Waiting in Line Smith's Grocery, Albuquerque, New Mexico

Apr 20, 2020

    It is not quite seven in the morning, and at seven the Smith’s grocery opens up for senior citizens, those over 60. We, in this line, aren’t asked for our ID’s and grey hair seems to be good enough to get us in into the store at seven. A store employee tells us that carts have been wiped down and sterilized, and the most customers they can let in the store, at one time, is 150 . Some people in line now wear masks, some check their cell phones, some talk, most shiver as the sun is barely coming up. Waiting in line is something we all do, but waiting at the grocery at seven in the morning, standing six feet apart, wearing masks, watching the economy melt down, is a new experience. We read about riots across the world as people fight against government instituted shutdowns of jobs, livelihoods, businesses. We hear about long lines to buy food, rationing, and lack of food to buy on the shelves, something you can already see inside this store. It will seemingly get more ugly, but, this morning, everyone is patient. Ordinary people will go along with the party line, for a while. When they are pushed too far,however, see their freedoms taken, see their country, as they knew it, stolen before their eyes, then ordinary people won’t be so nice. When the herd stampedes, fences are broken down, people get killed, and you best stand out of the way. Often, cures kill you quicker than the disease. 

Pat’s Deer April Snow, Colorado Springs, Colorado

Apr 19, 2020

 
  Pat works from home with his computer, a big part of Scotttreks, behind the scenes, supporting Scott. Outside his office window, on a snowy day, his wife takes photos of deer in the front yard of their home on the west side of Colorado Springs, in the mountains. With snow falling, and trees laden with white, this deer family is scavenging. The snow has covered most of their food supply and is starting to give them white fur, sticking in patches on their noses and necks, making them look like old men and women. These deer have visited before and take treats from people. We know people shouldn’t feed deer,or any wild animal, but they are gorgeous, and the weather today is so inhospitable. Deer are such large animals it is hard to see how they find enough food to support themselves when it is buried under snow drifts.  Alan has his deer in Texas, Charlie and Sharon have their deer in Albuquerque. Pat and Amber have their deer in Colorado Springs. Scott sees his deer, occasionally, in the Albuquerque foothills, Open Space, and the adjoining Cibola National Forest. For these deer, this day is just business as usual. We are graced by their presence, It is good for me to know that there are living things on the planet that live by nature’s rules, not human rules. When you are built for snow, it isn’t the tragedy, I think it might be.

Chicken Pot Pie Gourmet TV Dinner

Apr 18, 2020

   
    Food is always popular, with people; talking about it, selling it, growing and raising it, trading recipes, criticizing it’s taste and preparation, perfecting its creation, enjoying it with a fancy wine or domestic beer. With lots of restaurants and eating establishments closed in our community, those of us who don’t have cooking interests, or skills, fend for ourselves. In honor of our current American lock down, due to a mysterious virus from the East, tonight’s meal is a chicken pot pie, prepared and sold by Marie Callender, in a local Smith’s grocery, for $2.79 plus tax. Slipping it into the microwave for ten minutes, with two minutes to cool down, it makes a dinner, not too much to give me nightmares, but enough to make me feel full and sleep when I turn in. ” Why do you have to write about a chicken pot pie, ” some might laugh? I can only say that Scotttreks writes out of the moment, and this moment belongs to Marie’s pot pie. This pie has a crust many bakers would kill for, is chock full of meat and veggies, and is so much cheaper and better than I could cook on my own if I had too buy all the ingredients. We had these when we were growing up, but they were cooked by our mother, who was a master chef without the title. Taking a few photos of the pie, and looking at it, as I eat, convinces me, that, even after this lock down becomes history, my eating habits have changed, forever. Eating light, and eating at home, is a money saver. Because I live in a city, far away from where people raise and grow food, I get a little jumpy in times like these. What do us city folks do when we can’t buy a pot pie, or chicken, or pasta, or fruit, in our stores? When that happens, revolution is just around our corner. All this national drama, twisting around me like a tornado, makes this pot pie, this evening, much more important than it should be. Food gets more important as it becomes harder to get.  

In the Clubhouse Official PGA Birdhouse

Apr 15, 2020

   
    Golf is the kind of sport that doesn’t appeal to everyone.  First, the idea of hitting a little round ball, on a tee, with a stick, seems silly. I mean, the ball just sits there. It isn’t coming at you like a football pass, or a baseball pitch. The only times you touch the ball are when you tee it up for a drive, mark your ball on the green so someone else won’t hit your ball when they putt, or pull it out of the cup on the green, after you putt out. Second, there are all kinds of rules, depending on who you are playing with. Don’t tee the ball up in the rough. Don’t improve your lie. Your club can’t touch the ground in the traps. If you hit out of bounds, or in the water, there are penalty shots.  Rake the trap when you are done with your shot. Don’t talk when someone else is swinging. Don’t hit into the group ahead of you, even if they are old and crippled and disastrously slow. Don’t throw sunflower seeds on the green. The list of rules is extensive. Third, the equipment is sometimes expensive. Wood shafted clubs are not used any more and there is a lot of technology in designing clubs that make it easier for non professionals to ht the ball straighter and further without having to go to the range and work on their game. Fourth, you have to look like a golfer to play like a golfer, with a pair of golf shoes, a golf cap, glove, a clean pair of shorts or slacks, and a nice cotton or cotton polyester shirt that gives you free movement of your upper body. Fifth, golf is played in all kinds of weather, and wind is a weather condition that sends most golfer birds into the clubhouse. Sixth, golf is a social sport and is usually played in groups of four, with lots of time to socialize between shots. In point of fact, getting out of the house and joking with the boys saves more marriages and relationships than it destroys. This Official PGA Birdhouse is another Charlie creation, and I can see it hanging in a tree just by the eighth tee, swinging gently in a pine tree with the occupant watching us chili dip an iron on this par three into the front bunker. There are enough downsides to golf, that I can see why more people don’t take up the sport, or stick with it. This, us addicted golfers, always say, is great. There is nothing worse than not being able to get a starting time.  

Blues in A Major Practice Session, April 13, 2020

Apr 13, 2020

 
    You wouldn’t think playing a simple blues would be hard. You have an instrument, a backing track, some music lessons behind you, and no one in an audience is cracking up, holding  a conversation, or talking on their cell phone. The musicians on the backing track are pros, some of the best. This is a simple Blues in A major , and, working on roots is the theme of this practice session. What comes out, is, most of the time, a revelation. Repeating it would be difficult, and probably not necessary with an improvisational art form. Playing four minutes of music and making it sound smooth, inventive, interesting, takes all my attention, and relaxation. When I’m playing, I’m not thinking about anything else. Why would I want to?

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