Rock 101- Lynryd Skynyrd

Rock 101-Best of Lynyrd Skynyrd

Ronnie Van Zandt and his band started a musical genre that has defined a generation. Unfortunately, a plethora of fakers and wannabes have attempted to cash in on the Lynyrd Skynyrd sound and style. Only a few bands can personify the southern rock sound; The Outlaws, Black Oak Arkansas, Blackfoot, Molly Hatchet, The Marshall Tucker Band and most recently Blues Traveler come to mind. The “new” Lynryd Skynyrd only has one original member, Gary Rossington, and he does his best to keep the flame lit, but I have a hard time listening to them. 

The first Skynyrd song I can remember is 1975’s “Saturday Night Special” from the “Nuthin’ Fancy” album. They had already established themselves by then and I was around 12 or so at the time. In the summer of ’75, “Billy, Don’t Be a Hero” was at the top on AM, but Skynyrd was killin’ it on the FM dial.  I had an AM clock radio at the time and only FM stations playing true rock at that time. When the off chance that AM radio would spin that song, I learned to turn the volume up to 11. Giggle. Spinal Tap reference. My Sears & Roebuck radio would crackle and spit, and I would air guitar with the best. Good times…

Most of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s best music came from their first two albums, “Pronounced Leh-nerd-Skin-nerd” and “Second Helping”. Very similar to the band Boston’s library. Unfortunately, the third issue,” Gimme Back My Bullets” had the title song, but not much else. The live album “One More From the Road” followed and is one of the best lives albums ever produced. “Foghat Live” and “Kiss Alive” can lie claim to that also. 

“Street Survivors” had Steve Gaines replacing Ed King (mostly; Ed is credited for one track) and Artimus Pyle was on his second tour of duty as drummer. This was a refreshing follow up, but was tragically ended with the infamous plane crash that killed Ronnie Van Zandt, Steve Gaines, backup singer Cassie Gaines, assistant road manager Dean Kilpatrick, pilot Walter McCreary and co-pilot William Gray. 

I watched a documentary on the band a few weeks ago and Artimus Pyle claimed that Ronnie was considering to bring back former members, guitarist Ed King and original drummer Bob Burns. This would have given them a dual drum combo and a four-lead guitar ensemble. Holy cow, can you imagine the sound that would have been. 

Lynyrd Skynyrd At Its Best

1.    Workin’ For MCA

2.    Gimme Three Steps

3.    I Need You

4.    Don’t Ask Me No Questions

5.    I Ain’t The One

6.    The Needle and the Spoon

7.    Saturday Night Special

8.    Gimme Back My Bullets 

9.    Poison Whiskey

10.  Mr. Banker-(Special addition to the 2001 re-mix of "Pronounced Leg-nerd-Skin-nerd)

11.  Swamp Music

12.  Tuesday’s Gone

13.  Down South Jukin’

14.  What’s Your Name-

15.  Call Me the Breeze

16.  Free Bird (Lower on the list only because it has been played a million times)

I didn’t list “Sweet Home Alabama” because it is themost overplayed song on the radio. Worse than “Stairway To Heaven”. Today’s pop country fakers have soiled a great song. Great for Ronnie’s heirs, bad for true fans. I first heard “Free Bird” on the live album, but the studio recorded version is the one you hear the most. It too was overplayed as well, but has one of the greatest solo guitar licks ever. Allen Collins absolutely shreds it…

I wish I could have seen them live. Not many bands make decent live acts; they are just better in the studio than live. Listen to a live Rolling Stones song; painful to hear…. Ronnie Van Zandt insisted that there would be no “musical interpretation”; the tunes were played the same way each time. You Tube is full of Skynyrd performances and I particularly like the live version of “Workin’ For MCA”. Bassist Leon Wilkeson is standing behind Ronnie Van Zandt and is in the zone. Good stuff people…

Who knows how great they could have become? The 70’s scene was pretty taxing on musicians and they may have fizzled out with a whimper and a cry. Drugs and booze ruined a lot of players in those days and a lot of the band had issues. I’d like to think that they would have got their act together and kept it goin’. 

I mean, come on. Keith Richards is still here…

                                                    

                                                                                                                                                                       

Lets Go Catch a Movie

Let’s Go Catch a Movie

Like most seasoned couch potatoes like me (cue the self-depreciating humor) , we all enjoy a good movie. Unfortunately, you have to weed out the good from the bad. I feel that a list is needed to help my fellow taters. 

I started making a list of great movies to see a while back. Hey, somebody had to do it…

In no particular order…

Hooper-Burt Reynolds and Sally Fields flick that I actually paid to see 4-5 times at the cinema. I even dreamed of becoming a stunt man. When “The Fall Guy” with Lee Majors was on the tube, I never missed a show. The Palomino Club fight scene with Terry Bradshaw was awesome.

3 Days of the Condor and Jerimiah Johnson-Great spy thriller with Robert Redford as a CIA analyst trying to stay alive after his office is shot up by CIA hitmen. Faye Dunaway plays his hostage and then later, confidant who helps him stay alive and find out who is trying to take him out. Max von Sydow plays an international gun for hire trying to snuff out Robert Redford.

Jeremiah Johnson caused me to think if I could be a mountain man. Not sure if I could emulate Will Geer huntin’ for “grizz” …..

The Godfather Trilogy-I could write an entire paper on this. The third is not near as great as the first two, but still pretty damn good. I like Robert De Niro’s role as a young Vito Corleone the best. Marlon Brando is very good De Niro plays it to a “t”. James Caan as the hot-headed Sonny and Robert Duval as Tom Hagen are spot on. Richard Castellano plays a great Clemenza as well. Who can forget his epic line “Leave the gun, take the cannoli.” Clemenza even taught us how to make marinara sauce.

Animal House-With an R rating, I had to sneak in to see this show at age 16. Always the rebel…

Both Animal House and Blazing Saddles probably produced more quoted references than any two movies. Who didn’t try to quote Bluto’s lines back then? Same with D-Day and Flounder. 

Bluto’s classic “Sorry.” after he smash’s the folk singing minstrel’s guitar is epic. “Was it over when the German’s bombed Pearl Harbor?” There’s a ton of them.

Blazing Saddles-Another stealth, underage sneak in of mine. I worked with a guy who told me his room-mates and him would watch Blazing Saddles with the sound turned off and everyone in the room would take turn reciting the dialogue. Genious…

Slim Pickens should have got an Oscar for his Sheriff Taggart role. Alex Karras should have gotten a nod for Mongo, but Mongo only pawn in game of life…

Taxi Driver, Goodfellas and Casino-I just love the gangster and mafia shoot ‘em ups. I am enthralled with organized crime and the mafia. Robert De Niro is so believable along with 

Joe Pesci. I like how the little guy is the bad-ass. In Taxi Driver, De Niro is warped. 

Think of, “You talkin’ to me? Well I’m the only one here.” Classic. I still have a hard time understanding why Jody Foster’s parents let her play Iris the not-even-teenage hooker. 

Pulp Fiction- Don’t you love to hear Samuel L. Jackson cuss? He can say “damn” and I fall down laughing. The way all of the storylines intertwined is perfect. I even learned what a Big Mac is called in France, which makes this an educational film too. Travolta and Uma Thurman cut a rug big time at Jack Rabbit Slim’s. So many good lines; Bruce Willis saying “It’s a chopper baby.” and “Zed’s dead baby. Zed’s dead.” are but a few. I can watch this another 100 times and catch something new.

Arthur-One of the flat-out funniest movies ever done. Dudley Moore and John Gielgud were perfectly cast and Liza Minelli is actually pretty funny. Geraldine Fitzgerald as Arthur’s grandmother is priceless. 

Nothing with Leonardo DiCaprio- Sorry Matt Damon and Jack Nicholson (The Departed), but I can’t stand this prick. He over-acts, he is arrogant and I just don’t like him. Sorry Leo…

Anything with Henry Fonda-Spencer’s Mountain and On Golden Pond are two of my favorites. The Rounders with Glenn Ford is another good one. Hard to believe Jane is his daughter…

Marathon Man- This one probably made more people afraid of the dentist than anything. My parents don’t like telemarketers and let all calls go to voice mail. Whenever I call them I always ask “Is it safe?” in an awful German accent. Dustin Hoffman plays a graduate student whose father committed suicide when he was a child. He is still haunted by this and trains for marathons to keep himself sane.

Serpico-Another good with Al Pacino. True story of Frank Serpico who testified about New York City police corruption in the 60s and 70’s. 

French Connection I and II-For the longest time I thought this was a true story, but not as it turns out. Gene Hackman and Roy Scheider are New York detectives who stumble on to a heroin smuggling ring from France and try to stop it in the first one. In number II, Gene Hackman goes to France to catch the “Frog” and take him down. 

Just about anything from John Wayne- “The Quiet Man” is my all- time fave. The fight between Sean Thornton and Squire Danaher from the farm to town is the best. “The Cowboys” is another good one. Can’t help but shed a tear at the end. “North To Alaska” and “McClintock” show the comedian in him. His only crapper was when he played Genghis Khan 

in “The Conqueror”. John Wayne with a Fu Manchu. What was he thinking???

The Hundred Foot Journey-Being a wanna be cook makes this drama work for me. An Indian family moves to France and opens an Indian restaurant across the street from a Michelin starred French restaurant run by Helen Mirren. I found the recipe for the omelet that was in the story and cooked it. Food nerd…

“Finding Nemo”, “Shrek”, “Puss In Boots” and “Monster’s Inc.”- I needed a cartoon section. Plus, these are full of vaguely veiled adult humor and I gut laugh at all of them.

MASH-I think I watched the TV series before I ever saw the movie. Don’t miss this one when it shows on TCM. 

Red and Red 2-Once again Helen Mirren. Coincidence? I think not. John Malkovich is funny as hell and Bruce Willis is his usual cool self.

Goodbye Mr. Chips-A bit of a tear jerker at the end, but pretty good stuff. I’ve never seen the 1930’s version, only the late 60’s film. Peter O’Toole and Petula Clark were cast perfectly.

The Big Lebowski-Perfect example of a cult film. Jeff Bridges is good, but John Goodman is even better. Another one to quote from; “Yeah, well, that’s just like your opinion, man.” and “Forget it Donnie. You’re out of your element.”

Clint Eastwood-Last one but certainly not last. Dirty Harry says it all. “A man’s got to know his limitations.” and “This is a 44 magnum, the most powerful handgun in the world and can blow your head clean off.” and “You got to be wondering, did he fire 6 shots or only 5?”

The Unforgiven and Bronco Billy are pretty awesome too. Who thought Clint Eastwood could sing?

The Great Ones-Kevin Willard

The Great Ones-Kevin Willard

“Buddy, you can jump in the truck with me anytime.” Those are probably the last words Kevin Willard said to me. Since I have been a manufacture rep, those are the kindest and most satisfying words for me to ever hear. It lets me know that I am doing my job and doing it right. 

I was riding with Kevin a while back and we had spent some time on some dairies in the Central Valley of California.  I can’t recall very many reps whose customers look forward to seeing them as much as Kevin’s accounts did. He was definitely a “glass half full” kind of person and his smile and demeanor would light up a room like no other. 

I didn’t know Kevin as well as a lot of other people did, but he made you feel like you were his best friend. There’s not a lot of people that behold to that quality. You can’t fake it and you don’t just turn it on and off like a light. 

I remember Kevin bragging on his daughter’s singing and he even played some of their music while we were driving. I like the music that he and the Cadillac Cowboys played and I’ll bet my last dollar that they were destined for more greatness than they had already achieved in the Central Valley. I shared some Bruce Robison songs that I brought with me from Texas with him and he really enjoyed it. It was kind of like a moment of acceptance for me. I felt like we were on the same level. 

Every time I was around Kevin, he always seemed to mention his wife and family. They were his world and he was one proud papa and husband. Music and work were important to him, but family was his light. Like Kevin, I wish I had known them better.

Kevin loved life and lived it to the fullest. He never had an enemy and honest to God, I don’t think he ever met a stranger.  I wish I had been around him more and got to know him better. I wanted to be Kevin. He had an aura around him that was like a tractor beam; it just pulled you in. I want to pattern myself around this amazing human being. His personality and the way he carried himself was how I wanted to be. 

I don’t understand why the good ones are taken so young. I’m sure there is some kind of hidden meaning that we will relate to someday, but I would have rather spent more time riding with Kevin.

Here’s to you pard. I miss you dearly.

Kids and Dogs

Kids & Dogs

How could you live without kids or dogs? The idea of neither stumps me for sure.

When Susie and I married It had been several years since I had a pet. My heeler Dozer was my constant companion while in college. He went everywhere with me and was my good travelin’ buddy. He even spent two weeks traveling the western US while I visited potential horse farms to intern at. My senior year in college I moved out to the equine facility at the Tarleton farm and lived there. I couldn’t keep a dog at the farm, so remorsefully I let Dozer go live with Chuck and Tracie Selman. While working in south Texas I found Chuck & Tracie living in McAllen, TX. We got together and I saw Dozer for the first time in about 3 years. It took him a bit to figure me out, but his tail went to waggin’ 90 miles an hour after a few moments with me. I like to think he remembered me, but it had been too long. He surely forgot about me and took to Chuck and Tracie like I had hoped he would.

Susie had two cats when we married, Patches and Jacob. Unfortunately, when we arrived home from our honeymoon, Jacob had passed on to that great litter box in the sky.  Pretty awful thing to come home to. It actually really sucked…  Susie found the next boarder running along the road by her work and brought him home. No one answered the flyers we posted, so we had a new family member, Smokie the nervous dog. He was a great dog with a ton of energy. His only fault was pissing on himself when he got excited. We had to be really calm when we came home at the end of the day so he wouldn’t piddle.

Susie found our next companion while helping her friend feed her horses. Mr. T probably went back multi generations as a feral cat. He passed on the gift of ringworm to us and everyone but the dog became infected. Loads of fun having to shave the cats so we could doctor the ringworm. Mr. T was named because of his sour disposition. He didn’t give a rat’s ass about anyone but Susie and me. Going to the vet was an ordeal in itself. He would scream like a baby (seriously, a 3-month-old human infant) and the entire waiting room stared and whispered when we left the vet’s office. Mr. T died at the ripe old age of 13 and still only had two friends. 

Smokie was not a very country smart dog and when we moved to Sherman, Texas, he found out the hard way that coyotes aren’t the nicest souls. Around 6 months after Smokie left us, I was at a feed store in Waxahachie, TX and a guy happened to stop in and ask the store manager if she knew anyone who wanted a Blue Heeler pup. Talk about timing. I met the guy on the side of Interstate 35 a couple of hours later and was soon the proud owner of two full sisters. Abbie and Mazie were two of the best dogs in the world. They were constantly no more than 25 or 30 feet away from each other their entire life. We lost Abbie at an early age to an auto-immunity disease and Mazie lived another 13 years. 

Sam the pit-bull was the most misunderstood dog in the world. He showed up one freezing winter day right before Christmas. Abbie and Mazie were outside and began barking like the end of the world was upon us. Sam was curled up in the flower beds and about half dead. He had literally no hair and was skinny as a killdeer with lockjaw, (Google it). The mange he had literally broke the bank. He got through it and was probably the best dog I ever had. Loyal and protective with a streak of goofiness in him.

Sam, Mazie, Abbie, Mr. T and Hannah (recently acquired cat) moved to California with us. 3 days in the car with 5 animals is a joy everyone should experience at least once. Abbie didn’t make the trip back to Texas and died in California of an auto immunity disease. Mr. T passed on in California also, grumpy to the end. Mazie, Sam and Hannah made the trip back to California in 2008; they knew how to pack it up and move it out on a moment’s notice.

Maize and Sam both passed within a few months of each other. Susie and me took Mazie to the vet, but Susie had to deal with Sam by herself. We kicked around the idea of a dog, but just couldn’t do it for a while.

While at a meeting, I get a call from a customer who knew someone that wanted to give away a Blue Heeler. I thought this was the sign we were looking for. Uhm, nope….

Lucy was 6 months old and all she knew how to do was eat and, well, you know. It has taken 2 ½ years to get her to somewhat listen to me. Oh sure, she talks to her mom and has a grand time, but I am only a shadow in her eyes.

About a year and a half ago, I stopped at a customer’s store and a man had a Red Heeler he couldn’t keep. She was about 3 months old and cute as can be. I called the boss to see if I could bring another dog home and got the okay. 

We couldn’t figure out what to name her until one day she was running around going ape-shit and I thought, “Damn, she’s a pistol.” Annie Oakley was derived from that moment of wisdom. She listens a lot better than Lucy does, but she can’t stand the deer, turkeys, squirrels and the peacocks from invading her space. By the way, I didn’t know peacocks could fly….

The both have multiple names now and believe it or not, they will respond to all of them.

Lucy                                                                           

Aka as “The Queen”                                                         

Lucinda                                                                                 

Lucia                                                                                      

Lucille                                                                                    

Lucy (said with heavy Spanish accent as Ricky Ricardo from I Love Lucy)                  

Dumb Ass

Annie                                                                        

Aka as “The Red Head”

Annie of Green Gables

Annie Oakley

Anna Alisia

Annabelle (as in the movie about the possessed doll)

Dip Shit

We don’t use the last two except when we are inside the house, but they still perk their ears up.

We have been blessed with the best “kids” of all. Even my mom calls them “grand-dogs”. My dad draws pencil art of them and everyone has a place on the wall. 

Life couldn’t be better without ‘em.

                              

                                                        

                                 

The Great Ones-My Dog Sam

Sam was quite possibly the best dog on the face of this earth. I’m not just saying this, he was quite the pooch.

Sam was so great I just had to share him with everyone. He had a tougher life than most people of the human race have had and he just sucked it up and kept on waggin’ his crooked tail.

One day right before Christmas while I was living in Sherman, Texas, my two heelers Abbie and Mazie began to bark like Armageddon was arriving. I snuck a look out the window and there was Sam curled up in the flower beds by the front door with two dogs barking at him like he was trying to rob the place. The mercury was hovering in the low 30’s and Sam was shaking like a leaf and just about frozen solid. He had literally no hair and looked to be only a couple of months old.  I called the county to come get him, but they left it in my hands. 

I called the vet with the thinking that Sam wasn’t going to see the new year. 

We drove him to Sherman and the vet said it was the worst case of demodectic mange he had ever seen. We couldn’t even tell what breed he was but we thought he was a Shar Pei by all the wrinkles. The vet said he would put him down if we wanted, but Susie and I talked about it and asked the vet to help him if he could. He warned us that it wouldn’t be cheap, but we relented anyway. 

We started giving him about 2/10ths of a cc of oral ivermectin twice a day for a month and we expected the remedy to do more harm than good. The vet said this was last resort and we hoped for the best. We were sure his liver would be shot. Sam was also dipped in a mange dip every 10 days that just knocked his pecker into his watch pocket after each treatment. After a few weeks his hair started to grow back and he started looking much better. After 30 days we had named him Sam (after Sam the Butcher on “The Brady Bunch”), but also affectionately started calling him “The National Debt” because we sunk a good bit of change into his recovery.

As Sam started getting better and his brindle color started to come back and his big ole head started taking the shape of, you guessed it, a Pit Bull. 

I was a little nervous at first, but his two adopted sisters had taken to him, (somewhat) and he was showing us how smart he was. We figured someone had dumped him because of his mange, but he had had scar’s like he may have been a sparring dog for some dog fighting people.  See what I mean by a tough life…

Having a name like Sam gave us a multitude of other names to call him. Some of the many were:

Sammy

Sammy Davis

Shammy Davis

Sammy Sosa

Sam the Sham

Good Ole Sam

Sambo

Samuel Gompers

Samuel Clemens or Mark Twain

He didn’t care what you called him, he was just happy to be here.

Sam and the girls would rough house and play fight constantly and most of the time they ganged up on him. Abbie would grab his back leg and Mazie would grab him by the collar and they would both pull. Sam was having the time of his life. I bet he was thinking “This is great! Two girls!!”. They were all buddies until nighttime. I had to buy a second dog house because the heelers would make him sleep outside and wouldn’t let him in the dog house. We also had to feed them and let Sam eat first because the girls would not let him eat. I don’t think he ever forgave us for removing his male parts. Every now and then he would walk be me and I could see him looking back toward his rump and then giving me the stink eye.

We moved to California and the girls rode with Susie and I rode with Sam. He turned out to be a terrible traveling dog and puked before we got to Wichita Falls. No more breakfast for Sam when we traveled in the car. I soon realized what a problem he might be when the property management people in CA asked me what breed Sam was. I told them the girls were heelers and Sam was a Heinz 57. Not actually a lie, but not all the truth. 

People would look at us sideways when we took the dogs for a walk or a run down by the lake. We grew tired of telling people he was a mutt and finally just accepted him as a Bulldog.

He for sure changed our minds and opinions of Pit Bulls. Sam loved people but was protective (like most dogs) of us and our property. His bark could shatter windows and he owns the world record for slobber hanging from the chin. Both length and longevity. Look it up. He was wary of other dogs, but as he got older he became more assured. He mainly just needed more socialization; our fault all the way. This breed of dog is so misunderstood and mistreated. It is all about who is holding the reins. If you teach any dog to fight or be aggressive, by God that’s what they will become. Too many of the wrong people are destroying this breed. Just because you have a Pit Bull on a logging chain leash doesn’t make you a tough guy. The media doesn’t help either. Look at the bad press German Shepherds, Dobermans and Rottweiler’s have received over the years. If you teach a dog to sic em, they’re gonna get in your hip pocket. Pretty damn simple…

Sam moved back to Texas with us in 2008 and then back again to California with us in 2011. Not so much puking on the last trip. Sam had kicked death’s ass in his first year of existence and he survived a tummy full of fertilizer (don’t ask) in midlife. He refused to pass through the pearly gates and shake hands with Elvis and Rin Tin Tin. 

He finally ran out of gas a few years ago. Bleeding profusely through the nose, we knew something was amiss. The vet said that in his advanced age and with the symptoms he was showing, he had some sort of cancer. I was out of town when all this came down and never got to see Sam again. Susie had Sam put down on her own. I felt awful and cried when Susie told what had transpired. She said he was a happy dog all the way to the end.

I don’t think I will ever have a dog as good as Sam. He was taught me a lot, like 

“Don’t worry Tim. We got this.” He would look at me and Susie and you could see it in his eyes that he was smitten with us. 

We were sure smitten with him.

Here's To The Mountains

Mountains are Calling 

John Muir once said, “The mountains are calling and I must go.”

It don’t get much more honest than those words. That sounds extremely corny, but I wonder if I could have survived the existence of a 19^thcentury wanderer.

“Jeremiah Johnson”, the classic tale of an 1800’s easterner transplanting himself into the Rocky Mountains, was recently on the tube. I think I could watch this movie another thousand times and not get bored. Even the movie theme takes me away.

Vacations growing up as a child were normally camping in Texas, New Mexico and Colorado. It took me years to fully appreciate what my parents were trying to instill in me... As children, my siblings (Amy & Dan) and I could not appreciate these mini-adventures like we should have. We wanted to stay in a motel or lodge and visit the mecca for all kids 12 and under; the motel swimming pool. Dining in a restaurant was super cool and much more appetizing than a fire side meal of roasted marshmallows and hot dogs. We could watch TV while in bed, a luxury that we could never do at home. The best part of camping was I never had to take regular showers. Ah, the constant smell of fire smoke and sweat. My dad finally told me, “Bath yourself or you eat your meals downwind.”

The solitary environment is probably what I crave the most. I could never be apart from Susie very long, but for some reason I feel like I could thrive being the only human for miles around. Well, maybe Susie, me and the dogs instead of just me… My need for them trumps my personal needs. 

We would have to rely on my hunting and fishing skills (strike one) and her gardening skills. Sometimes it’s kind of nice to think that you only had to lean on yourself to survive. I told my dad that once and he replied in a dead pan, serious tone, “So you want to be a bum?” Sometimes maybe I do.

I could probably build a fairly respectable cabin, although it would look like 7^thgrade shop class built it. I’m not very good at constructing 90-degree angles (strike 

two) and my stone masonry skills would probably result in a drafty and mis-shaped chimney. Susie could dress a deer or an elk out fairly well because she used to help her dad do this at home. Without her knife skills, I guess we would be pretty skinny.  Perhaps a vegan mountain man is more my speed.

I hope I would run into a Will Geer type of mountain man who could teach me the ropes and help me hunt grizz. Although I have a few outdoor skills already, I think help would be of the upmost need. I can build a fire, only I need lighter fluid and a match. Cutting down trees would be a breeze, but since I tire easily, it might take a few days for one tree. I suppose I would build a really small cabin because of that. Fishing would be fairly easy, but then you have the messy job of cleaning the fish. Thankfully I make a mean spinach quiche.

Oh sure, it’s fun to imagine living off the land in the 19^thcentury. Making grizzly tooth necklaces, eating jerky and corn dodgers, doing your business in an outhouse… Good times for all.

Maybe I’m best suited to just live where I do. I get to gaze at the mountains and listen to the wind in the pines. When I’m done with staring at nature, it’s good to know I can go back to my centrally air conditioned and heated home. Turn on my electric lights, open my refrigerator, crack a cold beer and binge watch “Breaking Bad”. 

Not a bad life and I don’t have to use my own feces to fertilize the garden.