Crossing the Bridge… TX

Tuesday, October 6th, 2015

"It’s a terrible thing, I think, in Life to wait until you’re ready. I have this feeling now that actually no one is ready to do anything. There is almost no such thing as ready. There is only now. And you may as well do it now. Generally speaking, now is as good a time as any"
~ Hugh Laurie ~
 

Hues of my Vision Final FB [original]

Since my cameras have not left their bags lately, here are a few more photos from our Photo Coffee Table Book. I know it is an expensive one since I chose the utmost quality and larger size [10 x 13], yet it is also available as a download and looks pretty good on a tablet or laptop! Available from Blurb.

Firedance, Terlingua, Texas PCTB 46

I woke up after a not so good night sleep. We are in Midland while being graciously offered the hospitality from our Friends. I woke up a few times throughout the night, once forgetting where I was and a sense of panic took over me for a millisecond. Where was I? What were those noises? The bed felt foreign. Today is the first of many verdicts with a new spine Doctor as my own has moved out of town. Good sign? Bad sign? Who knows. No red flags yet as this new Dr is highly recommended. Aren’t they all? Morning coffee is churning my stomach from a present nervousness I cannot hide as the future is so uncertain. I don’t think any of us like surgery especially when it comes to the back. Yet, I cannot go through more steroid shots which would only take me to around February and then what? I want to be well by next spring to embark ourselves on more adventures part of our Journey.

Luna PCTB 58 

I am even thinking Labrador, Nova Scotia, witness the leaf changes for next fall up North, maybe upstate New York as I did once many moons ago and was stunned by the colors. Now is now though! Those are only dreams I must have to keep me moving on. How long will it take me to recoup after surgery? What will I be able to do? Will I be able to go back to The Oasis shortly where I have a couple neighbors on stand by to help me with propane bottles and transferring drinking water. Worthless questions for the day! I don’t even want to Goggle them! I want to know and at the same time I don’t.

Mr Spirit  PCTB 23

"Things" got complicated as the DEA is coming down on Dr’s who relieve patients pain with steroid shots or other as this Dr’s prognosis was the worse! How did it go from L2/3 to L2/3/4/5? I am not taking his word for it and on the 9th there will be one more opinion. The wait is now for such relief two to three weeks as I chose unlike my previous thoughts to go through another round of steroid shots. Thank You Drug addicts… We pay your price! We are headed back to The Oasis tomorrow or Saturday. All depend on what happens with the hip Dr today, when will they schedule me for a shot on each side while the spine waits and waits… Monday will be a visit to my regular Dr for some pain relief and one more opinion. I am not taking this lightly and the commute will start, 220 miles each way. We are driving, not riding… This is turning into an endless task requiring so much patience.

Ludwig in Las Vegas. PCTB 44

How spoiled we are!… A Friend of mine described the thirst for the road better than I could ever do myself as I re-post it here. The reading is worthwhile and says it all…

"Lost and drifting in the mountains and valleys of South-Central Colorado for awhile now, I’ve been reflecting on our journey of the past ten months… And, I’m pretty certain that it’s official – I have finally become that “crazy, white-haired guy in the Black cowboy hat with his dog in a sidecar…” (as I recently overheard someone say in an affluent little ski-resort town describe me when they didn’t know I could hear them). It’s OK.

Hard as it is at times (and it is…), I LOVE this life/we love this life. I’ve seen more clearly, felt deeper, cried longer, prayed harder, hugged more strangers, felt more Love, and been lonelier than at anytime in the past five years. There is a profundity, a simplicity, and a magic in each sunrise now that I’ve never known before. And I wouldn’t dare trade it for all the comfortable suburban middle-class amenities, 50” flat screens, nagging whiny wives, three hour commutes, and delusional ex-bosses in the world…

I watch Ripple patiently wander from Sun to shade, and then to Sun again… My mind does the about the same. I witness the ever-changing clouds and colors form over the Sangre De Christo mountains, and am left breathless at the sight of Eagles and Owls… Our sidecar rig sits there, waiting on the edge of a new world. We eat simply on an old Coleman stove. I read of ghost towns, mining camps, the struggles of all those who have past before us in frontier settlements and displaced on Indian reservations… They are all still here… I feel them, honor them… Many were my own ancestors who made this Life possible.

It doesn’t matter much if you are traveling through Del Norte or Durango, Colorado; Cortez or Costa Rica… It’s travel, so rich, so pure.."

~ EH Alberts ~

Spirit enjoying the ride, Utah PCTB 38

I also stumbled on some writing called "The curse of the Traveler"  which I cannot find the author but here it is…

“The more places you see, the more things you see that appeal to you, but no one place has them all. In fact, each place has a smaller and smaller percentage of the things you love, the more things you see. It drives you, even subconsciously, to keep looking, for a place not that’s perfect (we all know there’s no Shangri-La), but just for a place that’s “just right for you.” But the curse is that the odds of finding “just right” get smaller, not larger, the more you experience. So you keep looking even more, but it always gets worse the more you see. This is Part A of the Curse.

Part B is relationships. The more you travel, the more numerous and profoundly varied the relationships you will have. But the more people you meet, the more diffused your time is with any of them. Since all these people can’t travel with you, it becomes more and more difficult to cultivate long term relationships the more you travel. Yet you keep traveling, and keep meeting amazing people, so it feels fulfilling, but eventually, you miss them all, and many have all but forgotten who you are. And then you make up for it by staying put somewhere long enough to develop roots and cultivate stronger relationships, but these people will never know what you know or see what you’ve seen, and you will always feel a tinge of loneliness, and you will want to tell your stories just a little bit more than they will want to hear them. The reason this is part of the Curse is that it gets worse the more you travel, yet travel seems to be a cure for a while.

None of this is to suggest that one should ever reduce travel. It’s just a warning to young Travelers, to expect, as part of the price, a rich life tinged with a bit of sadness and loneliness, and angst that’s like the same nostalgia everyone feels for special parts of their past, except multiplied by a thousand.”

Bridge off Lolo Pass, Idaho 30


When will we cross that bridge again? "One day at a time" as a good Friend of mine says… A short phrase I have learned to repeat over and over!

MEDIA

Our Book is still available through us “autographed” but please get in touch with me for International Shipping at aragureghian@yahoo.com
Also available through Amazon.

Thank You and Stay Well.
                                    Ara and Spirit

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2 Responses to “Crossing the Bridge… TX”

  1. Carolyn T Says:

    Three points to make. 1. I find you very profound. 2. The bridge picture should be in top place in your next book. Perfect! You did well. Truly, I was overwhelmed at first sight of it. Do you ever use some type enhancement with your pictures? 3. Some day I would love to meet you Ara, have a long good talk….. (when the leaves are turning?) and you are able to ride again. The process of healing is long, tedious and painful but one day it’s over and the pain fades from mind; yes, I know about surgeries… and accidents. I’m rooting for your successful health.

  2. Ara & Spirit Says:

    Not trying to be smart but maybe you did not read our new entry as that photo is indeed in our present Coffee Photo Table Book. It is actually a phone photo and taken with a different software that only enhances one color. I guess I got lucky… To me that is what Photography is about, much luck! I hope you keep your good wishes for us when I have suregry which will be most likely in a few months.

    Thanks for writing Carolyn

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