Malpai Borderlands Group April 20, 2008

Sunday evening you get in the Cab at the ranch house of the Malpai Ranch 18 miles East of Douglas, Arizona. This is a time of the week when the most of the American population has had BBQ, been to a race, a park, the beach, a movie, etc... At the Malpai it was just another day, the Sabbath, but just another work day.
What is going on at the Malpai, as on most (not enough) other Ranches in the West is feeding all of the livestock and checking them for health issues, checking the water tanks, securing the pasture gates, resetting mouse and rat traps, turning on or off windmills etc. You watch the sun fall to the horizon faster than the time available to finish the chores for the day. You do steal a few minutes to enjoy the rich warm western beauty of this Arizona sunset. Arizona sunsets are so unlike any anywhere else, that a magazine, Arizona Highways features them in every issue.
All of these late day activities are daily necessary chores just to maintain the status of viable 'Ranching'. Since all the chores don't get completed by sundown, a rancher (Cowboy and/or Cowgirl) works by lights either hand held or high on a pole where the light is so diffuse by the time it reaches the ground that the crawling, flying, walking nightlife are only sensed, not seen. Imagine walking in the dark along a dirt drive from out buildings to the ranch house. You know that in the morning this same dirt might have javelina, coyote, rabbit, badger, skunk, LION, deer, rat, mouse, bird and/or sidewinder tracks on it. These tracks will be atop your cowboy boot tracks from the walk to the house after the chores were completed.
As you get to the house, you exhale in exhaustion. You wash up and begin the winding down of the days events with the spouse and family, the 'hands' and household activities. There is some discussion of what has to be done tomorrow and when. You go sit on the patio/deck with your ration of beer. A Coronita, (7 oz. Corona) is about it, as you still have a full evening of planning and working out how to get everything done.
The government reports, taxes, bills and correspondence. (it seems these Ranchers seem to have an inordinate amount of mail.)
You recognize the night sounds and enjoy the clean warm fresh air and rustling in the yard. You know the rustling and animal sounds are not your 'pets' as they are either inside or locked down at the 'barns'. You know the sounds of the bats, rabbits, javelina, and of course you can imagine the hawks that have nested in the top of that biggest tree in the yard. Just about the time you go in for dinner, the 32 hounds in the kennels down at the barns 'go off.' There must be coyotes at the barns already.
Dinner is blessed. The conversation is lively and animated with joy and love. Fresh tamales, beans, green salad made at a salad bar. Huge choice of dressings, calabcitas, tortillas, soup of meat balls and flavors of Mexico. Desert is home made apple Crisp with vanilla ice cream.
The telephone rings, the 'hand' at the North ranch checks in. One of the heifers has it seems lost her calf, or else it is hiding. Tomorrow will tell. If she has indeed lost it, she will be bawling loud and clear. You see, if she has lost it and she is still producing milk, she will need to be milked or medicated to stop her making milk or... All else is fine up there.
Bed time is about 8:45 as we will all get up and go at it again at 3:45 AM to have a day at the Malpai.
Goodnight,
Oh yeah, I turned the meter off for the night.

Taxi cab ride to fuzzy thinking April 19,2008

So you think:
Sexually abused people are more apt to be sexual abusers.
Dolphins are basically benevolent creatures inclined to be helpful to humans at risk of being drowned since someone you read about or heard about on the 'news' was assisted to shore by a dolphin.
Humans are abducted by aliens and traumatized or studied or, you fill in the blank.
Some event that happened earlier in your life is clearly remembered in nearly all the detail.

Well, welcome aboard the fruit loop trolley to twisted thinking and logic.
Some people who think that because something cannot be disproved - it is true.
Some people think they have clear memories in detail of events that occurred much earlier

For instance:
If it cannot be proved that leaving Iraq after the election will result in a collapse of Iraq, it must be true that it will not collapse.
or
If it cannot be proved that leaving Iraq after the election will allow terrorism to expand, it must be true that it will not expand.
If I decline to agree with you, I must be disagreeing with you.
If I am not 'with' you, I am 'against' you.

My point is that we cannot presume to draw one conclusion without confirmation of the clearly opposite possibility as the ONLY other possibility.
How many times have you been placed in the position of someone saying something similar to this?
"If I don't hear from you about this then I will presume you to; agree, meet me, take care of it, you fill in the blank," and you had some other option in mind.
I would like to propose that we all step back. Let's look at things like assumptions of what is, isn't or what might be with an eye to seeing beyond what our mind is most comfortable with and may be limiting us to as additional possibilities.
I get disgusted when someone says to me in effect; "If you don't agree with me then you must disagree with me." "If you do not see it my way then you are wrong."
Places this occurs all too frequently: religion, politics, health decisions, child raising, family discussions, sports events, and blogs.
Oh yeah, only 30% of abusers become abusers.
We have no statistics on dolphins that assisted humans further out to sea.
There is absolutely no proof of aliens.

and (drum roll, please)

If you cannot remember all of the details of an event in your past, your mind will make up some and fill in the blanks to please you, unless you are ready willing and able to be in charge of you - even then it is a struggle at first.
I have been reading a book recommended to me: "Mistakes Were Made (but not by me) Tavris and Aronson.
It has cleared a lot of my anxiety about memory and what I can and cannot recall.

Well, if you have read this far,
The taxicab fare for this trip is paid...

Just picking up my first cab fare April 18,2008

Here is the start of the cyber equivalent of what was once the most fun 'job' and the most demanding position 'inter-relating' with other people I ever experienced.
(Inter-relating with myself was not a factor of my existence until late 2004). Given my druthers, I'd have had that experience earlier. It wasn't apparently possible. as I didn't DO it any earlier.
I owned a taxicab company and frequently drove for hire in the exploding days of the building of the Alaska Pipeline.
I had adventures that I cannot relate to you, and I had adventures I will write about occasionally. I intend to drive this blog-cab through the cyber-streets of the www (wacky wonderful world) much as I did the car in Alaska.
I promise nothing. I anticipate only the opportunity to see what happens as the city blocks click off. I will keep the comments as I intend them, and am open to ideas from many sources.
First off, I do not care what I look like.
I do not care what you think of me. That is not to say it isn't important to me, it says that I will not take anything personally.
I believe that intent is measured by results. Said another way: Results are the product of intent fully applied.
I believe in DO BE HAVE.
If you DO your life, you will BE that life and you will HAVE the life you DO and BE. Need help here? Ask where is the answer to that riddle-like statement and I will talk forever.
What is important to me and some many others is for every person to have the life they want.
So if you read this far,
The fare for this trip is paid...