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Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Perspective 101, A Prerequisite For The Golden Years


Bobbie and I decided on a stroll from home, up Camp Bird Road. It's one of our favorite "walks." You wouldn't believe how different it appears... now from just two weeks ago.  Corrals of aspen trees pop from spruce forests, glowing like five hundred watt candles.

Reverting to the selfish brat in a supermarket checkout line... the one that exists in all of us... I remarked that I wished I could freeze time, or at least, slow it down. I don't want what I know is coming to come. I want what I have now, which is crisp mornings, mid sixties afternoons, a full radiant sun in the bluest of sky, and the seasonal sensory kaleidoscope that dances a jig on every single receptor in my body.   

All of a sudden, Mick Jagger is struttin' and whailin' in my head, "You can't always get what you want... but if you try sometimes... well you just might find... you get what you need." 

He's right, you know... although, I suspect Mick Jagger and others like him do get whatever they want. The rest of us eventually find ways to fulfill our "dreams," or, at least a reasonable and acceptable facsimile of them if we can manage to put the little supermarket brat back in his cage where he belongs. So the brand new five-slide motorhome gets downsized to a used class C... or maybe even so far as a little 7 by 18 foot pop-up Chalet on wheels. But here's the thing, if we analyze our "dream" like good little Sigmunds, we "just might find" that it isn't the "rig" or the "wealth" we really dream about, it's the "life," the freedom to wander the wests offerings to our little hearts content. 

And as with Autumn's brevity, the details of our dreams often get compromised. No, "you can't always get what you want... but if you try sometimes... well you just might find... you get what you need."  It's not "settling" for less, necessarily, it's negotiating with our reality. So the Golden Years turn out to be Silver, or even Bronze... at least we made it to "the games," and we are not spectators, we are participants. Sure, the little supermarket brat in all of us wants a King Sized Snickers Bar, but that box of Tic Tacs... well, they're pretty good too. 
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Ah, I see the sun finally cleared the ring of mountains to the east, above the Amphitheater. It beams warmth into The Crevice that I must take advantage of, for it dwindles on ever shortening days of fall. Goldie awaits attention to matters of batteries. She shall have four, in all... if I can but squeeze them into her slender belly. I'm afraid the Onan generator must go in order to make room for all the ion storage. Our little Honda 2000 will suffice... which means we won't be able to run the air conditioner while boondocking (like I care about sitting indoors during the daytime, anyway). 

Let me know if you are interested in a newly rebuilt Onan... I'll make you a deal.
Now let's wander up Camp Bird Road...














8 comments:

  1. Ouray really looks lovely in the fall. Sorry we missed it. We never tire of beautiful scenery.
    With our 3 solar panels and just 2 batteries we do fine without running the generator except in the shorter days of winter on cloudy days. You should have all you need!

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  2. Even the Mick Jaggers of the world can't freeze time huh?

    And idk.... I think day in and day out you may be just a tad happier than most of them :)

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  3. Your pictures have been gorgeous all fall! Thanks for sharing them. With our drought this summer, we really weren't expecting much here but our trees have been brilliant. I did hear the S-word mentioned in the forecast tonight for northern Wisconsin though which isn't that far away. Until then we will keep enjoying our warm days and the loads of corn coming out of the fields.

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  4. From your oldest most faithful follower in Austin, (Laverne not Julie), thanks again for the great pictures....what a pleasure it is for me to get to see the aspens around Ouray, and the beautiful blue skies...I feel sorry for anyone who has not witnessed the splendor...and thanks to you I can and do get to see this wonder through your pictures.

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  5. Jim and Gayle,
    that's good to know. I need at least two solar panels... I don't know if there is room for three on Goldies top.
    thanks!

    Maria,
    Especially since you can't buy "good health."
    I'm getting better at wearing a Happy Face... it takes some getting used to, and a lot of attitudinal adjustments. :))

    Chris and Mindy,
    So you have loads of corn and a beautiful fall in spite of the drought? Great news. Let's hope for a wet winter to recharge the ground water levels... I heard some houses were settling due to dry soils back east.
    thanks for commenting


    Faithful Laverne,
    Thank you! It's that kind of positive feedback the keeps a blogger going!! Thanks for you kind comments... as always.
    mark

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  6. For years I have windsurfed under the Golden Gate bridge and offshore up and down the coast of Northern California, Baja, Maui etc. It's intense, it's pure joy and exhilaration. Now at age 58 I'm transitioning to a new challenge, kiteboarding.

    Occasionally over the years I have had envious thoughts of Mick Jagger (after all the guy is the coolest dude on the planet) but it came to me one day, Mick doesn't windsurf, he can't touch this and he definitely can't buy it. And I would never trade places with him.

    That leaves Richard Branson though and that dude really does have it all!

    http://www.surfertoday.com/images/stories/richardbranson2.jpg

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  7. Generators just block out the sound of life around you anyway. Then how could you hear Mick sing.

    Marvelous fall colors. Looking much like that here also.

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  8. Bayrider,
    I've watch those windsurfers from the charming cliffside village Saulsalito, and from viewpoint at the north end of the Golden Gate Bridge... catching air, playing "Chicken" with massive cargo container ships from China and oil tankers from the middle east. I could see the exile ration and intensity you speak of. The windsurfers seemed so small Among gargantuan ships on such a huge, rough body of water. Hat off to you!
    I never did see a piggy back rider tho... :))

    Gaelyn,
    The Onan was a tad loud. Our little Honda 2000 barely whispers.
    thanks for your comments.
    mark

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