Westwords

 Those of you who know me personally (aka everyone reading this) probably know I have been struggling with mental illness for the last 18 months or so. If we are being real, though, it has been a lifelong struggle that reached a breaking point in May of 2024 and total meltdown in July 2025. 

Several of my healthcare providers have suggested journaling, which - ironically - I was doing a lot more of in twenty years ago than I am now. Why not hike back into Pooks Canyon? I can overshare in deep, text-rich, posts in a way not seen since Facebook ate everyone's blog.

So, what has happened in the Canyon since I last updated? Leah is an agro-tech data whiz bringing the sweetest berries to a produce section near you, Jon and I are traveling about, successfully avoiding sleeping in arachnid-infested outhouses, and Axel is a part-time farmer of cannabis in Nevada County, staying with Grandma Baker. If Jon and I take up gardening, the whole family will be engaged in the plant industry. That said, we have not yet reached our gardening phase. It is hard to see a seed to fruition when one is nomading about.

We have spent the last three months in Florida. Jon, specifically, in New Smyrna Beach working on his surf pop-ups and disc golf drives. Me, also in Florida, working on corralling my mind back into a productive member of capitalist society (not going super great but will keep trying). A couple mental health facilities and then I was cut loose to New Smyrna into Jon's care. Thankfully he is the opposite of Nurse Ratchet.

Next up, CHRISTMAS!!!! My mostest favoritest time of the year. Since Jon was signed up for multiple Florida frisbee throwing competitions, I volunteered to drive our minivan, Clementine, across the entire country all by myself. Jon will fly from Fort Lauderdale to Sacramento and I'll pick him up in 11 days time.

Buckle up for a cross-country voyage, peppered with TMI, sentence fragments, made-up words, inadvisable doxables, and typos, all freshly ground out by my spicy brain.

Jon and I walked out to watch the sunrise on the Eastern seaboard for my last morning in Florida.

"It's a beaut, Clark. It's a beaut."

By the power of 150 cubic feet of storage, compliments of Chrysler, I've got two surfboards and and innumerable other crap stuffed into this rig and I can still see out the windows and use all the mirrors.

Mobile, Alabama was my first stop for the night. My Grandma was born in Birmingham but this was my first time in the state.

Mobile in the fog, after having a beer at Veet's and listening to Ryan Balthrop belt out some of his "Slide Bayou."

I am excited to be now entering the land of the Native American, Caribbean Islander, French Canadian, African American, Catholic Saint Mardi Gras Creole Cajun mashup. I'm a newbie here so I hope I didn't leave anyone out or get it totally wrong.

Myself and Queen of Carnival. Let's get this party started. Next up, Mamou, Lauis