The Black Fly

MaineJune  2019 Lisa spent the first part of her life in Maine.  I asked her how she handled the black flies when she was a kid.  She scoffed. “My friends and I compared, we held contests.  Who could not scratch for the longest time, who could get the most bites, who could hold out the… Continue reading The Black Fly

The Rescue

Caesars Head State ParkSouth CarolinaJune  2001 Stepping off the Appalachian Trail at the Fork Ridge Trailhead after summiting Clingmans Dome, we decide to take a drive to the place where 99% of the people who visit Clingmans Dome begin their summit hike.  This “trailhead” is three and a half miles to the end of the… Continue reading The Rescue

Walkin’ Cat

PittsburghPennsylvaniaJuly 1999 I dated Betsy three times.  The middle time, I parked in front of her house and walked up to the door, rang the bell.  When she opened the screen door for me, a white and brown spotted kitty cat ran past me, out of the house. Betsy and I talked on the telephone… Continue reading Walkin’ Cat

Paleontologists Get Down

OklahomaMarch  2013 This area of the country has long been a hot spot for geologists and paleontologists who like to get down.  Y’know, they dig for remains of dinosaurs that date back to the Jurassic and Triassic periods, as long ago as 245 million years, give or take twenty minutes.  More than 18 tons of… Continue reading Paleontologists Get Down

What to do With a Bear

anywhere that’s not home You’re in the woods.  A bear shows up for its appointment.  What do you do? Essentially, don’t panic, but do what you do when you do panic.  Jump around, make noise, scream like a shrill little kid.  Especially if you are a shrill little kid.  Bears respond to sincerity. Also, stand… Continue reading What to do With a Bear

What to Wear in Hawai’i

Hawai’iJune  2016 It’s warm in Hawai’i.  It gets warm at home in the northeast too.  But the Hawai’ians, to all appearances, are smarter.  “Formal wear” in Hawai’i can be an Aloha shirt.  In most of the rest of the country, “formal wear” includes a shirt too, but also another, thicker layer on top of that,… Continue reading What to Wear in Hawai’i

White Butte Trailhead

White ButteNorth DakotaMay  2015 We sit in the car trying to decide whether to drive up the 1000-foot driveway to the house, or to walk.  Our indecision is based on the cold wind picking up and the cold rain falling down.  Nasty, unpleasant.  We wait.  We stop waiting.  We walk up the driveway. Richardson ground… Continue reading White Butte Trailhead

Snoopy!

WikieupArizonaJune  2018 It is 103°.  We are driving US-93 in Arizona, 23 minutes south of Wikieup, the self-proclaimed rattlesnake capital of Arizona. At last count, 350 people live in Wikieup.  Or maybe it is 133 people.  Another source lists the population as 108.  Or it might be 190.  One source counts 6363 residents, but I… Continue reading Snoopy!

Travel by Jeans

select U S statesFebruary  2018 Look.  I ordered a pair of Wranglers online.  They were distributed out of El Paso, Texas and then shipped to Albuquerque, New Mexico.  From there, they traveled to Hodgkins, Illinois, Saint Louis, Missouri and Youngstown, Ohio.  They were finally delivered to me in Pittsburgh. One of the challenges of traveling… Continue reading Travel by Jeans

How Many Live Here?

United States of America2024 chickens     1 500 000 000 pelicans     250 000 cows     71 160 000 pigs     75 000 000 deer     36 000 000 pet cats     58 000 000 self-sufficient feral cats    30 000 000 ~ 100 000 000 dogs     89 700 000 prairie dogs     10… Continue reading How Many Live Here?