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Well, this is coming out a day late, we got back from our trip early in the morning on Thursday and have been playing catch up ever since. The trip was amazing, we covered 2400 miles and am truly amazed at the vastness and beauty of our country. We are quite spoiled, living in Northern California, with the Pacific Ocean, our maintains, lakes and rivers. But the vastness of our country is amazing, witnessed while traversing California, Nevada, Oregon, Idaho and Wyoming. The plains that extend to the horizon, the lakes that look like oceans, the distance covered by the Snake River, the majesty of the Grand Teton Mountains and the natural treasure of Yellowstone National Park, with its unparalleled beauty, diverse wildlife, and a chance to witness Old Faithful and some of the planet’s most extraordinary geothermal phenomena.
One of my big take aways how different Americans are, and how much we have changed in the Bay. Walking down the streets of Boise, people still make eye contact, give a nod of their head or ask how your day is going. As a young man I was proud to be from San Francisco, where people on the street would acknowledge you as you passed by, make eye contact and confirm that you existed.
I was also impressed by real people doing real work, just like Mike Rowe showed us in “Dirty Jobs”, a tractor kicking up a trail of dust, on the edge of the landscape with nobody else around. A harvester bailing hay, a couple Cowboys feed in the heard, the workers of Yellowstone that live in the park because the commute is to long. I am reminded of Huey Lewis and the News poetic anthem to hard work, “Working For a Livin’”
I'm taking what they giving 'cause I'm working for a livin'.
Somedays won't end ever and somedays pass on by, I'll be working here forever, at least until I die. Dammed if you do, dammed if you don't, I'm supposed to get a raise next week, you know damn well I won't.
Hey I'm not complaining 'cause I really need the work Hitting up my buddy's got me feeling like a jerk Hundred dollar car note, two hundred rent. I get a check on Friday, but it's already spent.
Bus boy, bartender, ladies of the night Grease monkey, ex-junky, winner of the fight Walking on the streets, its really all the same Selling souls, rock n' roll, any other day.
The diversity of our Country is amazing, living here in the Bay Area with our population and our politics, we think that we are the United States, that the people of California and the people of Texas, Florida and Idaho are all the same. We are as diverse and different as if we were from different countries. We have common bonds as Americans, but the lives that we live, the obstacles that we handle, and the needs required are as different as night and day.
I am reminded of the saying attributed to G. Michael Hopf "Hard times create strong men. Strong men create good times. Good times create weak men. Weak men create hard times”. After my trip I am happy to say that there are still here are some hard men out there, perhaps we will transition without going through hard times.
Let me know what you think.
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