Return to Austin

Lift Cafe, 10 AM.

The next table over a group of Christians are talking about the stewardship of money.  Interesting.

We broke camp this morning, Smokie and KB coming back from 6th Street around 5 AM.  I was toasty, for a change, and didn't want to get up but they knocked at the door, came in, and it was time.

Sometime yesterday the cops came to the camp and let an official notification that it's time to move on.

Small wonder.  When I came back just before midnight Wednesday, I could see the tents from the trail.  Ahhh.  Not even trying to stay out of sight anymore.  Closer I could see a pile of rubbish over by where I used to camp.  Another guy.  Starting to look like a village with no garbage removal service.

So I said...if I were you, I'd take these down.  They're gonna bring the heat.

They agreed that's what they should do, and were planning to do it, but then the cops came.  No one was there, so that was to the good.

And I was planning to move today anyway.

Yesterday I went out to Wal-mart (loooong ride) and got a new tarp, a little cook kit, and a few other odds and ends.  40' of yellow polyester cord (barely enough) to pitch the tarp.  The tent was shredded by a vandal not too long after I went away for the holidays.  Smokie emailed me bout that.

The first few days are always about getting back into a groove, finding the way things are flowing this time around.  And this is especially so this time.  I don't know which way the new campsite lies, but have faith it will be revealed.

This begins in a minimalist way.  No tent, cold weather.  The Kids gave me a huge blanket which when doubled fits over Charlie's sleeping bag nicely.  It takes awhile but eventually I become warm, then toasty.

I'm thinking to sleep on the closed-cell foam pad (Wal-mart), with the poncho beneath that as a ground cloth.  Use the 8 x 10 tarp as additional ground cloth, cover up.  If it looks like rain, I can string a line between a couple of trees and make a little shelter.

Ahhhh.  Perfection.  That's how it will go.  Quick to set up, quick to tear down.  Minimally invasive.  Pick up whatever rubbish is lying around, clean the site.  Honor and respect it.  Leave as light a footprint as possible.

I'll miss having the Kids--Smokie and KB--around, but it's probably better this way. They just do not like tearing the tent down every morning, so they don't.  It stays up until they're told to move on.  And then they go to the next place.

It's just that there aren't that many places around here.  A long bus ride will take you out to better, safer places, but that means having a bus pass.

What would really help out would be little storage spaces for your gear.  Something big enough to hold tent and sleeping bag, pad, etc.  So you could move through the day unencumbered by gear.  I wonder if Willie would let me get one of those big garbage cans on wheels.  Drill a hole through the lid.  Padlock it.

It would be an elegant solution.

It's difficult not to overstay one's welcome.  I was welcomed back with open arms and effusive hugs, but I am very aware that there is a point where things become uncomfortable.  I'm not a paying customer, although I do help out now and then as chance and circumstance permit.

Need to stop in at Bicycle Sport Shop and say hello to Kris and Jason.

The beat goes on.

Stay warm, stay dry, stay safe.

Elijah

Learning something basic: How to link

I have never linked to anything in my entire online life.  So here I go with a first attempt.  This was interesting:

Let's see if it works.

Yep.  When I click on the underlined word above, it takes me to Lifehackers.  And that's a really interesting site.

Two Kokuas

I've written about Kris before, but he's been popping up in my head lately and just today his wife "Sam" left a comment on the last post.

So I took that as a sign from the Universe to get off my okole and write.

Thanks, Sam, for bringing the message.  I really look forward to seeing you when I return to Austin.

Kris is an amazing guy, in this old man's opinion.  He's doing work that he loves and it shows.  He's able to bring so much aloha to his work that it's not so much work anymore as it's...a calling.

Yes, a calling.

How many of us can say that about our jobs?

He's the kind of guy that just brings a smile to your face when you see him because...heck, I don't know the answer to that other than to say he seems to live in a kind of sacred space I like to call "Aloha."

He's my friend, you see.  And you know what? I don't know if he chose me or if I chose him.  All I know is that from our very first meeting he was just...incredible.

So...Kris, would you mind sending me your email addy?  Just send to jean.deaux@yahoo.com

It'll save the old man a stamp.

And below, here, is Jason, another fantastic guy from Bicycle Sport Shop in Austin.  He and Kris are co-workers, and the two of them have been incredible gifts to me.  Been thinking a lot about Jason lately, too.  Between the two of them there's not a whole lot about bicycles they don't know.  So I feel more than fortunate to count them as being in my corner.   I look forward to seeing both of them in the not too distant future.  Peace and aloha...E.

 

How NOT To Write A Blog

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"The Edge... there is no honest way to explain it because the only people who really know where it is are the ones who have gone over."


                               --Hunter S. Thompson



I've learned a thing or three about blogging in the past few months.

Mostly what NOT to do.

Right now I'm about 99% sure hardly anyone is tuning into this thing.  If that's not bad enough what's even worse is...IT'S ALL MY FAULT!

How many things did I do wrong?  Let me count the ways:

1.  The title of the blog was just toooo long.  Counting the "dots," it's nine words long.  That's two or three too many.  How is someone supposed to remember all that?  And the words don't flow, there's no real rhythm to them.

2.  I didn't have business cards printed up with the blog address on them.  When people would ask for the address, I had to hunt around for a piece of paper, borrow a pen--totally professional, eh?

3.  Didn't blog on a daily basis.  Now this one wasn't so bad when I was there in Austin, as I *did* write fairly frequently.  But since I've come to Houston, I've really let things slip and the readership has gone right out the window.  Again, all my fault.

4.  I didn't engage the reader enough.  I failed to really ask for comments, feedback, or questions.  Instead, it was all about me.  Bad move, Elijah.

5.  It took me forever to learn how to add a photograph to the blog, and then even longer to learn how to add *multiple* photographs.  And a photograph really does add something special to the post.

6.  I didn't know how to do RSS feeds (still don't, truth to tell) and so I'm unable to give guidance to newbies as to how to follow me with a minimum of effort.

That's half a dozen right there and I think I'd better stop before I jump out of yonder window.

The good news is:  I plan to start another blog when I return to Austin.  One with a much shorter, catchier title, one that's easy to remember.  And by then I hope to have some of the technical aspects worked out.  Possibly even moving to a web-hosted site.  I might even sell t-shirts.

Oh, and while I'm at it:  I'm really getting intrigued by the notion of writing and publishing my own ebook.  Kinda spooky, but it's something I think I can do.  Realistically, rather than that fiasco of a Long Ride that was just too much for me.

So...stay tuned.  The Old Man ain't done yet.  The Fat Lady may be clearing her throat, but she's yet to warble a note.  So there's still time.

Thanks.  A bunch.

For what it's worth, you guys are my very first blog audience.  And you've been terrific for all my faults and flaws.

And before I go?  Gimme a comment or three just to let me know you're out there, whatcha say?  I'm studying my bony old bum off, trying to get this thing down.  The old dawg learning new tricks.  And you know what?  I'm enjoying the heck out of it.

Following my bliss, you see.  Just like you.

Peace and aloha,

Elijah

Alyssa Recovering

Here we have our precious Alyssa, amazing little fighter for truth, justice, the American Way, and been-around-the-block, ordeal-sharing, comfort-giving stuffed animals.

After the ordeal she went through, it's nice to see those rosy cheeks, eh?

It was touch-and-go there for awhile.  The doctors kept her in hospital for about a week, then sent her home with daily visits from Nurse Ratched.  Alyssa's lungs are in top condition as anyone two or three blocks away can easily verify from the volume of her protests re aforementioned Nurse R.

MLB, myself, and a number of others went over to Alyssa's house and spent hour upon hour disinfecting, scrubbing, and so forth.  She's still quite vulnerable to infection, you see.

So this is our Sweetie.  You are cordially invited to send good vibes her way, prayers (if you're the praying sort--I am!) or just...keep her in your thoughts.

Thanks for being there for me and Madame LaBelle.  It has been a trial for all of us, but we're muddling through as best we can.  It does help knowing that we have an entire tribe, 'ohana, of friends and acquaintances who care.

Feel free to share with the group any stories you may have from your own personal histories.  You are, after all, my brothers and sisters.

We will relay all "get well" wishes to Alyssa.  She'll listen ever so intently (that's how she rolls) and then flash that wall-to-wall smile of hers.

Peace,

Elijah

Almost Lost Our Granddaughter

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It's been a rough couple of weeks.

Our little granddaughter, Alyssa, came down with an ear infection that spiraled out of control with the infection eating through the bone and into her skull.  This was life-threatening, and Madame LaBelle quite literally saved Alyssa's life by insisting in no uncertain terms that she be taken to the emergency room NOW.

Another few hours and it could well have been too late.

As it is, Alyssa is home with a tube in her arm, being visited daily by a nurse who administers powerful antibiotics.  Our little sweetheart is wearing a plastic cup-like device which protects the ear from the outside environment.  A real little trouper.

Then...MLB lost her job because of time taken off to be with Alyssa.  So it's touch and go here as we struggle with an economic crisis which much of America is also experiencing.

So I've been reading marketing books like mad, taking notes, and dreaming dreams.  What can we do RIGHT NOW to get things moving again?  The wolf of the unpaid mortgage gnaws at the door and he ain't wagging his tail.

And then...the transmission went out in the car.  $2,000 right there. One more crisis.  Jeez...they just keep coming.

Shakespeare wrote that "...when sorrows come they come not as single spies,but as battalions."  Words to that effect.  And we're learning the truth of that.

So...here's an apology to those of you who check in now and then to see if the old Aloha Monk has written anything of late, only to discover he hadn't.

We're down but not out.

I think of all of you numerous times throughout the day.  You're in my heart, and I look forward to seeing you all in March when I plan to be back in Austin, coming ahead of MLB to scout out the territory.

Anyone have any ideas, suggestions, words of advice or encouragement? We'd love to hear them.

Peace, aloha, and perserverance.

Elijah

It's the 11th day of the new year, and I've been back in Houston just over three weeks. Feels like much longer than that. I've had some time to reflect on the Vision Quest, what it meant and what I was meant to learn from it.

Mostly it seems that I was meant to reconnect with people. For so long I've been the solitary type, introverted and introspective to an incredible degree, almost always out on the fringes watching and observing.

The Vision Quest changed all that, at least temporarily. Here are some people who touched my life and reconnected me to the Spirit of Aloha.

Kaitlin on the left, Smokie on the right. I think of them as “my Kids.” Smokie was the one who got my little netbook working again. For those of you who have followed this blog, you'll recall my little netbook had the Virus-From-Hell, and I didn't have a clue as to how to get the little bugger out.

Smokie worked on it and finally was able to install the Ubuntu operating system for netbooks. It's made a world of difference. I was able to get back online and do some things that really needed to be done.

They're also very much into fighting the “New World Order.” In fact, they intentionally moved to Austin so they could be close to Alex Jones, the fella with the radio talk show. They are passionate and committed. Although they are regarded as part of a fringe movement, I place no judgments. I find a lot of what they have to say that makes perfect sense. At the same time, I don't necessarily accept it all. In fact, I don't.

Still...two very special people.


Thanks, Kids.

This is John Voss, the incomparable manager of Lift.  He's probably the first I met there at Lift, and certainly one of Life's Good Guys.

John is mugging for the camera.  If he'd known I was going to upload the photograph, he'd probably have held his mug a little differently.

Uber-handsome guy when he's not in Imp-mode.  Smile.  John...you rock.

Now comes Willie Scott, the owner of Lift Cafe. Willie was a huge manifestation of Aloha, and I count him as a mentor and friend. He was there for me when I needed him, and I hope to be there for him when he needs me.;

(This has been an experiment in learning how to import/export things from my word processor directly to my blog. If this publishes, it will be a success. I just spent half an hour learning how to rotate Willie's picture from horizontal to vertical.)

Peace,

Elijah