For the third time; Honor Roll.
We’re so proud of him!
We’re so proud of him! We have options
Driving through Nebraska a couple days ago on Interstate 80, we picked out the rest stop that would be just the right time to stop for lunch. It turned out to be really small, with room for about 20 cars and 8 trucks. We have to park in the section for trucks. It was full. No problem. We did the slow-crawl through the full-up truck parking, then back out on the highway for the next rest stop. It was only another 44 miles. We could wait. But that one was closed when we got there. No problem. There is another in just 33 miles…… Except that one was closed too. Three misses. That was enough. I turned on the generator. Judy fixed me a tuna sandwich on toast, cut it into bite sizes, and put it on a plate next to me. Isn’t that a Melissa Etheridge song? “Baby you can eat while I drive.” We’re at St Vrain State Park 2017 trip map No more map pins for a while. We’ll be here a couple weeks. 
Standing at the front of the bus
At the end of the day. A bucket of water beside me. A bug scrubbing pad in one hand. A chamois in the other. I find myself reciting “Wax on, Wax off. Wax on, Wax off.” We’re at Jackson Lake State Park in Colorado. 2017 trip map 
The weekend is over. We find ourselves again in a camp loop with no other campers.
The weekend is over. We find ourselves again in a camp loop with no other campers. The time zone didn’t get me today
First thing we stopped, I fixed the clock in the front room and the alarm clock. We’re on Mountain Time! And we’re at the Sleepy Sunflower RV Camp in Ogalalla, NE, behind a fuel stop, close to the freeway. 2017 trip map It’s small and tight, 
…but it has its own charm.
Pure Midwest.
A good overnight stop.
…but it has its own charm. Pure Midwest. A good overnight stop. Democracy
What a silly system. If we need help with our plumbing, we hire a plumber; a trained professional. Need a house built? There are a whole host of architects, excavators, cement workers, engineers, electricians, and carpenters to do the job. Need brain surgery? Who are you going to call; the person with the most experience, or the person with the least? Need a country governed? Hire an amateur; a citizen politician. I’m not just talking about how this last round of elections turned out, I’m talking about how our system is designed. First off, who makes the selection? Us. We the people. We treasure this government ”of the people, by the people, and for the people”. But what makes us, the general population, such experts on governance that we’re the right people to even make the selection in the first place about who best to govern? What are our qualifications? Some of us pay attention to national and world affairs, but some of us don’t pay any attention at all, then show up at the polls and vote once every four years? How many times do slogans win out over substance? Our system is designed in favor of citizen politicians (otherwise known as amateurs). Governance is really complicated. Just to make sure politicians don’t get too involved in what they’re doing, make them drop everything and run for re-election every 2, 4, or 6 years. And don’t take a chance on them getting too good at their job, impose term-limits too. Anything else we need done, we look for the most qualified experienced experts we can find. But govern our country? We’re so wary of career politicians, only an amateur will do. This is the smartest system we can come up with? A whole bunch of people, us, many of whom know nothing about politics, half of whom don’t even vote, often choosing the least qualified candidate we can find?