I am writing this from the Blue Moon Saloon in Coos Bay\u2014classic OTA. Leroy just walked in. He’s wearing black pleated slacks and a blue dress shirt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I have lived in Coos Bay for three days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some observations and impressions:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I can walk to two OTA joints.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I can walk Elmer down a bay beach every morning if the tide is right. This morning, I built a bay driftwood fort. Elmer attacked me and the driftwood as I built.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I live 15 minutes away from an ocean beach and we hit the sand at 6:30 this morning. One man there. We waved and nodded. He gets it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I have been astonished at how supernaturally unhealthy a vast majority of the (white) locals are: obese, double obese, invalids, canes, motorized scooters, walkers, limps, waddling. I’ve never seen anything like it\u2014a total and irreversible collapse of personal health and a perfect symbol for the American empire: bloated, wrecked and dying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I lost two bucks in the Indian casino a half mile from my house. It was bracing to see everyone smoking cigarettes while playing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Homeless are everywhere, particularly in the Empire district where I live. Many are in their 70s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I met my neighbors and like them. We’ll work together to build a team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I am refitting my creative mind here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
My back yard is a jungle and I look forward to taming it with manual labor. The old caretaker-of-the-wildlife-refuge persona is roaring back. I still have it 30 years later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I know no one in town.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I am still managing my dad’s estate but that will end in a few months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I found a record store! I bought four 70s soul compilations for $20!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I’m listening to the local oldies section with real octogenarian DJs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I may look for a part time job this fall. I want to meet more locals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Once I get mu furniture down from Portland I can entertain guests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I’ll have to return to Portland every now and then but I never want to return to Portland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I think of Dad often. He would have loved where I landed. True Oregon grit where I live..beautiful vistas, free socialist beaches, juxtaposed with the smashing, depressing reality of the bankruptcy of contemporary American life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Another iteration of my long and unique coastal life has begun.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I am writing this from the Blue Moon Saloon in Coos Bay\u2014classic OTA. Leroy just walked in. He’s wearing black pleated slacks and a blue dress shirt. I have lived in Coos Bay for three days. Some observations and impressions: I can walk to two OTA joints. I can walk Elmer down a bay beach […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9396,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1264,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9395","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-coos-bay","category-meditations","has-post-title","has-post-date","has-post-category","has-post-tag","has-post-comment","has-post-author",""],"builder_content":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nestuccaspitpress.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9395","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nestuccaspitpress.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nestuccaspitpress.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nestuccaspitpress.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nestuccaspitpress.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9395"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.nestuccaspitpress.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9395\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9398,"href":"https:\/\/www.nestuccaspitpress.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9395\/revisions\/9398"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nestuccaspitpress.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9396"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nestuccaspitpress.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9395"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nestuccaspitpress.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9395"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nestuccaspitpress.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9395"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}