Mile14: And in the Sunset of

Thursday, January 5, 2023

And in the Sunset of

our lives we become to see.....hehe...just kiddin ya . But ya gotta admit that's a hell of a lead in . Every sunset we kinda joke through it like I've joked through most of my life and every now and then I'm effected by what I can't control and what I have trouble dealing with like everybody else. Well this New Years edition of Mile 14,398 south ain't gonna be that , although I've certainly had enough of that in 2022 that I could fill some serious columns , this is about going forward - there's only one direction and only one speed and you all know that .

New Years day furnished us with this perfect Naval Assist as I call it. We all watched the new owner of the Patricia Belle push towards the harbor and many of us said " do you suppose it and the sunset will collide "? and it did.....we're off to a great start in 2023 . Do you suppose the skipper knows the power of the sunseta and times it for us ? If he does, he's a brilliant wonderful guy that I gotta be friends with, if he doesn't, we all thank you anyway.

I got this sunseta just last night. Me and MPeasy like the new so we often go elsewhere for sunset and last night we were on the malecon 4 miles from home. There's a certain energy that you just don't get on our beach, maybe it's the demographics, we have an aging community and downtown is about kids, families and romancers....like us. Then it's a short one more mile up to Taco's Martin which is by the far the best we've ever come across and we've become regulars , thank you Duane Curtis for helping us find the best tacoqueria in Mazatlan....MP loves the El Pastor type and me, well I like the Lengua which is slow cooked tender and perfectly spiced tongue. The condiment are delivered to you table unlike some places that have a condiment bar....we're kinda health conscious . So a ballenon of couse Pacifico the official fuel of Mazatlan 2 vampiros el pastor , 2 tacos Lengua , 2 charro beans come to 250 pesos, 13 bucks of american lettuce. OH, I forgot about the wonderful roasted onions.

On the New Year we did what we call our ' up and over ' hike. We take the green bus to the end of the line and then walk up and over the big hill and enter downtown from the south....you that follow mile 14 have seen this many times....this time it was different, strangely. Usually I'm not a big fan of graffiti although I do find it interesting . I kinda consider graffiti to be like gossip, you really don't need it but it can also be good. In fact I wrote a song about gossip when I was told by a person I'd never met that they had heard I was crazy in love with MP so I guess this is the viewing message of that....it was everywhere.

Here's a pic of the type of terrain that this message was resounding from. I don't know if just one person did it all or if it is a movement....in any case thanks to who ever you are and if you did this all alone I gotta meet you and be friends...did I say that once before today ?,,,,mmm.

I guess the theme of the day has turned to love so here's a pic of MP and Slah , two of the most interesting people I've been able to call friends. We're hoping to get Slah and his wife Maria to visit us in the USA where we can shower them with new experiences and the beauty of my new home State.

Back before my guide season I used to make a list of goals on a chalk board in my gear shed. Most of them were about making $$$$ and keeping me on a steady course . Well, we're past those standards so I hate to call them resolutions but here's 10 things that are my focus for 2023....

1. Health : finally I WILL make 185 pounds . I've been working hard and am now stable ( weight wise that is ) at 190 . Once I hit my goal and stay there I 'll set a new one . I absolutely have to avoid the Knee problem's that everybody in my family has endured.

2. Walleyes : I gotta learn how the heck to catch these babies as predictably as I used to salmon. I wanna catch and have 20 pounds of fillets so I can have a party and deep fat fry for all my neighbors and all my new friends .

3. New friends : in order to feed em ya gotta make em .

4. Music : after a lifetime I like my sound and I know that it 'stands up ' as we musicians say. I enjoy entertaining, after all it's been my whole life one way or another so I hope to be out there more.

5. Gin : I quit buying it about a month ago. I've always wanted to be good at things but being good at Gin ain't really something to hang your hat on . I realized that it was making me kinda sleepy sooooo as my friend Dan once said " we need a life of balance " .

6. Fun and travel....I know it sounds selfish and maybe it is, I don't care . But happiness works this way , make yourself happy first and then the world will come along . Happiness is a tree and I'm the trunk.

7: Cheap shot coming : gotta write more. when I'm dead and gone I want people to say " man that guy could say the same damn simple thing in 458 different ways .