Wednesday, March 31, 2010

hunger

Big discussion of what is true hunger on All Things Considered today. I don't qualify but a lot of people do.

General Delivery

it works. You see the tv shows and the movies and things are sent to the hero care of general delivery and you think...Right. But it works. Got Guy's heartworm preventative from New Zealand that way and my netflix movies come that way. Got a couple this morning and the woman in the post office said she wondered about them when she saw them this morning. I told her that I was traveling and doing some hiking and had them delivered to the next place I was stopping. She thought it was cool.

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

The Republicans are right

WOW, who would have thought that I'd start anything like that. But if you realize that I did not vote for Obama in the last election because I thought that he was too conservative and give me nothing that I want you can understand that I'm not really a Democrat either.

So how are the Republicans right? I recently read that one in six people in NYC receive food assistance in some way. Approximately the same number receive housing help. When unemployment and welfare assistance were started the conservatives said that it would lead to a permanent underclass that would depend on government assistance. Well, it did. And any economist will tell you that you need more than 5 out of six people to be productive to have a healthy economy.

The liberals allowed it by not permitting any restrictions as to how long these benefits would last nor force people into programs that would get them out of the cycle of poverty. So you have a dumb shit with no education getting free food and housing, albeit it sucks, and have them complaining that it sucks and wanting the government to do something about it. And still the liberals will not say...Hey it's time for YOU to take some responsibility.

And I'm not being racist, because I am in Appalachia right now with some of the poorest and most ignorant white people in the country. And they hate the government and they don't trust the elitist intelligentsia , not realizing that with no education and no good jobs, they are not paying their fair share either.

And then a recession like this happens and the Republicans think that extended benefits are like the permanent entitlement class, not realizing that after earning $75K a year, I'd much rather get a job than continue on these payments of $400 a week.

so damn the republicans for being right and the democrats for letting them be right.

Monday, March 29, 2010

hey everyone - feedback time

I just found a way for you guys to give me some feedback. At the bottom of each post is a place for you to check your reaction to the post. !!!!!!

The AT (Appalachian Trail )

Now this is a blog about homelessness, not hiking, but being on the AT is helping me with my depression. As I said, yesterday was tough, today only slightly better. As I was finishing the hike I dreaded getting close to the car.

But I want to talk about the AT. As I said, today's climb was about 1500+ feet. Anyone who has climbed something like that knows about switchbacks and trail markers. Since it is hard to climb straight up, imagine an S shaped route. It's easier to climb but adds to the distance. Normally, you need the trail markers to indicate when the trail switches direction. This is done with a double blaze. However, on the AT it's kinda redundant.

For most of its length the AT is about 18 inches to 4 feet wide. Normally it is on the side of a mountain with a steep incline on both sides or on a ridge line with a steep descent on both sides. In other words, you go forward or back. There ain't a door number three. Even if there were, this is hiking, not mountain climbing. So I always find it funny when I see the blazes, as prescribed, every 20 feet or so. But the ones that really crack me up are when you reach the side of a mountain and going forward means a major bummer for your day. You know there's a switchback because you can't fly. But still, there's the requisite double blaze. Gotta love those anal types.

Hiking

I don't want my trip to be a treatise on hiking. But I went to the Audie Murphy Monument again from the opposite side. I have a couple of comments. First, if you've ever hiked steep areas you arrive in the morning and look up and say "I'm going to be up there in a couple of hours." You stop there because if you think of the pain of getting up there you'll get back in the car and stop at the nearest Starbucks for a refill or three.

At the end of the day you look up and say, with pride, I was up there today.

Now today I did about 1500 to 1700 feet of climbing. Look at it this way. My ears popped on the way down. But looking at that ridge line and realizing that was where I was hiking was a buzz. Which is why you do it. At the end of the climb, when your legs are screaming, and the sweat in pouring down, all of a sudden you are at the peak and looking down around you. Or you are on the ridge line, walking on the top of the earth. And it is a high that makes a runner's high seem like a one beer buzz. IF you've done it and felt it, you know what I mean. If not, you have to try it. It's worth the pain.

i really don't like this area

Of course the hiking is fantastic, but the people aren't that friendly and diversity? forget it.

At the truck stop the other morning the lady behind the counter wasn't friendly to begin with. Then a busload of hispanics came it. WHAT A HOOT!!!! It looked like every ounce of bile that her stomach ever secreted came up and sat in her mouth the entire time they were there!!!! LMAO.

Then there was the woman who was ahead of me in The Subway. The lady behind the counter was Indian and her English was poorer than poor. If you know me you know that I hate to be transferred to an Indian site when I call Customer Service. I want someone who can speak english and understands what i am saying. After spending several hundred dollars for a product I want that service. But this is a damn sandwich. You say what type of sandwich, the bread, the cheese, and if you want it toasted. Is it that difficult? To the redneck woman it was. She kept making the Indian woman repeat her questions and acted so exasperated that she couldn't understand her. What an ass.

I did see something funny today though. Two old black women came in. You know how thick their southern accent can get and how mumbly they speak. Well, you put them together with the Indian woman and it was like watching a monkey fuck a football. LMAO again. That alone would have been worth the price of admission!!!!

Speaking of context

When we arrived at the location of yesterday's hike there was a sign stating that since it was a nature preserve dogs were not allowed as they stress the other wildlife. Of course, next to that sign there was one concerning what to do if you came upon a black bear. hmmmmmm. Am I the only one who sees the irony in that?

Sunday, March 28, 2010

It's all in the context

I heard a radio program this morning on NPR, obviously the "liberal media." It was a "quiz show" based on current events. At the beginning they mentioned that Obama was so happy with the passage of the great bleeping bill that he celebrated by framing his Kenyan birth certificate and hanging it in the Oval Office. Then he invited a bunch of terrorists to lunch and he finished the day by inviting a bunch of Republican lawmakers to the White House for a preview of Michelle's new movie "Kill Whitey."

Of course the audience roared with laughter. However, what would have been the reaction by me or the audience if the person saying those words were Limbaugh, Beck, or Coulter and the audience was the national convention of the NRA?

I mention that because today is one of those "what do the real homeless do?" It's 36 degrees, the rain has increased, and the wind is ablowin. For the short hike that Guy and I took I had on four layers and brought out the gloves that I had put away. It's a raw day that cuts to the bone. A regular homeless person would have been under a bridge wrapped in countless layers, topped off by a sleeping bag, not moving for hours.

For a while it was the "perfect" hiking day for me. Those of you who know me know that I love the rain and the more miserable the day, the more I like to walk in it. But today I'm depressed and all I want to do is sit on a couch, wrapped in a blanket, with a hot cup of tea, and the NY Times Sunday Crossword Puzzle. If it were three years later and I was "retired" living on Social Security, today would be perfect. Why is it that I am so miserable today?

clousy day

Starting it kinda depressed. O well, this too shall pass. It's cold, rainy, my legs are sore and Guy is even moving a bit slowly. I'll go crazy if I have to sit in the car all day. It'd be nice to go to a movie, but it'll cost a day's food so that's out. I found an easy 5 mile day hike so I think we'll try it and hopefully it won't rain too much.

Stupid watchdog

All of a sudden last night I hear deep throated growling and snarling. I wake up immediately, look around, and get ready to start the car and get out of there. But I don't see anything. Then, on the knoll next to the car, I see a small cat. Dumb dog. I think we need a refresher course on what constitutes an immanent threat.

Saturday, March 27, 2010

Death squads and health insurance

Don't tell anyone, especially Republicans, that the Health Care Reform didn't start the death squads. We've had them for a long time. They are called Health Insurance Companies and Politicians. Health insurance has been rationed for a long time and those who don't have it are chosen for death. Know someone without insurance who has a heart attack....? dead .....cancer? dead ..... a pre-existing condition...? dead.....reached their maximum benefits...? dead.

So who chooses who and what is covered? Men making tens of millions of dollars a year as CEOs of health insurers who make more money the more they deny coverage to people.

So the question, dear people, is not whether or not we have death squads, it's who you want to run them, some bureaucrat who has no vested interest other than to keep hir job, or some fat cat who makes more money by people being refused coverage and dying? Sounds like the health care reform package may actually be doing away with the death squads.

Audie Murphy

He was the most decorated hero of WWII. Medal of Honor and too many other awards to mention.....all deserved. He did what few, if any, of us could do. So what does he have to do with homelessness? When you realize what he did to receive all those awards, it was superhuman, in fact it was a lot that no human could do, almost dehumanizing. What many people don't realize is that he suffered from what was then Battle Fatigue, in WWI it was Shell Shock, and now PTSD. He became one of the first to bring attention to the problem and petition the government to do something about it. My point is that when we dehumanize people, we suffer the consequences. Even if we are MOH winners. Audie....RIP

Why I am in Southen Va

There was frost on the inside of my windshield this morning. It would have been ice NY.

My day is made.

When I went into the truck stop for coffee this morning I heard: "Prop me up beside the Jukebox when I die" by Joe Diffie.

Friday, March 26, 2010

hiking

well, it seems as if I have not been spending a lot of time on the unemployment thing lately. I've been moving, and then hiking. I will start with some ranting and raving soon. Just to let everyone know that I visited a memorial for Audie Murphy today on the AT near where he died in a plane crash. More on that later.

Thursday, March 25, 2010

picture - 1000 words

OK, so I'm not that articulate. This is where I was today. YOU try to describe it then tell me how to do it.

http://www.scribd.com/doc/18821488/McAfee-Knob-section-of-Appalachian-Trail

And YES, I (and Guy) stood where that person is sitting and if I can figure out how to send a picture from my phone to this mac, I will send it to everyone.

Civil War

I've tried to stay away from the subject even though I spent the last several weeks in the middle of many major battlefields and an area which honors the experience. However, Guy and I hiked in Chancellorville Battleground yesterday. Man, these people think differently than I do. In the midst of all the glorifying of the roll that the brave heroes played all that registered with me was one fact. On one morning 17,500 men died. I'll do the arithmetic for you. That is one man was killed EVERY SECOND for FIVE HOURS.

Doesn't sound to me like something to be honored.

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Roanoke

well, I'm here

bye bye Fred

I received Guy's heartworm preventative today so I left Fredericksburg and am now on the edge of the Shenandoah Valley. I gotta tell you that with all the bumper stickers and hand made signs on the sides and backs of pick em up trucks I now understand who listens to Rush and Glenn. I am glad that I look like a white male good ol boy because this is not the area to be a liberal. I learned that five miles outside of Fredericksburg.

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

health care reform

Vincent nailed it when he said:

"I'm happy about health care reform. I've been saying for years that roving abortion death squads are long overdue."

Monday, March 22, 2010

Job

great job listed today Got my resume in immediately. Probably so did a couple of hundred others.

tired

Last night was my night at Motel 6. I stay up too late and get up too early so I can enjoy every minute that I can. So now I am clean, smell good, nice freshly washed clothes, and waiting for Guy's medication to come in so I can leave Fredericksburg. I am almost positive that I will be headed to Roanoke and the Shenandoah River area and start working my way north. But it could be another week before the darn things come in so it is back to the rest stop until then. Then again it could be tomorrow. We'll see.

Sunday, March 21, 2010

Beauty

My sister made an interesting comment this week concerning Caledon and how beautiful it must be. Really, it is fairly nondescript. Except for one narrow area, it is flat, there is some diversity in ground cover from trees to wetlands, but there are no major streams in the eagle habitat. The Potomac isn't particularly majestic or beautiful either. If it weren't for the eagles and the fact that I needed a relatively flat easy walk for Guy, I wouldn't have been there.

So beauty is really in the eyes of the beholder, or reader. I think of Friday, when it got so warm and we were in Prince William Forest. I brought Guy to a flat area next to a stream for him to have a drink. On the sand was a baby snake. I think it was a rattler, but it was too immature to tell from the markings. It had the fangs and triangular head of a venomous snake and there aren't that many poisonous species in this area so, by default, there aren't too many choices. I let it attack my walking stick to observe it. I wasn't worried because there was no way that its fangs could penetrate my boots. But I did keep Guy away from it to be careful.

Why do I write that? Because to me, being so close to the snake in its natural habitat, like the eagles, is beautiful. As we walked yesterday, late in the afternoon, we passed a wetlands and the music of the frogs' chirping was beautiful. To me it is a shame that what I am experiencing is the exception, not the rule. I guess we have to find places to put several billion people and finally, we are giving some attention to the ecosystem that sustains us. But when we look at it only in that way, a necessity to maintain life as we know it, and forget its beauty, we are losing out. As Dolores said, as bad as my situation is, at least I am getting to "enjoy" things I couldn't enjoy if I were working. I told her she was wrong, because I was concentrating on my problems and how much this situation sucks. But the more I think about it she is right. I really need to enjoy what I can and consider myself lucky for the opportunity.

Saturday, March 20, 2010

unemployment extension - what a crock.

It appears as if all the unemployed will sooner or later be privileged enough to receive the full 99 weeks of benefits. The good news is that I can be living like this until August 2011. The bad new is that I can be living like this until August 2011.

One argument that is occurring concerns the extension of benefits past the 99 weeks. It is interesting that when I read the debate I see so many comments about how the unemployed want to be unemployed ad live off the government teat. Now I admit that there are those who take advantage of the system. However, what is not being discussed, and what I see as the main question is how the hell did we get to a point where people who wanted jobs have already gone two years without getting one and it appears as if they, and millions of others, will go even longer? What is the matter with this country when we allow politicians to do nothing but bicker over this situation. Even the latest jobs bill allegedly will add a few hundred thousand jobs to the economy. Assuming that is correct, what the hell do we do with the other 8 MILLION unemployed?

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/20/opinion/20herbert.html

nyc homeless

New York experienced a 34% surge in the number of homeless people on city streets last year - the first increase in five years, according to data released Friday.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2010/03/20/2010-03-20_34_more_people_on_streets_than_last_year_findings_show.html#ixzz0iifHwGzu

Friday, March 19, 2010

The Central Rappahannock Regional Library

Well, I got "rousted" by security last evening so I should comment on the library. I've been using it almost daily in the morning and evening for a few hours per day for the last month or so. I charge my phone and my laptop there. I use the restroom a lot and print out the few things I need to be printed. On the whole, except for one minor comment by one of the employees, it's been a pleasant experience there. Obviously they know I am homeless and I try to stay as out of the way as possible and they say nothing.

I honestly cannot say anything bad about it. If it weren't for them I wouldn't have a charged up battery and the ability to visit job sites several times a day. Yesterday I filled out one of their forms to send to politicians who want to cut library services. Ridiculous. This place is awesome in so many ways. There are now so many services that they offer that I think it's a throwaway line that they can say "Oh by the way, we also have books here." So thank you librarians, security, WiFi providers, etc., for making my stay in Fredericksburg a little easier. But let's balance the budget on the back of the poor. Makes sense to me.

So I guess that someone complained that I am sleeping in the parking lot. Often I stay there late and sometimes get there before the library opens to use the WiFi which reaches out there. It is also very safe as I pull up next to the book drop on the driver's side and no one is getting near the passenger side with Guy there on guard. I watch HULU, Netflix, my 30 Rock, House, and Parks and Rec., and just chill out. So I am not sure why somebody complained. As the security guard and I "joked" I really am extra security because they have had problems in the past with vandalism but with me there and awake and with a dog no one would be coming in. We also talked about Guy and if I thought people were complaining now, if I ever let him alone in the car when it was warm, they would really complain. But I mentioned that in an earlier post that I would soon be headed to a cooler clime because of Guy.

The only thing that I think happened is when it was cold, I used to get all bundled up with my sleeping bag and extra layers of clothes before I went to the rest stop so the car would be warm when I got there and I wouldn't have to open the car door and let in the cold air. I still get out the sleeping bag and pillow because it is easier when I get to the rest stop and someone may have seen that and thought I was sleeping.

Well, that's my story about The Central Rappahannock Regional Library.

Eating right

Many of you have expressed concern about my eating habits on the road. Obviously, they are not what they should be. Too much processed foods, too few veggies. However, for those who care, I am eating an apple, orange, and banana very day and drinking about 12 ounces of V8 juice. When I stop at a motel, I get fresh veggies and make a monster salad. So thanks for asking. I eat as healthy as can be expected.

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Eagles are boring

This is long post and began weeks ago when the weather began to warm up. I knew that I would soon have to get Guy back on heartworm medicine but couldn't afford a vet and had no address for web vendors. Then I remembered that I could use a General Delivery address and ordered the medicine.

But it started me thinking about his shots. So I looked it up and they are due in September. GOOD except for leptospirosis which lasts only a few months and Guy is very susceptible to that because of all the hiking we do. So I began to research how I could get his shots as cheaply as possible. With a lot of research I found a place in Fredericksburg that would administer only the Lepto vaccine for $19. Since he didn't need the others and vaccines are really hard on dogs, I went with that. So this morning I bring him in and explain to the vet why I don't want the other shots and why he really needs the lepto. When I got out I was only charged $10. God bless that vet for taking mercy on us. ($19 is two days food, remember?)

But we had to take it easy today because you know how you feel when you get a flu shot or something. So I decided to go back to Caledon PArk, where the eagles nest and take the easy walk to the Potomac which is only open two more weeks before they close it for the next six months since it is a nesting area. On the way there, I see an eagle flying a couple of hundred feet above us. WOW, we're still driving and already saw one.

Well somehow I get off course on the way to the river. It was an honest mistake and I'm sorry that I didn't see all the signs saying "keep out" We end up at a place named "The Cliffs" although there were only about 20 feet high. On the way there we pass a fen (or was it a bog?). Now I am a fen fanatic (or is it that I am big on bogs?) In either case, I just love them and it made me very happy to smell the stale earth.

Then we got to the cliffs. They were very pretty and I watched some eagles way up high and fish jumping out of the water and birds diving and catching fish.

Then I saw a shadow in front of me and looked up. An eagle swooped over us and turned into the wind with its wings flapping. It was no further than 15 - 20 feet away, in profile, and just seemed to float there. It was one of the most awe inspiring things I have ever seen. After a couple of seconds, it headed down wind and was soon out of sight. I stood there almost giggling realizing that I would never get that close to an eagle again. Of course I was wrong because with a minute or so, another shadow and I heard the whoosh of the wings as another eagle swooped over us within 10 - 15 feet and I looked it in the eye as it floated it front of us for a couple of seconds. I wanted it to stay there longer but it, too, headed down wind but stopped in a tree close enough for me to watch it. Since I'm not an eagle eye, but it was, I am sure that it was watching me too. After a few minutes we left the area and soon looked up to see several eagles circling above us. I guess they wanted us out of Dodge.

When we got to the area we were first headed we saw a ranger and stopped to talk to him. During our conversation a few more eagles flew around. Then while we walked to the car we saw a few more. I must have seen 15 - 20 eagles today. All they do is fly and glide and swoop and look majestic and proud and are gorgeous from 10 feet away. How boring. John Denver was right and I repeat. "You know he'd be a poor man if he never saw an eagle fly." And I saw one flying ten feet away. The sad part about it is that there are so many people who wouldn't appreciate being so close to an eagle that you heard the flapping of its wings.

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Guy and Grandma

Now, you have to know my mother to get this. She tends to fall asleep sitting up, sorta crinkling up as she dozes. Then she wakes up and gets PO'd if you claim she was asleep. Guy and I have been doing some heavy duty hiking the past couple of days and this afternoon, as we were driving home, I noticed him sitting there with his eyes closed, crinkling up, just like grandma. It was a hoot.

Dogs and homelessness

Everyone knows that I need Guy as much as he needs me. The therapeutic value of dogs is undeniable. However, I must admit that it does create a few issues now that it is getting warmer. A few days ago, before the monsoons, I was going to run in a grocery store around noon, then realized that I couldn't leave Guy in the car for even a couple of minutes because it was too warm. So, now that it will be in the 70's for the next few days, all shopping is either first thing in the morning or after the sun descends a little. It's little things like that that are often taken for granted by the "homed."

Monday, March 15, 2010

BORING

just nothing new to post. Once again, all I can do is ask what the real homeless do. We had three days of record rain and the Rapahannock flooded in several areas. At least we had a car in which we could stay relatively warm and dry.

Did you know that a downpour is louder than traffic on an interstate a few feet away?

dog vs beaver

we were walking along the flooded Rappahonnock when Guy takes off. All of a sudden I see a beaver scurrying off. I think it is the first beaver that I ever saw in the wild. It was hilarious in that neither knew what the other one was or what to do. The beaver tried to swim off in a shallow area and Guy tried to chase it bouncing in the water until he realized that the tail was to be avoided. So he circled in front and got a load of the teeth. So he decided that bouncing from side to side and barking was the best strategy. The beaver just wanted to get the hell out of there. Finally, Guy backed off and the beaver swam off. I leashed Guy and on we went.

Saturday, March 13, 2010

definition of unfair

This bimbette is living in the lap of luxury while millions of decent hard working people are jobless, homeless, and begging for a chance to merely make a decent living

http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/2010/03/13/2010-03-13_price_of_beauty_doesnt_include_toothpaste_for_jessica_simpson_i_dont_brush_my_te.html

Friday, March 12, 2010

too depressing

how do you make homelessness less depressing? I wish there was a way to get feedback so I could hear from some of you.

here comes that rainy day feeling again

I LOVE THE RAIN. Right now it is a a misty to moderate rain and Guy and I should be out in the woods, reveling in getting soaked. Unfortunately, that isn't the case. He and I got wet in a relatively short walk and he's in the car stinking it up and I'm in the library, drying off. Luckily I didn't get very wet.

That's the problem. No place to dry off and put on warm clothes and drink a hot cup of tea after getting home because there's no home.

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

same ol same ol

after a night in Motel 6 I will be back at the rest stop for the next few days. Looks like a lot of rain later this week. Gotta figure out what to do to keep me and Guy busy.

More on homelessness

My sister and I were talking about the depression that comes with joblessness. Having felt it, I know what she means. You wake up in the morning and it takes all the energy that you have to crawl to the couch and lie there for the rest of the day.

However, it really is no comparison to being homeless. Please think of this. Imagine yourself without a home.

As I keep saying, I am very lucky. But when you are homeless when you wake up you aren't looking for a couch to crash in for the day. You are looking for a bathroom. And you spend the rest of your day keeping within reach of other bathrooms. And they are all public.

Imagine going days without showering, brushing your teeth in a public rest room while other people are crapping in stalls a few feet from you, being exhausted and wanting to nap but all you have is a car (or nothing) and it is either too cold or too hot and you have to wait till it's time to pull over somewhere for the night.

If it's raining, you can't go out because if you get wet you can't dry off and curl up in a robe with a cup of hot tea. You sit there, in whatever shelter you can find, doing nothing, staying as dry as you can.

So it is not depression that you feel, it is feeling barely human. Being jobless is depressing. Being homeless is dehumanizing. I feel very sorry for those without jobs. However, those without homes are in a much different category. We try to give animals homes and shelter. What a sad indictment of this country that we do such a poor job soing the same for humans.

Monday, March 8, 2010

hello

my sister commented on how I have not updated since Thursday. Has it been that long? Other than the fact that there really is nothing new, I have nothing to write. The realization that this may continue for endless months has finally struck and that realization is numbingly depressing.

Thursday, March 4, 2010

how stupid can you get

This is news?

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The number of Americans filing for initial unemployment insurance fell last week, the government said Thursday.

Note that it said for "initial unemployment." Since unemployment is as high as it's been since the Depression, maybe the decrease in "initial unemployment" is due to the fact that the number of people to lay off is decreasing. DUH. When the percentage of un and under employed people go down THAT would be a good sign.

back to Fredericksburg

I am tired of being cold. It wasn't too bad last night but I wish I were back in NY. The rest stop there is away from the highway and it is dead silent. Here I am about 30 yards from I-95 and the roar of the traffic is sometimes distracting. So I am giving up peace for warmth. Always a trade-off.

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

back to homelessness

I think one of the worst effects of this homelessness gig is the loneliness. Try to fill 16 hours a day with no real contact with anyone other than the momentary, cursory contact with strangers. Of course if you work in an organization like "THE OFFICE" or have a family like those in "SOAP" you may envy me.

decison

It's cold, snowy, and windy in the land of Goshen. A quick geography lesson for those of you who don't realize that the Northeast Corridor from DC to NYC is a very narrow coastal plain that quickly gives rise to the Poconos, Berkshires, Catskills, etc. So it is several degrees cooler here than in the city and it is even cooler 50 miles to the west (Scranton) than here. So if you are watching the NYC weather subtract a few degrees to get where I am.

When I look at the ten day forecasts, average highs and lows, and record highs and lows for the next month it really doesn't look good for staying where I am so I am headed back to Fredericksburg for a short time. By the middle of March I can head to the Frederick, Md area and/or the Shanandoah area and continue my inexorable march north.

Of course, if I ever get another interview all this can change. I also will wait till early this afternoon to see if I hear from Monday's interview. But I find that very unlikely. Sigh.

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

The great brown hunter

So we're at a rest stop and after letting me chase a few squirrels Edie is bringing me back to the car. All of a sudden I sniff something buried in the snow. I lunge to the smell and start burrowing in the snow with my snout. AHA, got it. I dig a little and there it is, a mouse. I leap with pride and the sucker starts running off. Damn leash. Release me, you asshole, there're no cars. Finally, the asshole lets me go, I corner the mouse and won't let it go until it plays with me. Stupid thing keeps rearing on its hind legs and bares its teeth at me. GOODIE, it wants to play hard to get. I scratch at it, grab it with my teeth and shake it a few times. That will show it. Damn, that was fast. It stopped moving. I can't leave it there. Don't take me to the car. I want to play some more. O well.

Guy

Monday, March 1, 2010

NY

don't think the interview went so well but decided to stay in NY one more night. We'll see what tomorrow brings

Whew

Driving through Pennsylvania last night IT WAS COLD AND WINDY. I KNEW it couldn't warm up enough in 50 miles for me to be OK last night. Luckily a lot of what I KNOW is wrong. Not that it was warm, but only a few degrees colder than Fredericksburg so although I was not warm and toasty, I may stay here a couple of days or more.