I'VE BEEN EVERYWHERE, MAN...

I received a message from Jerry  at http://overthetopcargotrailer.blogspot.com 
about the song I’ve Been Everywhere.


He sent me to a web page where there are parodies and take-offs on that song by  different artists.  I listened to a slew of them.  They were pretty cool.  Click on the links to hear some I got a kick out of.
The first is I’ve Been Everywhere , Texas.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DaTJxS_mu8c&feature=related

This link is:  I’ve Been Everywhere, Austrailia
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-UAh7ogwAYQ&feature=related

Now we have a Johnny Cash parody:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-UAh7ogwAYQ&feature=related
The next one is:  I’ve Been Everywhere, Minnesota. I think. It has some clever, corny stuff like I ate corn dogs at the fair, man, …in my underwear, man.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BynH5WYdX2A&feature=related
After I  identified five to put into this blog , swish, the sneaky electronic Genie has tossed one of them into cyberspace, so I’m hoping that the four I have left  are identified correctly.
When I mentioned the song two days ago,  I was talking about my partner, Jim. And,  just to give you an idea of why it fits,  he has crossed the United States 6 times in his Motor Home. He has been in every state of the union. Plus, he took his rig 17,000 miles across Mexico, through every country in Central America and to the Panama Canal and beyond, (until the road stopped.)  Then, of course, he returned those same, many miles back to the States. He’s traveled all over Canada as well.  (South America is still on the agenda.)

Yesterday was a pick up and move, empty tanks, fill up with water, get gas and propane, find the recycle place,  shop for groceries…that  kind of day. We bought two sets of sheets and replaced the butter-soft thin ones we had. I spotted a Burlington Coat Outlet and got a white jacket to replace my warn one.  We’ve been everywhere, man- in Yuma!

The frig is full and we are parked in a weedy little town at a VFW with a huge membership. The bartender told us they serve around 400 hamburgers on Mondays. Tuesday was women’s dart competition and men’s pool tournament. They are open and busy seven days a week. We had a drink and left early because they allow members to smoke in the bar. Nobody was smoking at the time, but we both came out with our hair and clothing stinking  like old cigarette smoke.
The move put us closer to our destination, the Petroglyphs.

REDUCING THE LOAD

A collectiholic, such as myself, finds it difficult to reduce the "stuff" we collect. I'm a paper nut and many of my collections involve paper. But, on-line, with this blog, I get to collect "stuff" that doesn't pile up, such as cures for hiccups or favorite poems, and strange-sounding names. Yesterday Elaine May from Canada sent me another sure cure for hiccups.  "I take a few drops of balsamic vinegar. It works every time," claims Elaine. And a neighbor reminded me that a cure for poison oak grows all around us. Simply make a tea of manzanita leaves and drink it once a week in the spring and you won't be affected by poison oak. Another neighbor swears by delicately biting the leaves off a poison oak plant (only in the early spring) and swallowing it. A sure preventive if it doesn't kill you.
And from my other blog comes this old remedy from Homer Maas. "I smashed my thumb in the car door. It swelled like a mini-balloon and I lay in misery all night with it throbbing, and throbbing. In the morning my dad carefully took a paperclip, half unbent it, and heated the pointed end red-hot with a torch. While I cringed with fear, he carefully "drilled" a hole into the top of my thumb nail with the heated end of the paperclip until blood spurted out of the hole. The pressure was immediately relieved and the pain was instantly gone."  Homer was only 12 years old then and he lived through it.
I've been asked how long I'll be staying in Murphys by so many people, I thought I'd explain. I rerouted away from the Motor Home to attend, graduations, my family reunion and business at home. Most of that business involves paperwork and ridding myself of collections.  I'm simplifying my life to handle everything from the road. Lining up accounts for bill paying on-line and doing neglected projects. Then things like a Jury summons and other responsibilities intervene.  I removed propane tanks at one rental because they don't use propane anymore. Supervising yard work that needed to be done. Small repairs made. Reducing the load. It's a small epiphany when I can find a home for old sheet music which a piano teacher friend,  June Foster gladly took. A table and lamp and kitchen stuff for my daughter's new apartment. I off loaded my old vinyl record collection, and so on. I'm far from finished, but making steady progress. Simplifying and reducing the load FEELS SO GOOD. Jim is encouraging me to bring some of my paper projects aboard.  (He knows not what trouble he is getting into, and, I still don't know when I'll be leaving Murphys.)

THE FUTURE GENERATION

Jim's grandson Eric, turned thirteen, on the eleventh. The mighty "Casey" couldn't blow his candles out. (Eric is an avid ball player and fan.) Of course, some of the candles were the type that don't go out, a set-up by Mom, Wendy.
We helped him celebrate by having dinner earlier in the evening at Harbor Seal, then home for cake, ice cream and presents. Typical, I suspect. Some things never seem to change.

Sports items dominated the scene, with this grand Mets sweatshirt, official baseball shoes, and shorts. The Mets happen to be his favorite team.

The kids are wonderful together, loving and playful with each other. They all appear to be best friends. Its nice to see and feel your future is in good hands with the next generation coming up...except...its hard to understand how tied they are to their phones, like the device is a body part.

  Jaime had on her two inch heels for the evening and stood up to brother Eric, and measured. You see that cord hanging from his ear? I think its music and phone all tied in together. Parents have to say, "...text you'll contact her later..."  SOME things do change.
I guess we used to scare our parents into thinking the world was coming to an end with our music and dance and cigarettes and haircuts. And, we turned out pretty well.

Yesterday was a work day. Jaime had never been for a ride in a motor home, so she went with us to get propane, empty the tanks and fill with water. All a bit of a revelation to her, as we prepare to leave Ivoryton. Jocelyn and I picked berries a couple days ago, so Jaime and I decided to go for a pick-your-own peaches, but the trees were practically stripped. What we bought was quite luscious though, a variety I'd never heard of and promptly forgot. Then we went to the recycling center.

 Then later, since the weather was blessedly cool, we went for a nice bike ride to town and back.

While downtown we checked out this clever sculpture. Its a face entirely made up from numbers one through ten.

There aren't many places to shop in Ivoryton for a kid, but Jaime likes Gathers, an antique store that also has candy and ice cream. She got her candy bar and we called it a day.