Decision Made and Do I Feel Better

I finally decided that I am driving to Ontario, Canada this year. I am taking Petey with me. Estimated departure date is August 20th - a new moon.
The photo is from my trip last year, the first day out, actually. I took the shot on US route 191 past the Morenci mining 'stuff', on the way up to Arizona's White Mountains. That trip totalled just over 3,000 miles, this one should double that.

Basically, I'll be heading north and east into New Mexico through Las Cruces, Alamogordo, and Roswell (never been there - always a route draw for me). On into the panhandle of Texas where due to Roswell will take me through Hereford (TX), then into Oook-la-homa, where starting at El Reno I plan to take good ole route 66 that skips along beside I-44. Then through Missouri, Joplin to St. Louis on I-44 to I-270. Now on through Illinois to Terre Haute, Indiana where I plan to do the scenic US40 that parallels I-70 to Indianapolis where I pick up I-69 north to Michigan. And I-69 it is, on into Ontario at the Port Huron/Sarnia crossing. (have never done that either). Once I'm into Canada I wander around trying to miss the big cities, especially Toronto, to Beaverton on Lake Simcoe, then final leg up to Lake Memesagamesing and my cousin Arlene's Hideaway cottage. Aaa. Swimming, fishing, berry-picking.
Along the way I plan to fill a basket with something from each state that's a locally grown or made food product for my cousin's hostess gift.
Return Trip? All I know is it has to be done. Who wants a postcard?

Human Interest Stories

The local paper said that someone had reported "a naked man ironing on his front porch". Just how skewed can a story get when it goes through the police records to the local newspaper? My friend, I'll call him Joe, told me that at first he didn't even recognize himself, but suddenly he remembered the moment. It's summer here in the Chiricuahua Desert and it gets hot. Joe was in his Bermuda shorts, out on his porch, spreading a beach towel over the railing. From someone's prespective, possibly through binoculars, it might have looked as if he had no clothes on and the action of smoothing the towel out on the railing might have looked as if he were ironing. My question is: Who would call the police about this in any case?

This is not the first time I've know the people behind the Human Interest story who could barely recognize themselves, or the story that was really happening. My pregnant friend in the Telephone Company in Santa Ana, California back in 1961 had a fast first delivery. She was unable to get out of their car because labor was so advanced, so the hospital staff came out to her and got her inside to safely have her baby. BUT, the newspaper story said she'd had the baby in the parking lot, and the reason she'd had it there was that she was reading an Alfred Hitchcock story and couldn't put it down.

Don't Step On Your Chihuahua

The Newsflash is that Petey-pup had to go to the vet's office yesterday.

He was tranquilized and had a toe nail removed. It was my fault. I was on the front steps of the house, saying goodbye to my neighbors, Thomas and Bernadette, I stepped back onto his foot.

Yes, he screamed. I didn't believe that he was really hurt, since he tends to complain even when he thinks he might be hurt; but there was blood.

I didn't want to take him to the local veterinarian office because they have not shown me, or my dog, or my cat, politeness, let alone compassion. Getting his shots there is okay but not checking an injury. Well, I set off for Sierra Vista thinking we'd go to the new "Animal Care" building on Hwy 90. We stopped there all right but it turns out that that is the new City Animal Shelter. So on we went to the Apache Veterinarian Hospital on Hwy 92.

They took us right in. They were compassionate. They fixed him up in just over an hour. I had time to get some lunch down at the Country House while I waited. The whole thing happened just as I was getting ready to go out to the Copper Queen Hospital cafeteria. Missed that. But we're glad Petey's fixed up, good as new except for the loss of one toe nail on his front left side. And it only cost $140.