This is the very last installment of our regularly scheduled hitch-hiking program. The past has hereby officially caught up with the present tense, in a mild and happy manner, where everything goes alright and Home Is Reached. All entries from here on out will be made up of either the future (which by then will … Continue reading Central Oregon is Made of Light and Magic
Epic hitch-hike 2008
Second-hand crank smoke and Never Look a Gift Cheeseburger in the Mouth
We pick up our regularly-scheduled hitch-hiking program where we left off, in a rest area just south of LA. It was with great hope and a general sense of well-being that I settled onto the grass at that early-morning rest area just south of LA, cardboard sign propped against my pack (I-5 north!) and a … Continue reading Second-hand crank smoke and Never Look a Gift Cheeseburger in the Mouth
Salt is the sun, traffic is cold honey, and no-one knows why Phoenix exists
Phoenix spreads like a teastain across the bare skin of the earth. It begs the question: What is this place? and Where are we? Aside from the fact that part of my vampire novel was set in Phoenix, the place made me feel nothing. Why do modern humans treat the desert as if it were … Continue reading Salt is the sun, traffic is cold honey, and no-one knows why Phoenix exists
Handsome Homosexual Needs a Ride West
On a random day in December, this ad somehow found its way onto the craigslist rideshare board of a major city-Handsome Homosexual Needs a Ride WestHey- I'm an attractive gay man in my thirties and I'm looking for a ride west, preferably with another gay man. I like to have fun when I travel, and … Continue reading Handsome Homosexual Needs a Ride West
Decomposing mattresses and cold breakfast sandwiches (In which Annie Dillard and I have a falling out, following my affair with the vampires)
It rained while I dried my sleeping bag at the truckstop laundromat, but then the rain turned off like I knew it would. The desert dripped, fresh from the shower, but the sky opened up, warmed, and promised a dry, brilliant tomorrow. I left the truckstop and pushed my way through the thorny bushes along … Continue reading Decomposing mattresses and cold breakfast sandwiches (In which Annie Dillard and I have a falling out, following my affair with the vampires)
Rain, dragons, and finally, turkey
I have a habit of following my intuition. It works well for me most times. Problem is, I start to have unrealistic expectations of the ol’ strong feeling, and want to use it more like a dousing rod than a coin flip. And so this is how I found myself stumbling among jumbled rocks in … Continue reading Rain, dragons, and finally, turkey
A break from our regularly scheduled hitch-hiking program, for a moment in the present-tense (Tales of adventure-travel continue thursday)
place: Portland, time: the presentI go to the store to buy some ice cream. I buy cheese instead, some GF pasta shells. I’ve got a craving for milk fat. I eat a few chocolate covered almonds from the bulk bins to prove to myself that it is not, in fact, chocolate that I want. I … Continue reading A break from our regularly scheduled hitch-hiking program, for a moment in the present-tense (Tales of adventure-travel continue thursday)
Texas, part two- also, did you know this is my 103rd post?
On the commuter rail line between Dallas and Fort Worth lies an adorable little town called Irving, a sort of middle-class Latino community, lots of single-family homes and brick-lined walkways and good-humored Texans hammering elaborate webs of brightly-colored Christmas lights on their roofs at two in the afternoon, a twinkling chicken-wire doe out front in … Continue reading Texas, part two- also, did you know this is my 103rd post?
Texas- the Bermuda Triangle of Everything- part one -or- Just Kidding, I Actually Like Texas Alot
I think I’ve made my peace with Texas.My semi-truck ride rumbles away, leaving me standing, slightly dazed, on a stretched-out length of road, the sun just come up, warm, over the dusty, trash-strewn shoulder. There’s a cracked bus-stop sign on a metal pole, the letters faded and peeling. 553. Weekday service only. It’s Sunday. I’ve … Continue reading Texas- the Bermuda Triangle of Everything- part one -or- Just Kidding, I Actually Like Texas Alot
Lesbian Truck Drivers and the Second Coldest Night of My Life- part two
Where did we leave off? Ah yes. I’m eating soup behind an auto-parts store. The cold is setting in and I’m crouched on the grass, holding the Styrofoam cup with fingerless wool gloves. The soup is good, if a little stale, and with subtle notes of battered plastic bag. I toss the cup away and … Continue reading Lesbian Truck Drivers and the Second Coldest Night of My Life- part two
