Hot City Diary: Day 76

I'm talking to a co-worker about how the Mrs. got up and went back to Italy because it was just too hot, and how I've turned off my air conditioner for an experiment to see what happens when you try to live out here without A/C.  First she tells me that I'm crazy, then she tells me of someplace that's close and a nice way to beat the heat.  There are tall and wide mountains nearby.  She tells me that she's been and it's a dreamy delight up there in the mountains.  All kinds of trees, cool breezes and fresh air and it smells like heaven.  I don't believe her.  How can that be?  We're stuck here in the middle of the desert and she nay nays me and and says "It's true!"  It's only a 2 hour car trip BUT if you know the secret way via the back of the mountain then it's just 45 minutes.  You turn up Old Woman Springs Road which is located off 29 Palms Highway right over there in Joshua Tree by the SaveMart.  Big Bear and Lake Arrowhead are both accessible which are both fun mountain villages.  Big Bear is larger with a larger lake and more populist.  Arrowhead is elitist and has a small man made lake.  There are a lot of Jesus freaks up there on the mountain, though, in both towns.

    A secret road that leads you to a nice cool place.  My co-worker laughs and laughs and can't believe that I've never been there.  It has a glorious lake and a fun little downtown where you can walk around.

   I close my eyes and try to imagine a different place.  Someplace other than this god damn desert.  Someplace where it doesn't sting when you go outside into the  sun.  Someplace where the plants and trees aren't wilting.

   She prints me out a map and put's some skull and crossbones in a corner and a compass in another.  It's my secret map to the mountains.  If for some reason, I need it.

I think I need it.

Hot City Diary: Day 1 Million

How long have I been laying here? 

Sweating.

Going in and out of consciousness.

It seems like forever.

The Wall

We've hit it.

Hot City Diary: Day 75

Karaoke night at the hotel bar.  All the usual suspects are here.

That's when Diamond comes in.  She's dressed to kill and showing off her body tattoo.  She's here to see her friend the lesbian bartender.  She's lesbian, too.  The security guards go bananas all night.

Hot City Diaries: Day 97

The official word in the pass-down is that a non guest was bleeding on property and appeared to be on drugs.  Police and an Ambulance were called and non guest left without incident.

But the heart of the matter was that Micah had been robbing houses in the trailer park behind the supermarket down the street and the owner came home early and surprised him and he ran out and climbed a barbed wire fence to get away.

His hands are bleeding badly.  He can't get them to stop.  They've been wrapped up in his shirt, but now that's a bloody mess and his hands still continue to bleed.

It happened a couple hours before I got there but the hotel was still abuzz with the news when I arrive at 11pm.  My new trainee arrives in work clothes that look painted on.  A wink and a smile and then she slips into the back office.  One of the day employees' pulls me aside and says that Micah has come in earlier when things were rather busy and nobody was paying him much attention.  He's bleeding all over the floor at that point and a couple guests notice and tell her.  She radio's housekeeping and calls the cops.

Micah wanders over to the pool to see what's happening, since things are too busy at the desk.  He's going to ask people at the pool if they've got any meth.  Looks like as good as place as any to make a score.  He's pressing his hands into his stomach and losing consciousness with all the blood.  He can't open the gate so he wanders back to the front desk and this time he looks white and the employee tells me she gave him some water, which his bloody glass lay in the trash can, and then he walked outside where the medics and the police meet him and treat him like a bio-hazard.

Michael the meth magician aka Micah is going to be alright.  Hopefully he'll get sober in the hospital and stay sober for a while.

hot city diary: day 122

I'm out in the woods with Alaska Sam and it's unseasonably hot.

My dog is floating next to me in her ski outfit.  I must be dreaming.

There's a rustling in the bushes and then a bear comes out of nowhere.  Tree branch smashing and kicking up undergrowth, this bear is mad.

My dog and Alaskan Sam disappear and it's just me and Grizzly.

I wake up to me sitting up in my bed punching the headboard,  I've busted a knuckle and it's terribly painful.

I crawl into the kitchen and take some aspirin and stick my fist into the ice chest.  Ouch.  I'm a bandaged mess.  The ice is the only thing making it better.  Stop the swelling.  If only I could stop the swelling in my head.  I stick my head in the cooler and things are better, for now

hot city diary: day 19

Floating.

Diving.

Moving effortlessly in the water.

Hot City Diaries: Day 14

The main drag is full of trucks.  All kinds of action is going on at the town store across the street.  A steady flow of patrons going in and out, getting in and out of their trucks.  Whole families stored up in the trucks, some of the trucks will just pull up the sidewalk and let out a little one to go pick up some goodies.

It's not that hot over here.

We make our way into Carlee's to get some grub.  It's a fun divey restaurant with a bar that wraps around the entire inside.  It's cheerful and friendly and the waitress apologizes for forgetting to bring extra plates and then runs off again.  She's great.  It's nice and cool inside and the ol' folks from around town are mingling and doing their thing and somebody thinks I'm the double for a friend that lives in Vermont.  I ask how my doppelganger is doing and she gives me a quick breakdown where he's had problems with his relationship but things are great now that he has a job and can pay alimony.

I agree to take a picture so she can send to Bob (Robert, if you don't now me) Something.

The band starts to sing.

"Baby, I'll never forget our time in Borrego,
Where did it go?

Baby, You want to run away to Borrego,
What do I know?

Babe, Why can't we be together in Borrego,
Where do I go?

Baby, Let's sail away to Borrego,
Come on, let's go."

It's nice music.  The food comes and it's a huge portion and the drinks are gigantic.  We share.  It's Borrego.

Hot City Diary: Day 13

"Let's Go, Go, Go to Borrego!" is the chant we cant stop yelling on the way to Borrego.

Hot City Diary: Day 12

My pool is unreal.  It's deep enough to put in a diving board, but if you launch off it too hard to the left then you might land in the jacuzzi, so maybe the diving board is a bad idea.

What a beautiful day.

The sun is out.  Clear blue skies from here to eternity.  The mountains rise up all around the house and the small local community that's tucked away up near the base in a cove.  Each house has a front yard that is a work of art with water friendly plants and rocks and stuff.  Palm trees lick the sky.

My beautiful Italian wife is being funny on the large inflatable swan that she bought.  Shelly laughs and almost falls off her perch on the swan.  She wants her magazines and a beer.

The dog is running and playing in the grass.

I walk out front to get the mail and the neighborhood is sweet.  I meet some of my neighbors and they tell me they paid too much for their house and ask me to put the TV, that Dan left, back in the sideyard.  I apologize for leaving it out on the curb since I moved in.

"I thought the city was coming for it." I say

"Look, we might not be upper cove, but we certainly aren't lower cove, so if you could just keep it upper cove-ish, that'll be great." He says.

"Sure thing."  I say.