Starting to get crazy / Down a road I've been on Before

What is wrong with this picture ? A week ago I was perambulating around down near the Arizona / Mexico border , getting a couple of lifes neccessities (groceries , soap etc. )and what comes creeping into my range of hearing ? Christmas Music ! I have to admit there are some sounds that really set me off , Helicopters flying close at night , Babies screeching for no reason , the sound of a 50 calibre rolling off a chain of rounds , the howl of a semi truck from behind when I'm on a bike on the highway , the misery of hearing a TV personality[talking head ] droning on about what I should buy or what we all need or how to fix the world . But , nothing gets my blood pressure skyrocketing like the sound of Christmas music the first week of November while some dipwad extolls the next big sale or telling me to beat the rush and buy , buy , buy ! I have been in touch with several friends in the outside world {like outside of the valley where I live }, times are not good for a lot of folks right now , economy is still in the tank , no end to the recession regardless of what the talking heads say , a good number of folks are teetering on the brink of foreclosure and the credit highway is crumbling or at the very least filled with potholes you can lose a good sized car in ! I reccomend to all who are within hearing or reading range to stop listening and reading and start to pay attention to your family and friends . Stock up on some quality groceries , perhaps a beverage or two , get close together and take care of each other , eat well , see what you can do to weather this insanity . My view on this comes from living in a community that folks are doing just that . Not to say that the celebration of Christmas should be ignored or made light of , rather start celebrating it every day that you can , giving someone your time or being there when they are troubled , sitting with friends or family or both at a table of good food and sharing ways to cope with the problems at hand .Replace the bad music with the sound of laughter and good conversation
.Stay away from as much of the commercialism as you can , I repeat what I have put here before , from Thoreau :
"Go confidently in the direction of your dreams.  Live the life you have imagined.  As you simplify your life, the laws of the universe will be simpler."  
I'l stop the rant for now , just give it some thought .
Lately been cruising the back roads of my mind and searching out memories to taste and savor again , I've been aided in this with the aid of the internet and that bit of goofiness called Facebook .Surprisingly I have found a lot of old friends / acquaintenences there . Dredging up good thoughts and some regret that I failed to stay in touch , it wouldn't have taken much on my part to do so , while said friends and acquaintences were building families , making a living and generally contributing to society , I was out ramrodding around the planet finding stuff that was interesting to me having some good times and more than a few that I don't care to repeat . So it goes ...
Another Veteran's day come and gone , while I sat out in the mountains communing with old friends , I recalled a toast that my great friends , J.C. , Mickey and Mickey's Dad , Doug used to make on occasion usually when the conversation turned to folks we knew that had passed or wished to honor for whatever reason . It goes like this " To those who have went before us !" a time for a private thought whether it was a close friend in the military or a personal hero , perhaps someone who made a difference in your life , or did an unexpected kindness. I'll leave it to you , I have so many to think of it would take me till forever to list them . At any rate it doesn't cost anything and it will make you feel pretty good .
Been out in the desert looking for trails for earlier in the next year , folks are looking for trails to get to the mountains from Rusty's without going on the main roads . It has been interesting to say the least . What looks like perfectly flat desert turns into dry washes , arroyos , large rocks and mesquite so tough you need a pack of high explosives to get it out of the way ! But for all it's savagery it's quiet and so beautiful it hard to take it all in . The Border Patrol even knows my truck, they have told me sometimes all they  can see is the top of the old trooper as it bangs along the desert floor , they think I'm a little off the bubble too . But it's nice to know they're watching .
Made a short run up past Portal and got a few photos of the trees changing , brilliant colors , and some new aromas with the coming of fall/winter .
Stay tuned ..

Looking back / Catching up and the Skunk

I see I've gained a couple of followers , welcome and thanks for reading this thing.
Not a whole lot of new insanity happening , it seems I have been doing a lot of looking back , reflecting on what I've seen and done the last few years . I think of the time I spent in service to this wonderful country and I'm glad I did it . Even with all the nutso stuff happening now with the economy and the latest batch of thieves and liars supposedly running the show in Washington .
So to all the whiners , criers and entitlement liberal moochers , freeloaders and folks with the general malaise of not being happy , GO AHEAD , I have to remind myself that's why my friends and brothers in arms wore the uniform , We did it so you have a place to do so . Enjoy it , it's a gift from a lot of good men and women to you It's called FREEDOM .
Local news , I had a visitor the other night . Sitting at my table playing my guitar , just finishing up dinner with the door wide open to watch the stars come out . I hear a rattling on the metal step to the trailer and look down and there comes waddling in a SKUNK ! This is not good ! I sat quietly at first thinking "whats wrong with this dumb ass skunk ?" I expected this thing to show either fear or aggression . If it was fear figured i could make some noise and it would run off , if it were aggression I'm in trouble and better make plans to grab trusty pistol and do away with this problem . For whatever reason it was neither . The skunk ignored me , did a little sniffing around , settled back by the bed and just eyeballed me . Next step I made noise , threw fire crackers , a stick , banged on the sides of the trailer , turned the amp on the guitar WAY up , Nada , zip .
To make a long story short , I outwaited the little shit ! At 3:15 in the morning it finally got up and waddled out the door !
That is my wild animal story for this year , The cow chase through the desert in the dark of the night doesn't count . They were domestic animals and a I was a little over served on th wine thing even though I was doing the serving , I do love this 4 wheel drive should have seen those bovines boogalooin in the moon light . But that's another story .
It's Veteran's Day , I be headin out to the mountains , need to talk to some old friends ....
Stay tuned .....