See the lonely boy, Out on the road...

 

 

Bahmp Bahmp Duhmp,

Bahmp Bahmp Duhmp,

I think I'll buy a pickup,

and take it down to LA.

See the lonely boy out on the weekend, 

trying to make it pay. -Neil Young, "Out on the Weekend"

 

Coming into Cheyenne, Wyoming going north on I-25 after a night in Colorado Springs, I make the casual curve that connects me to I-80 westbound, catching the lifting, pale morning October sun in my rearview mirror.  I'm on the road west and I slip ol' Neil Young's Harvest CD into the yet-to-be-used slot on the upper part of the dashboard equipped with all the bells and whistles that have become standard in the fifteen years since I last purchased a vehicle.  

 

I'm not sure of the meaning of his lyrics of which Neil Young sings, but the words resonate with me as I press the accelerator and hear her growl as I climb toward 90 MPH - what I affectionately call 'Wyoming Speed'. 

 

 

I sing along in my head, changing the lyrics;

 

I think I'll buy an SUV and take it out to WA.  

See the lonely boy out on the road,

trying to make it pay. 

 

I debated this move. I like driving cars that are paid for. I do not like to be beholden to anyone. I like cash flow in more than cash flow out. But there comes a time - a time to say it has been a good run and to look toward the future. In preparation for my long trip and bivouacking in my 50 acre woods, I decided that that time had come.

 

Good ol' 'Sandy Q' had given me 230,000 virtually trouble-free miles over the last fifteen years. The hole in her floor mat had worn clear through into the underlying carpet. A couple of her dash lights had burned out along the road. I believe she'd likely give me several more thousand score of miles, but I couldn't be sure. A big life change was upon me, I was going to take an open-ended trip to Washington to live a primitive existence on the harassed construction site where I was going to be building a new house. I valued reliability and 4WD on the muddy tracks of the Pacific Northwest, where I could not afford to have a broken-down vehicle in unfamiliar territory.

 

Sandy Q brought a few bucks for her silver, road-worn chassis. I got a high-riding, 4WD dark and admittedly 'bad-ass' highwayman persona in a 2015 Toyota 4Runner. I try to live a life of no regrets. 

Bahmp Bahmp Duhmp - 

I think it was a good choice,

to buy an SUV,

and take it out to WA. 

 

I log 2,174 miles from my Garland driveway to the gate on our acreage. The autumn open road was a pleasant experience as I scanned the horizon anticipating the unexpected around the next curve, mostly in a metaphorical way, as I play out the scenarios of my future in my head. I'm logging those miles riding a high horse, feeling secure in my choices and believing the coming changes will be for the good. 

 

I've noticed that women will often change their looks, get a new hair style change up their color choices during or after a life change like a divorce. Maybe not acting as deliberately as that, but I too, have passively allowed my looks to change; not cutting my hair or shaving since the end of August, 2021. I'm not sure their is a clear reason for my actions, but I do think it gives me the look of a wild man of the woods. Should any of them thar criminal varmints show up, I will appear as an Old Testament Prophet of Doom or a pistol slinging Yosemite Sam. Just best not to mess with a wild man in a metallic charcoal gray 4WD.  

In the mean time, I remind myself to Enjoy the Journey.