Somewhere between the daily grind that keeps beans on the table and gas in the tank, and those hours we spend, hopefully, dreaming instead of worrying, is life. Those are the precious hours, the ones that add zest and spice to the grand adventure.
We can while away that irreplaceable time by watching reruns or we can live life to its fullest. We can find novel ways to kill time or we can bring life to the time we have with friends, memory making adventures, and finding ways to leave this old world a bit better than it was when arrived.
I prefer the latter on both counts. As a result this weekend was a most enjoyable one.
Saturday morning kicked off with a touch of business as it pertains to the various ongoing writing projects, and work on this coming weeks installment of Jim Hinckley’s America (here is a link for last Fridays program – http://snmradio.com/krsyam/Programs/081613b.m3u).
Then it was off to breakfast at the Hot Rod Café with Kumar Patel of the Wigwam Motel in Rialto. As this was a Route 66 based morning surprises were expected. This time they were made manifest in Greg Gaszak who joined us for breakfast as he and Kumar had both selected the El Trovatore Motel for Friday night lodging.
I followed this up by giving Kumar the five cent tour of Kingman. This adventure included checking on a location west of town on Route 66.
Then it was off to a memorial service for a friend who passed away while we were on the road to Joplin. Needless to say, a loss such as this, and the sharing of the family’s sorrow, sharpen the perspective about what is really important in life.
I was trying to locate the site of an old business that appears on a real photo post card in Steve Rider’s collection. A few knowledgeable tips had narrowed the search area considerably.
I am rather confident that we found the location. Even better, I think the building has survived into the modern era.
I don’t think my good fortune will hold true in trying to find the location of the second post card. To much time has passed since the photo was taken and as you can see, the back ground has been dramatically altered.
Next, I spent the morning running errands and responding to people who left messages in the gust book on the general website for the 2014 Route 66 International Festival that will be held in Kingman next August on the weekend of the 16th.
Then it was off to a memorial service for a friend who passed away while we were on the road to Joplin. Needless to say, a loss such as this, and the sharing of the family’s sorrow, sharpen the perspective about what is really important in life.The rest of the afternoon was consumed with a dire need to organize the mountain of research notes accumulated last week. Most of this material will be transformed into something coherent for the forthcoming Route 66 atlas in the coming weeks, I hope.
We topped off the day with a double date at Redneck’s Barbecue and Chillin’ on Beale evening. As a bonus, Kumar and Greg arrived as we were entering the desert round of dinner.
We rounded the evening off with a walk down to the Brunswick Hotel to check on progress. Even though there have been a multitude of delays, if construction stays on course my dearest friend and I should have a Route 66 store next summer.
Sunday was absolutely perfect, or at least as perfect as one can expect here on planet earth. A quiet morning with my dearest friend, a very productive day working on the Arizona entries for the atlas (the origins of the Jack Rabbit Trading Post and a fellow who decided, for no apparent reason, to drive to Gallup and shoot hitchhikers along the way in 1954).
A little wine, some interesting pizza, and the company of my dearest friend made for a wonderful evening and a perfect way to close out the weekend. In fact it was such a pleasant evening even the truly dreadful film Once Upon a Time in America couldn’t dampen the sense that in my world, at least for the moment, life was good.
English
Arabic
Chinese (Simplified)
Dutch
French
German
Italian
Portuguese
Russian
Spanish