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Posts Tagged ‘John Steinbeck’

A Greener Landscape and a Wandering Mind

Posted in Birds, Journeys, Nature, Travel, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , on October 7, 2011| 3 Comments »

 “A journey is a person in itself; no two are alike. And all plans, safeguards, policing, and coercion are fruitless. We find that after years of struggle that we do not take a trip; a trip takes us.” – John Steinbeck

My wandering mind waa on green jays as i drove Highway 36 toward Lake Jackson. -- Photo by Pat Bean

Travels With Maggie

With my canine traveling companion, Maggie, snoozing away in her co-pilot seat, I left Harker Heights, and my oldest son’s home, early for our drive to Lake Jackson, and my middle son’s home 250 miles away. It’s a very familiar drive for me, one I’ve made many times.

As I passed oil rigs, grazing cattle, cotton fields, mesquite trees and roadside sunflowers that let me know I was in Texas, I was glad to see the color green still existed. It had been missing on my drive two days earlier down Highway 190, clear evidence of the dastardly drought the state has been suffering. .

To all Texans living where heat and drought has scorched the landscape, I just wanted to show that green does still exist. This is the view from my RV window in Lake Jackson. -- Photo by Pat Bean

While admittedly things weren’t quite as lush as I remembered from past drives down Highway 36, the landscape was still a far cry from the brown and dying cedar trees, lack of grass and stunted and yellow cactus that had dominated my entry back into the Lone Star state on Tuesday.

The driving this day was easy with little traffic. As usual under such circumstances, my mind begins to wander. This day, it went south to the Rio Grande Valley, perhaps because I was thinking about when I would be able to go there and do some winter birding.

From Lake Jackson, where I was headed, it’s only a half day’s drive. I would have to see what bird festivals were going on down there in the coming months, I thought as I drove.

My mind must have still been with the fantastic green jays down there when I came to the Highway 35 turnoff, because I took it. I was looking for it in fact.

Oops!

I then realized that what I had actually been looking for was the Highway 36 turnoff that I always took when I returned from the valley. But then I had already been on Highway 36.
I guess I should have been paying more attention to where I was than where I wanted to go.

Anybody else out there have a mind that plays tricks on them like that?

If so, I hope you have a traveling companion like Maggie. She never yells at me when I take a wrong turn.

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Jack Kerouac: His Writing Perplexes Me

Posted in Birds, Nature, Travel, tagged , , , , , , , , on June 10, 2011| 2 Comments »

A yellow-headed blackbird seen on my morning walk with Maggie makes me go "Awww!" -- Photo by Pat Bean

 “The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn, like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars and in the muddle you see the blue center light pop and everybody goes ‘Awww!’” – Jack Kerouac

Travels With Maggie

Jack Kerouac’s “On the Road,” is listed in almost every version of the 100 Best Travel Books. And on all of the various lists I’ve come across in recent years, I’ve read well over 50 percent of the selections.

But I haven’t read “On the Road.” That is I’ve never finished it. I’ve started the book several times but have never gotten beyond a few pages before laying it down and forgetting about it.

While there are quite a few of Kerouac’s quotes in my journal, such as the one above that I absolutely love, I can’t connect with this author like I do with say Tim Cahill, who has me rolling on the floor with laughter, or Charles Kuralt, whom I consider my travel soul mate, or John Steinbeck, whose down to earth writing draws me into his circle, especially since he writes about traveling with his poodle, Charley, and I write about traveling with my cocker spaniel, Maggie.

But I don’t, except for an occasional quote, get Jack. I keep thinking I will if I just read more than a few pages of “On the Road.”

Perhaps one day I will. Perhaps I’ll even find that copy of his book I bought a few years back to give it a fifth or sixth try. It was at least the third copy of “On the Road” that I’ve bought over the years, and I honestly have no idea where it is now.

And a patch of colorful pansies lights up my eyes as well as a fireworks display. -- Photo by Pat Bean

I recently read a book in which needful books kept turning up magically for one of the characters. I wonder what it means when books disappear. Or how come I can’t get into a book that so many other people think is a great classic.

Perplexing questions to which I have no answer. But I do love Kerouac’s above quote. It’s a whole book in itself.

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The Up Side of a Cold Day

Posted in Nature, Travel, tagged , , , , , , , , , on February 4, 2011| 5 Comments »

 

"Don't wake me until it's warm enough to go outside and pee." -- Photo of Maggie, the boss, by Pat Bean

“Play is the only way the highest intelligence of humankind can unfold.” — Joseph Chilton Pearce

Travels With Maggie

Maggie and I were supposed to pick up my grandson’s girlfriend this morning and then the three of us were to drive 222 miles to Harker Heights. The weather changed my mind. We’ll go tomorrow.

In the meantime I have a whole day ahead of me, as do others sitting out Mother Nature’s flurry.  School was canceled here in Lake Jackson, Texas, where my RV is cozily parked, and some workers, like my daughter-in-law, were told to take the day off.

So what do you do on a cold, snowy, icy, gray day when you want to stay inside and warm? Here are some suggestions.

Read a good book, like Ken Follett’s “World Without End” Susan Albert’s “Bloodroot,” Robin Hobb’s “Assassin’s Apprentice ” John Steinbeck’s “Travels With Charlie,” Tim Cahill’s “Road Fever” or any old color-coded John D. MacDonald mystery. I cried when this writer died. His Travis McGee character always kept me turning pages.

Make a pot of pumpkin soup: One box V8 Butternut Squash soup, one can Swanson’s chicken broth, one can unsweetened pumpkin, half a stick of butter, red pepper to taste and a bit of milk if you want it creamier. Mix together and heat.

A boy and two girls just wanna have fun. Playing dress-up: Michael Kim and Me

Play dress-up with your friends – yes grownups can do it, too – and take funny pictures.

Organize your photos.

Take a long nap. That’s Maggie’s favorite things to do.

Play board games, like Settlers or Sorry, or play Monopoly on the Wii if you’re alone.

Put off taking your dog for a walk as long as possible.

And ________________. Well, you fill in the blank space.

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A Tale of Two Dogs

Posted in Nature, Travel, tagged , , , , on January 20, 2011| 8 Comments »

Maggie in her favorite spot in the RV -- Photo by Pat Bean

Maggie in her favorite spot in the RV -- Photo by Pat Bean

 

“I’ve seen a look in dogs’ eyes, a quickly vanishing look of amazed contempt, and I am convinced that basically dogs think humans are nuts.” — John Steinbeck.

Travels With Maggie

 I once had a golden cocker spaniel, beloved by all my friends. Her name was Peaches and her greatest joy was to please and protect me.. The day she died, I knew I would never love a dog quite as much every again.

My current four-legged companion is Maggie, a black cocker spaniel I rescued in 1999. She peed on a colleague’s shoe the day I picked her up from the Ogden (Utah) Animal Shelter, and clearly lets me know that it’s my duty to please and protect her.

 Maggie’s first year had been hard, I was told by the shelter worker when I adopted her. She had been found roaming the streets as a tiny puppy, either as a runaway or abandoned by a heartless human. Maggie was then, sadly, adopted by an abusive family. The animal cruelty was serious enough that on learning about it the shelter reclaimed her.

Maggie leads the way on our hikes. She's not a dog that easily obeys a heel command. -- Photo by Pat Bean

 For our first two weeks together, Maggie was an escape artist. She never went far, however. It was as if she quickly realized she had no where else to go. Then came the day when I was in my backyard and a neighbor stopped by and left the gate open. Maggie made a mad dash for it, then stopped short, looked around and backed up.

 Now we had another problem. Maggie didn’t want to leave her newly found sanctuary. She would shiver and huddle on the floorboard when forced to ride in a vehicle. This was not a good thing as her owner was an avid vagabond. It took a round-trip from Utah to Texas before Maggie finally decided a vehicle could also be a sanctuary.

 It took just as long for the two of us to bond. The deciding factor was that I started sharing the last bite of whatever I was eating with her. It was only then that this intelligent, independent, mischievous – bossy and spoiled, say my kids – creature decided I was worthy of her affection.

I’m just thankful she finally enjoys traveling down the road and exploring new landscapes as much as her wandering owner.  For seven years now, Maggie and I have been perfect RV traveling companions.

And by now you must know I love her every bit as much as I once loved Peaches.



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