Coffee Shop Ruminations

I am sitting in a sleek coffee shop where they donate some of their profits to shelter dogs.

I keep thinking about the recent searing images of the plight of the homeless. An older man on crutches with his chihuahua. A young man asleep on a bench at a bus stop in 30 degree weather. His only possessions, a backpack and a conga drum. A derelict boat moored in the fog with a pirate flag at half mast. Why half mast?

I am reading a manuscript. It has a reference to George Wallace, and I remembered that late in his political career, he renounced segregation, at least publicly. Such a renouncing of former barbaric views on race is unthinkable with Wallace’s political descendants, more than a few currently members of Congress. In fact, I’m a bit surprised that certain members of the Republican Party running for local, state and federal elections aren’t calling for the repeal of Brown vs the Board of Education. The Supreme Court already overturned the Voting Rights Act. Roe vs Wade is next. Let’s reinstate Plessy Vs Ferguson and make America Great Again!

It’s practically deserted in here, which is probably a good thing during a pandemic. Maybe I shouldn’t even be here.

Earlier I took my usual morning walk through the homeless encampment. I saw a new RV and it was weirdly customized. Someone had chopped off part of the back and built a sort of deck where someone could sit and watch traffic if the rig was on the move. Odd.

I keep thinking about my eventual return to RV life, if indeed I choose that life again. Last time, I sort of accidentally fell into it, and it turned out to be one of the best accidents of my life.

If I do go back to RV life, I think I’ll have one that actually moves! What would it be like touring around the PNW in a rig and writing a novel called The Watershed, a book I’ve had in mind for almost a decade? I could stay in the all locales that make up the settings for the novel. What kind of life would that be? I do know from precious experience it is difficult for me to write when I’m on the move and traveling. Indeed, I’ve never written anything that way except letters and journals.

What rig would I buy? I have a model in mind, but now is not the time. Or is it? And if I do return to RV living, I’ll need a rig dog. I will name him Lt. Tragg.