October 19, 2003
The engine light on my pickup turned out to be a cracked gas tank line. The replacement part is $450! I told Tobias I would live with it for the time being and they warned me it won’t pass inspection with it broken. Sighed. Paid the bill ($119 for oil change and the above exploratory work).

Went up to Paul’s Barbershop yesterday at 10:30 for a long overdue haircut. Bev, my neighbor, cut my hair and caught me up on all the street gossip. We’ve got a new sign up on our road that says the byway is for members only and this prompted one of our grizzled old Zonie residents to say, “If they try to stop me from driving on that road, I’ll shoot ‘em.” Welcome to Arizona.

We also commiserated about the plague of coyotes and raccoons. Evidently the Forest Service is stocking the creek with raccoons and they are bigtime cat killers. I got kind of angry thinking that our Big Tom cat may have been offed by some Forest Service sponsored goons. Bev trimmed my mustache, etc. ($18 cash includes tip).

Went into town with Kathy. Got groceries at Costco (big box membership discount megastore where you buy regular products like summer sausage and Gouda cheese, except here the block of cheese and the duffel bag sized sausage takes up the entire bottom of your shopping cart. You know, one of those places.). From there we went over to the Franklin Daytimer store and I bought new filler pages, a paper punch and other goodies ($145 biz account). Then to lunch at Chompies. Had the New Yorker, pastrami on rye, Kath had a salad ($22 cash).

On the drive back out to Cave Creek, I had a conversation with Kathy about what book to do next. She absolutely hates my honkytonk drummer, a la 1977 story. Hates the title (sexist and demeaning), hates the story (honkytonk sex). She voted for my Geronimo book which is written and needs artwork and layout. I was irritated by this, but then, I asked her for her opinion.

Came home and worked in studio, organizing and finding stuff. Started to input new phone book pages in daytimer. Only made it through the Cs. Want to finish today.

”Personally, I think if a woman hasn't met the right man by the time she's 24, she may be lucky.”
—Deborah Kerr ,Scottish actress