(Originally written at Clem's Sunday night before her AO-hell
disconnected me)
The Oisboid adventure started Wednesday night when the Warwagon blew
the water pump. Debbie took the bugger in for repairs Thursday
morning and I went to work for a couple hours. Our original plan was
to leave Thursday night and get as far as Coalinga.
The mechanics said the car would be ready by 5 pm so the plan was
still viable.
Debbie called me at work at 10 - the car was ready!! Citing some
reasonable excuse I left work (not that I had anything to do anyway).
$300 in repair but our trip started off well - we left at noon and
got to...
Sacramento! State cap of CA where I wanted to impart my wisdom and a
firm boot to the Gov. Found a hotel and while unpacking the car
discovered we had forgotten Adam's luggage. Deb took him to the
ubiquitous Wal-Mart for new gear - $200.
That's $500 in less than 24 hours of a 15-day trip. Good thing I got
paid that day. We certainly could use the extra $200.
Anyway. Friday. Took the vultures around Old Sacramento. Did I
mention that all the way up it'd been over 100 degrees? Did you know
that Sacramento has a river right there? Did you know that humidity
can exceed 100%? Does the word 'RANK' cough up an image of ol' Ozzy?
Spent a few hours in Sac and hit the road up to Yreka. On the way we
had a rest stop in Mt Shasta City. To those who've seen it Mt Shasta
is unbelievably beautiful. The kids were properly awed.
We walked around the city when Adam insisted that he *HAD* to go into
a store. Fine, whatever. It was a crystal store. Not a rock shop but
a P.C. metaphysical crystal store with lots of nice bug, expensive
crystals.
You think you know where I'm going with this?
So the kids are running around the store which is actually a series
of stores off a common corridor and they're being kids - touching and
climbing. When the owner, a lady looking rather a lot like Joy's
mother but slightly taller, calls them off a chunk of quartz. They
had accidently knocked a flake off some pyrite on the quartz. She
calle dthem over and asked them to sit down - she had something
important to tell them. They sat down and waited with wide eyes for
her words of wisdom:
[I'm not making the following up]
"Kids, this rock is alive like you and me. It has a consciousness.."
(WHAT THE F...!!!)
"And it shares the same atoms and molecules that ties all living
things together..."
(DAMN NUT CAAAAAAAASE!!!!!)
"And so when you knocked off the flake you should be careful and
apologize...
(GRENADE LAUNCHER!!!!)
To which my kids looked at her and replied in their own way:
"It's a rock!"
And off they went. But it didn't end there. No, I was looking at a
slice of quartz wrapped in a mesh of wire hanging from the ceiling.
The lady came to me.
"Do you know what that's for?"
"No!" (Please, tell me - my headache hasn't reached full migraine.)
"When you meditate it helps you focus your energy. You can open or
close the mesh on either side and keep out bad energy."
(And you're still here because...)
And it got better. Ryan touched what looked like the handle of a
lightsaber when this guy who worked there came tearing over to ask
that Ryan not touch the item. (Yes, he wore Birkenstocks - good
guess).
And why should Ryan not touch the lightsaber, what was it?
"It's a $180 device for light therapy. The quartz crystal on the end
gives off therapeutic energy and you can insert these colored
slides..."
(And I can insert the effing $5 flashlight with the effing $3 chunk
of quartz in your ass and see how therapeutic that is...)
I am tolerant - dammit! Really, but this was beyond rational.
Back to the trip. Yreka - wonderful quaint.
Saturday. Drove to Salem and visited Clem. Jason and Ryan tormented
the heck out of her cats. Apparently they're still traumatized. Ana
made us a nice lasagna dinner.
Sunday. Left Salem and spent the day at the Portland Zoo and nearby
Children's museum. Fun - kid's zonked out. Parents not far behind.
Monday. Left Portland and went to the nearby Clark County Fair. Not
as big as LA County but more manageable and a lot of fun. Not that I
noticed but there seemed to be many...er...healthy looking farm
girls. Debbie kept muttering something about wanting a horse.
After a long tiring, hot day at fair we headed gnorph...umm...north
towards Seattle but made it as far as Tacoma where I'm in a Holiday
Inn Express writing this. 5 Days without Internet has been tortuous!
Tomorrow is Seattle and Whidbey Island where we meet Debbie's friend
and we start our long trip home via the coast. Until the next free
computer connection...
--Ozzy
Received on 2003-08-04 21:36:12
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