The Way Forward

A recent confluence of holidays--Eid, UAE National Day and Thanksgiving left me with time away from work and the need to burn fat. I suppose I could have stayed home and spent a few more hours in the health club and could have gone with the missus on extended evening constitutionals, but a local no frills carrier flies twice daily to and from Nepal making cheap virtual slave labor hauls, and so once again I chose to walk up hills, above clouds and ooh and ahh at Himalayan mountain ranges. It was also time to make a bootlegged DVD run.


The few photos I took that ended up on my anti-social networking Facebook page indicate to me that next time out, the missus and I should consider a change of scenery. When sunrise views of mountains majestic are captioned "some mountain somewhere in Nepal" or "a mountain top stupa in someplace   (I forget where)" then it's time to rethink what at this point in my life defines and determines exotica.


I once had a vision--escaping to a tropical paradise, annoying local missionaries, painting nekkid women and dying a syphilitic death after slipping into an alcoholic coma. But I have now outlived Gauguin and moved beyond this without a backwards glance. I've also infused into my nearing 55 years old self a noticeable shift in politics from far left to left of center to "so whatism".


So. If I may use a Bush era slogan just this one time and I promise never to use it again--what is the way forward?


Sacramento County. Naturally.