Welcome to website #4!
No, I haven't taken up recreational pot use. Nor am I lobbying for legalization. During my short-lived days as a Naval aviator, an aircrew instructor gave me the call sign "Weed", and it stuck even after I returned home. I failed to pack it when I moved away for good...that is until a program director asked that I come up with a monicker (other than my already-fake name) for a midday radio show. Suddenly, as a reflex borne from a lack of creativity, I was "The Weed" for a few months until...wait for it...the station and I grew weary of each other!
"The Weed" was ridiculous as a cartoon radio name, but when an old coworker suggested it for the new website, I liked the "back home" connotations. Perhaps it's because I've spent so long going doing everything I could to avoid that part of my life, but the idea of reconnecting with it, even if only in a small way, appealed to me. When I found a similarly named site with the description, "Weird tales of rabid, feral, and downright ornery tumbleweeds" I took it as a sign. Who's more of a rabid, feral and downright ornery tumbleweed than me? The Wandering Weed was born. Rejoice!
I’ve not written anything in a long time, and as of today I’ve yet to finish telling Mexico’s tale, one that ended with a Cancun meet-up with Laina, Lynette, Dave in early April--almost 7-months ago. Whether I finish writing about Mexico remains to be seen, but it continues a troubling trend of not finishing writing about trips; one that began after Slab City in early 2010 when I visited a sister, niece, and nephew I hadn’t seen in 15-years. It was a pleasant conclusion to a bizarre couple of weeks, and the story deserved to be told. I just...didn’t.
As spring begat a summer which has in turn begotten fall, day after day ended with little more than the best of literary and creative intentions. My summer was spent working with a local artist, watching baseball, running, and executing the main plan: dental damage control. The final nail in my Mexico coffin was a nearly simultaneous double-dental-assault in March. First, the back half of one of my lower incisors broke off during the road trip, thankfully NOT exposing the nerve so remaining painless. Then, a lower molar on the opposite side began exhibiting signs of an inevitable crisis. All this led to some interesting times at a San Cristobal dentist's office as Chris and I tried to interpret Spanish dentalese and determine the cost.
In the end, I decided it was best to return to the States in early April before the teeth became unbearable and spend the summer at home working, attacking my teeth in a positive fashion, and hopefully figuring out what to do long-term. There was a brief trip to Michigan to help Brian & Joey relocate to Arizona, and a week at Yellowstone, but other than that...a whole lotta baseball-infused domestication. And, it was good. Two or three times I began the now-familiar process of preparing to temporarily set off for parts unknown, but never did.
In the end, I decided it was best to return to the States in early April before the teeth became unbearable and spend the summer at home working, attacking my teeth in a positive fashion, and hopefully figuring out what to do long-term. There was a brief trip to Michigan to help Brian & Joey relocate to Arizona, and a week at Yellowstone, but other than that...a whole lotta baseball-infused domestication. And, it was good. Two or three times I began the now-familiar process of preparing to temporarily set off for parts unknown, but never did.
Now, with another winter looming my job and dental work both end soon (although they keep adding to the dental to-do list), and I’m deciding on whether to fully involve myself with the Occupy Wall Street movement or embark on another "southerly" adventure. I’ve attended some local Occupy meetings, and even intended to join their actual occupation but, while believing deeply in the need to remove corporate money from politics, I have rediscovered my disgust for self-righteous bourgeois liberals who, while publicly rejoicing in ideological "neutrality", still allow their dogmatic, unrelated personal social agendas serve as their own worst enemy! I have yet to determine my involvement from here forward...but Mexico's sounding better every day! I’m plotting a post fully dedicated to Occupy, in fact it's already nearly written simply from stuff I've cut 'n saved from other conversations!
Along with that, which is sure to be a classic, old-school piece of Toddzilla Social Ranting, I'm sorting thru something I stumbled into after the Don Quixote idea in '09. It resurfaced again following my experience with Ray a few months later, and I've slowly realized that I have never really gotten free of it, and its ironclad demand for recognition. I was unable to clearly articulate it myself, but recently found it described by Henry Rollins as an idea put forth by, of all people, Nietzsche as "The Abyss". Look for that soon, especially if you are familiar with the Andre/Ray stories. I think you'll find it a bit...different?
Finally, a word on the 300+ posts from the other blog. I still have them, and they will slowly reappear as I continue my editing process. By "editing" I mean for clarity and brevity, not "scrubbing", although I've considered fictionalizing some names in the interest of their privacy. I doubt I will.
Finally, a word on the 300+ posts from the other blog. I still have them, and they will slowly reappear as I continue my editing process. By "editing" I mean for clarity and brevity, not "scrubbing", although I've considered fictionalizing some names in the interest of their privacy. I doubt I will.