Holding Pattern Of Circumstance

The backpack is getting dusty and it’s been far too long since my last post so I figured I just better put something up. I am now down in Texas and have been for about 3 weeks or so, however, I will be heading back up to Colorado soon.

Under more normal circumstances you would have found me traveling this winter and posting regularly but until my mother finishes chemo I would not feel good about wandering off too far. It has not been easy for her. As long as she survives chemo I think she will be all right for a while. If all goes well I hope to do something interesting this summer and feel like late summer/fall is a real possibility for travel.

I continue to feel caught in-between chapters of the great book of life as I steadily maintain an even attitude in a holding pattern of circumstance. In general life feels a bit flat right now but I spice it up by running around digging up old stuff to buy and sell. As usual I pick up vintage vinyl records, old advertising, an interesting violin etc.,. It’s a game of hit and miss with good 'ol dumb luck coming through in the end. Somehow I make a deposit, pay a bill, and save a little. At the beginning of the day it’s really kind of a mystery how it all works out in the end. Somehow I manage to pull it off.

It’s been nice catching up with familiar faces in Houston. I haven’t been too motivated to run buy I make it out for a 12 mile run with the club every Sunday. I usually run with an Irishman by the name of Joe and we move along pretty good. Afterwards it’s generally coffee with a good sized group which is kind of nice.

It’s important to find some kind of social balance in life. For me it’s the running club and a community of pickers like myself looking for old stuff, antiques, etc. The running club is mostly comprised of professionals with steady jobs and a regular routine. The picking crowd is a colorful mixed bag caught up in the hunt for the next big hit. Usually it’s kind of like wholesale retail but every once and awhile you make an exciting find. That’s what keeps everyone going. In Houston the regular pickers comprise a relatively small group. I really don’t mind standing in line for an hour waiting for a sale to open because the whole time I’m talking and joking with people I know. When the door opens its all business as everyone first searches out their specialty or expertise before running through a property multiple times and darting off to the next sale. Wednesday through Saturday tend to be the best days. Some pickers are strictly collectors while most are like me and buy, sell, collect, and trade.

As usual one my favorite areas in the realm of old stuff are private label records of bands no one has ever heard of. Recently I picked up the 45 shown below. It now sits in the hands of a collector in Connecticut. It’s a rare Texas Garage Psych 45. Box Car by The Glass Kans. Enjoy!