Lingering

“Look at me. I am old, but I’m happy.” 

                                                                                    ~Cat Stevens                                                                                                   

I had intended to move to Mount Laguna on Sunday, but it snowed there, was freezing at night for the foreseeable future, and Holtville Hot Springs was mid-seventies during the day, and mostly the low was 50 at night.  The choice was obvious.  So I decided to drive to El Centro (20 minutes west) on Monday and find a welder or body shop or metal fabricator to take a look at my van’s rusty undercarriage. It had holes in part of the frame and although I knew that couldn’t be good, I was unsure whether it was going to be an annoyance or a life-threatening issue. I sent photos to my mechanic in Long Beach and he suggested it was dangerous to drive, said he didn’t do that type of work, and said perhaps it was time to find a new van. 

I was devastated. Imagine being at your most contented in your home and having someone tell you “It may be time to move.” After talking to many people who knew way more than I about automotive stuff, I went to several body shops and welders. One body shop said I would need to replace the entire frame. I knew that was bullshit, and when he said it would be $5,000 and take “a month or so” IF they could find the part in a junkyard, I thanked him for his time and went to a metal fabricator who told me they didn’t work on vehicles.  He suggested a place down the street and there I found Marco who crawled under and poked around. He said he could fabricate steel parts and weld them on and it would be as strong as new. He told me to bring it in first thing the next morning and I did. It took him roughly 6 hours as he painstakingly measured, cut a cardboard template, measured some more, held the cardboard up to the rusted part and kept making adjustments. He went inside his building, and I could hear the sounds of grinding metal and about a half hour later he came back with puzzle pieces cut out of steel. He took the front tires off my van and crawled under and called me over to show me the placement of the parts and explained how he would weld it. It sounded complicated to me, but he set to work, welding, hammering and welding some more.

By mid-afternoon I was on my way back to the hot springs, singing along to my favorite i-Tunes playlist at the top of my lungs, all worries having dissipated for the time being.

I knew the rust issues were causing me anxiety, but I didn’t know just how much until they were resolved. The weight of the world seemed lifted from my shoulders, and I went back to the hot springs, and settled in for a while longer. The weather forecast was for mostly upper 70’s for many days to come, and with my planned next stop being in the mountains where the forecast shows freezing nights for the the next 10 days, it seems silly to leave paradise for snow.

My spot at the hot springs is nothing special.  It is dirt and lots of scrub brush. I miss the beautiful Saguaro forest, but where I am currently is just a short walk across the road to deep, hot soaking tubs. I go every morning and every late afternoon.  I’ve gotten to know many people that I like. There are, of course, the rednecks from the northern states, and far too often one feels the need to say something disparaging about Biden or to go off on a rant about Saint Donald, but I’ve learned to go at times to avoid the worst of it, or to at least congregate at a different end of the pool with more like-minded or neutral folk. It is such an easy existence.

Lessons From The Road: My diet has changed a lot since I moved here. Part of it is the hotter weather, but I’m convinced that some of it is soaking in mineral water so much. I know it is very dehydrating. I’m thirsty a lot and instead of craving a diet soda, I find myself wanting water with lemon or lime, or my new favorite—a tall glass of V-8 with lots and lots of ice. I’m easily drinking a gallon of water every day. Since there is not much to do here, I find myself wanting to get creative with food.  I’m putting my new mini-Ice Cream Maker to good use, making a pint of fresh ice cream nearly every other day.  I made mint chocolate chip, fresh strawberry, and peach ice cream from little cups of peaches in their own juice.  I made vanilla one day with Heath Bar Crunch chips I found in the baking section the last time I went grocery shopping. After a long soak in a steamy pool, it is absolute bliss to return to the van and have some homemade ice cream at night.

My meals have been much fresher and healthier too. I have two new favorite dishes:  Greek Salad with fresh tomato, cucumber, red onion, orange or yellow bell pepper, kalamata olives and Feta Cheese. I use the juice from the olives as a dressing and if I let it sit for an hour or so in the fridge, it is delicious. My other favorite is Waldorf salad.  I cut up a granny smith apple, celery, raisins, and walnuts and just a tiny dallop of mayonnaise. It tastes crunchy, and healthy and pretty refreshing on a warm day.  I’ve also started to realize that food is that healthy stuff that grows out of the ground. Sometimes no recipe or preparation is necessary. An apple is a suitable lunch. So are a few stalks of celery and cashew butter. I’ve been trying to change my diet for the better almost all winter with little success.  Now, for whatever reason, what I’m craving is pretty much healthy and delicious.  I can live with that.