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Jet-Black Guitars, Yellow Jeeps and Beagles

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My wife and I merged our finances early, and I made the mistake of asking if she minded if I spent some of “our” money on an electric bass guitar. She made the mistake of saying no. So, I hatched a plan. I had been watching these woodworking shows on PBS and I said, “If I had the right tools I could make your mother an Adirondack chair like that one on TV.” A few years later and about $4,000 invested in woodworking tools, I made my mother-in-law her chair and myself an electric bass guitar. I also joined two guitar maker organizations. They held annual symposiums, one of which was conveniently held in Tacoma, Washington the same weekend as my cousins’ weddings in Portland, Oregon. So off I flew to Washington, rented a car, and went to both events. The next year there was a symposium in Easton, Pennsylvania. Conveniently an hour from my mother-in-law’s and her lovely Adirondack chair. In all, I made three electric bass guitars (I burned the first one). My son picked up my love for...
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Naps and lessons

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I haven’t been doing any traveling lately, but Loki and I have been doing one of our favorite things. Taking naps. As I’m sure I have mentioned, I am old, or oldish. 67. I’m two years older than my father was when he died and like 10 or 12 years older than my brother was. So, while I was talking my daily nap, Loki resting on my legs and Gawain on the floor snoring (Man, can that dog snore, like a tent full of boy scout fathers) I was thinking about lessons I’ve learned, and I thought I’d pass one on. First though, let me say that I’ve been an avid nap-taker for, ever. I took them when I got home from school. I took them during school. I took them as a young adult. And as a young father I used to take them with my infant son taking his own nap on my chest on the floor after work. When I worked at home, I used to…I’ll leave that one out just in case someone I used to work for reads this. (Small chance of that, but still.) Back to our lesson. As a matter of background, there was a...
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How Shermon from Tupelo, Mississippi became Loki from the Lakes Region of New Hampshire

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  About three years ago, in October 2019, we were dropping some old blankets off at the Humane Society in Laconia, New Hampshire. I decided while there that I would look at the dogs up for adoption. I really had no intention of adding a new dog to our small pack. I caution you now.   Never go look at dogs at a shelter unless you plan to get one. Because you will. It was love at first site. When I was growing up, we had a string of Beagles. Ike (my parents were Republicans then), Snoopy and Spot (yes Spot). Spot lived the longest, he died of very old age when I was away at college in Santa Cruz, California. Spot had slept at my side through my pre-teen and teen years. When I was in junior college in Saratoga, California he would track me to my class a few miles from our house and be waiting for me when I came out of the lecture hall or lab. Before I could get to him, some other student whom I didn’t know would greet him, “Spot how are you doing buddy.” And I’d say, “Come-on...
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Introduction Number Two: I'm a thinker of stuff

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Travel on roads in America is easy and I imagine elsewhere as well. The hard part is the where to sleep and what to sleep in. I have a Nissan Armada, which is big, and a Jeep Wrangler which is not. I could sleep in the Armada, but I’m afraid if I do that too much, people will think I live in my car. As it is, my children think I live like I’m homeless when I’m away from New Hampshire by myself. That is probably because at the house I own in Florida, I sleep on an inflatable mattress and have no electricity, water and stuff. But the roof doesn't leak. I figure I can do the Armada thing with the Jeep towed behind it on the way down to Florida, but after that, I’ll need a less homeless appearing solution. I’ve got an infinite number of possibilities, and I keep adding new ones. What is infinity plus one? I’m a dreamer, a daydreamer, a planner, an idea man, a thinker of stuffer. Some of my ideas are crazy, and after a few weeks of letting them simmer, I discard them. Some are...
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Introduction

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  Travels with Gawain and Loki Introduction 1: I turned 67 in August and although I’m hoping to live many more years, I thought now would be a good time to start some adventuring. I have chosen two dogs as my adventuring companions. Gawain, a blue-eyed Husky Lab with an awful disposition around the wrong people (my wife can show you the scars and her now crocked thumb). He growls and snarls and bares his teeth whenever I pull him out of my chair, but other than that I am not one of the wrong people (alpha male beating his chest). The other adventurer is a Beagle named Loki, who true to his name and breed is mischievous and obnoxious. Gawain is named after the 14th-Century Middle English Arthurian legend of “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight”. And keeping with this scholarly and erudite naming convention, Loki is named after the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s character. I was named for my grandfather on my mother’s side. Get the three of us together and it can be loud, as in a ca...
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