Digital Papercuts [Chapter 4]
The playlist of "Beatles" radio spins; the sounds of Creedence Clearwater Revival, The Eagles, Buffalo Springfield, Jimi Hendrix, Simon & Garfunkel, and others sparks nostalgia. Soundtrack to my younger youth. Death Valley. Electrical storms over Colorado. Snow covered tents in Sequoia. The Redwood Forest. Joshua Tree. Yellowstone. Geysers. The Four Corners. Thousands of miles driven throughout 11 states. CB radios. 4x4'ing in remote places only accessible by 4by's. Lock the hubs. Manual. First gear. Second gear. Third gear. Fourth and Fifth. Stick shift. Switchbacks. Target practice on empty soda cans in the middle of nowhere. Campfires. UNO by lantern light. Dark nights and bright stars. Meteor showers. Covered in ladybugs. Golden-brown marshmallows. Red Igloos. Life in the 2nd seat. Washboards. Dusty roads. Mineshafts.
Fast forward from yesteryear towards today. Many more miles ventured. Many more memories acquired. CB radios become smartphones. Paper maps become apps. Cassette tapes become queued tracks. Familiar mileage markers illuminated by headlights' fluorescent. Same dark nights; same bright stars. Meteor showers scatter across the magnificent Milky Way.
Explore. Seek. Inspect. Shared adventures become memories. Childhood vacations become adulthood destinations. Acquiring daily digital papercuts. Living life in the dash. The ocean and the mountains and everything in between. Tide pools. Desert arches. Sandy shores. Crossing continental divide and back again.
"Not all those who wander are lost."
— J.R.R. Tolkien
Trails traversed by tire's tread and shoe's sole. Pacific Standard Time. Mountain Time. Central. Mountain lakes become bath houses. Lone gas stations beckon thirsty rigs. Camp ground amenities; a siren's song: warm water welcomes. Campfire's smoke curls and swirls into heavenly vault which hangs above where ancient light resides: celestial citizens construct. Burning wood becomes embers. Luna's Cheshire grin grows. Lantern's light guides our path to respective slumber spots as we sleep away the night while waiting for horizon to fracture tomorrow's orange sunrise. Hues gather and scatter across gradual lighting sky as morning awakens the dawn.
“He who made the Pleiades and Orion,
and turns deep darkness into the morning and darkens the day into night,
Who calls for the waters of the sea and pours them out on the surface of the earth,
the LORD is His name.”
— Amos 5:8
Collection of memories. Organic. Analog. Living. Playlists develop. Throwbacks. Alter. Add.
The road never changes.