This sculpture by Gary Lee Price, “Journeys of the Imagination,” personifies our attitude when we moved here. And now, as well. Freddie and I saw it in Santa Fe and, with very little fanfare, grabbed it. It’s Price’s son, who he photographed one day playing super hero and leaping off boulders with a towel cape. It made us feel good then and now, as we are both caped and goggled paper airplane surfers.

 When we first moved out here to Resume Speed, Kansas, a noted farmer from the area asked me if I was going to farm. I told him, no, I couldn’t stand the hours or the learning curve. He laughed and said, “I sure hear that.” The feed store owner merely asked, “Are you lost?” every time I’d venture in there. After thirty plus years I get to ask that question of others who are usually looking for the winery store or folk art. The town hasn’t grown much in the years we’ve been here, but it’s acquired a veneer. Artisanal?  Artist + anal I guess is the etymology of that word.

 I sold my hot rod cruiser to Buck Ballou who has trimmed the trees at Wise Acres for years. He was taken by its chopped lines and ‘88 Mercury powerhouse. I had traded him an unused Sasser saddle for some tree work and the hot rod caught his eye that day. The basketweave patterned Sasser was made in Greenville Texas and gathered dust on a saddle rack I bought in California. My using saddle was, is, an old ranch work saddle that Harley and Lopez and several others found comfortable. Percy, a wonderful horse I had 50 years ago liked it too. I still have it but I doubt I’ll ever sit it again. Not so much my age, but no more horses, thanks. They are just too hard to lose.

 Buck had one day of cruising in the 1949 Ford lead sled, and from an account I heard, thoroughly enjoyed it. Vintage hot rods that run well have a way of bringing past years and old songs up to now in a nice way. Sadly, Buck passed away some weeks later. He’s a legend and he is missed. He was 86.

 F gave me a Fitbit a couple birthdays ago and it says I’ve walked over 12 million steps, averaging 11,000+ a day. Thousands of miles. My resting heart rate is 57; it was 67 when I started; not bad but better now. She walks, too. A lot faster than I do, though I slow jog to get my heart rate up to 120 or so. Walking requires no gym membership and it’s something just about anyone can do anywhere. It’s cheap and effective. End of commercial.

 Paper airplane surfing; did some after covid interrupted a novel that was showing some promise (fun to write often results in fun to read) as it was contemporary and I couldn’t just put masks on everyone and blithely sail forward. What I did was corner a producer about the prospects of an earlier novel becoming a streaming episodic deal. That’s all I’ll say for now. Will have to do a pilot and some synopses, see where it goes.

 Had a fun interview by Suanne Shaeffer, a writer of bestsellers and a force in the lit world. Here’s the link, if you care to pursue.

 And this from Jessie Krebs, a trailer from her Masterclass on survival. I have the MC series so will probably audit this one if not actually go out in the wild and face off with grizzlies and avalanches. She is a former Air Force SERE (survival, evasion, resistance, and escape) instructor, and a cool lady. As she says in the trailer, make your exhales longer than your inhales.

 And surf the paper airplane once in awhile. Oh, the places it’ll take you!