So exactly why did we choose to relocate to a shelterless patch of belligerent land in a rough clime so unlike that which we had ever known?
Unfortunately, the answer might not be primo neurotic fodder for tabloids. Sorry to disappoint if you were waiting for any real knock down and drag 'em out juicy stuff. But it does involve an addiction so read on.
When Mark and I got together years ago, we each continued on in our usual ways but now in a coincidental lock step. We worked incessantly during daylight hours with few diversions. But we enjoyed it. Then came the oft-repeated invitation from our old Albuquerque friends and, for some reason still unfathomable to us, it just hit at the right time. It seemed almost surreal to find ourselves hopping off a plane into a rental car and heading out to explore the states of New Mexico, Arizona, Utah and Colorado over the following two weeks. A genuine vacation ... us? What about the projects left on the back burner, the pets, the lawn ... oh, how ... how totally irresponsible!
But these brilliant new surroundings soon blew off that residual haze of guilt and we consumed the southwest with an outrageous and uncharacteristic gluttony. We could now feel the real Old West originally brought to us by the era of black and white TV with the test pattern graced by that beautiful Indian chief. Forget the pot metal cap guns with embossed plastic holsters, the turkey feathers in cardboard headbands ... this was the real thing! As the miles and ever changing terrain passed by, I glanced out the window and could nearly see the Indians of a few hundred years ago as they came and went in everyday life - nothing particularly exciting, just a simpler life without the excessive constraints of modern society and government.
When we arrived home, our abandoned world had not collapsed fully in our absence. What a stunning revelation! But we carried home a viral-natured creature which would not go away. We would later rehash the impact of the adventure and come to the conclusion that we both most appreciated the times when we were completely alone with the land, its resident animals, plants and ever vocal winds. Departing left a haunting void and longing within both of us. There was a strong stoic beauty within the region and its tenacious inhabitants that could not be shaken by either of us. We needed to return.
It would be a very trying experience over the next couple of years to find that home where our hearts now belonged. Our first inclination was to find a place within a short distance of our old friends, for obvious reasons. After several failed attempts to buy property in an appealing funky artist community nearby, we started to look farther afield. We would spend almost three years trying to find a place in which the deal was not plagued by unusual circumstance. That interval was not without extreme angst and utter discouragement either. There was a point when we became so discouraged that we stopped looking altogether lest the blood pressure spikes and screeching frustration resurface. As my nephew said "If it is not meant to be, it will not happen. If it is meant to be, it will happen flawlessly."
One day, after an undetermined span of painful withdrawal, I had a sudden and insistent inspiration to go look at sites with available properties once more. One stood out with invisible asterisks and we found ourselves southwest bound again. The young and endearing agent showed us several properties that day but this one remained the forerunner in our intuition. We were driven to take the leap without pause. It still took a year or more to wrap up our many commitments to that previous life but the brief encounter with this remote setting had left its searing brand on our every breath thereafter. We were simply meant to be here, even if only for a time line whose length has yet to be revealed.
Next likely post - in a couple of days (and as always, if the creek don't rise)-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Link of the day:
Next time you find yourself in an American Graffiti kind of mood, click on this link. This man has gathered together some great hits from 1956 to 1960. Just click on the jukebox titles and get ready to rock. This great 'heads up' courtesy of the KatLady.
http://www.bobforrest.com/JukeBox.htm
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