June 2, 2008
Power went out about 7:30 this morning. Not long after, heard the sirens moaning over the horizon, then getting closer. About ten minutes later, I heard the news chopper hovering overhead. Went outside, saw it apparently shooting footage of something on Spur Cross Road. Refrigerator dead, phone out (hard line), well pump out (no water), TV out, electric radios out. Man, would we be screwed if someone semi-permanently disrupted our national grid.

Kathy came home from the gym at 8:30 and I asked her what was going on out on Spur Cross Road. "Nothing," she said, "just some road construction."

As I drove up Spur Cross on my way into work, I saw the four dump trucks idling along the road, along with a sheriff's car with its lights on, and a Channel 10 News van. Everyone was looking off to the right. I couldn't see what they were eyeing, but I assumed it was some sort of accident where a stray vehicle knocked out a power line. I also wondered how Kathy drove through this entire scene and missed the significance entirely.

As I motored on up to Cave Creek Road, this really began to irritate me.

Last week my therapist said to me, "You are so critical of yourself, I wonder if you are super critical of others?" I tried to deny that I was, but as I made the turn onto Cave Creek Road I ruminated on this latest incident. Why was it such a big deal to me? Having just this morning read a passage from "The Power of Now" about how relationship upsets have more to do with ones ego attachments and, or, past pain, I dutifully watched the watcher (me watching myself getting huffy about a trivial thing) and determined that I was being quite critical of my partner and if I have grown at all in the past month I will not mention it the next time I see her.

Worked over the weekend on combining, or mashing, Remington with Tex Willer:


Then shifted gears and tried some sepia noodles:


I really like these delicate ramblings and want to pursue more of these and see where they take me. I also, did a nocturne study of Mickey Free riding into Los Muertos. Poached from a Frank Tenney Johnson. I'll post that one later this afternoon (left the painting in my home studio).

Julia Flannigan came out for lunch today. I rode up with Carole and Julia to Saba's in Carefree and we got there before Kathy, who arrived about the time our iced teas did.

"So you didn't notice the police car and the news van, eh?" I said as way of a greeting to my partner of almost 29 years.

"Maturity is highly overrated."
—Old Vaquero Saying