a new year is coming soon

To the Consolations of Philosophy

by W. S. Merwin

Thank you but

not just at the moment

I know you will say

I have said that before

I know you have been

there all along somewhere

in another time zone

I studied once

those beautiful instructions

when I was young and

far from here

they seemed distant then

they seem distant now

from everything I remember

I hope they stayed with you

when the noose started to tighten

and you could say no more

and after wisdom

and the days of iron

the eyes started from your head

I know the words

must have been set down

partly for yourself

unjustly condemned after

a good life

I know the design

of the world is beyond

our comprehension

thank you

but grief is selfish and in

the present when

the stars do not seem to move

I was not listening

I know it is not

sensible to expect

fortune to grant her

gifts forever

I know

Walt Whitman

The teeming streets of Walt Whitman's America. A hundred and fifty years later.

I think it was the prospect of a new start, a new administration in Washington, that brought Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass to me. I bought the anniversary edition of this work a few weeks ago, and for the first time, read this famous piece of very American poetry.

Walt knows.

I recommend it.

This is from the opening of the preface in the 1855 first edition:

The Americans of all nations at any time upon the earth have probably the fullest poetical nature. The United States themselves are essentially the greatest poem. In the history of the earth hitherto the largest and most stirring appear tame and orderly to their ampler largeness and stir. Here at last is something in the doings of man that corresponds with the broadcast doings of the day and night. Here is not merely a nation but a teeming nation of nations. Here is action untied from strings necessarily blind to particulars and details magnificently moving in vast masses. Here is the hospitality which forever indicates heroes . . . . Here are the roughs and beards and space and ruggedness and nonchalance that the soul loves. Here the performance disdaining the trivial unapproached in the tremendous audacity of its crowds and groupings and the push of its perspective spreads with crampless and flowing breadth and showers its prolific and splendid extravagance. One sees it must indeed own the riches of the summer and winter, and need never be bankrupt while corn grows from the ground or the orchards drop apples or the bays contain fish or men beget children upon women.

Other states indicate themselves in their deputies . . . . but the genius of the United States is not best or most in its executives or legislatures, nor in its ambassadors or authors or colleges or churches or parlors, nor even in its newspapers or inventors . . . but always most in the common people. Their manners speech dress friendships the freshness and candor of their physiognomy the picturesque looseness of their carriage . . . their deathless attachment to freedom their aversion to anything indecorous or soft or mean the practical acknowledgment of the citizens of one state by the citizens of all other states the fierceness of their roused resentment their curiosity and welcome of novelty their self-esteem and wonderful sympathy their susceptibility to a slight the air they have of persons who never knew how it felt to stand in the presence of superiors the fluency of their speech their delight in music, the sure symptom of manly tenderness and native elegance of soul . . . their good temper and openhandedness the terrible significance of their elections the President's taking off his hat to them not they to him these too are unrhymed poetry. It awaits the gigantic and generous treatment worthy of it.

Rare Bear

Here is the working end of the winner of the unlimited class gold at the Reno Air Races today. A 4000 horsepower Grumman F8F Bearcat that in 1989 set the closed course world speed record of 528.3 mph.

It's a great airshow and the only place in the world you can see aircraft racing around pylons on a closed course.

New Year's Day on the Flats
















Took a little trip out west this afternoon, to the Jungo Flats, about 35 miles west of town. It was a nice quiet place to spend a bit of the first day of the new year. No people, no birds, no insects, no animals, no sound, no wind, just beautiful space and light. This playa is large enough that you can see the curvature of the earth if you look closely. Its a good place to think about the great wheels at work in the universe.
















I did find this shadow lurking about, watching me over its shoulder.

FABULOUS

Near sundown on Saturday, OLD GLORY waving in the breeze, and the big car show was in town. The Fifties Fever. So we went downtown to see what was happening.

It was empty.

The streets and sidewalks were all deserted. The whole party had moved to the west side of town, either at the street drags behind Arby's or the street dance at the Model T. So we decided to go into the big tent America's Car Museum at the Flying A Garage had set up in the west Winner's parking lot. The tent contains about a dozen or so cars from the collection. The entire collection is said to be over 160 vintage one-of-a-kind automobiles. Every one we saw that night was cool.












This is the famous Winnemucca Propane Car. This car held some sort of land speed record, I should have take a photo of the story that was posted over it.

This small glimpse of the car collection going into the new museum is really amazing. Take a look a just one small item now in the collection.















This one was Miss Patti's favorite, the desert dusty rose CADDY.
It's about 27 feet long.

After that we went home, we had missed the party completely.

Butch headin' out, from the Sundance in Muccabull Springs.

Bling~Bling

So the big Reno Rodeo is coming up soon. The "Wildest, Richest Rodeo in the West". The local tv stations are doing lots of short features covering the run-up to the event. On the morning news the other day they cut to a local western wear store to discuss what's in style to wear to the rodeo this year. The store owner said "This year it's all about the 'BLING'." A lovely young model was standing nearby to showoff all the rinestone, silver, and jewel covered boots, pants, belts, blouses, vests, hats and even a holster for the ever present cell phone. Looked almost like she stepped off the cover of a 2000 Cash Money recording, except of course she was a cowgirl in western wear, and it was mostly silver not gold. I couldn't see her rims. She too said "It's all about the bling-bling".

Funny, how even the die hard cowboys in Nevada are being affected by rap music culture.

Imagine that.


Bling-Bling

Here is what was going on in my world tonight.

Posted by Hello