“Homeless by Choice”

is how I describe my current address. On April 1st, I’ll be beginning my sixth year of this lifestyle that most people try to avoid. Being homeless. 

If you’ve been following along  you might have noticed lately I’ve hit a washboarded and potholed stretch of road. I’m having so few Eureka! moments to offset subjecting myself to 66 square feet of living space, the dubious at times toilet and shower facilities, the endless dinners of less than gourmet cuisine and the constant challenge of keeping my IPAs cold. Things I never thought much about, now feel strange and strained. 

One might guess correctly, I’m questioning what this is all about. You can say that lately I’m going through the motions of being in motion. 

Maybe it’s the incessant winds bearing  a “Damn the Torpedoes” attitude.

Maybe it’s a stubborn cold that refuses to unfurl the White Flag after two-plus weeks.

Maybe it’s because I feel like I’m floundering along instead of Wandering with a laser-like precision.

Maybe ( I can write this because I’m proud to say this is the Bigliest honest blog in the World ) it’s starting to get lonely out here. 

Maybe it’s a combination of all four.

However! With all that said, I’m not thinking of placing a “For Sale! Make Me An Offer,” sign on Barley the Van. I haven’t looked at Real Estate guides either. 

I’m more than half way through this road trip. Soon, I’ll make the big turn north and east towards Colorado. I’ll stop along the way: Zion, Grand Staircase/Escalante, Bear Ears ( what’s left of them after they’ve been drawn and quartered by an environmentally insensitive Administration ), Canyonlands and maybe a few others. 

My long range plans are to spend a few months in Colorado. By August I’ll head toward the Northwest and work my way down towards Fall. I’ll spend Thanksgiving in Colorado. Scottsdale after that. January 2nd, 2019, I’ll climb aboard a big plane kangaroo bound for Australia. 

All these plans are subject to change. Maybe I’ll meet a woman who not only lusts for me, but shares my Wanderlust. Stranger things have been known to happen like a Racist Commander in Tweet. 

 Which reminds me, I’m still running for President in 2020. 

http://jeffsambur.blogspot.com/2016/11/my-2020-presidential-campaign-begins.html?m=1

In the meantime I’m hoping to get my being in Motion Mojo back. I’ll continue to look for a sign. I’ll keep my eyes open for that Pink Barleian Van. 

From Joshua Tree National Park where the campground resembles a noisy Cancun Spring Break crowd minus the wet T-shirt contests and MTV. 

 Happy Passover!

Happy Easter!

Cheers!

Jeff

Final Photo: this is my Joshua impersonation for asking for Divine Intervention.

“Goodbye Death Valley!”

supposedly was the parting words of a of prospective prospector who got lost with other “49ers” in the winter of 1849/1850. One of their members died in that Valley. They thought they would all perish there. 

The name stuck. 

A few months ago, I decided to try something new and completely different. I vowed to spend a month in the Death Valley National Park region. I based this decision oh past visits there. The temperatures usually follow the Goldilocks Principle. They are not too hot, not too cold, but just right. (Normally it feels like being on the receiving end of a touchless massage). 

This year that wasn’t the case. Of course, I mentioned this in a blog.

http://jeffsambur.blogspot.com/2018/03/being-cold-weenie.html?m=1

However despite Mother Nature turning a cold shoulder to this WW J, the month went by. It wasn’t the best of times nor the worst of times. It just was. I’ve come to realize no matter how poor a day I’m having eventually the clock strikes Happy Hour. 

Death Valley National Park is still my good Buddy. It’s the largest National Park in the lower 48. (A whopping 3.37 million acres. That’s a lot of Rhode Island’s). It’s mostly Wilderness. Elevations range from below sea level to above tree line. It’s the home of the pupfish and other hardcore survivalist. It’s beautiful in a raw, cerebral and unforgiving way. It’s a place where you can easily escape the other 39.5 million people who call California home. All it takes is a pair of trail runners, a willingness to explore and enough food and water to get you through the day. 

Hint: the further you venture the less people you see.

Its one of my favorite places on Earth. 

One day, I’ll return to say “Hello! Death Valley” once again. 

Chillin’ with a cold germ in Borrego Springs, CA. 

Still haven’t found my stride on this current road trip. I’m hoping for a change of

Mojo. 

Cheers

Jeff

Manzanar Revisited..

Back when I was on the fire department, I took on the role of referee. In other words, I often threw out the Yellow BS flag when colleagues stepped across the line. It was a dirty, thankless job but someone had to do it.

When Firefighter X proposed all firefighters don Kevlar vests for protection against physical assaults; I threw out the Yellow Flag. I even called him to state my strong opinion.

“Firefighter X! If you didn’t treat people in such a demeaning, condescending and disrespectful manner, they wouldn’t throw punches at you. Hell! People you work with want to punch you, but don’t want to get fired over it.” 

There was no mandatory Kevlar vests issued.

When Firefighter Y wrote a Department wide email proposing placing firearms on all pieces of apparatus; I threw out the Yellow Flag. My Department wide email suggested to Firefighter Y if he wanted to carry guns, the local Police Department had a few openings. Weapons were never placed on the rigs.

When some mean-spirited coworkers “Outted” a Gay Firefighter; it was me who made phone calls to Battalion Chiefs screaming out for justice. “Battalion Chief Z! That’s a hate crime! Those bastards need to be reprimanded. Letters need to be placed in their files. What they did was wrong!”

So...it’s not surprising as of Black Tuesday 2016 (Election Day), I’ve thrown out my fair share of political rants. They are my blogs Yellow BS Flags.

While in Bishop, CA I drove out to Manzanar National Historic Site for another look. I was there in September, 2014. I made this report.

http://jeffsambur.blogspot.com/2014/09/manzanar-japanese-american-internment.html

In the aftermath of Pearl Harbor, Executive Order 9066  transformed an old apple orchard into a Japanese Internment Camp. Let’s just refer to these prisons as FDR did, “concentration camps.” Over 10,000 people of Japanese ancestry (many of them children and young adults) ended up in the Owens Valley of California. They didn’t have a choice. They were forcibly displaced. They left behind homes, belongings, friendships, memories and livelihoods. In total 120,000 Japanese were incarcerated in many inland camps throughout the the Nation. 70,000 of them were born in the USA citizens. 

Alll for the crime of their skin color, last names and the angle of their eyes. Shameful.

FDR, Congress and the Military chose to ignore the 4th Amendment (unreasonable search and seizure) and the 14th Amendment (no person shall be deprived of “life, liberty or property, without due process of the law.”) Two clear violations by people who are supposed to uphold the fine ideals of our Constitution. After Pearl Harbor fear and paranoia took over. Reason exited Stage Right. 

We now are in the throes of an Executive who is either unaware or uncaring (or both) of America’s sordid past. President Evil’s leadership style is fear based and divisive. 

We are being led to believe a majority of Hispanics are card carrying members of the MS-13 Gang. 

A Continent of Nations are all “Shit-Hole” Countries. 

It’s OK to create a Travel Ban on predominantly Muslim countries who have no ties to 911. 

Women, minorities, religious groups, the handicapped, Gays and transgendered are all fair game in his daily War of Words. In his World, it’s Right to be White. Choose your parents better next time. 

As far as the Media goes, if it isn’t Fox Fear Network, it’s all “Fake News.” 

His attempt to leverage (blackmail) the DACA program (affecting 800,000 who know no other Nation as Home) for the construction of the Wall of Shame. It’s not everyday a President gets to substitute one Racist themed idea for another. 

The List goes on and on and...

The Moral Lesson of Manzanar is going unheeded by the Powers to Be. We are devolving back to a Black Eye moment in American History.

Folks, it’s Unconstitutional. It’s UnAmerican. It’s wrong.

I’ll end this lengthy blog with a quote from Clarence Darrow (Scopes Monkey Trail lawyer).

“As long as the World shall last, there will be wrongs, and if no man objected and no man rebelled, those wrongs would last forever.”

That’s why I keep throwing out the Yellow BS Flag.

Jeff