A Close Dog Encounter of the…

aggressive kind…

I was minding my own business performing the pre-hike ritual of fussing with my shoes and gear. A young couple pulled up in the parking area. I spotted a small dog between them. I continued putzing around.

Next thing I know, the little cur was rushing, snarling and barking at me. I froze in place and shouted at the twosome. “Please call your dog!”

The woman shouted the dog’s name. No response as the little shit kept advancing towards me. Exasperated, by the dog’s selective hearing, she ran over and scooped up the mutt. Then  she went about whispering sweet nothings into its ears while cuddling it. 

Not exactly a Pavlov’s Dog training regime. Wouldn’t you say? She pawed the puppy with public displays of affection for bad behavior? WTF! 

There were no words of apology issued either.

I screwed around some more (with higher blood pressure) reckoning they’re young and will hike faster than me.

WRONG! 

Apparently, they were in Olympic training mode for the “One mile mosey” competition. I caught them in 15 minutes. Once again, the Napoleon complex dog charged me. Once again I yelled out. “Please call your dog!” It was doggy Deja Vu all over again. But this time the little turd jumped up and snapped at my calf. It missed. I raised my hiking stick up in a menacing manner. “Don’t let me do something all of us will later regret!” She snagged the attacker and once again coo-cooed into its pointy years and hugged it.

At least, this time she issued a lame. “Sorry.” The Dude called out, “Have a nice day!” While my blood pressure crept up along with my anger. 

I forged ahead and took a detour to check out a retro bitcoin mine. Once again, I figured the threesome would get way ahead of me resulting in no more Jeffie vs. canine confrontations.

WRONG II !!! 

In less than a Sambini second, I spotted them ahead, moving at the incredible speed of one step/minute. 

At this point I said, “F—k it!” I don’t want to deal with this shit again. I don’t hike in beautiful places to be harassed and hassled.”

I headed downhill in an unhappy state of mind.

Now some Jeffie Dog History. I don’t own a dog and probably will never own a dog. That being said, I’d consider myself to be dog neutral. If a strangers dog leaves me alone, no problem. There’s no need for me to pet it or exchange contact info so we can become Facebook buddies. However, I will quickly warm up to a well trained friendly dog. I’ve been known to pet,  tail wagging pooches briefly, while saying. “You’re a good dog, a friendly dog. I like you.” 

So here’s my point. We live in society where dogs have been elevated to the status of “fur babies.” Fine! But please take the time to train your four legged child to heel or else place them on a leash. This small gesture would be appreciated by wildlife, humans with cynophobia (fear of dogs) and me.  Woof! Woof! 

Dog owners! Please consider this! A former no fake news post about wildlife vs. dog concerns.  (The wildlife loses). 

https://jeffsambur.blogspot.com/2024/09/this-is-psa.html

Last photo: Here’s the note I left on that couples truck. A reality check for dog owners.

This Schadenfreude moment…

is brought to you by the vilest human on the planet’s (birthday) and military parade. At an estimated cost of $25-45 million, it’ll be far less than what it’ll cost Tommy Trumper to haul his precariously placed pickup truck off that road to nowhere.

Poor Tommy. He doesn’t believe in the Rule of Law so why would he believe in the Law of Physics?

I’m guessing there will be a GoFundMe to pay for the extraction. It’ll be the BIGLY equivalent of many Bud Lights. I don’t plan on donating. 

Thoughts and prayers Tommy!

Feel free to spread the moment. We’ll take our victories while we can since we are heavily outgunned, outmaneuvered and outmanned. 

This is incipient Anarchy…

Since June 16th, 2015 when the Vilest Man in the World 🌎 descended an escalator in New York’s Trump Tower (spit) and Molotov cocktailed his MAGA hat into ring, I’ve been issuing warnings. 

I predicted his Armageddon One term would be divisive, incompetent and chaotic.  It was. In 2020, the voting population thought so too. It was so bad an incumbent was decimated at the polls. 

Unfortunately the Trump turd endured despite the January 6th, 2021 attempted  coup. One thing I have to admit about this scumbag, he makes up for his complete shamelessness with incredible persistence. A true ME ME ME sociopath. 

In 2024, a nauseating turnaround occurred. My Fellow Mericans had mass historical amnesia. They forgot how unpalatable this human shit 💩 sandwich was. They re-elected him. 

Here’s my not-so-genteel take of that moment.

https://jeffsambur.blogspot.com/2025/01/you-can-fool-some-people.html

Now we’re seeing the predictable results. Chaos Squared  Executive Orders issued on “emergencies” where hours before there weren’t any. (A classic “Look up! The sky is falling” attention getting device.) All while  flipping off the Rule of Law, the Constitution and basic common sense and decency. It’s so easy to write orders when all the above are ignored, disrespected and violated.

Or as our wannabe Fuhrer proclaims, “He who saves his Country does not violate any Law” 

This quote is loosely attributed to another Dictator. Napoleon Bonaparte. 

Before I rant about the Mariana Trench low points of the Commander of Chaos’ regime, let’s go back to the Cabinet confirmations of a cast of charlatans.

From Fox Fear Network Merica received Pete Hegseth for Secretary of Defense. Pete was a pretty boy commentator for the of Fox and Friends Weekend edition (Puke). With this former  (highest rank Major)  National Guardsman in charge of the largest Military complex in the world. His confirmation went down to the wire amid allegations of sexual improprieties, alcohol abuse, (I’ll drink to that!) and financial mismanagement. It took JD (Juvenile Delinquent) Vance to save this 44 year old putz’ ass to secure that 51st vote.  Despicable.

From the authors of Project 2025 (AKA the Anarchist Guide to Incompetent Gobment)  Merica scored a bevy of anti-Gobment Trumpers who are completely at ease with there being only one branch of Gobment. The Executive Branch. There’s rumors each Project 2025 appointee prays each morning  at their very own Trump altar. Of course it’s equipped with a God Bless Merica Trump Bible. Google hypo-Christian nerds and there’s a good chance  Russell Vought director of the Office of Management and Budget will pop up.

 In the Department of Education, there’s Linda McMahon, the former CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment. I’d say that’s a smack down for public education. 

Health and Human Services, we now have RFK Junior, former heroin addict, appetizer for a parasitic brain worm and presidential candidate. For this gig Bobby Junior pledged his brain worm and used needles in a show of support to a populist parasite. Once RFK Junior came into power, 10,000 HHS positions were sent to the coroner. The CDC, National Institute of Health and the Food and Drug Administration have been affected and not in a good way. At least the anti-vaxxer didn’t give the brain worm an assistant secretary of Health gig.

Kristi Noem is now the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. Her motto? “I want to treat immigrants as good as my dogs and goats. I’ll shoot them!”

Yes, all these creeps were confirmed by a Republican controlled Senate. Although Matt Gaezt was deemed too repulsive to be Merica’s AG. Now we are stuck with Trump Toadie Pam Bondi. 

The Republican AG appeared on Fox News this week, and marked Fentanyl Awareness Day with a curious claim. “In President Trump’s first 100 days, we’ve seized over 22 million fentanyl laced pills, saving over 119 million lives,” Bondi said.

I can’t speak for all Mericans, but in my circle of friends, family and acquaintances, I don’t know anyone who uses fentanyl. So where does this drug addled inflated BS number come from? (Currently the US population is 340 million.) Mind you, this is the AG talking trash. The supposed watchdog of “Truth, Justice and the American Way!” (Where’s Superman when you need him?) 

 

Yes, it was a confirmation of worst case scenario cabinet members. Trump the chess master sat back and thought, “Check!”

Here’s a partial list of his executive atrocities: (there’s a BIGLY amount)

Emperor Donald has issued 143 Executive Orders so far. An unheard of amount in such a short time.The subjects range from DEI, immigration, birthright citizenship, tariffs, withdrawing from the Paris Agreement (again), government accountability  and the hot button issue of low flow shower heads. His grubby, greedy fat fingers are all over the map. Of course, there’s been legal pushback. “More than 200 Federal lawsuits have challenged Trump’s new policies, with multiple judges temporarily blocking his priorities.” Source: USA Today

The unsecured Signal chat announcing Merica’s military plans against the Houthis of Yemen. (Complete with macho emojis) Followed by another militarily compromising Signal chat to Hegseth’s family members. At least Pete didn’t crow, “Hi Honey I blew up the Houthis.”

The deportation of a Maryland citizen (Kilmar Garcia who was granted “withholding of removal” status by a judge in 2019) to a El Salvador prison due to a case of mistaken tattoo identity. Dastardly Donald won’t admit to the “Whoops! I hate when that happens.” and deemed Mister Garcia guilty, just because. Don dislikes due process.

The on and all again tariffs, thereby created high and lows in the stock market with inside trading galore. As Trump said on (Un)Truth Social, “THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO BUY!!!” Just before the stock market jumped. 

Many of the tariffs are in effect, most impacting the bottom line for those with the least amount of savings and disposable income to begin with. This factoid from the New York Times says it all.

• Americans are spending less money, even at McDonald’s. Quarterly sales at the fast-food giant dipped by 3.6 percent in the U.S.

Just when you think we’ve hit the low bar, BUT NO! Here’s  another corrupt con. The Trump issued crypto-scam meme coins, complete with the ultimate pay to play. The top scam coin holders get to share a sumptuous dinner with #47. (cheesy burgers washed down with Diet Cokes). Such a deal! GAG!

Laura “Looney Tunes” Loomer’s Q’Anon trip to the Oval Office where she wielded papers baring hearsay of “disloyalty” on members of the National Security Council. Gone are General Haugh (head of the National Security Agency and US Cyber Command.) and his deputy Wendy Noble. There’s unsubstantiated talk Laura gave a “hand job” to the Jerk Off in Chief to seal the deal. But it’s just talk. 

Lastly (for the sake of brevity since there’s so much material), Elon Musk DOGE’s agenda of Federal layoffs in a lame effort to reduce the Federal budget. Using the Tech  Twerps credo, “Move fast and break things.” the Ketamine addict slashed Federal Agencies with little to no regard for their impact on our health, education, climate, foreign policies, scientific research/development and environmental protections. 

That’s just one level of abominations. Musk ordered his army of mini Tech Twerps to harvest sensitive data on many of our fellow Mericans. All this orchestrated by a unelected and unconfirmed White Nationalist. Where’s the outrage from Republicans about Gobment overreach?

Here’s a few old posts on this subject:

https://jeffsambur.blogspot.com/2025/03/coming-soon-to-planet-near-you_14.html

https://jeffsambur.blogspot.com/2025/02/national-parks-are-the.html

I’m not the only one concerned with this daily assault on democracy combined with a “Shock and Aww Fuck” brutality. 

Below is a recent New York Times/Siena College poll. My guess is the 42% who consider events “exciting” were diehard  fans of “The Apprentice.” 

By now you’re thinking. Jeffie is sure opinionated. I wonder where he thinks this will end. 

Here’s my take.

If the Grim Reaper doesn’t appear on the scene, Trump and the Republican Party will be backed into a corner. There’s nothing quite as dangerous as a trapped predator. The Commander of Chaos will follow the lead of his historical mentor. Adolf Hitler. There will be a “Reichstag Fire” event. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reichstag_fire

This will precipitate another “National Emergency.” Trump will then declare Martial Law, unleashing unlawful arrests and round ups. The wannabe Dictator will then sit back, sip his Diet Coke and declare. “Checkmate!”

We are in a fine mess. 

But wait there’s Pope!

Coming soon to a planet near you!

A New World Order! 

Spoiler Alert! It won’t be new or orderly.

A while ago, I read a non-fiction book about the Soviet Union. The part I recall was concerning Khrushchev’s long winded speech to the Russian Politburo in February 1956. This was after Stalin’s death in 1953 in which Joe left behind a reign of terror on his own people. 

Source Wikipedia 

Mind you this total does not include the Holodomor of 1932-1933 in which 3.5-5 million Ukrainians starved to death in what was AKA the Ukrainian Famine. Scholars still debate whether this was an intentional Stalin maneuver or just gross negligence. 

So by now we’ve established the fact Stalin was a feared and loathsome leader to his own people.

Back to Nikita. In his speech he railed against Stalin’s brutal excesses. The story goes when there was a lull in the action, a bureaucrat shouted out, “why didn’t you do something?” 

In which ol’ K looked menacingly down at the White Russians below. “Who said that? Who said that?” 

Absolute silence. When the pause went on long enough. Nikita shouted back. “That’s why we didn’t say anything! We feared him!” 

Back to our current political chaos.

At the first Cabinet meeting led by Merica’s vilest president, a non-elected, non Senate confirmed Tech Twerp made his sinister presence known.  Musk stood over his docile prey (AKA the Trump Cabinet) alternately thanking them for their servitude and berating them. The Suck-Up-Bet members suddenly developed a bad case of shpilkes (ants in their pants) while they remained seated. The only thing missing were the dunce caps adorning their shameless heads. 

To add piss to the punch bowl, #47 had to defile and demean these former adults even more.  “Is anybody unhappy with Elon? If you are, we’ll throw him out of here. Is anyone unhappy?”

Amazingly! No one was unhappy! One could almost hear the clatter of one hand clapping.

The above black comedy moment was based on a NY Times article by Jess Bidgood.

BUT the correlation of Nikita’s brilliant comeback to the Stalin’s based fear and Trump’s bullying were cut from the same shit smeared diaper. Cruelty and intimidation.

So how did the richest and second vilest human on the planet end up in a Cabinet meeting? 

The answer is simple. Bribery!. All it took was a Musk $288 million donation to Trump’s campaign. (For comparison shopping. Yellowstone NP (founded in 1872) annual budget was $35 million in 2021.) The Tesla Ketamine Junkie spoke the same two word language as Trump. $$$$$$$ and power. With that chump change amount (for him) he was able to buy his way into an influential role of devastating our Federal Agencies with mass layoffs. However he did display a crumb of empathy for those who were about to lose their jobs. Here’s the quote. The layoffs would “Necessarily involve some temporary hardships.” Can’t you just feel his pain? NOT! 

BTW: Here’s the reality of Federal Employees and the Federal Budget.

“According to recent data, federal employee compensation makes up around 4.3% of the total federal budget. 

Explanation: While the exact number can fluctuate slightly, most sources indicate that the cost of salaries for federal employees represents a relatively small portion of the overall federal budget, currently sitting around 4-5%.”

Laying quality employees off is not a true cost saving measure. It’s the equivalent of removing one barnacle from the back of a humpback whale. A futile effort. 

It’s not only layoffs affecting “We the People.” 

President Musk’s Geek Squad hacked into the Department of Housing and Urban Development to secure medical and financial records of private citizens. (Source ProPublica). All this with the Blessings of Trump and his enablers. 

This will not end well. 

Meanwhile back in the Vile House, # 47 continues his rampage of firing key military personnel, Inspector Generals and DOJ lawyers. Any potential threats to his Dictatorship are being 86ed out of the system. With this current administration the Constitution, the Rule of Law and checks and balances are so passé. 

But! There’s a feel good Polly Anna epilogue to all these layoffs and forced resignations. 

“What’s that? Jeffie!”

At least they walked out of their Gobment position alive. Stalin would have had them executed or exiled to a Siberian gulag. Maybe this is a Trump/Musk’s idea of George Dubya’s talk of a “compassionate conservatism.” 

Back to the title of this post. 

Anyone who watched the tag team assault by #47 and JD Quisling on Ukraine’s President Zelenskyy in the Oval Office witnessed the birth of the New World Order. Diplomacy, Decency and Democracy are now historical concepts. Ukraine has been tossed under a Russian T14-Armata tank. Merica is now aligned with Putin. A White Hypo-Christian Nationalistic worldwide bowel movement will be the next BIGLY thing. The outcome will be similar to the Nazi Regime of 1930’s to 1945. A low point in US/World History. 

Is anybody unhappy about this?

For further readings on my bragging rights for predicting this. Please take a gander.

https://jeffsambur.blogspot.com/2025/01/you-can-fool-some-people.html

https://jeffsambur.blogspot.com/2025/02/national-parks-are-the.html

https://jeffsambur.blogspot.com/2024/11/i-attended-la-plata-county.html

https://jeffsambur.blogspot.com/2024/10/warning-political-polly-annas-and.html

On July 11th, 2019 I vowed

To quit solo international travel. 

https://jeffsambur.blogspot.com/2019/07/put-fork-in-me.html

Well I guess I fibbed. After two back to back subpar attempted winter camping trips, (reasons: rain, clouds, wind and cold) I sought escape south of the border.

In that five year span, I lost a lot of my overseas travel Mojo. I remembered the stress of landing in a strange airport and thinking “where the hell am I?”  It was a feeling of general disorientation. With this in mind, I decided to do a “soft landing” by signing up on a Sierra Club outing. Destination: Costa Rica.

All the trip planning logistics, where to stay, how to get there and what to do would be taken care of by a well established tour company. All I had to do was sign up, drop a $200 deposit and I’d be in. 

Well, not so fast. 

Soon thereafter a slew of emails came in requesting all sorts of info. Medical history, reasons for my desire to go, travel experience a bit of a personality quiz as well. I shipped the hefty snail mail package to the group leader, (with an apology that I didn’t know how to submit them electronically.) 

Then I waited until I got an email from Angela the group leader. (Angela had to bow out later due to an injury. Her replacement was Pat.)

“When will you be available for a phone interview?”

On the scheduled time my phone rang. Angela and I made small talk feeling each other out. Her inquiries were geared towards what my expectations were, my fitness level and pointed questions to see if I play well with others. After about a half hour of interrogation, there was a pregnant pause. I finally broke the silence. 

“Well, how did I do? Am I in? 

She laughed at my straightforwardness and said, “Yes. You seem fine.” 

 Whew! 

But was I fine? I rarely spend extended periods of time around people, let alone 14 strangers for 11 days. Did I still own the social skills to play well with others?

Fortunately I would get a day to practice. I’d be seeing old High School buddy Judy and her husband Rick plus her friend Marsha for a stroll and lunch in Florida. 

We all met at a wildlife wetland refuge amid the seemingly endless stretches of strip malls and subdivisions of south Florida. After a brief introductions with Marsha we set out on the 1.5 mile long boardwalk. The conversations ebbed and flowed as we spotted storks, ibises, herons, snapping turtles and egrets. Every now and then, I’d toss in a comment or statement. Nothing I said scored a glare or a roll-the-eyes moment. I took this as a good sign. 

After our pleasant amble, we drove three vehicles to our lunch venue. Judy hopped in my car so we could catch up on what’s going on as we get further away from those High School years. During lunch, they asked me about my upcoming trip. I voiced my trepidation about being around so many strangers at once.

“I worry I might have become socially inept” I paused my thoughts for a moment and shyly asked. “So how am I doing?”

They all laughed. Maybe I still had game!

Our new tour leader Pat sent out timely emails for our upcoming trip. The info was solid and worth reading. A primers guide to CR. 

I arrived a day before the official tour start. I literally blew through CR customs, grabbed my backpack and followed Pat’s advice to hail a taxi to the Hotel Autentico.. Bang! Zoom! Before I knew it the kindly driver dropped me off in front of the door. Wow! That was easy. 

After a fine meal and sampling three different CR made beers ((for future reference) I retired for the night. 

So far, so good. 

I spent the day loitering around a San Jose park and taking in a baseball game. (I was the token Gringo fan). At 5 pm it was time for the Sierra Club meeting. I smiled nervously while introducing myself to a few fellow clients. We all took a seat in a semi-circle making it feel like an AA gathering. Pat took center stage welcoming us to Costa Rica.. We then went around the room introducing ourselves to the group with a few comments. Mine were very brief.

“Hi all! I’m Jeff from Durango, CO although I’m hardly ever there.” 

That chore done. Pat introduced Pablo our local guide. He gave us a more in-depth rundown with photos and maps on what our future holds. I instantly liked the guy. Pablo possesses an easy going manner with a maturity beyond his years. (He was only 32). Importantly Pablo was well versed in the way of the Gringo. Clearly we were in capable hands.

After dinner, I grabbed a beer and  prepared myself for a 6:30 am breakfast. 

I went downstairs early. YES! Coffee was on. I spotted Pablo at a table sitting alone. I politely asked if it were OK for me to join him. His smile was all I needed to take a seat. Immediately I knew this young man was a straight shooter. After a while I made my confession.

“Pablo, I’m well aware this tour is about the birds and birders. I’m not a birder, although I love seeing birds. I’m even a member of the Audubon Society. After our tour, I’ll be hiking the Camino de Costa Rica. Would it be OK if you and Pat gave me a little more leeway to get more kilometers of hiking in? I’m a very experienced hiker and will be very careful.”

His reply was what I hoped for.

“Really? You are hiking our Camino? That’s wonderful. I would like to do that one day. Yes! We will make arrangements to allow you to go off on your own. Please be careful out there.”

I gave him an over-the-top Muchas Gracias. Like I said, I knew I’d like this guy.

We boarded a bus for a long ride to our first venue. A two night stay at a rain forest ecolodge. At the midway point we’d lunch followed by a coffee plantation tour. I got an idea on this tour’s activity level would be when we took our seats on a trailer decked out with seats. We were towed along by a tractor. We didn’t go very far before our first stop. A PR representative of the coffee coop conveyed all the steps a coffee bean takes between being plucked, sorted, roasted and bagged. Little did I know how much real sweat labor goes into our morning grind until later on the Camino de Costa Rica. (Next WW J blog).

It was close to Happy Hour when we disembarked off the bus. It took about 8 plus hours to cover about 150 miles. Welcome to Costa Rican roads and traffic. 

On the positive side, I got a chance to chat with my fellow travelers. They consisted of two lawyers, three engineers, one college professor, one doctor, one librarian, one biologist, two nurses, one physician’s assistant, one non-profit director of the Chattahoochee Riverkeeper foundation and me. A retired Jewish firefighter. I was in the company of a bus load of smarts. However I did detect a bit of social awkwardness in a few of the guests. Our politics leaned left except for one who kept his opinions to himself.

Upon arrival (finally) Pablo pointed out a trailhead. That’s all the direction I needed to take off for a quick lap around the ecolodge grounds. 

After dinner and a few more observations, I texted my family.

“Good news! I’m not (by far) the most socially inept person on this tour. There’s at least three others stranger than me!”

The next am I woke, drank hotel room provided coffee and took off for a quick jaunt on the local trails. I was on lap two entering a clearing when I saw a green blur fly by. Luckily the blur landed and stared down at me. I took this photo. I had captured an elusive resplendent quetzal without ruffling a green feather. 

I proudly displayed my trophy to the birders of the tour. A few doubted me and accused me of finding the photo on the internet. I looked at them with a “Really?” expression. One birder asked, “how did you get the shot?”

My reply, “the early bird gets the bird.”

After breakfast, we padded along behind Pablo to another ecolodge famous for its potential quetzal sightings, plus its extensive trail system. YAY! Pablo heard it through the bird vine there was a quetzal taking center stage nesrby. We gave chase as he shushed us not to make too much noise. It didn’t matter. Beneath the green beauty was a bevy of paparazzi birders. I retreated to the outfield taking in this crazy scene. I decided I wouldn’t trade my solo sighting for all the birdseed at a PetSmart.

Then off for the longest organized hike/stop and stare trek to a BFT. (Big Freaking Tree). In total the hike was about 5 miles long.

I was green lighted the OK to head back to our ecolodge unattended. After lunch I hefted my backpack for a second lap sans anyone on the trails. 

The days went on like this, stays at high end ecolodges wedged between eternity seeming bus rides (only longer) intermixed with stop and stare bird walks, one whale watch (with an extremely animated excitable guide) and a flat bottom river bird staring cruise. All punctuated by my Lone Wolf (as one fellow traveler nicknamed me) tendencies to take off on solo ventures and bail on certain organized events. 

During this no stress existence I got to know and enjoy the company of the other Gringos. Here’s a few of the more notable characters:

Doc Lee is a retired GP from Santa Fe and fellow member of the tribe. His adventure resume was outstanding. Hikes, climbs and journeys into countries that weren’t on Rick Steves list of places to go. His stories were epic in length and achievements. All told in a strong Chicago-land accent. I told him he ought to write a book, but one story alone would exceed 500 plus pages. He called me a “New York Sharpie with an abrasive personality”  Our bantering provided entertainment at Happy Hours and bus rides. 

 

Pat our Sierra Club no nonsense leader who kept us all on track and on time. Pat is a retired nurse from Tulsa. She had a bit of Mother Hen in her with constant warnings about aggressive roosters, getting lost in the dark and wearing the proper footwear. When she became a bit overbearing, a few guests called her Nurse Ratched of “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” infamy. In reality Pat is a liberal minded, kind and caring human being. I enjoyed our early morning chats. 

Yes, our crew sported a dynamic duo too. Doug the French professor and Jo the librarian were well read and traveled seniors whose obvious affection towards each other was quite endearing. Doug spoke about their trips to France and love of the language. He was a true Francophile. Jo and I talked about our shared love of books. On the long bus rides, she was dialed into an audiobook. Smart move on her part. Jo is the one who nicknamed me the Lone Wolf. Of course, I howled when she said that.

Barbara was a notable guest too. She was by far the youngest paying member. She was employed as a lawyer for the White House. Somehow her position was bombproof regardless of what party was in power. When I queried her about her politics, she replied “Moderate.” 

My comeback was this. “What’s your favorite color? Plaid? These aren’t moderate times. Pick a side!”. Barbara laughed at this. She laughed at everything! She is a lively opinionated soul. (Like me.)

Then there was Sally. A Southern Belle who could trace her lineage to Founding Father, Patrick “Give me Liberty or Give me Death!” Henry. Her Scarlett O’Hara persona belies a stalwart of conservation and environmental issues. Sally was the founding executive director of Chattahoochee Riverkeeper. (1994-2014). With a starting grant of $50,000 from Ted (as in Turner) the non-profit blossomed into a $1.5 million/year advocate for keeping the Chattahoochee pollution free. In 1995, the Riverkeeper took the city of Atlanta to court for ignoring Federal clean water standards. For a change the Good Guys one!

I enjoyed listening to her as she name dropped meetings with Jane (as in Fonda) former Atlanta Mayors, former GA Governors and spending a night at the Woodruff Estate. (Coca Cola fame). All told in a breezy humble manner. During her career she was feted with many awards and honors for her conservation efforts. I’m convinced all the fish, fowl and other critters who call the Chattahoochee River their home appreciate her guardianship too. Sally now writes a monthly column on environmental issues facing Atlanta and beyond. 

From this bloggers perspective Sierra Club outings attract an extremely interesting and educated clientele. Happily (for me) conversations went well beyond the “nice day if it doesn’t rain” variety.  Even more happily (for me) I rediscovered I had the necessary social skills to get along with others. I still had game!

All in all this Sierra Club outing provided me with the “soft landing” I hoped for. I’m pretty sure my Mojo has now returned from my self induced hibernation. 

So what if I fibbed! I’m back!

Cheers to all your travel plans,

Jeff 

Last photo. Guess which Samsonite luggage piece is mine.