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Blogs by Russell A Vassallo
Traveling 9/23/2016 4:49:25 AM
I have visited many states and enjoyed the beauty of each. I have seen the flat lands of Texas and driven through a sand storm. Although the car was closed up tight, we had to vacuum it out when we arrived at clear weather. I have seen antelope within one hundred feet and jackrabbits as big as dogs cavorting by the roadside. I have seen the Inn of the Mountain Gods owned by Mescalero Apache Indians and heard the elk bugling in the distance. I have huffed and puffed my way at 10,000 feet altitude and eaten German sausage. And I have seen the wild horses crossing the road and fed the little burros on the highways. I have seen the Moa Roa mountain in Moorea and ridden the bus in Tahiti where people carried their tuna and pigs back home from the market. I have fed of the mangoes that fell from public trees and seen the rainbow at the end of the storm. I have seen the high and mighty Bob Hope making his Christmas show on a four-masted schooner. I have sailed on the fishing trawlers in Nova Scotia and feasted on a little beach in St. Kitts. I have walked with Virginia on Paradise Island and, when one gets old, he forgets the places he has been. But I do not forget the memories or the laughter.
We were once on our way to Flagstaff, Arizona, where Virginia, the kids and I were going to spend Christmas. One of those nutty ideas I came up with along the way. We stopped in Sedona where the zoning regulations require every building to fit into the rugged, rocky landscape and every building did have that yellowish/tan coloration of the rocky terrain around Sedona. I needed a ribbon for my typewriter and we got the address of a supplier. We went to the mall looking and could not find him. Everything looked the same. Finally we telephoned him and asked him to stand in front of his building which he did.
We drove to the Grand Canyon and stared in awe at just a small portion of it. My two sons, Chris and Mike, began horsing around on the edge of the rocks. From where I could see there was nothing below except a two thousand foot drop. Both boys were horsing around and suddenly they both went over the side. I was horrified. I thought they had fallen into the abyss only to find them sitting on a rock below. One of those "boys will be boys" jokes. We visited Death Valley and were surprised to see a modern resort on the edge of the sands. I know why it is called Death Valley. No water and excessive temperatures. And do not count on the wind.
In Nevada we went sightseeing and found a resort and hotel in the mountains where we had dinner and partied with the help after hours. We didn't know any of the people but they were great fun. No one got drunk. No sex. Just pure fun. during the evening a couple of the girls came looking for any man they could find. One of them singled me out and wanted to take me home. That was the only time I saw Virginia jealous and ready to confront someone. It was really a nice feeling but it was only a one shot deal. Never happened again. Somerset Maugham once said that "indifference is the great tragedy of love." Right on.
I chased a black tailed rattler across a New Mexico highway with my daughter screaming I was going to be killed. She did not know her father was a risk taker. I think of the times I have nearly been killed for my foolishness and, if I had to do it over again, I would not change a thing. What good is life without risks? What memories would I have?
When the Jamaican people were rioting over gas prices, I booked a tour to Jamaica and enjoyed every moment of the reduced price tour.
When we were flying a puddle jumper to St. Thomas, I saw a black spot in the distant mountain and asked the pilot what that was. He told me that the previous week another such plane had crashed into the mountain. I flew on an amphibious plane, the very same kind in which Maureen O'Hara's husband was killed.
Foolhardy? Perhaps. But I would not change anything and I do not regret anything. I only wish I were able to do exactly the same things for when I stand before God and He asks me what I have done with my life, I can answer: I have lived it to the full of every minute, every moment, Lord.
