We decided to take our new vehicle out for a little drive yesterday. We went up through Payson, then through Cottonwood and Pine and Strawberry, then up Mingus Mountain to Jerome, then back down the mountain through Prescott, and back down to the valley and home. We were hoping to see some snow for the kids, but no such luck. It was just nice to get out of Phoenix for awhile. It was a nice way to start off the year. One of my very, very most favorite places in the whole world is Jerome. And my very most favorite place in Jerome is the little park in the middle of town. You have to walk up stairs to get to it ( or down stairs depending on which of the 2 main streets you are coming from), and it looks down onto I think its First Street, basically the mainest street in town. We got there just as it was getting dark. The Christmas lights were still up, lighting up the trunks of the trees, the only light in the park. The kids played on the swings and the slide, ran around chasing each other. There's one small parkbench, I sat there, taking in all the surroundings, knowing I probably won't get back up there for awhile. You could hear the music from the Spirit Room and the other little bar thats just down the street. And the Harleys kept reving, and re-reving. One of my favorite sounds. Royce and I sat there, taking it all in, not needing to verbalize what we both were thinking. That someday we both know we will be there. Be part of that. It really is where we belong. One of the places that will not just be a part of us, but that we will be a part of - someday. I hate leaving Jerome. Its such a weird little town. I remember the first time I saw it. You make that one little turn around the mountain (coming from Prescott, not Cottonwood), and all of a sudden there are houses on the side of the mountain, little broken down houses that look like they are falling off the mountain. I honestly don't know how some of those houses stay up. The town is literally built on the side of a mountain. The streets are narrow, barely enough room for 2 lanes, sometimes not enough room. You keep going past that turn and high above you is the Jerome Grand Hotel. Its huge, and beautiful, and used to be a hospital. They say its haunted. It looks like the hotel in the Shining. We have stayed there a couple of times. Its so beautiful inside. From the rooms, if you have an east facing room, you can see over the whole Verde Valley. The view is breathtaking. Its a little eerie when you think about it being a hospital, especially since I work in one. All the people that have died there, all the bad things that have happened there. I remember being in the hallway and expecting to see two little twin girls at the end of the hallway chanting "Come play with us." After you pass the hotel, you get to the town, which you will miss if you sneeze. It seems like no matter where you point your camera in Jerome you get a photo good enough to hang on the wall. Every store front, every house, every street. The very first time I went there, I knew I belonged there. Its just a very special, surreal, magikal place. Its kinda like Mill Avenue, one of my other favorite places - no one is out of place there. Mill can be a very interesting place if you go at the right time. I love Mill too. It takes all kinds, and I think they are all either in Jerome or on Mill Avenue. It doesn't always dawn on me that everyone doesn't always see things as I do. I remember talking to an older co-worker. I remember just being so taken back that she hated Jerome and couldn't understand why anyone would want to live there. It was so foreign and surprising to me. It makes sense though. There is no convenience store, no gas station, nothing mainstream. Lots of bikers. There are a couple of bars open at night. Lots of galleries. Its the feeling. For me its the feeling there. There is just a very special feeling there. I love showing these places to my children too. They like it there too. I told Royce yesterday I could drop off the face of the earth for a year, two, maybe 4 or 5, and just disappear up there. Royce showed me Jerome the first time. One of the many things he has introduced me to. Its kind of our place. We'll be there someday. On our Harleys. Someday.

"A prayer for the wild at heart, kept in cages." Tennessee Williams. One of my favorite quotes.

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Have you heard that song 1985, by Bowling for Soup? I can't believe they are writing songs just to make fun of me now.

My friend Evette showed me this the other day at work. I thought it was hilarious. Had to include it.( I really hope you've had your baby by now Evette.) A newsworthy story from the Associated Press:

Officer attacked by pack of Chihuahuas
Associated PressDec. 30, 2005 11:15 AM
FREMONT, Calif. - A pack of angry Chihuahuas attacked a police officer who was escorting a teenager home after a traffic stop, authorities said.The officer suffered minor injuries, including bites to his ankle, Detective Bill Veteran said.The five Chihuahuas escaped the 17-year-old boy's home and rushed the officer in the doorway Thursday, authorities said. The teenager had been detained after the traffic incident.The officer was treated at a hospital and returned to work less than two hours later.

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Question #2 : If there really is a god, why isn't he easier to see? Why isn't there solid proof? Evidence? Why would a god that has such black and white rules, such specific guidelines, let us as humans, who are fallible, rely on interpretation of the Bible? Why would a loving god not make things clearer to his children?

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These questions and anwsers are to make me think. If something in a response seems to strike a nerve, or is unexpected, or makes me react, that is the sole purpose of asking. I'm not asking for the purpose of a pat on the back, or reassurance, or moral support. I'm asking to ask. To gain knowledge from someone not in my shoes. To gain a perspective that is from a different place through a different eye. I'm human too, and sometimes I do react. I get hurt too. But thats ok. This blog is very personal to me, where I'm very naked about things that are important to me, things in my heart, and therefore my feelings are very vulnerble. But I wouldn't have it any other way. I wouldn't ask if I didn't want a response. I don't want this to be like SOME blogs I know, where comments have to be approved, where they have to say the "right" thing before they are worth publishing. Where there are no checks and balances, and its all just a bunch of sheep, being led by another sheep, who are all just bleating the same bullshit, the same nice-nice, the same we must be right because we are the only ones talking. The same if I don't acknowledge any other point of view I feel much more valid. You have to ask yourself what these people are afraid of. Just a thought, but I think its ridiculous to put yourself out there on the internet, the world wide fucking web, preach your song and dance, and be offended when someone else confronts you, questions you, says something you don't agree with. If you can't stand the heat, GET THE FUCK OUT OF THE KITCHEN !!! To expect to keep opinions one sided and safe in the most public place possible. What the hell is the point? And if what you were saying was valid in the first place, nothing anyone else could say could take away from it. Where would we be as a human condition, as a society, if no one ever challenged anything. Just a thought.