Cadillacs and Fallow Deer

So on Wednesday I went to visit my brother over in Bend, OR. And Thursday morning his wife poured my coffee in this mug. Boy howdy, it is hard to get away from Tisha. Don't mess with Texas, indeed...

Anyway, it was a grand trip. First, I went to see my sister-in-law, Wendy, at her shop, Trivia Antiques. It is maybe 20x40 feet, and has 50x100 feet of goods in it. My brother, who is not married to Wendy but to Ann, then took me around to see five or six of the houses we used to live in (all are worthy of being torn down). Then I went for dinner to Ariana's, where I had rack of superbo lamb. With no mint jelly, thank you.

A highlight of the day was the discovery that a three-block-long street has been named Mervin Sampels Road, after my uncle. But it should have been named after me, for I lived there after he did. I never got the well dug, though.

My brother (Richard/Dick) also showed me around his neighborhood. (This is the view from his porch. If you click on the picture, you can see, in the center, Mt. Bachelor, which is over 9,000 feet high. To the right [unshown] are three mountains -- the Three Sisters -- all of whom top 10,000 feet. Spectaulum.) One of his neighbors raises fallow deer, which he claims are very low in fat. I would have a hard time terminating one of the flock -- they all look like Bambi.

Another neighbor stores stuff, mostly old Cadillacs. He has 37 Cadillacs in about all ages, in one condition: broken beyond repair. He also has a whole boxcar from a railroad and a barn that had to be built twice, for the first time it was on the county right-of-way. Nobody (except maybe him, and there is some doubt about that) knows why he has all this stuff.

Prices for housing have gotten outrageous in Bend -- some new condos are going up that will cost $700,000 to $1.2 million per each. Dick once asked a realtor what he could get for his own place, which is a house with 3 bedrooms, an office, large kitchen and living room, a spa, and a formal dining area, sitting on 10 acres of irrigated pasture, with a gorgeous view. The response: "Anything you want."

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My favorite word today is failure. N., dope; I told you that wouldn't work. Def.: The path of least persistence.