Hunting the desert slums for the
sneaker yesterday proved hopeless. However, Kadizzle did get a good
glimpse of the culture. The towns around Lake Roosevelt are
populated by people who “made poor decisions”. Perhaps the
people living in the run down trailers, old RV's, and cobbled
together houses think they are in paradise. If your idea of paradise
is a newer pickup truck, the mandatory ATV, a yard full of junk
surrounded with a falling down chain link fence, and living on some
type of measly check that comes every month, then heaven has broken
out everywhere around here.
All desert people living within inches
of the poverty line are armed. When Kadizzle asked the locals about
the thieves who stole his generator he almost always got a lecture on
how the home owner was going to shoot intruders. Interviewing about
six people Kadizzle heard four times how the intruder would be killed
and his body would be drug out of the house. One guy said he thought
one of his nearby neighbors was a thief. He explained to the
neighbor how he intended to shoot anyone inside his fenced compound.
The same fellow who was a nice guy told Kadizzle that Arizona
permitted people to kill anyone inside a fence around your yard. In
Arizona you can legally be shot for farting in an elevator.
Back at camp Kadizzle new neighbors
moved in, and the Kadizzles have gotten to know the people down a few
spots. One glory of the roving life is the people you meet. The guy
down the way is a retired nuclear engineer. Ron and Martha live full
time in a pretty small camping van. Periodically they take a month
and visit some exotic country like Bhutan. So many travelers are
remarkably well read. In the early sunshine the Kadizzles sat with
Ron and Martha and heard about their world travels. The subject
turned from good books, to politics, and the whole discussion was
entertaining and enlightening. Kadizzle invited the new people
across the way over for wine and again there was an hour or two of
idea exchange. Over the years we have met so many interesting people
and learned so much from talking with them.
The Commander as usual was chomping at
the bit to go hiking. Kadizzle was worn down from the last
adventure. To appease The Commander, Kadizzle agreed to make a trip
to visit Gary in his deffered camping spot. The Commander just could
not wait to give Gary's dog Sammy the nice bone from our lamb meal.
As we topped the hill Gary came out of his reading tent beaming from
ear to ear with happiness to see us. Sammy was just as delighted.
Kadizzle wondered how things were going with Gary and the new
Camera.. Kadizzle figured Gary would have taken lots of pictures.
Gary said he took six pictures. Although with a digital camera you
could take 500 or 1000 pictures, Gary only took six? Gary said he
only found six good things to photo. Living on the edge Gary has
become to conservative of everything. Gary invited Kadizzle into his
tent so we could see the pictures in less light.
Viewing the pictures Kadizzle was close
enough to Gary to hear him breath. Gary has smoked himself to death.
Listening to Gary breath shocked Kadizzle. Just the slight exertion
of walking around caused Gary to struggle for breath. In Kadizzles
humble human assessment, Gary will be lucky to live one more year.
Someone is going to come across a dead man in a Coleman tent behind
an old blue Ford Pickup. Hopefully the poor soul will expire in his
sleep. The good die young. A tragedy will be Sammy. The loyal dog
that means everything to Gary will be there alone with her dead
companion. In Kadizzles mind the whole scene being constructed was
sad. As we drove a way Kadizzle thought about Gary's life. Here is
a man who has achieved some remarkable happiness with remarkably
little. Gary is as happy with his collection of rocks on his
dashboard, as some rich guy is with a ten pound diamond. Gary got to
explore the world in books and know the best minds in history. Gary
saw and appreciated nature. Although for a good part of his life
Gary was a professional thief, in the end did he really take that
much compared to so many of our crooked Wall Street guys, or
politicians? Gary reformed on his own, and educated himself, you
have to give him credit for that.
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