Alba Qwirky

You gotta love a town that you need 2 days to learn to spell. I'd get started, I'd get finished, it wouldn't look right so I'd throw in another "u".Yep, Albuquerque. Pretty place. If I was gonna be here a couple of more days I could go see Shooter & Charlie again. Yeah, Charlie Daniels' Volunteer Jam is headed into town. I'd go see Shooter again. And this time I'd buy a T-shirt.

I do have one and two thirds days off here before hopping over to Denver so I intend to cruise Route 66 for a little while and also possibly head towards, or even into, Santa Fe. It's all high desert and mountians, not so much condos and strip malls like I left behind. Maybe soothe the soul a little bit for a change.

Left my camera at home and that sucks! I knew I'd be in New Mexico and Colorado and I knew I'd want pictures. If I could get little Canon-san to snap off pictures using my telekinetic powers well,.... well actually I'd still just have pictures of a desk drawer.

Schedule has been brutal. Boston 2 days - home 1 1/2 days - Albuquerque 4 days - Denver 4 days - home 2 days - Dallas 4 days - Miami 2 days - then, hopefully, home for a couple of weeks. Here's hoping. I know I will be rewarded in the long run, but in the short run I'M TIRED. I have been on the road so much tht I am literally getting on planes and forgetting where they're headed.

OK, I don't forget the final destination, I just forget the transfer airport. I knew I was coming here and that the flight from Tampa was at 1340. I always have to get the paper out to verify the airline because I bounce between US Air and United like a bingo ball. So anyway, I guess United was having issues with a flight or something because a rep met me at the head of the line and asked me where I was flying to. And I just looked at her because, truthfully, I had no idea. I went for the paper and instead she asked what time my flight was. "One forty," I said. "Oh, then you're headed to Dulles." "OK." I mean, what else could I say. I knew Iwas flying to an airport to change planes and hadn't really paid attention which one, although if asked to guess I'd have said Charlotte or Philly.

I must have seemed "special", if you know what I mean, because she directed me to a self serve kiosk and offered to help walk me through it. "It's alright," I said with a smile, "I'm actually pretty good at this."

I am telling you, there is nothing for me to blog about. We road tripped out to rural Hernando County and bought a 9.8 HP outboard for our fishing dinghy, but so far all I have been able to do with it is hang it on a saw horse. I didn't even get to wipe it down, DRE did that. The fella selling the motor was way out in the woods and had a 4 year old son who, not once, not twice, but three times referred to me as a blockhead. Kinda cute, quite anachronistic, and after the first time, not particularly appreciated.

Well, gotta go get some free hotel chow, shave my whiskers, and head for work. Yes, I know it's Saturday but TSA, much like rust itself, never sleeps.

It's better to burn out.....

Ramblin' Ed

PS: I wrote this the next day, so I included it. Read it slowly, not quickly. It's more a lament than a ditty.

Rode 18 May 2008

Been on the road again

Nowadays it's another plane

City after city after town

Lights dance and call me here

Put the rental car into gear

Like it's gonna bring me up

or calm me down

In my hotel room

If I can tell the truth

Looks just like L.A. did, and Boston too

A sort of sameness, as it were

Of days that jumble into blur

And the cell phone's thin line

Holding me to you

Been working without end

Get some money more to spend

A hearty well done, son, now hit the road

Could you by the way

Swing out Vegas way

There's still money to be made

Stuff to be sold

Another hotel room

I gotta tell the truth

Could be Denver, could be Baltimore

Stucco walls and crappy chairs

Running out of underwear

Changed my flights again,

But I'm homeward soon

A tradeoff I made when

We needed money more to spend

I know I'm thinking what you're thinking too

A lonliness that fades to blur

A quietness that still disturbs

And the cell phone's thin line

Holding me to you

Ed

Albuquerque