Saturday Ramble: the Week

We had rain this week, thank the Lord! Lubbock was drying up and desperately needed the moisture, but it came with high winds and even a few tornadoes in the area. Lots of damage. Many people will be cutting and hauling branches, repairing fences, and figuring out how to fix things or who to call. But the rain was sure nice.

 Yesterday I saw a Model 3 and a Chevy Volt, but...

...the most exciting green car I saw was...

...an older Prius with a DIY solar panel setup. Intriguing. Was it charging the traction pack? The 12 volt accessory battery? Something else? DIY green ingenuity always gets the juices flowing.

No progress on the Huffy klunker this week, but lots of dreaming.

The most exciting cargo bike news this week was the arrival (in my awareness) of the new Mongoose Envoy cargo bike. It comes in at half the price (or less) of a base model Yuba Mundo. Is this the birth of the accessible cargo bike for the masses or just a serious threat to the small manufacturers who've been carrying the torch so long?

In regional news, I was very excited to see an Electrek post about our neighbors to the west:

You go, New Mexico! (Click here for article) Woohoo!

Here in Lubbock, the steadily increasing stream of pedestrian and bullet-based deaths continues. More painful statistics and meaningless death.

At our house, on the other hand, our household grew by one and we are thrilled!

May you be blessed and encouraged, and may we find better paths!

Back on Texas Time (New Mexico photos)

Work had me in Albuquerque, Santa Fe, and Taos (New Mexico) this week. I thought I'd share a few pics:

Albuquerque

Organic Transit Elf!

Tours!

Sandia Peak (ABQ)

 

 

Santa Fe

I love grackle art!

Taos

The Rio Grande Gorge

 

Earthships

You know me and old trucks

and microbuses

and stickers

May your journeys bring you mirth, beauty, and a lot more green!

Cisco, Texas on I-20

Chuck it All - Run off to New Mexico and Live Green

A few months ago, I turned 45. I won't bore you with details, but my spirit and my brain had a throwdown that day, and I came to understand the whole mid-life crisis thing all too well.

I wear slacks to work and stare at a computer roughly eight hours every day. Most days I come home, do a (very) little housework, and then plant myself in front of the TV. And my hands itch to create, to build, to repair, to experience something more vibrant than a remote control, a keyboard, a mouse, and a coffee cup.

As far as midlife crises go, I guess it was pretty mild. I already have a young, beautiful, and loving wife. I don't fit comfortably in little red sports cars, and I do not want another gas burner anyway. One of the many little voices that day screamed for me to go get a cheap motorcycle and fly away as fast as it would carry me, but the practical voices kicked in and said things about burning gas, comfortable places to sleep, where I would carry the incorrigible greyhound, and how deeply I would miss my wife.

My faith, my wife, and my friends helped me through that patch. Thank you God and all others!

So, for those of you whose hands and spirits similarly itch to chuck it all and run away, I offer a pair of books that were written by people who did just that with a very eco-friendly slant. And strangely enough, both books were written by New Yorkers who chucked it all and moved to our neighbor to the west, New Mexico.

The first one, and definitely the funnier of the two, is Farewell My Subaru by Doug Fine. And if you are a Lubbockite and want to be really green about it, the copy I read is on the shelf over at the Mahan library. Start pedaling!

Farewell My Subaru

 

The second book, The Good Life Lab, is much more practical and inspirational, but not nearly as funny. Beware, both both books are likely to encourage your actions and your desires to be at odds with one another.

The Good Life Lab

 

May your hands, your brain, and your spirit find a path where they are all happy. And thank you for taking the time to read this blog.