POTR #64 Proximity

PEACE ON THE ROAD

Proximity

December 18, 2010

It almost seems at times that an idea, a thought or a question gets loose in our heads and just seems to flit around inside the brain similar to the flight of a butterfly in a large room. It is there and yet not really there. It will just catch our attention for a few moments and then be gone for a while. But eventually it will land on our nose and then we give it our full attention for a bit, at least until it flits away again. In the last six years (especially the last four) since I have traveling around the US there has been a question that seems to come up every once in a while. The question is basically, “Why does a particular geographical location feel more like home than some other location. As child the farm near Princeton, Kansas was always home. After I graduated from high school and started living in other places the farm stayed the principle home and the location where I was sleeping was a secondary home or perhaps a temporary home. As would be expected when I added a wife to my life my home became the place she was and the farm became either my folks home or my childhood home. For about forty years it stayed that way with several “house” changes. Then I retired and started the traveling and for the first time there was no permanent building to call home. Home became the inside of a motor home in whatever RV it was parked. It was not long before there were certain places that just seemed more like “home” than others. One was in New York near our daughters home. Another was Rockport, TX, and a third was in Mission, TX. While there were times that I wondered why this would be I never really tried to figure out why. Denver, CO where I spent forty years working and living just did not quite have that feeling any longer. That seemed strange too because many friends of thirty plus years are there along with some family. If any place seemed like home it should be the Denver area.

One day the answer flitted through my brain and landed on my consciousness and became very plain. It was simply proximity. This is mostly about my winter location in Bentsen Grove in Mission, TX. Here I am in close proximity to many of the things that made me feel at home in Wheat Ridge, CO. I have made numerous friends here and they are all within walking distance in under five minutes and several within fifteen seconds. In Colorado it is a minimum of a fifteen minute drive and there are some friends that would require an hour and a half drive to visit. Here I have replaced the occupation that I once had with helping people with computers (they think I know a lot more than I do), photography for the park and groups in it, operation of a sound booth (just a few weeks so far) plus other things. While the friends here in this resort are not more important than the friends of years there proximity is a whole lot closer. At least in my mind that is the reason for my comfort level here.

When we first came to Bentsen Grove we had a site that was near some people that had planted a small agave plant in their flower garden. That winter as we drove by their house we admired the plant. I thought that it would be many years before the plant would grow to any appreciable size. How wrong I was. It has only been four years since we were staying there and the agave has grown huge. It is commonly called a century plant. It is supposed to live a hundred years, bloom and then die. However I have found out that is just a myth. It does not live for a hundred year but rather the average life is around 10 years. When it blooms it does die but usually sends out shoots or suckers around the base and thus its life continues. The years required to bloom varies based upon soil condition available water and other factors. During the growth years it is storing energy to be used at the time of its blooming. When it sends up its flowering stalk it is reported to becomes the fastest growing plant on earth. The flower stalk grows a foot or more a week. While it is a beautiful plant it can also be a dangerous one. The tip of the leaf has a sharp needle that can penetrate all the way to a bone and the edge of the leaf is lined with sharp barbs that easily tear flesh if a person does not stay aware of the proximity of the leaves. There are over three hundred recognized varieties of the agave plant. It is one of the varieties that is used to make tequila. That one is harvested at about six to eight years when the plant has become loaded with sap, also known as honey water, in preparation for flowering. It is possible for the sap of some agave plants to cause skin rashes that will last for several weeks. The dried leaves have been used by the Australian aborigine to make the musical instrument the didgeridoo. It is an amazing plant that combines beauty and some danger.

AN AGAVE PLANT IN BENTSEN GROVE WHICH IS ABOUT EIGHT YEARS OLD

Many years ago Bentsen Grove was a commercial citrus orchard. It was converted to a trailer park and then expanded to include a RV resort. When that was done many of the citrus trees and palm trees that were in the orchard were left standing and today make this park a desirable place to live. Most sites have a citrus tree of some sort and some even have several different kinds, like orange, tangerines, grapefruit, lemon or lime. Of course many residents have planted trees and cactus of their own in addition to the original trees. In another site not too far from this agave is one of the largest cactus of its type that I can recall seeing. I guess that I get to thinking that except for the saguaro cactus they do not grow to large size. Of course that is simply just not right thinking. There are many cacti that grow to great size, it is just that I have not been around them. The flowering cacti produce a fruit that is called a “tuna” which carry the seed and provides a lot of nourishment to many animals. The animals in turn carry the seeds away from the original plant and spread them into new territory. I have done some research into the origin of the word tuna and have not been able to find anything that indicates how or why the seed pods are given that name. Until just recently when I heard the word tuna all I thought about was a large fish that lives in the ocean or a small can of meat which is great to make a spread for sandwiches or a stuffing for tomatoes. Since I started to travel and have come into contact with more cacti in Arizona, New Mexico and Texas I have found another use for the word.

TALL CACTUS ON ONE OF THE SITES IN BENTSEN GROVE

Right at the moment I am having a difficult time. It is sort of a proximity problem I was looking at a paper and saw an ad that said how many days were left before Christmas and it is not possible. If it was said that there were that many days left till Independence Day I would not have a problem with that. To say that I am not ready for Christmas time would be a gross under statement. And I am willing to bet that seven days later I will not be ready for 2011. I had a next door neighbor for nearly thirty years that said he did not know how he was able to get things things done before he retired because he was not able to keep up with his duties after retirement. I sure understand what he was talking about. When he told me that in the past I really did not understand except in the slightest way. I will grant that if I did not volunteer for some of the things I do I probably could catch up somewhat, and then I might get bored. It surely must be better to wonder where the weeks and months have gone than to wonder what will help the time to pass. As would be expected I take a lot of pictures wherever I go and I try to label and file them in a timely manner. In other words before I forget where I took the picture and what the reason for taking the picture. But I am about a year behind AND I am still taking more pictures. To catch up will have to be a goal for next year. Speaking of that--

I want to wish all who read this a very Merry Christmas and also send you my best wishes for a very successful and Happy New Year. While I would like to wish you a white Christmas I was just watching a You-tube of automobiles on snow covered streets and I cannot bring myself to wish that on anyone. Therefore I will have to wish you a dry and warm Christmas like I will be enjoying here in south Texas

when I have a Christmas Dinner with 300 to 400 residents of this park.

Till later this is Doug of

Peace On The Road