Copasetic Flow

As I walked in the singer looked up and there it was again, that grin ! Different side of the world, but the same grin. Her name I later found out is Robin Galante . Robin was playing in the front of the coffee shop with a two person audience. I made my way to the back where coffee is served. I ordered a medium coffee, which at Adventure Coffee is a huge coffee, and made my way back to the front of the store. I plopped into a comfy chair against the store-front window and enjoyed. Robin looked up again, flashed the same smile and continued to play. Her voice was beautiful and rich and true as she played the guitar. All the lyrics hit home. Songs about chasing your dreams, songs about making the most of every circumstance in every day, and songs about the world and everyone in it all rolled into a guitar-backed, mellow performance. I bought one of Robin's albums which she was gracious enough to autograph for me. Again, it was just excellent. It even included a song about ...

I flew into San Francisco this morning about eleven o'clock. I'm staying at the Hotel Des Art in the middle of everything. My room wasn't ready until three, so I went down to the wharf to hang out. The short version: I got a haircut, went down to the Buena Vista for lunch, saw some art and listened to some music. First, the haircut. I was a little flattered when my new barber told me I had a great shaped head. Who knew! My parents have often told me that they turned me over every six hours just like the doctor said to make sure I didn't wind up with a lopsided head. Finally, we all have the proof that it actually worked! Next, my barber commented that I have a lot of hair. Cool, I guess where I still have it at all, there is quite a bit of it. All of this was well and fine until about the fifth time he told me the same things. I hadn't been paying attention. I looked up and realized that apparently he had taken it as his personal mission to display my ...

I'm back up in Boulder! As usual the place is incredible. It's more than just the place though, it's the people! I'm working from the Laughing Goat this morning. I'm near the front door and the floor to ceiling windows that stand open to Pearl St. The sun is beaming in and for Boulder, it's actually hot. As I work, I'm watching people wander in and out. They greet each other, share stories of their latest adventures and head back out. You hear the best things up here. A woman comes in with her two toddlers... "Yeah, so I slid all the way down the side of the mountain, rolled through a patch of bramles and wound up scratching both eyes... It was great!!!" Her buddies have their backpacks at hand. They're headed up the mountain in just a bit. Awhile later a woman sweeps into the shop with a flourish and twirl, (really, a complete 360 degree twirl), spinning her ankle length skirt around, and says "Hi" to her friends at the fro...

I'm doing a whirlwind tour of the middle east this week in conjunction with a few work commitments. As much as I travel for work, I thought I had the whole process pretty well figured out. Not the case! I landed in Tel Aviv early last weekend with plans of visiting Eilat, and then popping across the border to see Petra in Jordan. I planned to take the bus to Eilat. It was a four hour bus ride, but it seemed worth it to get to see Petra that weekend. I've ridden the bus in Israel before. It's not too big of a deal, just a little interview with a guy with a big gun and onto the bus you go. On the way to the hotel from the airport I asked my taxi driver where the Tel Aviv Central Bus Station was and explained my travel plans. "No", he said, "You don't want to take the bus that will take all day. Take a plane. For $100 it will take you one hour to get to Eilat." Wow! What a deal! Thanks to my taxi driver I'd just instantly reclaimed six hou...

I forgot! I can't believe I forgot, but I did! I was standing in one of the chambers of the Great Pyramid this morning. I was the first one in line, so I was in the chamber all by myself. The entryway to the chamber was about 100 yards long. It consisted of three foot high passageways that went upwards and downwards straight through the middle of the pyramid. I could hear the voices of the group behind me projected by the passageways. I wondered if they would be shocked to find a person already there when they arrived. The first person of the group came into the chamber. She looked like she was 17, and about as tall as me. As she stood up, she looked at me and gave me one of the biggest goofiest grins I've seen in a while. And my heart lit up a little bit. Her boyfriend who must have been 27 came into the chamber after her. I looked again and sure enough, she was about 27 as well! She was 27 now, but that grin had taken 10 years off her age for an instant! We all know...

Monday I saw the pyramids. Yesterday, I worked a little and got over a cold I had. Today I was feeling better, so I headed over to the Egyptian Museum. It's across the Nile from my hotel, so, I figured I'd walk. With the traffic in Cairo, I think it was almost as fast. I'm glad I didn't skip the museum. As a rule, I don't like museums. I'd rather get out in the world, hang out and see people or nature. I think it might stem from my folks taking me to every museum they could find when I was a kid. Great for the education, lousy for the attitude. The things in the museum are just incredible! Row after row of mummies, heirogliphic tablets everywhere, papyrus scrolls are hanging on the walls, masks of ancient Romans, giant limstone statues of kings and queens and all of it thousands of years old! And all of the workmanship is perfect! The pyramids give you a sense of awe about what the Egyptians did on a large scale. The Egyptian Museum gives you the sa...