So it goes.

I'm at the point in my life that I think a lot about my grandparents.  I'm lucky to still have three of them alive but they're in their golden years.  "Chick" is in a nursing home with good and bad days, mostly bad.  Pop, who is at least 80, visits her twice a day and still drives cross country for his hunting trips.  The thing about my Grandpa and hunting is that in all the years, I've never known him to kill anything.  He just really likes to camp and cook outdoors.

"Dee" was just accepted into a retirement home/card playing house.  Most days she's still sharp but since Papa Charles died she's convinced herself that she's broke.  Papa Charles died 18 years ago.  I didn't cry at his funeral but loved the man with all of my heart.

Life is funny.  If I do have kids they will never know my Grandparents.  I only remember my Great Grandma Molly and her making making me fruit crepes in an old rickety house.  I've heard many stories about my great grandparents but Molly is the only one I can put a face to the story.  And no matter what story it is I always think about her in a moo moo dress and that creepy old stuffed toy lion in her living room.

In the grand scheme we're just rain drops in the ocean, our stories to be recycled and lived out by new generations.  I'm fine with that.

A fallen head of Buddha that a tree grew around.

No Direction Home

I might regret it but I booked a flight home for April.  I really don't know why I did it, the subconscious can be funny sometimes.  I tell myself I can always go backpacking again but that window in life is closing.  Maybe I want to go home to see what I'm not missing.  I'm at that point in life that all my friends are making decisions and I can't for some reason.  Maybe if I touch the shore I can see the horizon?

I'm leaving Oz in early February and then heading off to Bangkok.  I'm not for sure what I'm doing but I know I have to leave Thailand at some point, so not to over stay my 30 day visa.  Maybe I'll go to Burma if the border is open again.  The last time I tried to enter, they closed entry because of the so called elections.  Gotta love a backwards ass dictatorship.

I do know I'm going to live it up on some Thailand beaches.  For those that don't know Thailand beaches are breath taking.  Just picture every movie scene you see with crystal clear water and locals bringing you fresh juice mixed with booze.  Or just watch the movie 'The Beach' on mute.  That movie kinda sucked but the book is good.  I bought it for a dollar in Bangkok.

At some point I have to reenter Thailand because I'm flying out of Bangkok and hitting up South Korea.  I never thought of going there until I tried to book a flight home and had a 6 hour lay over in Seoul.  I hate lay overs so I decided to stay 10 days.  I'm hoping South Korea will be special because that's where my Grandfather became a man.  I wish I had with me the picture of him sitting tiredly with his helmet at his feet, smoking a cigarette on some remote Korean hillside.  If I did I would post it because it was one of my favorites.  That ornery old man has some stories to tell and if you have a couple of hours, he'll preach your ear off.

After South Korea I'm flying into Cali to see family and friends.  Vegas is now looking in the mix and then it's back to real world.

Real world; Fayetteville or Denver?  Who knows?  I might not even make it home.