Uncluttered lives

Before I moved here, I led a somewhat rut-filled life. Not that I didn't enjoy my friends at work, my home and cat and, of course, my family, but it was damned predictable. Weekdays were dreadful in retrospect because there was little joy in my employment; lunch, in fact, was the highlight of the day. After work, a quick drive through heavy traffic to the post office, running the same course in my neighborhood for 3 to 4 miles, a smoothie and snacks, then TV. Repeat, over and over again, for 20 years. On weekends, I had much the same sort of fixed routine so I won't bore you with the details. I'm sure the folks at Kroger miss my mad dash through the store during intermission of the weekly live broadcast from the Metropolitan Opera every Saturday afternoon!

Here, for all the problems of a first season and quite a bit of turnover, I find everyday to be as interesting and satisfying as the day before. And some days are simply beyond even my expectations.

On Saturday, Allan and I had to go to Kanab to get my spare tire. That also means a trip to the grocery stores and a few other places for random necessities. The drive up is more than an hour but the entire trip is so scenic you don't care. From the national park you transition to the Kaibab National Forest and then down off the plateau to the desert floor and across the border into Utah. It is great Springsteen listening country. After we stocked up on a few things for the room and the usual variety of beverages, picked up the tire and stopped at the motorcycle dealer so Allan could drool over this bike he wants, we made a quick exit of the real world and returned to the North Rim. I don't even recall where it came up but at some point the idea of driving to Point Sublime was broached by Allan. It is an 18-mile rut-filled, high clearance, 4WD-recommended road, but for some reason it seemed like the sane thing to do. My God, it was fun! In places, we had to go slow and use (for the first time) 4WD and in others we rumbled along at a good clip hitting a few muddy ruts with such force that the Jeep was essentially no longer black, but brown. Once we upload it I will post video of the best moments...and a few scenic photos of the point, too.

The evening wound down with dinner in the deli and a hike in the dark around the employee housing area to make a few phone calls and check a voice mail or two. (For those who are curious, Billy and Colette enjoyed Mount Rushmore and want to visit here soon and Beth got her handmade earrings made by a Navajo silversmith and was thrilled to add them to her collection.)

Today could not have been more different. First, Allan had to go back to Kanab to be treated for a lingering throat infection he developed after breathing in degreaser in the lodge kitchen while dishwashing and I didn't get dressed until 2 this afternoon. He's fine and I enjoyed watching the rain out my dorm window while coding a few invoices and listening to APR. And the few times I ventured out were to mail a birthday card to the Old Man's old man and get a bag of bagels at the general store. How relaxing can you get!

So what's the point of all this? Simply to say that I cannot believe how quickly I have gotten used to having no TV constantly blaring, no chain restaurants and NO set schedule or routine everyday. Some people here sit in front of the TV in the EDR and watch whatever is on or they spend mindless hours wasted in front of a computer screen updating some silly Facebook or My Space page or listening to music on some acoustically inferior I-pod. For heavens sake, one of the Seven Wonders of the World is only yards away and FREE! In August, we even have the symphony playing on the veranda at night. I think I will have died and gone to heaven when that happens! Certainly they will play Ferde Grofe's "On the Trail" from The Grand Canyon Suite. It will be sublime.

We are only days away from the halfway point in a full season's employment commitment and I am already beginning to wonder what I will do next. My options are several, but making a decision is going to be difficult. Some of my closest friends here know nothing but this lifestyle and seem perfectly content. Others enjoy doing this and then spending the off-season in surroundings more realworldly like, say, Santa Fe. Who knows?

Finally, through the magic of FedEx, the much anticipated lemon squares from Cafe Pierremont in Shreveport arrived. Judy, the postmaster, was keeping an eye out for them and called me to say in so many words "go get them from the front desk...NOW!" We ate four in a matter of minutes. The rest are safely tucked away in my dorm refrigerator. For Barbara and Ernie Landman, my most heartfelt thanks for a reminder that some routines cannot be left behind.

Have a great week and "Happy 76th Birthday" to the reason I am Shelby Jr!