The Desert Wind Blows

We traveled south from Monterey yesterday to Paso Robles and then east across the San Joaquin Valley, and up through the Tehachapi Pass and into the Mojave Desert to the Edwards Air Force Base FamCamp.  Overnight, the desert wind began to blow and continues to blow with 15 to 20 mph gusts.  I’m not sure yet from which direction the wind is blowing, but I’m kind of hoping it will provide us a tailwind as we drive eastward to Flagstaff, Arizona today.  Our granddaughter, Eleni, now has a “when exactly” time for our arrival.  

As the gusts of desert wind buffet Odysseus this morning I recall a song about the “Wayward Wind.”  Perhaps you remember it, too?  I believe Patsy Cline and Gogi Grant made it a popular hit.  

“The wayward wind is a restless wind

A restless wind that yearns to wander

And he was born the next of kin

The next of kin to the wayward wind.”

The desert wind reminds me that I am “the next of kin to the wayward wind,” but one who has chosen to “settle down” and “stay put” for a good part of my journey.   At three score and ten plus five I intend to more fully live out my birthright as a gypsy and a wanderer—as the next of kin to the wayward wind.  My Bucket List has no end and there are so many places I have yet to go.  At 75 I hope to spend more time reading and acting out Dr. Seuss’ admonitions.

So…

be your name Buxbaum or Bixby, or Bray

or Mordecai Ali Van Allen O’Shea

you’re off the Great Places!

Today is your day!

Yosemite