Fifteen Feet from The Door - We Are All Donuts

With the sun comes the wind. It had been 43º when he and the dog got up. It is the dog who determines when it is time for him to get up. It is either the dog or the time at which he absolutely has to get up and pee. The dog hopped up on to his cot and on top of him and started nibbling of any exposed surface. When he announces his capitulation, then he says Ok Ok and unzips his sleeping bag. The dog then loses all self-restrain and begins barking and biting. If he is laid on his back and his belly stroked he will calm down temporarily. There were some mule deer out by the Ranger’s office and there was an RV from California. There was a tenter on the ridge above and a small trailer at the far end of the lake. Fish were jumping in the early morning – it’s hard to tell when and where to look, much like watching a meteorite shower. The dog ran around sniffing the ground and did not notice the fish jumping. Every once in a while a really big fish would leap out of the water and plop back into it, but there was no way of knowing in advance when or where this might happen. It was rare to  actually see it emerge from the water, arch over and plunge back in with its muscular body twitching, usually a splash was heard and a widening circle of ripples observed. They returned to camp. He reheated the pot of coffee. Then four deer emerged from the woods near the lake and stood staring at them before leaping back into the brush.

We will not say that he can be angry only if he has words. But can you wonder whether it will rain the day after tomorrow without words, or wonder whether there are 100 or 101 people in the room without numerals? – Ludwig Wittgenstein

It’s warm today - leaves scuttling, accumulating, crunching, rustling. The sun is rising further and further southward. I took the two dollar discount as a senior citizen for my camp site – take it if you can – it didn’t say that state residency was required (they usually do)

People do not take the name of God in vain when they swear; they use it, on the contrary very earnestly and energetically to attest what they wish to say – John Ruskin – The Genius of John Ruskin, 1963 p389

Reading scores for public school 4th graders has improved only by 1% since the beginning of No Child Left Behind

The act of the will is not the cause of the action but is the action itself – Ludwig Wittgenstein – Philosophical Investigations

Smell of diesel
Big toys
It sets things in motion
Things begin happening
For big boys


“ A scent that was like a symbol
Of elastic motion and power
A desire to climb
     Into a cage of steel and crystal
To make love in new places
With an unknown woman”


“A scent, I set to work
     Like a militia summons
Get up, get up
     Come out and picnic in the country
Take a boat on the river
     Under the trees
    With a pretty girl
Get up, Get up” (Marcel Proust)

Smell the diesel

Hard world! Hard world! Here I am, as good a fellow as ever lived – hospitable – open-hearted – generous to a fault: and the Fates forbid that I should possess the fortune to bless the country with my bounteousness – Herman Melville – Cock-A-Doodle-Doo!

The Three Rivers area contains over 21,000 petroglyphs. Rattlesnakes are common in this are. The circle and dot motive is prevalent and accounts for 10% of the petroglyphs but not that common at other Jornado Mogollon sites. Jornado style faces are usually round with almond shaped eyes and triangles noses. Most animals are depicted stylistically but bighorn sheep are usually depicted realistically. Mountain lions and bird tracks are common.

[Grasping a rule] is exhibited in what we call ‘obeying the rule’ and ‘going against it’ – Ludwig Wittgenstein – Philosophical Investigations

I could be bothering people
I don’t even notice any more
Yes, party from self-absorption
And party from a lack of civility
    We all are donuts – a mouth
    And an asshole
The law requires that you go
    Outside to smoke
    And stand at least
    Fifteen feet from the door

Language reflects not subjective, psychological vacillations, but stable social interrelationships – V N Volosinov –Marxism and the Philosophy of Language p118