Jesus Christ and Ice Fishing

My 37th Christmas.

I have not participated in the tradition of giving and receiving presents on Christmas Day since 2001. I was angry and confused on why after September 11th our President didn't ask us to love more, to give more, to understand more... He asked us to shop more, to show the world that we would not let the "freedom haters, the evil doers" stop us and our economy. I was dismayed, I've spent some great December 25ths since then. I always spend time contemplating the teachings of Jesus and his call to humans to love thy enemy as you would love thy self which stands out during these times we follow in the news. I've gone hiking, i've spent the day in meditation and one year I drove down to Boston walked the Freedom trail and had dinner in China Town. One of my favorites was when I spent the day demolishing the old Kitchen at the Stone Church while we were renovating her back in 2003. I still do not participate in the gift process as I just believe this world needs less consumption. We will not destroy the Earth, we will only destroy ourselves.

This year I spent it with my family with a much better understanding of family. My Uncle got engaged, my 17 yr old cousin gave me a ride in his Jeep we even went off road a bit, I won a few bucks at the poker game and many more laughs! And we went Ice Fishing on a beautiful country pond in Brookfeild Mass. And I got a some time just to be with my family which I hope to do more of in 2008, which is at the gate. I hear the buzzer, smell the fresh and I look forward to what it will put in front of me.

Next up I'm heading back out on the road with my friend Derek around Jan. 8th. We are going to work at a Buddhist Retreat Center in Florida for a week long retreat. We are driving down and will wander on either side of the trip. Our plans are still coming into focus.....

The 8 Fold Noble Path

(1) RIGHT VIEW: Right view consists of an understanding of the Four Noble Truths: Right view also consists of an understanding of kamma: "Beings are the owners of their actions....whatever deeds they do, good or bad, of those they shall be heirs."

(2) RIGHT INTENTION: Right intention consists of the intentions of Renunciation, Good Will (Metta) and Harmlessness. The intention of renunciation means that the pull of desire (craving) is to be resisted and eventually abandoned, because it is the root of suffering. "Turning away from craving becomes the key to happiness, to freedom from the hold of attachment." The intention of good will (metta) involves the development of selfless love for other beings. The intention of harmlessness involves the development of thought guided by compassion, the wish that all beings will be free of suffering.

(3) RIGHT SPEECH: Right speech means abstaining from false speech, slander, harsh or hurtful language, and idle chatter.

(4) RIGHT ACTION: Right action means abstaining from killing other sentient beings (not just human beings), abstaining from stealing, and abstaining from sexual misconduct (sexual relations which are harmful to others).

(5) RIGHT LIVELIHOOD: Right livelihood means earning one's living in a righteous way: legally, honestly, peacefully, and without producing harm and suffering for others.

(6) RIGHT EFFORT: Right effort involves the undertaking of four "great endeavors": (a) to prevent the arising of unwholesome mental states (such as sensual desire, ill will, dullness and drowsiness, restlessness and worry, and doubt), (b) to abandon arisen unwholesome mental states, (c) to arouse wholesome mental states (such as the seven factors of enlightenment: mindfulness, investigation of phenomena, energy, rapture, tranquility, concentration, and equanimity), (d) to maintain arisen wholesome states.

(7) RIGHT MINDFULNESS: "The ultimate truth, the Dhamma, is not something mysterious and remote, but the truth of our own experience...It has to be known by insight...What brings the field of experience into focus and makes it accessible to insight is mindfulness." Right mindfulness is cultivated through the practice of the four foundations of mindfulness: mindful contemplation of the body, feelings, states of mind, and phenomena.

(8) RIGHT CONCENTRATION: Right concentration (one-pointedness of mind) "makes the mind still and steady...opens vast vistas of bliss, serenity and power," and helps us to "generate the insights unveiling the ultimate truth of things." It is developed through meditation on specific objects

Communication with my lawyer

ME:
Mulls how you feeling?

MULLS:
Yeah, I'm okay, just got to keep fighting through it, giving 110 percent at all times, not letting the man get to me, keeping hope alive, speaking truth to power, you know, that kinda shit.


ME:
On a short hallway leading to a square door I know I think, but not sure I know. I work, sleep, cry, race. I grasp, desire and shove my way to the middle. I only know today I will get my game to the point of relaxation and kill the many thoughts that would bring me back to the hallway.

MULLS:
The geo-centric days are gone and Earth is still a sphere,
Objects in the mirror may be just as they appear,
We spin around the sun and call each trip we make a year,
Thirty more years of this and, people, I am out of here.

WINTER!!

Winter...
snow, cold, deep blue skies, favorite hats, memories of skiing in snow up to your chest, and surviving snow as hard as the end of an aluminan bat. A time to reflect a time to plan a time to share tea with friends and strangers, to listen to new music, relax, feel blessed to have to ability to feel the cold. Eat soup and play scrabble. Feel the backend of your car slide out on the slippery roads. Winter, it's cool!

I took this photo in March o7! Mt. Everest is the Black Rock!

37 times around the sun

My Birthday is in about 37 minutes from the time I started this posting, I will be 37. The first 36 years have been so interesting at times intense, comical, magical, frustrating, but wow... I'm walking on the earth, i'm driving in an automobile, I'm on a airplane, I'm standing in front of the Taj Mahal, I'm crying uncontrollably, I'm so angry, I'm laughing so hard, I'm skiing, climbing, biking, running, questioning, meditating...

I think of all the people that have come and gone in my life. the ones that I love, some I did not give a chance, some that inspired me, some that made me look, some who would not let me feel sorry for myself, some I hurt, some that I would jump through fire for, some I see everyday at lunch but do not know there name..... all have a powerful message for me if I am open and ready.

I think about my 30th my 20th my 10th my 1st and I think about my 40th my 50th my 60th I see myself in all those ages.

My wonderful, beautiful Mom, Ms. Sandra Loftus gave birth to me on her 29th Birthday 37 years ago. We celebrate together!

I had one of my best thanksgivings in a long time, probably since I was a child at My Aunt Jeanette's when I felt so much love. It was the first time my Sister, Brother and Mom were together since 02... we sat by the fire, we shared a table together, we formed a family band, I play bass, my bro drums, my sister lead vocals and guitar and my nephew Dustin on lead! We ROCK.

I went to Burlington over the weekend with some good friends, we went and saw the Nate Wilson Group. 5 of not only my favorite musicians but 5 of the greatest folks as well. They play Rock and Roll Music... check out their music at http://www.myspace.com/natewilsongroupmusic

In lieu of gifts for my 37th birthday I ask you to reach enlightenment for all of us!

A picture from Halloween 2000 with my friend John and Benji... (Kimmie, Fat Tammy and Helga)

Astro and Old 37

This is ASTRO: she has been my companion, my home, my ride... In the short time we've been together we have seen so much, traveled so many places and slept wherever the wind blows us. I trust her with my life everyday, She is a true friend and I love her dearly!

This is OLD 37. She is currently with my friend Ned, am I jealous? Yeah a little but who wouldn't be, look at her... When she pulls up you can feel all others just staring in awe. She is rugged and beautiful. One minute she can be hauling hundreds of pounds of wood or a used refrigerator and the next gliding down Market st. with the ease and class of Cleopatra. I value my time with her and grateful she is in my life.

Pema Samye Ling

These pictures are from my recent trip to Trout Creek, NY to the Pema Samye Ling retreat center with my friend Derek. We cooked, we cleaned, we laughed, we practiced, we listened, we dreamed. I had a powerful expereince and met amazing, kind, happy, hard working folk who tell you they love you and treat you like family immediatly and mean it. The teachings are ancient and beautiful! If you want to hear more send me an email I'd love to share!

Khenchen Palden Sherab Rinpoche and Khenpo Tsewang Dongyal Rinpoche during the Nyungne Retreat at Palden Padma Samye Ling, October 8, 2006.

"The gracious and kind Buddha gave many teachings on the Hinayana, Mahayana, Vajrayana, and Dzogchen paths. The essence of all of these teachings is to bring more
peace, calm, and joy to ourselves and others".

Letter to the new Mayor of Portsmouth!

Dear Mayor Elect Ferrini:

I love Portsmouth our little city by the sea.
but why does it have to be so clean?
why so neat?
What's wrong with people dancing,
singing and carrying on?
Don't you miss the punks, weirdos and crazy freaks?
Why all the fancy brick up in the air and under our feet?
I can't lie I like a little graffiti
and people celebrating on our streets
what do you think about once a week?
Congratulations to you and the new city council
may you serve all the people with much love, fairness and less need
for our hardworking police...

Peter Hamelin
Portsmouthish, NH

Do you ever have the urge to write but really do not have anything pertinent to say? Do you ever feel like you should be doing something but the one thing that is making you happy is doing nothing?

This picture is of some friends I met at a retreat outside of Nagpur, India in Feb 07.

On Thursday I'm leaving for New York to the Padmasambhava Buddhist Center with my friend Derek. I'm looking forward to a week of practice, solitude, work and breathing! Derek has been working with the centers teachers Venerable Khenpo Palden Sherab Rinpoche and Venerable Khenpo Tsewang Dongyal Rinpoche on their food service for retreats. They have asked Derek to start traveling with them to provide food at their off site retreats. It looks like we will be traveling to Florida in January for a 7 day retreat. Where the goal will to be create fresh vegatarian fare for 120 people at a budget of $5 per person.

I just bought a Hank Williams 3 CD, yes the grandson of Hank Williams Sr. He is an outlaw and pens songs like Trashville a song about how lame and cheap Nashville has become "they don't care about the music, you see" he growls.... http://www.hank3.com/ I don't believe Hank3 is a Buddhist but maybe an Anarchist? I like him!

it's Friday!

I came back to the farm to find Some fine folk (Kurt, McKenzie and Pauly) preparing to create Apple Pies, me hoping some lands on my doorstep when completed!

Amanda's Garden!

Homelessness, the Whites and the Open Seas.

On Sunday My Mom, sister and I roadtripped it up to Mt Washington, We stopped in Jackson for some lunch, went for a short hike and stopped in Wolfboro to check out Lake Winneaupausaukee. I hadn't spent time with my sister for about 5 years and it has been great to reconnect and feel like a brother again.

On Monday my friend Herman took me out on his boat as it was 80 degrees, and the water ways were pretty mellow except for some fishing vessels, a couple of sail boats and a number of different species of birds. I took a swim off of Odiorne Point, the water was nice. Herman is an excellent captain. We talked politics, capitalism, Cuba, women and spent most of the day verbally high fiving each other for having the flexibility to take advantage of a perfect day! We docked as the sun splashed down over the city of Portsmouth about 7 hours later.

On Tuesday Morning I had a cup of tea with Chris Sterndale, he is the executive Director of the Crossroads House, a transitional home for the homeless. Just this weekend a resident of 2 months overdosed of heroin. We talked about the issue and the population. Their are many factors, lack of low income housing options, mental illness, addiction and the what is sad a general hopelessness. I'm hoping to spend some time volunteering as I am drawn to this population as I understand we they are. It is easy for people to look and say isn't that sad, or their just lazy, or they create crime and suck up our tax money. Others with resources donate much needed funds and some other volunteer time, but what I have found is most people don't need sympathy and they sure don't need to be looked down upon. I'm not sure exactly what they need, but how about starting with a smile, or an invitation to have a cup of coffee or just a simple hello and a recognition that this person is you, you are this person.

Tuesday afternoon my friend Derek, Kurt and I played some horseshoes as the warm breeze off the Pisquataqua River created a downpour of leaves from the tree in Amanda's Garden. I ate the vegetable Chili brought over that he just made for Mizuna... I ate it trying to stop thinking about the inevitable end to this delicious, healthy bowl of goodness. Later I drove over to the Aryaloka Center to join the Sangha for it's Tuesday night gathering. We did a Puja and I focused on the words and breathed up the back of my spine!

Do you think this quote by Emma Goldman is controversial?
"If voting mattered it would be against the law?"

Can Larry come out and play?

I stopped at the hometown of Larry Bird on my way from SF to NH... A 7 day journey, with stops in Lake Tahoe, Salt Lake City, Moab, The Colorado Rockies and besides the French Lick excursion a straight shot from Denver to catch John Scofield at the Stone Church, which was worth the 2 1/2 days of driving besides stops to sleep, eat and relieve....

I'm in the foreside at the farm of local artist, activist, captalist and freind to all Mr. Ned Savoie. I've been boating, denailing, horse shoeing, catering, dishwashing, writing, reading , family and friendsing.... Attacking the colors, the smells, the red sox, the white mountains, the atlantic ocean and Teddie's Peanut Butter!

What are you doing? Where are you? Are you breathing?

Summer of Thinking and a Little Anarchy

I'm San Francisco. I feel fortunate that I have been able to spend quite a bit of time here and have always had great friends which allows you to easily squeeze into a local lifestyle. Their are so many interesting people to talk to and watch while they do their daily thing. I've been here since Thursday and I believe here is where I will dwell for a time.

It reminds of a passage on page 5 in On the Road, rather famous one...

" they danced down the road like dingledoddies and I shambled after as I've been doing all my life after people who interest me, because the only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars in the middle you see the blue centerlight pop and everybody goes "Awwww!"
When I first read that I knew this is what I wanted and right now this city is providing what seems unlimited opportunities plus after 8,000 miles and 7 weeks I'm ready to chill for a bit.

Yesterday I was in the Anarchist Collective Bookstore on Haight. I got in to a great conversation with the volunteer behind the counter about the gentrification of America, the future of capitalism, the creation of crime so more police can be put on our streets, and the Democrats love of regulation which slowly turns into oppression. I brought Howard Rourke into the conversation, who is the lead character in Ayn Rands novel the Fountainhead, as what I believe humans should and could be doing with their lives. Well he and a young bystander both reacted negatively towards her. I said I don't care about her but have been digesting her philosophy of: Our own happiness is our moral obligation and that productive achievement as the central theme to our lives. They agreed that has merit and said she got everything she new from this woman and hands me Anarchism and Other Essays by Emma Goldman. I have to be honest I didn't know a whole lot about this philosophy except that they are in favor of the elimination of government. Which I can't say that I'm not in favor of.

A couple of quotes that have hit me so far early into this read.

"young people who do not think for themselves" who "want canned or prepared stuff" who "worship at the shrine of the strong armed man"

"Anarchism urges man to think, to investigate, to analyze every proposition....."

That's the kind of person I strive to be, not necessarily an anarchist (more research needed), but someone who thinks, spends time diving towards the epicenter of everything combined with a Buddhist philosophy of being happy in every moment. It could happen.

It's the 40th anniversary of the summer of love. I think it should be the summer of thinking.

I will continue to blog off the rest of my drive in the Astro, I was in Eugene after parting ways with Les Vickers, when my buddy John pulled into town from Mt. Shasta. John is a Friend that I've know for about 12-13 years.. We have the ability to pick up right where we left off whether it's been 3 days or 3 years.... We use the same infantile jokes and call eachother jackass. We hit a couple of night spots met a girl who is on a professional roller derby team and was a world class archer... John drives a 1985 Mercedes 300d, a fine automobile but when your in random pacific northwest cities you really want the comforts of the Astro. I was parked by a nice public park with a bubblier, John slept on top of the Astro... It was funny falling off to sleep as he was setting up his nest for the night. He got up as the morning commute of cars, families heading to the swing set and the plethora of bikers were hitting the streets.

We met Les Vickers outside the library around 8am and headed over to Burrito Boy to get a breakfast burrito. The 3 of us sat on the street eating burritos like 3 old college buddies, John drinking coffee, me a peppermint tea and Les a fresh 40 of Old English. We spent a couple of hours together just shooting the early morning breeze, Les was going to drink to he ran out of money then hit the mission and try to quit drinking, which John and I both agreed was in his best interest. We both gave Les a hug and exchanged emails. I emailed Les but have not heard back, my thoughts and love are with him and I hope to someday get a call that he ready to manage my new career as a Singer Songwriter.

John transferred his belongings into the Astro, left his rig where it was parked and we headed north to Portland.....

to be continued......

I'm now a Singer Songwriter!!! Want to hear a song...

Did you ever see that movie, when the guy in the 1995 white Astro Van wakes up on the beach in Northern California in the heart of the Redwood Forest? He does his morning business, meditates, eats a bagel with PB and Banana's an then strums the guitar he just bought the week before for hours? I think the part was played by Jack Nicelson or maybe it was Steve Buschemi? It was a huge hit in my mind and one I would like to see again.

Yes I figured out my next career move, I'm going to be a singer songwriter? I'm writing songs about Homeland Security, Comfortable Buzzes, being a slave and other mind numbing topics. I can almost play a G chord into a C chord, so things are looking up!

Since my last entry I visited Glacier National Park in Montana. A beautiful place, amazing, I did a few day hikes and spent a whole day just watching the clouds pass by the peaks of this national treasure. On the east side of the park you will find the town of Babb. Babb is on the Blackfoot Indian Reservation. On my way I drove right through it as there is 2 Restaurants, 1 convenience store, 1 hotel and Charlies Place. Old Time Dave Talmage and the Billy Pilgrims were playing at Charlie's Place on Tuesday night. From the outside it looks like a storage facility, So I figured it would be a mellow bluegrass show for some tourists and park goers. Well to my surprise 300 people showed up at this lawless crazy place. I engaged a Bureau of Indian Affairs Officer in conversation and learned that he had no right to bother me unless I was a "member" of the tribe. This is the kind of place if you offend the wrong person you could have a Jack Daniels bottle up side your head or if your nice to the right person you will find friends for life. I seemed to have been straddling that line but departed at 3 am physically unscathed.

I woke up in the morning had breakfast with the Pilgrims and waved goodbye as they headed to Whitefish. After some more Glacier time I headed back to Missoula for a night, in the morning I did a long mnt. bike ride, got the Astro's oil changed and decided to head towards Oregon! I drove through the Mountains of No. Idaho and across the high desert of eastern Oregon. I stopped in Bend the home of Mt. Bachelor and arrived in Eugene Oregon about 30 hours later. Oregon has the highest amount of homeless folk per capita in the country. Eugene is host to a good deal of them. It is a very progressive and diverse community, lots of Burrito options, and what seems to be a thriving music scene. I went to see Todd Snider perform at a local haunt. I had heard him on XM radio. He was amazing, an enthusiastic crowd of about 200 were their screaming out requests from his 15 year career. He put on an amazing show. Folk meets Country meets Storytelling meets barefooted hippie. He agreed to let me open some shows for him on his southern tour...... just kidding

I spent the next couple of days banging around Eugene, they have great parks and bike trail network around the Willamette River. I was sitting on a park bench practicing on my new guitar when up comes this man on his bike with a backpack. He asks if he can sit with me and I said of course since it gave me an excuse to stop making a gutiar sound like a dying lizard. He pulls out a 40 oz bottle of Old English and starts slugging, never offering me any. Over the next 3 hours Mr. Les Vickers continued his day long drunk as we talked about alcoholism ( I have no qualms about admitting my own challenges with the drug), the music of Bob Dylan, the different missions he has been in and his 51 years of abuse. He was really hung up on Jesus Christ, God. Me being a fledgling Buddhist didn't have much to offer on the subject of guilt an heaven and hell. He was obviously looking for help and I felt a sense of responsibility of not making matters worse. So I played him some of my songs which made him laugh. Les finished his bottle and now had to decide whether to try and find a blanket and go to sleep or more Malt Liqueur. We went for a bike ride together and he took a nasty spill down a hill. He got up and made it clear it was time for us to parts ways. I invited him to breakfast and to be my manger and he agreed to both.

I'm not trying to pull on of those keep you in suspense dealios but I need to go..... Next up My good friend John "Jackass" Prudhomme pulls into town, Breakfast with Les, and our tour of the Pacific Northwest...

Evil Kneivel and Peace Cranes

Old Time Dave Talmage and I hopped aboard the Astro train and headed north to Missoula. Dave has the coolest wicker suitcase. We had a lot to catch up on. He's been traveling around in is VW Van, living in Lyons Colorado and playing music with some amazing musicians. The Asylum Street Spankers out of Austin Texas and now with a super group of western Bluegrass stars called the Billy Pilgrims. He is really making a name for himself and working hard.

We made a stop in Butte, Mt. the home of Mr. Evil Knievel, we had just missed the annual weekend festival in his honor. We heard he no longer does his thing but the festival attracts daredevils from all over the world showcasing their talents... you know lighting their cars on fire and jumping over shit. Though one local called him a dickhead, when pushed he just said "he is a dickhead but his son Robbie is making up for it", I said ok. I agreed to be OTDT's manager for the day, I tried to get him a gig at a local saloon but the booking agent was out fishing and they mostly booked speed metal acts and Dave didn't have his fiddle so we had lunch and moved on. We jumped on some back roads took a dip in a a mountain lake It was somewhat surreal, due to raging forest fires a layre of smoke hovered about with the smell of a smoldering camp fire ever present. The forest fires are interesting, lots of people are scared, but one guy I talked to said it's part of our economy, I considered taking up employment. You can make $5,000 a month and my treasury is at a all-time low....

We pulled into Missoula just in time for the bands sound check, I felt like a true hangar on, or groupie, whatever. After the sound check I pulled out my bikes and we headed downtown to a great burrito house, it was funny seeing Old Time cruising on my mnt. bike with his wranglers tucked into his cowboy boots. The show was awesome and I met some great local folks and had breakfast at the opening bands home, fresh huckleberry pancakes... oh yeah! I said goodbye to my new favorite bluegrass/honky tonk band with a promise to see them in a few days in Baab, Mt.

I went out to the Lolo forest and went for a mnt. bike ride. simply amazing some of the finest single track riding anywhere. That night I was fortunate to have two musical experiences at the same time. Over at the Badlander there was a free Jazz show with some local names, good mellow stuff in a real cool club around the corner and down underground a pool hall was hosting a metal show. The band that stuck out in my head was Black Cobra a two piece out of San Francisco. The drummer is out of this world and with out a bass player to worry about he just went off. They are playing in Boston Tuesday the 14th. So I jumped back and forth, with a dude from Idaho that installs home recording systems. I woke up with my ears ringing.

In the morning I went to the Rocky Mountain Buddhist Center, it is part of Freinds of the Western Buddhist Order , same as the Aryaloka Center in Newmarket where I have studied at since 05. It was so nice to know the format, there was only 1 other person, an Englishman, which I could understand since it was 7am on Monday morning. The center is small but hosts a great meditation room with a beautiful Buddha. We had a great sit and after he took me out for breakfast at the Hob Nob which was once owned by the center and ran as a ethical, non-profit business. I've read a little and studied Buddhist owned businesses and their challenges. I have been thinking about the relationship between Buddhism and capitalism since I started on this path. I'm just finishing the monster of a read Ayn Rands Atlas Shrugged at the same time I'm reading Thich Nhat Hahn's Old Path White Cloud which his story of the Buddha's life. Talk about two sides of the brain but interestingly enough they have more in common then you would think. I hope to someday soon expound on these theories and I already do to any one that will listen. My breakfast companion and I pelted echother with questions and stories. We had a great time, we didn't exchange info but I know that our paths will cross again.

I ventured over the the Jeannette Rankin Peace Center . I knew not of her when I arrived but learned about her work as the first women US Congresswomen and her life long work for peace and equality. I sat with two elderly women and two cross country cyclists from New York and learned how to make Peace Cranes in honor of the little girl named Sadako. And the 62nd anniversary of Hiroshima.

from the website: "The paper crane has become an international symbol of peace in recent years as a result of it's connection to the story of a young Japanese girl named Sadako Sasaki born in 1943. Sadako was two years old when the atom bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, Japan on August 6, 1945. As she grew up, Sadako was a strong, courageous and athletic girl. In 1955, at age 11, while practicing for a big race, she became dizzy and fell to the ground. Sadako was diagnosed with Leukemia, "the atom bomb" disease. Sadako's best friend told her of an old Japanese legend which said that anyone who folds a thousand paper cranes would be granted a wish. Sadako hoped that the gods would grant her a wish to get well so that she could run again. She started to work on the paper cranes and completed over 1000 before dying on October 25, 1955 at the age of twelve. "

I said goodbye with 7 of my completed Peace Cranes and a pile of paper to make more, I've only made 3 since..... I bought two loafs of focaccia bread for $2 at a local bakery and headed north towards Glacier National Park.... I love Missoula......

Boz Angelas and Old Time Dave Talmage!

Boz Angelas is what locals are calling Bozeman Montana. It's amazing how close the path of this small city parallels the town I have called home Portsmouth New Hampshire. Though Bozeman has the mountains and Portsmouth has the ocean. People who moved here 10 years ago complain about the growth, the influx of chain stores and upscale retail stores on main st. Longer term locals sport bumperstickers saying Montana Native. But there also many people and businesses that have benefited greatly and took advantage of the growth and enjoy the success.

It's the same story; a bunch of cool artists, musicians, couch surfers, ski bums move to a town they make it cool, the word gets out, a tourism industry sprouts up, people visit and say "this is my dream place" they move there, real estate market goes nuts, couch surfing artist types exit (I heard they are on the way to Buffalo), luxury condos and Lexus's are spotted on the main street, upscale dog accessory store opens next to the Starbucks across the street from the high end baby clothing store. People are happy and build big homes on top of mountains employing hundreds of local carpenters, plumbers, landscapers. The artists that did stick around sell some artwork and the town becomes well caffeinated. The city lands on the must visit list of every hipster and baby boomer. Life flows forward.

A couple of funny lines from a couple of local what to do papers.

From things you need to know about Montana: If you dog weighs less then a rabbit don't blame us if we shoot it, we can not be held responsible. Get a real dog and everything will be cool.

From the Best of Bozeman addition "best things about Bozeman": You can spot the idiots easily, their the ones "living the dream"

I really like this town, it has a great food co-op, beautiful athletic people to gawk at, it's naturally beautiful and rugged and a recreation center where you can take a shower for $1. Yesterday I got the skinny on the spot to mountain bike. South of Hyelite Reservoir called the Emerald Lake/Heather Lake trail. Here's the description from Dirt World: Beautiful ride up to pristine lakes. Easy at first, but gets technical with lots of roots, rocks, and switchbacks. 4.5 miles one way to Emerald lake, then an additional 1.5 miles to Heather lake. Uphill all the way, but it's a great ride down. Watch for hikers and horses.
It gained 3,000 ft. up to 9,220 ft. and the most amazing lakes surrounded by cliffs and very few people. I took a swim in Heather Lake, sat quietly focusing on gratitude and the 4 horse fly's using me as a landing pad. Then the down, I haven't been doing a ton of Mnt. Biking as I been digging hitting the roads so my chops were a little rusty but on the first steep descent my adrenaline flowed and soon I was off the brakes and down in about 20 minutes.... ahhhhhhhhhhhhh

I'm in the Wild Joe's coffee shop , people outside are anxiously waiting for a parade and I'm going to meet Old Time Dave Talmage in a bit. Yes last night I ran into my old roommate, front man from the Mill City Ramblers, comedian, poet and all around old timey good guy. He is playing fiddle with the Billy Pilgrims based out of Colorado, they were at the Zebra Lounge. A small enthusiastic crowd made the show. It was great to catch up with the man and we decided to drive together up to Missoula today, the next stop on their tour and the next stop for me and the Astro. A couple hours in the Astro with OTDT will surely give me more blogging fodder. Check out his Myspace page and his video for Money Talks it's awesome.

Give this a try when your freaking... I use it constantly!!

on the in breath: Relax your body
on the out breath: Smile
on the in breath: Dwell in this moment
on the out breath: This wonderful moment

From the book Being Peace by Thich Nhat Hahn

Is this really Fargo?

Here I sit on Main St. in Bozeman Montana! I finally made it to Montana I’ve been looking forward to this for 36 years! I’m sure I’ll have lots to say about this state soon. But first…..

My Midwest tour from Madison WI to Montana:

I headed due west through some pristine farm land and rolling hills that reminded me of Vermont! I hit Route 35 north which shadows the mighty Mississippi River up to Minneapolis/St. Paul. The sun was shining and every couple of miles you would get a vista of the big river! The stretch of road was scattered with little towns and many Harley Davidson! I went as slow as possible and pulled over whenever a fellow driver came upon me.

Minneapolis: One of the Twin Cities, a manageable and clean city with loads of punks, hippies, squares, yuppies and other genres of humans. I hung with some good folk at a little bar and we scowled the local arts paper for the best option for music. We decided on the Kitty Kat Club and a blues folk rocker from Duluth named Charlie Parr. An except from his web site:

*A confused and shy individual, Charlie Parr plays original and traditional folk and Piedmont-style blues, accompanying himself on National resonator guitars, 12-string guitar and sometimes a banjo. Charlie Parr has failed at most things in his life. Music seems to have rendered him unemployable and is the only thing he’s ever done with any confidence. A lot of folks have been saying nice things about Charlie, despite the lingering odors and indecipherable comments he makes.

The man was wearing a flannel shirt a pair of boots from the 50’s and could have easily been mistaken for Paul Bunyan’s meek little brother. But he put on a great show with both middle aged yuppies and college aged hippies giving him loud applause and wanting more. It was a great club in the heart of Dinky town, on the campus of the University of Minnesota. Sorry about your loss Minnesota, welcome to Bean Town Mr. Garnett!!!!

From there I headed north to check out some of those 10,000 lakes you hear so much about. And they don’t disappoint. I tuned down a random dirt road at about 11pm at night, I drove for about 10 miles and found a little place to park/sleep next to a lake, right across the road was an entrance to a bike path, the Mi Gi Zi trail. After breaking my fast I hoped upon my bike and road bike paths for about 3 hours around lakes and through woods, basically amazing.

Then I cruised over to Grand Forks, North Dakota to check out the old stomping grounds of my good friend Chad “I know longer am that cool since I don’t drive Big Red anymore” Tomforde, it was friggan hot and honestly a snoozer. Then south to Fargo, the movie is one of my top 7 movies of all time. I expected a little sleepy mid western town, but to my surprise it is a city the size of Portland Maine with a growing central business district, a decent music scene. I was craving pasta and I found a little place serving all you can eat pasta night. For 7 bucks I got all you can pasta and bread and the unlimited soup and salad bar, I closed my eyes and for minute I was transported to Bob’s Chicken on Islington St. in Portsmouth New Hampshire. I miss Bob’s so much it’s hard to explain but you should check it out!

I woke up in Fargo I did a little phone in to Tim Stone’s radio show on WSCA and we talked about traveling, ethanol and my encounters with prostitutes. I decided to b line it to Montana, I did stop in the Theodore Roosevelt National Park on the western edge of North Dakota which was beautiful and reminded me a bit of the canyons of Utah. A lasting image from the road in North Dakota was the massive fields of sunflowers and the share lack of human activity except for the occasional farmer on his tractor!! I’m ready to hit the infamous mountain bike trails of Montana, then I’m going to hit the Bozeman Co-op later..... every town should have a food co-op and more bikes then cars.

The Isthmus, Cheese Curds and the Bible

I pulled into Madison Wisconsin About 9:00 pm on Tuesday night as the Red Sox were finishing of the Cleveland Indians in a beautiful pitched baseball game 1 – 0. The trip to Madison is a quick hour and a half jaunt from Milwaukee. One of my first images of the capital city was a dude fondle ling the breasts of his women under her shirt on a bench in the heart of the main st. They both seem to be enjoying the experience with little attention from the steady stream of passerby’s.

Madison is the capital of Wisconsin, built on an Isthmus. An Isthmus is a narrow strip of land that is bordered on two sides by water and connects two larger land masses… from Wikipedia.com. The campus of the University of Wisconsin is spread through the downtown and along Lake Mendota. The capital building is built on the highest point in the city and the roads fall off on all sides where the central business district lies. It’s a lively center with much youth, culture and activists. Madison claims to have the largest amount of bicycles per capita in the country which I believe! The city is chock full with miles of bike trails and in the future you will be able to bike from the Canadian border into Illinois right through Madison.
On Wednesday I rode my bike to a small town of Peola. Starting through an arboretum along Lake Mingra it quickly shot me out through a series of back roads lined with farms and rural living! After a swim in Lake Monona I called on my friend Matt, I hadn’t spoke to him in years but received updates from his big bro Dave. Matt and his lovely wife Julie both educate young adults and have a nice home in a great little neighborhood about 2 miles from the capital building with two cats Joplin and Butterscotch.

They showed me all their favorite haunts, including the Willey St. Co-op the finest Co-op I’ve shopped. A Thursday night pub crawl to The Weary Traveler, Crystal St. Bar and Mickey’s where we met some local folk and talked about how fat Michael Moore is, how we are going to create peace, and other life altering concepts! Matt and I biked around Lake Monona most of the 13 miles on bike paths! I got a flat tire and we were giving water and a ride to a bike store by an older man and his wife, huge Green Bay Packer fans!! We went to the Madison farmers market, which is renowned; I gorged myself on free samples and purchased a bag full of fresh produce for the road! I enjoyed our passionate conversation with two men setting up shop to debunk the concept of evolution. I found out even if I live the highest of moral existences’ but I do not confess to believing in their god I will go to hell, shit.

Matt’s first book Sudden Anthem, won the 2007 American Poetry Journal Book Prize, and will be published by Dream Horse Press in Winter/Spring 2008. We had conversations ranging the gamut of politics, stool, religion, children, education and cheese curds. He kicked my buttocks at chess and made the finest goat cheese pasta dish, his wife Julie bought me Ice Cream and they allowed me to shower in there bathroom.

A theme of our time together was my unfortunate lack of experience with the Cheese Curd. Cheese curds are little-known in locations without cheese factories. They promised cheese curds and they finally delivered Cheese Curds the night before my departure. After a viewing of the movie titled Talk to Me at the Sundance Movie Theater we went to a local pub where a waitress resembling Christine Ricci delivered a basket of piping hot deep fried Cheese Curds with a marina sauce. Fried cheese! For more info on Cheese Curds go to: CHEESE CURDS as they are seriously a delicacy.

Thank you to Julie, Matt and Madison for a great experience and your friendship! I’m off to Minnesota…..

Mil Wau Kee

Peace begins with a gentle smile…. Thich Nhat Hahn
When I pull into a new city I love to haul my bike out of the Astro and hit the streets. I Look for some local intheknower ‘s (could be a new word?) and start asking questions. I base my assessment on the city on 3 key measuring tools. I feel these three will give me everything I will need to know and how long I will stay. Well maybe not everything but it’s a great start!

1. Music Scene
2. Burrito Joints
3. Buddhist community

Because I was famished when I got into Milwaukee I started with Burrito’s. The first guy I asked just returned from the Brewer’s game and was hammered; he pointed north and mumbled something about a Q. The next girl said I’m a vegetarian I don’t eat burritos??? The 3rd kid went to Marquette and gave me spot on directions adding “they are open till 3am!!!” The path led me down along the waterfront of Lake Michigan where there is a huge park and museums. The burrito shop, Qdoba is a regional chain with a pretty stale environment, but the burrito was huge and with a plethora of hot sauce it hit the spot and it was only 5 bucks not bad.
The Music Scene is strong and it seems like it is getting stronger. Over the weekend it hosted The Squirrel Nut Zippers, Zappa does Zappa, Galactic and has a huge list of local clubs, major venues and outdoor shows. Looking at my budget I opted for a free show at the Jazz Estate with Matt Hendricks. A cool little joint, dark and smokey with a bunch of local hipsters. Matt played an old steal acoustic that was signed by Honey Boy Williams and John Hammond. He played some covers and originals, he reminded me of Tab Beniot from Louisiana. He played one instrumental he called serenade that he wrote on his honeymoon but now is a sad song because of his divorce. I asked him at the break why he got divorced; he said she wanted kids and walked back on stage and started playing again… woops.

I visited two Buddhist centers. One was the Milwaukee Mindfulness Center. Their teacher happens to be Thich Nhat Hahn. It was a group of about 20 folks. We did a seating meditation for about 20 minutes then a walking meditation for 10 then back to a sit. The center is on a major road and I listened to the traffic whizzing by, I didn’t stay for the discussion as I had tickets to see the Brewers play the Giants! Barry Bonds was, in Milwaukee could he hit 2 dingers and tie the record? Nope he didn’t even play. But it was a good game and I got a chance to talk to Bob Uekers body guard! Your know Bob from his part in Major League and Mr. Belvidere.

Milwaukee is a great city! Blue collar feel, people are very friendly I met some real characters. Jim who’s band toured in support of the Meat Puppets back in the 90’s and Don a retired motivational speaker with a walking staff that is the mother of all walking staffs. The city has lots of local breweries, but I was dismayed when I saw the Pabst brewery in complete shambles, deserted and being torn down, sorry folks: PBR is now brewed at Miller. A sad day…..

On my way to Madison the capital of Wisconsin and home of the Badgers!

Life, Death and Kalamazoo

I’m in Battle Creek Michigan on my way through Chicago and up to Milwaukee. I left New Hampshire on Thursday after 4 days at home and paying tribute to the life of Amanda Ward. Please check out www.amandaforever.com and help celebrate her life, and send love to Derek and both of their families as they have lost a special person who made everybody smile. Though it was sad, intense and heart wrenching the overall experience was one of celebration and growth. Over 100 plants, trees and flowers were planted in a memorial garden that was built in 2 days by family and friends, over 200 people came and paid respects, tears and hope. I have felt Amanda’s presence constantly this past week and feel fortunate that I was able to know her and be of support to my friend Derek. He has been a rock and an inspiration as he continues to practice and follow his path of peace, love and compassion. I have grown closer to my friends and made new friends, I have witnessed what love can accomplish in the hardest of times and how amazing a hug can feel from a complete stranger. When I pass this life I request to have the same experience as Amanda, a celebration and a party!!

My departure and trip from MI to NH was smooth. I had the opportunity to spend time with Mary Savoie the Mom of my friend Ned and Bill and 6 other children. She gave me amazing tour of the greater Detroit area and brought me to dinner at the Royal Oak Grille in Royal Oaks. We shared stories about Ned, the secret of happiness, Napoleon Hill, her 19 grandchildren, her beloved Detroit Tigers and gardening one of her passions! It was an amazing evening and I could tell the host was anxious to get our table back in rotation as we had been there for hours. We went back watched a couple of innings of the Tigers game against Seattle and I spent my first night indoors in months in Mary’s guest room and though I missed my bunk I slept like a champ!

My return trip was not so smooth. I was due to arrive in Detroit at 10pm; I arrived at 2:30am. I posted up in the airport and Mary fetched me at 6 am. We went to Monty’s for breakfast and I was anxious to get back in my Astro. I made it about 20 minutes down the road when I was falling asleep so I pulled off in Livonia and jumped in my bunk in the parking lot of Ruby Tuesdays (they are open on Thursdays as well). When I awoke after my 3 hour nap I could not locate my phone so I went through my van like a Canadian Boarder Patrol office to know avail. So I drove back to Mary’s and found it. I got back on the road and drove down rt. 94 to Kalamazoo about 2 ½ hours! Kalamazoo is a great little city with an amazing library and great common.

I checked my email and realized that some person found my backpack lying on the pavement in the parking lot of Ruby Tuesdays. He went through my back and found my passport, and then he found a card with Amanda’s website on it. He sent a message to the site which was picked up by Ned in the world headquarters of Harborlight Strategic Marketing; Ned forwarded the message to me. I could see Amanda watching out for me and calling me a dumbass at the same time. So I turned around and drove back to Ann Arbor and waited to hear from him, where I promptly locked my keys in my van, I purchased a glass of lemonade (.25) and a coat hanger (.75) from two 8 yr old girls who looked at me with confusion and sympathy, but obliged my demands for a metal hanger. Ann Arbor was hosting a massive Art Festival so I aimlessly wondered around in a blank state, neither mad nor happy, neither frustrated or focused, just a bit numb and trying to be in the moment.

About 9pm I got a call from Nathan he found my pack and lived about 30 minutes away in Dearborn. So I was on my way. I pulled up into a nice little neighborhood and was greeted by Nathan who for the day was playing private detective trying to track down a guy from New Hampshire, with a map of Mt. Everest and a Thich Nat Hahn book and some running shows in a backpack in a parking lot of a chain restaurant in the suburbs of Detroit. We shared our stories from the day and then Nathan invited me in for some tea. I met his lovely wife Jen and his son Luka and 3 month old baby Kaz. 3 hours later at 1 am they finally nudged me out the door for fear that I was setting my sites on the spare bedroom for a long term stay. We talked about family, The Flaming Lips, Buddhism, hiking and being a stay at home mom. I felt like I had known them all my life, after so much weariness they were a beacon of light, they gave me two apples, a peach and a nectarine which hey have delivered every Tuesday from, who Luka calls, the “Veggie Man” a modern day super hero in his eyes!

Nathan carried my bag that had brought us together to my van we hugged like brothers and I headed west down Williams Ave. with a smile and organic fruit!

Going Home, but not the Astro

I'm in Ann Arbor Michigan home of the Michigan Wolverines and the Fab 5. The Fab 5 was their basketball team back in the 90's with Chris Webber and Juwan Howard, we loved that team!! Ann Arbor is very vibrant community, last night they closed down all of downtown and had a antique car show. Must have been 500 cars from a 1927 jalopy to a 2007 ford one of a kind super something or other.

I went to the Blind Pig a famous music venue. There were 3 Indie Rock bands playing and I coul only make through 1 and 1/4 as it is one of my least favorite genres. But the place was very cool with a hipster scene and a big wall display of the night that Nirvana played there.

Tomorrow I fly home to Portsmouth as my friend Amanda was killed in car accident on Thursday. It is so sad and unbelievable and it has been tough to be away from my friends and her fiancee Derek. Impermanence is a powerful concept and one we must all deal with but when it happens it still strikes hard. I'm sending metta (love and kindness) to Derek and all who loved Amanda. I'm leaving my van at my friend Ned's Moms home outside Detroit and will resume my trip next week, when I will head Northwest to Wisconsin.

My short time in the Provence of Ontario was fun and beautiful. I made it to Manitoulin Island on Wednesday evening. The wind was howling off Lake Huron, I made a big salad from some veggies I got at a local farmers market and some more fakey hot dogs. I went for a walk around the park and through the small downtown of Little Current. Then I found a nice spot to park at a Yacht club! I woke up to torrential downpours, so I just kicked it in the Astro and read for a couple of hours and listened to the rain drops bounce of the roof of my ride! Very melodic and relaxing. I had the opportunity to meet the Dogfather. Dave was an 18 year old local who recently bought a hot dog cart and sets up shop on main street. On this day he was supervising his employee who he made sure everyone of his regulars new was his employee, must have been his first one. The Dogfather was insightful and entertaining as we had a good conversation about the metric system, Canadian economics and the hot dog business. He plans to have 3 carts by the end of the summer. The dogfather invited me to join his weekly poker game, but after much thought I declined for obvious reasons.

I decided to leave the Island as I wanted to get over to Madison, WI before a buddy left on July 15. I picked up a couple who were hitchhiking to Yellowknife in the Provence of Alberta. He was 6'7" and she was 6'1". They were heading to Yellowknife (my favorite name of a town yet.) because Dan beat the crap out of his sisters boyfriend who just got out of jail. Dan was bad mouthing the guy to his mother and sister because he was afraid his sisters was getting her cocaine supply from him. Anna had done time in prison for an armed robbery her ex b/f committed. She put her foot down and said I can't deal with all this drama and she was leaving so being homelessly in love Dan followed. They were with me for about 2 1/2 hours.

I jumped over the border back into the USA at Sault Ste. Marie and headed down the coast of Michigan where I stopped in Petsoky for dinner and listened to my messages and heard the terrible news that now sends me home. I stopped in Flint the home of filmmaker Micheal Moore but I just didn't have it in me to explore. His movie Roger and Me depicts Flint as a beat down dump, it looks like they are trying to revitalize the downtown but have a long way to go. The city seemed like a ghost town and I just got back on the road.

Be Well.

A Prostitute, Bullet Proof Vests and Bobby Orr

I was able to dig deeper into the City of Buffalo on a 3 hour bike ride around the city, It’s got great parks, waterfront on Lake Erie, dilapidated neighborhoods, sprawling roads of empty storefronts, beautiful homes from the turn of the century and I did find a few Martini bars and a sign for some luxury condos on Elmwood Ave. Elmwood Ave is an “up and coming neighborhood”. It was a Monday night and their wasn’t much happening in town except Dark Star Orchestra at the Town Theater (Dark Star is a Grateful Dead cover band who has a national following and headline many festivals due to their quality of the performance and the recreation of shows start to finish. Say Nov 12th 1985 at the Worcester Centrum.) I rode my bike over to check out the scene. Lots of tie dye, 50 yr old dudes and 18 year old kids wearing shirts with Jerry Garcia’s image on them. It was interesting people watching, I decided to pass and head back to Nietzsches for their open mic night. As I was riding away I witnessed a black dude getting busted but the BPD for selling marijuana to white dudes going to the show. I know many white dudes sell pot as well but it made me think about the statistics of black men in prison for majiuna related charges. So I went down to my adopted neighborhood parked my bike and headed to see some local talent.

I arrived to Nietzsches and saw about 10 – 15 singer songwriter type of folk hanging out smoking butts and carrying guitars. But what really caught my attention was this blues, soul, rock band playing above the Allen St. Liquor Store. Come to find out their name was Ms. Vicky and they practice every Monday night. Well the windows were open so I just grabbed a fence post and did a lean. They were rocking but I could tell they were just starting out. But man they had it going on. I looked down the way and this woman with a cowboy hat and pumps was grooving to it as well so I made my way over to say hi. Her name was Wonder Woman and she called me Peter Cotton Tail. We small talked for a bit and I realized what profession she was employed at and she realized I wasn’t in the market for her “special services” as she named it when I asked what she did for work. For the next hour or so we listened to Ms. Vicky and talked about love, god, forgiveness and the lessons we need to learn from life. She was insightful and vivacious and I spoke to her like I new her all my life (maybe I did?). When the band stopped and it was time to move on down the way we didn’t hug or exchanges email addresses but we both knew that we had given each other a gift. Friendship, it continued to cement my believe that we have the opportunity to learn from every individual that comes into our lives, some for 5 minutes some for a lifetime, but if I’m open with my ears and eyes I can learn and grow. And I’m hoping someday that I get a chance to see or hear on the radio the musical offerings of Ms. Vicki, my liquor store heroes and I Ms. Wonder Woman reaches her goals.

I finished my night with Tom Stahl the featured artist he sang his heart out. He had on chuck taylors, cut off camouflage pants, a flavor shaver and a pork pie hat, as I could tell it was about 3 different fashion trends at one time but it worked for him One line that I remember from his tune about self pity was “your been found guilty of living too long”. I went back to my back yard (park adjacent to wear the astro was residing for the night) did some stretching, watched a family of bunny rabbits taunt the local hounds that were out to do their daily business before bed time and jumped in my bunk feeling more like a local then the night before.

I arrived in Niagara Falls around Noon. Truly an amazing sight to see that much water flowing and falling. Just as amazing was the amount of Indian restaurants and that the area can support not just 1 but 2 Hard Rock Cafés. I got in line to cross the Canadian border in Ontario, Canada. I knew something was up when the young Canadian women in the booth started pelting me with questions about my job, home and purpose of driving my Astro Van into her beloved country. She gave me a yellow slip and said the turn left into immigration where another young Canadian women greeted me with the exact line of questioning. Then she put on her disposable gloves and jumped into the Astro to take a better look while I waited off to the side. I had a hard time not laughing when she asked me to come around the vehicle to give her the past word to my laptop. Their she was with her bullet proof vest sitting on my bunk with my computer open up. After about 20 minutes she said everything checked out and said to go inside with my yellow slip. An older Canadian women greeted me with an advanced set of questions but along the same lines. I guess a guy from New Hampshire driving a 1995 Chevy Astro with no job no real destination or reason for being in their country was alarming to them. But she stamped my slip and sent me on my way! All in all in was an entertaining experience as they were all very polite and attractive to different degrees especially the one with the bullet proof vest!

From there I stared my journey to Manatoulin (sp) Island which I know little about except for my friends Dylan and Lynn spent time there mountain biking and said it was one of their favorite spots on their travels west! I made a drive by in Toronto, a city 2,500,000 and I felt it for sure. Someday I would go back for a weekend… seemed like a lot of action and very clean! Then North West! A little side bar… A dream of mine is to journey to French Lick, Indiana. It’s in central Indiana and is the birthplace and home to the living legend… LARRY BIRD!!! I could write a book about this man, but I will leave it at this… Another major influence in my life. A true team player, put your nose to the parquet, dive for the loose ball, go toe to toe with Dr. J and Kareem and keep your blue collar, humbleness when everyone in the world wants a piece of you. Anyways I was driving by the hamlet of Parry Sound and saw a sign the Bobby Orr museum. Well Hockey is not my 1st love but I know enough that Bobby Orr who is ranked the 2nd best hockey player of all time behind Wayne Gretsky and won 2 Stanley Cups for the Boston Bruins. I pulled in around 8 pm to the most magnificent display of thunder and lightning all on the banks of Lake Huron! I fired up my grill ate some fakey hot dogs with red beans went for a walk around town and crashed out in the municipal parking lot. I woke up this morning went for a 1 hour run along the waterfront, took a $2 shower at the Chamber of Commerce info booth, yup very cool, and then hit the Bobby Orr Museum! A great interactive place that any sports fan or casual fan or hockey would enjoy!!

Now I sit in a coffee shop in Sudbury, Ontario getting ready for the final push to Manatoulin Island and to hopefully unleash my mountain bike for the first time on this trip….

Buffalo New York! yup!!

Hey Everybody,

Here I sit in the Quaker Bonnet Eatery in Buffalo New York. I left Ithaca around 1pm yesterday after taking a swim, shower at 2nd dam, where local kids were hucking themselves off 50-70 ft cliffs, I not wanting to show off my central Massachusetts asskicking style I opted for the 5 footer! I drove through hours of back roads through mostly farmland and a occasional 4 corners with a gas station and a farm stand! I got a box of fresh strawberries and ate them listening to the Red Sox loose a nail biter on XM radio channel 177.

I rolled into Buffalo to take a break around 6pm and it just happened to be the taste of Buffalo. They close down a huge section of downtown and all the restaurants and bars are there. The first thing I noticed beside all the Buffalo Wings, Pizza and Elvis impersonater was the diversity. Ah sweet diversity, I've been craving it like I craved Christmas morning when I was 7. It's not just racial diversity it is sincere diversity. People waking up in the morning and just walking out their door being themselves, talking about nothing and everythingI have not seen one luxury condo, not one martini bar but I have only been here for 17 hours and those establishments have their place I just can't afford them.

Last night I hit this place called Nietzsche's (yup) they have music 7 nights a week, and their motto is: Life without music would suck, or something along those lines. This band Space Cakes was playing, I got to tell you I've been blessed to have seen a lot of music, but this band ripped. The Sax player was a cross between Skerik and Karl Denson and the guitarist, keyboardist, vocalist band leading freaker was 1/2 Wavy Gravy 1/2 Frank Zappa. At the break I rambled across the street where a poetry night was happening, the place was jammed and the readers were top notch it held my attention for a while until I followed a cast of Buffaloians back to the Space Cakes show. After the show I walked up and down Allen Street, people were all over enjoying the last moments of a perfect Sunday night, I brushed my teeth, did some push ups, ate a banana, smiled for as long as possible then crawled into my bunk. It reminds me of a verse from a Dan Bern tune:

Tourist towns are a drag sometimes
But in non-tourist towns you can get beat up
Just for lookin a little different
I guess the thing to do is just stay at home

Yeah but sometimes I think the thing to do
Would be to get a place way out in Missouri
Put down as many months rent as you can part with
Tell everybody else you went to France

Well I think I might be in Buffalo for awhile or at least till tomorrow. I did promise the owner of this eatery that I wouldn't tell anyone how cool this city is so please keep it down!

Peter

Mindfulness, Vermont, the Adirondacks and Ithaca

This trip for me is about mindfulness. About being in the moment every moment. One of the major influences in my life is Thich Nhat Hahn. Thich Nhat Hanh is a Vietnamese Buddhist monk, a poet, a scholar, and a peace activist. His life long efforts to generate peace and reconciliation moved Martin Luther King, Jr. to nominate him for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1967. The basis of his teachings is mindfulness. My favorite quote is "Don't wash the dishes to get them done, wash the dishes to wash the dishes. So i'm working to be mind full in every moment. Every step, every turn of my pedals, every mile of the road, every dish I do, every smile from a stranger and every insect that lands on my head!!

I departed from Portsmouth and headed up to Vermont. I drove across rt 4. to rt 100 which winds up and down through the Green Mountains, a beautiful road and this is where I knew the Astro Van was up for the journey! I arrived in Burlington around 5pm. Burlington is one of my favorite places to hang out. Though like Portsmouth it has lost some of its edge it is still a great place right on the banks of Lake Champlain. I hung out a at the Dobro Tea House where a flamenco style guitarist and his band of friends playing bass, drums, spoons etc... performed. The Tea was $3.50 but it was well worth it. They have Teas from all over the world and the owner is a Howard Rourke man!! In the morning I went for a great bike ride along the lake and down through South Burlington. Then I went on to Church St. and got to hang out with 3 guys in there 8o's talking about the Red Sox, Howard Dean and the state of the City! It was amazing.


Then it was time to jump the 1 hour ferry over to New York. It was beautiful ride and dropped me in Port Kent. I drove through Lake Placid (the home of the 32 and 80 winter Olympics!) and the Adirondacks. I slept in a wonderful parking lot and got up the next morning and headed south west! After a quick stop in Munsville to see if the famous Koonrods was open for lunch (not) I arrived in Ithaca, NY. I picked up a hitchhiker named Rich who was coming from his friends sons funeral. The kid was 17 and overdosed on Nyquil. Really sad and disturbing. Rich gave me a good lay of the land, my first stop was the Ithaca Farmers Market, which was lively and huge. I picked up supplies for dinner and headed out for a bike ride! An up and down ride through the country side into Drysden NY and back. I hung in the commons (an open air market with restaurants, coffee houses, glass shops, and confused citizens wearing yankee paraphanilia. . I went swimming in the Cayuga Lake and made up my first real roadside gourmet dinner of... Eggplant, Garlic, Summer Squash, Onions, Tomatoes, Spinach over fresh salad greens with some Annies Olive Oil and Vinegar dressing!

I woke up this morning on the banks of the lake, spent some time in meditation, practiced on my bass, had some eats and now I sit sipping a peppermint tea enjoying a glorious morning........ Today I will check out some waterfalls and then head west with the eventual next goal to see the Niagra Falls!!

P

Leaving in an Astro Van.

Thursday July 5th! Today I start my drive west to California. I have about a month and a half to get to San Francisco where I will meet some friends and check out the Burning Man festival. My route will be North! bouncing up and down through the Canadian border. My 95 Astro Van is in amazing shape and ready to roll... And I just hooked up with XM radio which I'm excited about.



The past two months being back in Portsmouth has been wonderful. Spending time with my parents and good friends talking about life, growth and horseshoes!! Making music, riding the roads and trails of this beautiful stretch of New England, being outside working with my hands and watching the giant tankers carve their way up the Pisquataqua has made me so grateful for this time and a place I can always call home!



So I'm going to keep this going and journal who I meet, what I see and what I'm doing! Let me know whats going on with you and if you have any good leads on a shower in Minnesota!!



Peace!



Peter

Welcome!!

This is my little space on the web to write about my daily experiences, thoughts and ideas!