Journey’s eve

Well the road rolls out like a welcome mat
To a better place than the one we’re at


It’s Day 403 of 15 Days to Flatten the Curve.

Deb and I are fine. Excited, for reasons that should be obvious if you’ve been following along.

We’ve done all we can. We’ve prepared Ernie and we’ve prepared ourselves, taking care of every bit of personal business we can think of. Second Chance Ranch, its maintenance and its security, is in the best possible hands.

An unexpected home repair cropped up at the last minute, so we dispatched that. Two days of torrential rain put a bit of water in our basement late yesterday, which had me running our transfer pump — but only for five minutes. Fate seems to respect what we’re up to.

Last month, on the night before our maiden voyage to Tennessee, we looked forward to three purposeful weeks on the road followed by the assurance of returning to the place we’ve called home for 11 years. Tonight will be very different.

In the morning we enter terra incognita.

It feels nothing like a household move or a change of jobs. It’s unfamiliar and unknown, yet absent fear and infused with a strong sense of certainty. We’ve been listening to that Chris Stapleton song almost every day…

Now this might not be an easy time
There’s rivers to cross & hills to climb
& some days we might fall apart
And some nights might feel cold & dark

But nobody wins afraid of losing
& the hard roads are the ones worth choosing
Some days we’ll look back & smile
And know it was worth every mile

I want to call particular attention one of those lines:

Nobody wins afraid of losing

That reminded me of the closing words of Robert M. Pirsig’s Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance:

“…there is a feeling now, that was not here before, and is not just on the surface of things, but penetrates all the way through: We’ve won it. It’s going to get better now. You can sort of tell these things.”

That’s it. We’ll see you on the road.

Take care of yourselves, Patriots. Stay calm. Stay sharp. Stay free.

#WiseUp #LibertyOrDeath