Albuquerque, New Mexico, November 21st to the 26th

It was around noon, the day before Thanksgiving, that I finally got to Albuquerque. I was there to visit an old Austin friend, Chiquita, who knew I was traveling and had invited me to spend that singular American (made-up) holiday with her. (a beaut of a holiday, by the way, that encourages gluttony while at the same time completely ignoring any and all forms of "Thanks or Giving!" YAY!) Naturally, as a typical American, I was only too happy to do my part to celebrate this uniquely American "holiday" :) In fact, I was looking forward to it!

CHIQUITA MOVED TO ALBUQUERQUE a few years ago from Austin, the city where we first met. Back then, she lived just down the street from my place, just a few houses over. Proximity, mutual interests, and a like for one another had slowly drawn us together, and over time we became, and remained, very good friends. I was visiting her in Albuquerque for the second time, having traveled there a couple of years before, on what had been a very nice visit. One good turn, as they say... Somewhat familiar with her city location (same address as before), and with a little assistance from GPS Sam, I found her apartment building in no time. I parked at an adjacent plaza just like I had done before, but this time I had the ATXBreeze dutifully trailing behind me. I texted my arrival and she came downstairs to get me and upstairs we went with most of my grip. I was a little tired, but jazzed to be there (It was my third time thru Albuquerque on this road trip, by the way. First time I passed thru was on my way from El Paso to Santa Fe with my brother, Robert. Second time I entered and exited Albquerque city limits I was on my way to California). And so here I was again - for the the third time - was it to be "the charm" or a "strike three", who knew?

Relaxed in her comfy apartment, we proceeded predictably, and casually caught up, filling one another with past and current events. I began to get my second wind, my enthusiasm perking. I was excited, too. Turkey Day was tomorrow (altho we were having chicken), and I was looking forward to doing the happy-holiday thing, or at least pretending at it real good. There was to be a small dinner at her place and 3 of her friends were to join us, people I had never met. She had warned me to "Get ready", which sounded like a warning of some sort. Or an off-hand remark. It didn't matter. Like I said, I was glad to be there and I (thought) I was ready for anything. Satisfactorily caught up, we went to a small, nearby grocery store and bought some last minute stuff for the next day's dinner (the Breeze still attached). When we returned home I unhooked the tiny trailer so we could travel about more freely, parking it right there in front of the apartment building. I choked the wheels and put a chain around one tire and several times a day, I'd check on the Breeze, thru the apartment window, to see if she was still there and she always was :) We spent that evening relaxing, trading more stories, anecdotes, happy to be in each another's company, and all the while sipping on the red.

November 22nd.

Altho we were going to feast later on (it was Thursday, *Thanksgiving!) we had a robust breakfast of bacon and eggs anyway. Back in the day, breakfast together was always enjoyable so why not? The rest of the morning and part of the afternoon was a devoted to the final meal preparation push. All went smoothly and the first guest arrived at 3p. Two more arrived shortly thereafter, and after visiting for a while (where surprisingly sharp barbs were exchanged between two of the guests), we moved on to the (thanksgiving) business of eating. The chicken was fantastic! Crab cakes, a salad, sweet potatoes and some pie were on the buffet, but because of my strict diet, I only dined on the bird. By the tail end of the meal civility between the attendees had sort of settled in, but a unified attack by the local's suddenly ensued upon someone they all knew or had worked for, a recent, kooky mayoral candidate. It was like a contest. They were taking turns. I did not grin, but I did bear it. I guess it was no big deal, and I suppose it really wasn't. But I was reminded of a tenet of mine (and it's a paraphrase of something a fictional character said in one of my favorite books), a saying that goes like this: "Altho I'm not always sure about the things I like, I am positively sure about the things I don't like." Having lived most of my adult life relating mightily to this philosophy, it's a wonder I actually leave my house anymore. I do truly avoid most social group settings (say, no more than one or two people + me) because I do not like it, that group dynamic. It provides me no enjoyment (to be clear, when I say "no enjoyment" it means ZERO. In fact, it's LESS than zero - frequently it's agonizing! ). And here I was, traveling thousands of miles thru 4 states to get to that which I dislike so much! (and I'm smiling! funny, huh?). Another saying I subscribe to in some ways contradicts the previous, the somewhat glib, "It's no big deal". And of course, it really was no big deal, just a (turkey chicken) day in time. I was glad to be there for the meal and even, strangely, the annoying company. Because, however disagreeable, those malcontents gave me something to think about, to write about. It's something -- upon reflection -- I can add to story, my journey.

Thanksgiving 2018 had come to an end. It had been hit and miss. I had sadly not seen a tradition of mine on TV, the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on NBC (could never get that channel with my rigged paper clip and coat hanger antenna!), I'd had a better than average yardbird (the chicken was excellent!), and experienced an agonizing time "socializing" with three terrible strangers who I knew in real time I never wanted to see again. The long holi-DAY was thankfully in in the books. And I remembered Little Orphan Annie's song about mañana. Scarlett's pep talk to herself, too: "Tomorrow is another day".

(*No one, including me, ever expressed any sort of "thanks" or "giving" throughout the day. Whatsoever. Maybe we can just call it Eating Day, or Piggingout Day. Like Festivus being a way better word than Christmas, there has to be a better word for what happens every last Thursday of November. What do you think?)

November 23rd.

Chiquita's lucky. Directly across the street from her (you can see it from her apartment sliding door) is a terrific coffee shop, Java Joe's. It opens at 6:30A, and since I'm an "early riser" and coffee fiend, I got dressed and went directly over there to have some of their excellent brew and use up their wifi bandwidth updating this here blog. Coffee's $2.50 for a large with free refills. Chiquita joined me later on, and all "scribbled-out" for the moment (done writing), we went back to the apartment and did as little thinking as possible and a lot of lounging (and it's never a mistake to do some lounging!).

"Lounged-Out", and appreciating the sensible practice of distancing one's self from any and all company at regular intervals, I decided to go do some more "work" at a Starbucks later that afternoon by myself (Chiquita had computer work to get to at home). I spent a couple of hours there drinking Pike and mostly writing and rewriting (which is how I always go about it). Later that evening, we went to "Old Town" which is fairly transparent code for "tourist trap" and I spent about twenty bucks on 2 awful margaritas. But the chilly walk there and back was nice!

November 24th

The next day Chiquita and I drove to Santa Fe for a day trip. My brother Robert and his husband Stephen (two rather marvelous fellows!) were there for the weekend in their lovely Santa Fe home, and we drove the hour up north for a visit. It was great! Bobby and Stephen made empanadas, Chiquita helped, and I snapped away (selfie-stick!). Later on, we all went over to Downtown Subscription coffee shop and drank and visited and laughed and got the hell out when the hip Santa Fe vibe became entirely toooo overwhelming. To wit:

"Jack Thompson! Oh. My. God!", says the attractive silver haired gal, the tassels on her leather jacket swaying, rippling, in perfect enthusiastic sync (and dare I say), happy in their own tassel-like way to see Jack, too. "Cheyenne!" replies the deeply tanned, handsome man (aka: Jack), going in for a CLASSIC new-age-hug, "Dammint, girl, we sure as hell missed you at the last retreat!" ----- Namaste, anyone?

Escaping the horrors of that scene with alacrity, Robert peeled out of the parking lot and drove us around S.F., the nickel tour (there was some kind of Native American pow-wow going on at the square and the flocking tourists, I observed, looked on with semi-interest, frequently checking their phones for messages, other times using their phone's camera to snap away for what was sure to be a Facebook/Instagram/Snapchat/Picture update). Bobby and Stephen were going back to El Paso and we left just ahead of them. They drove south, we drove north. I took Chiquita to a consignment store that's super popular there, Double Take, because I thought she might like it, which I think she did. As for me (and I was there for the second time) if you've seen one of those shops.... It was a fun trip. I was happy to see my brother and Stephen. I was pleased Chiquita liked them and they liked her. We grabbed some coffee at a Starbucks and got on the highway and an hour later, were home.

November 25th

Next morn I was right back at Java Joe's (and loving it!). It was a Sunday, and at some point during the mid-morning, an older fellow got up to a mic and began to sing and play his guitar. I remembered him from my previous trip two years ago. Hey, nothing wrong with a steady gig! If I ever return to Albuquerque I hope to see him again. And maybe next time I'll put a buck in his bucket so I can hear him say, "'Bout time, asshole." I went back to the apartment. And like I like to do when I'm leaving the next day, I did not want to cram in some last minute touristy thing (or anything) so we just hung out. It turned out to be the most fun evening we had together! My rigged coat hanger antenna had been replaced by a store bought HD one ($10) that had tuned into 35 channels! On a Movie Channel, just as we settled in for the evening, the greatest western or all time had just begun, "The Searchers". One of the things Chiquita and I always took great pleasure in was watching old movies together (mutual interests :). And altho we didn't watch it all, we very much enjoyed watching most of it together, commenting, admiring, joking. Just like old times. It was a nice end to the Albuquerque trip. I would be leaving the next day.

November 25th

The next morning I was up early, pre-packed, I'd even made breakfast the night before, it just required some microwaving. I took all my stuff down, packed, the car, went into Java Joe's and tanked up on some of Joe's java. Chiquita joined me about an hour later and we said our goodbyes shortly after that by the ATXBreeze and that was that. It had been an okay visit, and I was antsy to get on the road again. I was heading to Fort Davis, Texas. It was 465 miles away, and it would take me about 7 hours to get there. So I said so long, Albuquerque. Dunno if I'll pass this way again.

So long... - Max