Odds and Ends . . .
After March 1st, you won't be able to buy copies of The Lost Soul Companion for a little while. That's because a division of Random House will re-release my book this Fall. They are also planning to release The Lost Soul Companion II in the Fall of 2002.
It's a Pen Pal; not a Love Pal . . .Last issue (in the print version) I mentioned that I heard from one interesting-sounding guy who's looking for a pen pal. I thought I had found someone for him, but maybe not since the potential correspondent wrote back to me requesting someone female, 40 to 60 years old, who "looks sharp in tight jeans and no make-up." So it's back to the drawing board. Is anyone out there interested? Keep in mind, this is a snail-mail correspondence for people who still use pens and paper and stamps. Also, this is a pen pal, not a love pal; so don't get any funny ideas.
Some days there is so much crap to deal with it feels like an avalanche. Makes you just want to say fuck it and get back in bed. fix the brake lights tune up the car pay the parking ticket get the phone turned back on pay the IRS write to the student loan people finish long overdue projects get started on new ones face the music
Is it any wonder I am happiest when I am vagabonding? Is it any wonder I frequently entertain thoughts of never coming home? Sometimes I wonder if the cost of being a cog in the machine isn't too great.
I tried to explain to someone the other day about train-hopping. Most of the time is spent waiting for trains. There are no phones, no bills, no email, no visitors, no dishes, no laundry, no work, no nothing. You quickly realize there is no point in worrying about anything beyond your most immediate needs. You have you, you have your pack, and you have all the time in the world. You drop your pack in the dirt, and you lie down beside it. You stare up at the sky and watch a cloud or two drift over. You listen for a rumble, perk your ears up, then drop yourself back into the dirt. Nothing you do or feel or think will make your train appear any sooner. All you have to do is just BE.
I'm gone, man. I'm calling in sick to work. I'm gonna hop a train and get the fuck out of dodge.
That is all. Over and out.