you came

From ashes you shall return ."