Definitely can’t say I was up early...but I was up earlier than Kim. He was taking pictures
of the heavens last night and stayed up ‘til the wee hours of the night. So this morning I snuck out of bed as well as
someone can sneak out off an air mattress, grabbed the computer and headed up
to the clubhouse. We weren’t going to
get on the road early anyway, so I figured he could use the extra sleep.
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I’ve been going up to the clubhouse to
get online…it’s got the best signal. Clubhouse hours are 8 am to 7 pm, so in the
evening I have to sit outside. There’s a
bench strategically located and I get to greet all those heading to the
bathroom. I prefer sitting inside…the
chairs are more comfortable and it has power outlets. However, it’s also contains the TV and there
are several gentlemen who come in and watch FOX News and CNN. Not every time I’m up here but often enough
that I’ve heard more spin in the past week than in the last year. And I think at one time I may have let out an
incredulous snort or two at what I was hearing.
At home, I don’t have cable and I have little patience with the local
news channel that repeats its broadcast in various forms 3 times in the evening. It’s not that I don’t want to be informed,
it’s just that hearing the same stuff over and over is maddening. Today I came prepared…earphones and iTunes are
just the ticket to block out that noise without offending anyone with my noise…as
long as I don’t sing or hum along. 😏
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One man who has been in to watch TV
several times does a good deal of channel flipping. He’ll watch FOX for a bit then flip to
CNN…back and forth, back and forth.
During one of these sessions when the channel happened to be CNN, he
declared to a woman, who wandered in looking for something, that it was getting
so that he just hated Democrats. He
launched into his reasoning, then stopped and said, “I hope you’re not a
Democrat…you’re not a Democrat, are you?”
She had the perfect answer…”No, I’m an Independent. Have been for years. But the way I see it the Republicans aren’t
showing themselves in the best light either.
It’s happening on both sides.” He
was a stranger at that point; it wasn’t long after this exchange that I found
him in our campsite talking to Kim and realized he’s our neighbor in lot
#35….I’m sure he has a name, but I don’t know it…I call him #35. When I came upon them, he was saying
something about a pool, filtration and the necessity of getting something clean
and he had brochures spread out on our picnic table…he sounded like a
salesman. As I walked into the trailer,
from the bit of conversation I heard, I thought he was trying to sell Kim a
pool filtration system and I honestly couldn’t figure out why Kim just didn’t
tell him we don’t have a pool and therefore don’t need a filtration system. Turns out #35 has been doing some
sightseeing, has oodles of brochures and maps of the places he’s been and was
just relating some of the knowledge he’s acquired. Later Kim said that he just needed to talk to
someone. My misunderstanding of the
situation gave me a good laugh.
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 |
| Grapefruit disguised as an orange |
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Rode to Tombstone today. Rapunzel said it was about a 2 hour run and
since we left a little before 11 a.m., we went the direct route…I-10. At least 1 ½ hours going 70-75 mph among the
semis, cars, and RVs. Not my favorite
type of traffic. Turned off at the exit
for Benson and the last 30 miles were a lot more pleasurable. Tombstone has plenty of history but it’s a
typical tourist attraction. We walked the length of the town, appreciated the
talent of the street performers, and then indulged in one of my favorite
touristy things…old time photos! Choose
the right costume to get into character…select the right accessories: cowboy
hats today to hide helmet hair, a rifle, a bottle of whiskey, a bag of money
and feather boa...…add the little monkeys and a little sass…and voila! another
one to put up on the wall.
I am such a sucker for old time
photos…and I’m grateful that Kim is willing to play along with me. He has as good a cowboy look as he does that
bad ass biker look. Some people think
doing this once is enough….not me. Caricatures and old time photos...we do have a stash of them!😎
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| Norm the Nomad and a bad ass motorcycle rider |
Ate lunch at the Horseshoe Café in
Benson. In the parking lot, a man was selling ‘thunder gourds’. Had to walk over to check those out and while
we didn’t buy one, we did talk a bit with the artist. When I asked his name, he said ‘Norm, the
Nomad’. He started out by telling us
about his craft, painted gourds that when shaken really do really sound like
thunder. Risingsunflowerflutes.com
gives a good basic description: A Thunder Gourd is basically a drum made out of a gourd,
with a spring attached to the drumhead. When the spring is shaken, it
creates vibrations that are amplified through the drumhead into the gourd
resembling sounds like a thunder storm; it is impressive! Anyway, he handpaints all the
designs himself and told us his technique.
When I asked if he had one with Kokopelli on it, he said he doesn’t do
Kokopelli for two reasons: 1. He’s too ubiquitous…meaning he’s everywhere and
overdone, and 2. Somewhere along the line, his penis was cut off. Say what??
Yes, he said it used to be a quite prominent feature of the hunched back
flute playing deity of music, fertility and mischief. Can’t say as I’ve ever seen one like he was
describing and I didn’t tell him that I have one of those ubiquitous,
penis-less dudes tattooed on my shoulder.
Anyway, we got to talking bikes and seems he used to or maybe still rides. And when Kim told him about the 6 guys
wanting their picture taken with a bad ass biker, etc., Norm said he doesn’t use that word; he prefers
motorcycle enthusiast or motorcycle rider.
Don’t know why that would be, that’s just what he said. It’s a lot more syllables, that’s for
sure. When we came back to the bikes
after lunch, he came over to talk some more and he gladly posed for a picture
with my bad ass motorcycle rider. Yeah,
that just doesn’t have the same ring…
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| Johnny Bones and the little monkeys |
I don’t know how to describe the street
performer whose eyes lit up and whose smile got bigger when he realized I was I
walking two little monkeys across the street for a picture with him. He was most obliging for which I’m grateful
because Moxie might have pitched a little fit if he had shook his head and
refused. J After I took a
couple of pictures and put a tip in his spittoon, he said something as he
handed the little monkeys back. When I
said “Excuse me, what was that?” he said “Oh, I just said (insert gibberish), and what does that mean? I don’t know….it’s just some nonsense that
comes out sometimes and I don’t always understand it either.” Oddly, I could relate….😏Anyway, this guy’s name is ‘Johnny Bones’ and the
best description I can come up with of his costume is a whacky witch doctor from
the psychedelic era who happens to wear glasses. And my best description of what he does is
shake the bells and bones attached to his body to the rhythm of a song. And while it may seem like anyone can jump
and shake and make noise, I watched for a while and I think what he does takes a bit of
skill. Carry on, Johnny Bones!!
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Okay, on a whim, I googled Johnny
Bones. Whoa! Wasn’t prepared for this juicy little piece on
phoenixnewtimes.com by Matthew Hendley from
March 29, 2012:
There's
a gentleman in Tombstone who goes by the name of Johnny Bones, and he's causing
a ruckus.
Bones was arrested in
February, and the American Civil Liberties Union now says Bones is being
subjected to "malicious, unconstitutional" prosecution.
There's some
real Wild West stuff going on here.
According to a report from
the Tombstone Marshal's Office, Tombstone Councilmen Randall Davis and Jim
Doherty came into the marshal's office asking what they were going to do about
Bones -- who is known to the justice system as Ronald Koch.
The councilmen explained
they've been getting complaints about Bones busking (street performing) for a
few days, and violating some rules, including busking without a permit.
One of the deputies told the councilmen he
looked up some cases, which made him believe the ordinance was unconstitutional.
According to
deputy's report, "[Davis] informed me that it was not up to me to say if
something was unconstitutional or not, but that it was up to the courts."
Even though the deputy said
Bones had been performing in that same spot for the last six years he'd been in
town, believed Bones wasn't disturbing the peace, and thought Davis was feeding
him some "BS" about the circumstances, he went ahead and cited Bones
anyway.
New Times phoned up Davis over at his shooting gallery, and he
explained Bones was causing problems by blocking a thoroughfare for
pedestrians, and would occasionally infringe on someone's private property.
That's when the council got
involved, moving Bones about 100 feet away from that spot -- Davis says it's
prime real estate in front of the O.K. Corral -- and passing the ordinance
requiring a busking permit.
Then Davis and a couple other
city officials found out Bones had gone to the ACLU, after a letter arrived at
city hall claiming Bones' First Amendment rights were being violated.
"This
brings a modern meaning to the O.K. Corral mentality when council members write
a law directed at Johnny Bones' constitutionally protected activities and use
this law to order Johnny's arrest despite the objections of law
enforcement," ACLU of Arizona Legal Director Dan Pochoda says in a
statement. "These overzealous politicians demonstrate a lack of concern
for First Amendment protections and for the tab to Tombstone taxpayers
resulting from litigation needed to insure these fundamental rights."
The ACLU's
argument doesn't seem to sit too well with Davis, as he's not exactly Bones'
biggest fan.
"He's a convicted
felon -- murderer," Davis tells New Times. "He says he's
been performing in Tombstone for five years -- two of those five years he was
performing in prison. He won't conform to anything that's normal society."
Even though the ACLU
defended Bones' actual performance, saying it "provides a window into
Tombstone's past; tourists listen to Johnny play the bones, have their photos
taken with him, and learn a bit about Tombstone's rich history," Davis
still isn't a fan.
"I don't like
it," Davis says. "But I have to admit, to the tourists and the kids,
I guess it's enjoyable."
On the subject of the
ordinance, Davis says he thinks the city's OK with designating him to a certain
area, but he concedes they may have to do away with charging Bones and others
with permit fees.
Bones has until April 19 to
respond to the charges, so we'll have to wait to see how the drama plays out.
I’d
have to say that Johnny Bones must have responded and it all worked out because
he was performing on the streets of Tombstone as of yesterday. Oh, and he has a Facebook page, too. 😊
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Rode about 240 miles today….and it was
a good day for a ride and full of moments that make for great memories!
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