The Absolute Middle – Day 1

JWise Photo of the Day, Travels

Dutch Bros in Payson, Arizona

It’s not exactly the middle of the day as we reach not the precise middle of the state here in Payson, Arizona, but it’s close enough. Ultimately we are headed into the middle of America, though not today quite yet. To be clear, we are not headed into the middle of the contiguous United States as found over in Lebanon, Kansas (we’ve already been there twice), but we are aiming for the relative middle, slicing through the heartland, over the Memorial Day weekend. Precision is part of this exercise, but getting there will require some generalizations and approximations as nothing is literally written in stone. With that, our holiday weekend has been extended with an extra day tacked on either side. Not only has Caroline taken off Friday and Tuesday, but we’ve also been able to depart from the Phoenix area today (Thursday) before lunch, bringing us here to Dutch Bros in Payson because a road trip without coffee is like a bologna sandwich without mystery meat.

Highway 260 in Arizona

With 1,865 miles (3001 km) to be covered before turning around somewhere far up north, time to take photos will be at a premium, so we are planning frequent stops to clean the windshield because we’ll be taking many a photo right through the windshield of our still nearly new and very clean 2023 Kia Niro. Photos through a window from a moving car are a gamble, but anything else, and we may not see all we intend to visit. If luck is on our side, we’ll have traveled 3,795 miles (6107 km) before getting home. There’s a reason the total miles are not twice the miles of the first leg, but that detail will have to wait for the days to unfold. Anyway, we are on State Route 260 moving east, should you be interested in following along on a map.

State Route 377 in Arizona

Time to stretch the old legs and enjoy the cooler, quieter area found along State Route 377 here in the high desert.

State Route 377 in Arizona

We are on the road to Holbrook, Arizona, and the elevation up this way is approximately 5,000 feet or 1,524 meters.

Interstate 40 entering New Mexico

Breaks are few and far between with the hundreds of miles we need to cover this afternoon. Even with taking photos from the driver’s seat (that’s right, did you think Caroline would be taking these images?), we may or may not get as far east as we’d like to, or maybe we’ll go farther. You do have to give me credit for at least getting in the slow lane here on Interstate 40 to snap this shot of the state sign as we entered New Mexico.

Sunset off Interstate 40 in New Mexico

Another stretch-your-legs moment inspired by the dramatic sky behind us while to the east in the direction of our continuing travel, lightning flashes were raging. A check of the weather ahead showed that Tucumcari, New Mexico, was getting hammered by thunderstorms, so we are considering staying the night in Santa Rosa.

La Mesa Motel in Santa Rosa, New Mexico

Sure, all the name-brand hotels were to be found in this small town of 2,600 people in Santa Rosa, New Mexico, but all of their signs suck, not a bit of neon among them, and so the La Mesa Motel was going to be our choice. Was it a bargain, you ask? Well, for only $79, we walked into a clean room with a bit of unidentifiable stench, but what should one expect for a bit of Route 66 nostalgia built back in 1954? We end the first day of driving after about 540 miles (870 km) ready for sleep.

We were rattled awake around 2:30 in the morning by the peculiar sound of hundreds of small pellets being thrown at our door. No, this wasn’t a dream, and no, they weren’t pellets. We were being pounded by a thunderstorm that not only was driving the rain sideways, but hail was also along for the ride. Big fat, chunky bullets of hail were bouncing off our front door, the roof of the motel, the ground, and, to our horror, our nearly brand-new car. After ten or so minutes, things were slowing down, and we headed back to bed, but almost immediately, the pace of the hail picked up again. With an audible sigh, I put on shorts and shoes and braved the wet and windy outdoors to move the car under an awning, then went back to sleep.

It’s Been A While

JWise Photo of the Day

Map of where we're going

Tomorrow, Caroline and I leave for a trip to the Great Plains. This will be the first time in 8 years that we’ve been out there and nearly 20 years since the two of us were as far north as we hope to get this long weekend. Our destination is supposed to be somewhere in North Dakota. I have to say “I hope to get there” because I finally checked the weather forecast, and wouldn’t you know it, it’s calling for wind, rain, and thunderstorms. It’s almost comical because it was on our last big road trip back in 2015 nearly to the day when we detoured from our itinerary due to flooding as we passed between Texas and Oklahoma. Certainly, a more favorable outcome is on the horizon this time around. The traces on this portion of our U.S. map are roads we’ve driven, the empty area is a mystery.

Should anyone wonder, where exactly out on those wind-swept plains are you two going? It doesn’t matter as all that’s important is we are going to where the rest of America is not going over Memorial Day. This journey will be a meander and has the flexibility to change course should we need to or simply want to. To those we told we’d be in Europe at this time: that was delayed while we wait for the economy to fall into an actual recession so the cost of travel can come down. We could have chosen the Oregon Coast for this getaway but flights and the crappiest of motels would have been more expensive than spending time in Germany. Driving to Oregon wasn’t an option, not due to the price of gas but the fact that we need 4 days of driving for the roundtrip, and that would then only offer us 2 days on the coast, and that’s no bueno.

Map of the Great Plains

There are aspects of this drive that have different meanings such as the fact that I simply enjoy the drive where my eyes fall upon different scenery and just might inspire something or other. For days, Caroline and I will be next to one another nearly 24 hours a day and will likely enjoy every minute of it. There’s also our trophy map of the United States on which we track the roads we’ve driven. The path we’re taking will take previously untraveled roads as much as possible. This feat will allow us to add two fat lines going out and coming back. And then there are the unknowns where little delights and unexpected surprises will help make the entire experience memorable. Even if it were truly boring, rest assured that I’ll get at least a few photos that show otherwise and I’ll write a simple narrative that will demonstrate that love and beauty greeted us at every turn, that is if there are any turns on this bolt north.

Bitter Anger

JWise Rant

Angry Old Men created by Bing

Recently, I’ve had a few encounters with people over 65 who can only be characterized as bitterly angry. Their certainty about an impending apocalypse has created a seething cauldron of despair they want others to know about and understand the danger because this is the moment in history when the wheels finally come off; we are all doomed. Their rationale is the talking points they’ve been spoon-fed; to disagree with them draws out their wrath that anyone should be so uninformed. Ignorance of doom is a red flag for them but also allows them to flaunt their disdain that one should be so belligerent about seeing the obvious truth of collapse all around them.

While I recognize that this wasn’t necessarily created by the Republican party, they did take advantage of a giant, malleable meatball of disenchanted, fundamentalist Christian, white, angry Americans walking in the crazy shoes of Charismatics. The Republicans soared and picked up the baton for this vast group of misfits when they and their media lackeys took on the role of fabulists to lure the simple-minded down a rat hole. Now, we have a riled-up base of the nearly insane that likely will not be pulled down from the rafters without someone giving up the strategy that was used to ensnare them, and that would reveal them to be tools for the propagation of a kind of zealotry that is nothing short of fundamentalism on the side of irrational extremism. Why would a political ruling class do something like this to its constituents? Because it’s lucrative and gives power to those who want to harness the energy of a loony machine.

The reverend Jim Jones and his People’s Temple in the jungle of Guyana immediately come to mind after listening to these cranks in public spaces defending their messiah and his party’s bizarre plan to accelerate his disciples onto the path of encountering heaven. Jim Jones was a master dog-whistle illusionist, painting images of impending doom that would befall the cowering, less-than-educated masses pummeled into fear. Rush Limbaugh, Fox News, Donald Trump, and the majority of Republicans appear to my simple mind to have taken a page from Jonestown to massage their followers into a state of panic similar to those who were coerced with fear and drugs into committing mass suicide, but ChatGPT brought me around to have to admit that the violence deployed in that jungle over 40 years ago is not a part of this modern equation. To quote:

It is also important to acknowledge that within any political party, there is a wide range of beliefs, opinions, and tactics. While it is possible to find similarities in some tactics used by various political groups and manipulative methods employed by cult leaders, it is crucial to distinguish between the extreme behavior exhibited by the Peoples Temple and the standard political strategies used by mainstream political parties.

Next, I asked it to define “dog whistle” as used in politics because I see some in politics and media using “extreme behaviors”:

In populist political culture, a “dog whistle” refers to a coded message or subtle communication strategy that conveys a specific meaning or sentiment to a targeted audience without explicitly stating it. The term is derived from the concept of a dog whistle, which emits a sound at a frequency that can be heard by dogs but not humans.

In politics, dog whistles are often used by politicians or political groups to appeal to certain demographics or supporters without alienating other potential voters. These messages may involve using certain words, phrases, or themes that resonate with a specific group but may not be apparent to the general public. Dog whistles can be used to convey controversial or divisive sentiments, such as racial, ethnic, or religious bias, while maintaining plausible deniability for the speaker.

Well then, I’m sticking to my potentially misguided thought that we are living through a moment of cultism being played on a massive scale where those with an inkling of hate of change or difference have been manipulated and taken to the brink of madness through dog whistles and extreme speech influencing people into irrational behaviors. As far as ChatGPT’s take on things, I tend to believe that it’s programmed not to take controversial positions, but the way I see it, there are those with public voices that are difficult for me to distinguish from someone like the reverend Jim Jones. Stay away from KookAid, you freaky right-wing extremists.

Yep, Monsoon in May!

JWise Photo of the Day

Clearing clouds over Phoenix, Arizona

Wind, rain, thunder, and lightning were the overnight elements that let us know with some certainty that a monsoon has passed over us. Signs of it were on display here and there this morning, but the majority of it occurred while we were fast asleep. A great side effect of the storm is that it’s noticeably cooler out here, the cloud cover also helps.

In other news, it appears we might drag ourselves to North Dakota or thereabouts in the near future but things are fluid as we’re not making fixed plans.

Angry Bro

JWise Photo of the Day

Stickers of hate on a truck

If the douchebags driving ridiculously loud motorcycles and cars that put out between 110 and 120 decibels of annoyance (about the same sound level as a jet taking off or gunshots) weren’t enough, we have to contend with these angry douchebags who use their vehicles to announce that they are likely half-crazy whackjobs. What kind of anger is behind the wheel of this truck telling me to “Fuck my hybrid” or somehow virtue signaling me that his ‘Mericun truck was built with wrenches, not chopsticks? The boob message to the left hints at a tendency to accept his incel situation while on the far right he’s threatening all that approach him or give him any side-eye that he’s willing to pull a gun on the transgressor.

As we passed him with my man-boobs heaving and our hybrid flipping him a middle chopstick, I tried to spy what size his impressive tool might be, but his blacked-out windows prevented me from witnessing firsthand him beating off to how powerful, strong, and hard his angry bro-ness has grown to be. I trembled next to this prime example of manhood, I mean douchebaggery.

Monsoon in May?

JWise Photo of the Day

Early morning walk in Phoenix, Arizona

Following whatever rain we pick up over the winter, our next bit of moisture typically doesn’t show up until the summer monsoons kick in somewhere in July. So, what’s this stuff passing over the valley some miles south of us? Some of it looks like virga, but experience says that to the left of the clouds, rain is hitting the ground. These weren’t the only heavy clouds in the Phoenix sky this morning, but how can the monsoon season be starting up so early, we wondered? Also of note, we hit our first 100-degree (38c) day on April 30th this year. Fortunately, we’ve not seen 50c yet and hopefully won’t as that’s truly hot. For those in the United States oblivious to how the rest of humanity measures stuff in the metric system, that would be a scorching 122 degrees of blistering discomfort.