Volver

Being in New Mexico is like being no place else.  It's not like being in the Republic of Mexico.  It's nothing like Arizona or Texas.  I like being here, the feel of the state of being.  Tonight I especially like being here after driving across Texas for two days in the aftermath of an unusual ice storm.

Car completely covered in thick sheet of very bumpy ice early on New Year's Day

Dozens of mishaps on the frozen Interstate 20 heading west from Dallas area

Tucked in tight in a big back up, I thought at least we won't starve!

After almost 300 miles at 30 miles an hour, we reached Midland/Odessa oil fields.

This is where George H W Bush brought his young wife and baby boy W to live.

Somehow George HW made it really big here.

It doesn't seem like a very nice place to live.

I've heard it's still a good place to make a lot of money.

Next day, after another snow and ice storm, the sights were better.  In places, it was a winter wonderland.

The best sight of all was good old New Mexico in late afternoon sunshine.

Name Change

I just changed from my "real name" to "Julz of the World" because something triggered a happy memory of when as a kid I had a great job at the Seattle World's Fair giving coffee breaks to all the salespeople at Jewels of the World. There were dozens of them and each person sold costume jewelry from a different country. They were always happy to see me since it was their only chance to have a smoke or take a pee. The boss was a rough-mannered Puerto Rican Jew who told me he learned English watching movies over and over. Off at one end of the store paying customers could fish for a pearl in an oyster from a shallow pool tended by Japanese girls in traditional kimonos and one dude dressed in Japanese garb, but he was Korean. When we became friends, he told me about the historical animosity between the Koreans and the Japanese and that he didn't like having to associate with these girls, but, a job was a job. He was a very cool guy and if anyone knows Dong Yul Lee, the very good looking one who had been in the Korean air force before leaving for the US, tell him hi for me.

The name change (the "World" part) forces me to look at why I never want to go anyplace anymore, not even to Canada for New Year's, after a life-time of travel plans, adventures and yearnings for more. Is this the first stage of that phobia that keeps people virtual prisoners in their own homes?

Lunch in Astoria

Lunch in Astoria
Originally uploaded by JuliMil

Seared Tuna Salad, after quickly devouring one piece of tuna at the Baked Alaska Cafe on an old pier overlooking the vast Columbia River in Astoria, Oregon. We loved the food as well as Jeanne, our friendly, enthusiastic and efficient server.