Now I'm breathing easy again. Was windexing the windows this a.m. and recalled all those road trips with LB in his little '68 VW and how he was a windex fiend on the road. Used his VW once to pick up my dad and my dad and I motored from Nomal, Illinois to East Texas and once when I was windexing those windows -- inside and out -- I said "It's amazing how much cleaner these windows stay since I'm not smoking." Without missing a beat my dad said "To say nothing of your lungs." I just coughed up some phlegm and kept on windexing.
Woke up this a.m. all "I just want to be home." But, I'm in Santa Fe and have not seen Tove yet. Plus since I cleaned and repacked I'm back into being here now again. Tove was in Encino last week, racing her bicycle -- at the Velodrome - fixed gears, no breaks -- and seeing her son -- who lives in Venice -- and is a cameraman -- mostly commercials, but I could be wrong about that -- and inviting me and J--- M over to her son's dad's place in Encino for a bbq. Well, I never got the msg because I was in Big Bend and there was no cell reception down on the Rio Grande for me. I did get her message on Tuesday and called her back when I was in Kent, TX and she was in Needles, CA and I was heading west and she was heading east and she said but you're taking the southern route and I'm taking the northern route, you'll be taking the 10 or the 8 and I'll be taking taking the 40, and I said but I c-o-u-l-d take a right at Las Cruces, from the 10 west to the 25 north and come on up to Santa Fe -- but I have to call J--- M. first at home and see what's up.
I was here in Santa Fe to see Tove two years ago but I have not seen her son in about twenty-something years, since he was four. I remember him but he won't remember me, for sure. Once I asked Tove, like I ask every mother, why she did not name T---- G----- O----- after me, why he's not called T-----. She said she "I had to name him who he is, but you'll notice his first two initials match yours." That was good enough for me. T----'s dad was hosting the bbq and I'dda loved to have seen him. The best Christmas I ever had (post childhood) was at his parents home in Delaware. If I ever do Christmas and include many others it'll be like theirs was. What do I remember? An open house on Christmas Eve and bloody mary's on Christmas morning and too many presents but the important presents, the ones all awaited excitedly, were the home made presents, the home made presents to remind us of those years when we could not afford the abundance we can now.
Anyway, I had not planned to come north but since Tove called here I be. It makes sense anyway, in a navigatory way, since I got to continue following the Rio Grande on the route up here. Did not cross the Rio into Mexico, but I did cross it 4 or 5 or 6 times here in New Mexico. I forgot this is where it comes from when heading down to make the international border. 
Forgot too that surface street Colorado Boulevard, or, Route 66, the street I used to take home from goddaughter Ingr--'s house in Pomona goes through here too. Life is good. Extree good when one's getting his kicks on route sixty-six.Gotta tip the housekeepers and check out and go find Tove now.
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