off to join the circus

First, I want to thank all of you who actually read this garble on a regular basis, especially those who leave comments. Thank you. You encourage me more than you know... and I hope that doesn't stop you!

And now... on with the show...



You know how sometimes you feel a Big Shift in your life? That's what's happening here right now. All the talk and planning surrounding our move to Oregon has had me kind of in a bunch about the "details"... like how in the heck are we supposed to find Home from such a distance? Ridiculous! What kind of self-respecting nomads feel the need to have a safe place to land every time they jump? Maybe it was something about the flow of the rio the other day that started to shake things loose. After we got home that night, I announced that it was "time to get my next tattoo". I already have two. They're small, and significant to me, and I didn't start decorating my skin until I was 40, so there are no regrets. Look around my world... nothing goes unembellished! This new one has been incubating for months. It's a simple, brush stroke "Chaos" character from the I Ching. Loaded with symbolism and courage, and really speaks to me in these turbulent times.



So, today's the day. Rick and I are both getting this tattoo, because while we'll never wear matching jogging suits, we agree to be "in this together", and to embrace the Chaos. "Where great dreams begin".... indeed.

But that's only part of the story. A "visual learner" like myself needs those little notes and drawings to navigate by. And as soon as I decided to get the tattoo, other things began falling neatly into place. Yesterday was a big one. In the midst of selling beads, we also decided it would be beyond brilliant to cash out here in the spring, stash the "nest egg" someplace safe, put our beloved stuff in storage, buy a travel trailer, and take our time scouting around souther Oregon before we buy our next Home. Why didn't we think of that before? It makes total sense, even for crazy nomads.

Next, Rick got fed up with the TV disk thingy being on the fritz, and canceled the service. This is huge for him. He loves all the news programs, and I never thought he'd be able to detox from them. Well, well...

And then there was the fancy Panda antivirus software I paid a bunch of money for a couple of months ago. It's been a problem from the start, and I finally dumped it yesterday, and reinstalled the good old AVG that's always worked so well... for free!

Talk about taking control. Boy do we feel powerful right now. Time to get things done, even if it looks nuts to some people. We're used to that! So by this time next year, we'll be off running around in our own version of a Circus Wagon... And we'll take our "act" on the road too. Torch, camera, computer... all the necessities to keep the show going. It's no accident that I can do my stuff anywhere. I set it up this way from the start.

And one last circus connection... I obsessed for hours over an old Screaming Yellow Zonkers Circus Poster I had back in high school. I couldn't find a picture of it anywhere, although there's a lot of reverent discussion over this particular poster on the internet. Finally, at the end of a really long day, I found it! If I still had mine, I'd put it up on the ceiling of our yet-to-be-purchased trailer, to remind me that I'm in good company out here on the road, surrounded by friendly freaks and misfits.