Month: January 2016

My goodness folks.  I thought I had seen affluence, but having now seen Aspen, I see I was mistaken.  I once rented a 350 square foot studio in Manhattan for $1500 a month and I thought that was superlative.  Now in Aspen I see a 400 square footer listed for $3000 a month.  Wow.

I must say the village is incredibly picturesque.  Original late 1800s brick architecture with stained-glass transom windows.  Incredibly well-done lights on the shops and trees.  The 8,000 foot elevation all but guarantees a white Christmas.  However…

The racial divide of Hispanic workers and white skier-shoppers that remains firmly in place in 2016 is unsettling.  And all these rich white people skiing, shopping, eating—none of them are smiling or laughing.  Totally weird, and really drives the “money can’t buy happiness” point home.  However however…

It is worth a trip.  Work hard so you can afford it.

 

Bloomington IN to Denver CO in one day.
1197 miles.  Scenic Route via Iowa and Nebraska.
I rule  🙂

We have a Midwest; I’ve decided we therefore need a Mideast.

I’m in Bloomington Indiana.  Happy Belated Birthday DLR.
Earlier today I logged
Harrisonburg VA,
Oak Hill WV,
Lexington & Louisville.

When I’m here I remember why I moved to California.
(Everything east of OK City, north of Atlanta, and south of Boston
is basically the same.)
It is dark & depressing here in January,
just as it’s humid & disgusting in July,
but right now it’s January and yikes.
Outside in the gray cold, people scrunch their shoulders up to their ears.
Their steps are hurried, yet tentative.
Nobody seems to be happy about ANYTHING.
They seem like if they could leave, they would.
At least the ones whose souls and brains haven’t been crushed would.
Well…poverty, commitments.  What are ya gonna do?

They aren’t selling flannel shirts.  They’re selling an idea, an image of me wearing that flannel shirt while I split logs.  Me bringing those logs into the lodge, setting them by the huge stone fireplace.  Me eating hot hearty stew while outside the silent snow falls.  Me reading the classics while my faithful dogs nap on the rug.

I’ve known this for some time, but I keep looking at these catalogs despite that and the other facts I know: None of their boots will fit my wide forefeet.  All their sweaters, shirts, and coats are cut to accommodate lazy fat beer guts.  Buying them will never bring me the focus needed to do the work needed to generate the money needed to buy the property and build that lodge.

So I buy the occasional large tall flannel shirt because, well, they are value for money.  And the rest of the time I just look to remind myself to stay the course and cultivate the values.  And that there are miles to go before I sleep.