A Drive to Lincoln

I just got back from Lincoln; it is 2 hours on the interstate, 1-1/2 20oz cups of coffee, ½ pack of cigarettes, 1 rest area stop away from here. One of the reasons I went was to check out a northwest subdivision that has duplexes for rent at a reasonable cost, I wanted to check out the neighborhood and the proximity to Lincoln proper. The neighborhood is alright, nothing great but not total ghetto either, I am sure I wouldn’t any problems there, proximity wise at worse I am a ½ hour way from most things, and less than that to where my recovery friends hang out and some of the meeting places. I also went down to visit a friend of mine, that didn’t turn out great, she had an unexpected guess show up so we didn’t get to visit like we would have liked to, I will just have to call her tomorrow on her day off, need her to do some favors for me but wasn’t able to ask with her friend around.

The drive down was awesome!!! It was an overcast misty day here, there was low mist all along I-80 which is basically the Platte river valley, visibility was down to about 2 miles in some areas. Nebraska along I-80 is flat between Lincoln and the far western part of the state, so on normal days you can see are far as your eyes will let you, 5-10 miles or so. The last few months I have been in the habit of driving without the radio on and today was no different. By doing this I listen to my thinking, also the music stuck in my head, today it was an alternative version to the Stones song “Play with Fire”, for years I have been a hard core music person, I own somewhere in the neighborhood of 500 cd’s, part of changing me is changing the habit of always having to have music playing, breaking the obsession for noise or others persons words in my life. My eyes were fully alive to the nature I was seeing on my trip down. The mist brought out the colors, the various greens in the grasses, the underlying green of new prairie grass topped by last year’s brown stocks. The patches of yellow where provide by the wild mustard plants, white wild daisies spotted the median. Along the barb wire fences clusters of wild plum and choke cherry thickets. Lots of scrub pines and cedar trees, plus other trees short and tall. Of course you have your cattle herds grazing, different breeds that only those of us raised around them know the names of, one small herd of long horns which I absolutely love, long horns have the prettiest markings of any breed of cattle but you don’t see that many out here because they aren’t the best meat producers. Another thing I notice due to my background is cornfields, I notice how high it was, who got a late start and who didn’t; how the further east I got the higher it was so it was planted earlier which means they didn’t get as much spring rain as was did, mud and planting don’t go together. Think about all the chemicals addicts have put into their bodies trying to intensify our senses, even alcohol, we never needed them campers. We can do using a few simple spiritual techniques once we learn how. Wow how easy it is to just turn the music off, the cell phone and look, oh yeah to still have to be alert enough to the traffic, semi’s don’t care if you are having a spiritual moment or not, but it is there for me and for us. Simple stuff for a complicate mind, reality what a concept!!!

Bits and pieces of this post where going through my head on the way home and I couldn’t wait to get them out. The drive home was one where I had to pay closer attention because the local fauna, otherwise known as white tail deer like to run out on to the interstate starting around dusk. The thought of hitting a deer while I am going 75mph gives me the willies, one of those respectable fears in life.

Well this is my tale for Sunday. Don’t know what tomorrow will bring; only the Muse knows and she may decide to take a day off.

Peace Love and Light