ROAD TRIP

 I don't know that you could really call it a road trip.

It was more like an afternoon drive.

Which brought to mind golf terms and it would be a short putt compared to a tee-off drive.

At any rate, it was refreshing to get out of the house for an hour or two and see some scenery.

If you click on that photo and enlarge it, you may be able to see the San Francisco Peaks up around Flagstaff in the distance between those two trees on the left.

Or you may not.

We could see them pretty clearly with the naked eye but my "smart" phone camera doesn't really do a good job on long distance.

This was taken from the Thumb Butte area just west of Prescott.

Thumb Butte is the iconic rock formation that is sort of a logo for Prescott.

It doesn't look much like a thumb from this vantage point but from other areas it does.

You'll just have to take my word for it.

This is very near the trailhead for the Thumb Butte Trail.

There are a plethora of trails winding through the forest up here and we saw lots of hikers wending their way through the trees and in some cases over patches of snow.

And many of them were in shirt sleeves on this sunny day when the temperature had topped 60 back where I live but must have been in the 50's up here.

In my advanced and Arizona-softened years, that's a mite bit chilly for bare arms for me.

We wound up our outing with a visit to Dairy Queen for Heath Bar Blizzards.

Judy said it sounded like our grandparents back in the day - a Sunday (though this was Monday) drive followed by a stop for some ice cream.

Oh well, we are grandparents now and in fact, great-grandparents.

I used to hate those Sunday drives when I was a kid.

But times change.

KRIS

 I've been lucky.

My health has been relatively good through the years with occasional minor bumps in the road.

I'm still ambulatory as I approach my 81st trip around the sun in a couple of months.

I don't really mind getting old.

Oh I do occasionally think, "ah, to be 30 again!"

But those thoughts are fleeting.

What I DO resent about aging is seeing my heroes getting older and retiring or worse, dying.

The latest shock was hearing that Kris Kristofferson had retired.

Hell, he's just a kid, isn't he?

Well, no, turns out he's gliding toward his 85th birthday later this year and had been in our ears for over 50 years.

Actually Kris retired late last year but the word just hadn't gotten out until a few weeks ago when he confirmed it.

I always liked this next song that Kris wrote for Johnny Cash.

Heck, I think I *lived* this song, back in the day.

There's another old-timer in this video, Willy Nelson, who at 87 is still singing for his supper.

And the last of The Highwaymen as this group was called, Waylon Jennings, died a young man in 2002.

He was only 64.

So, let's give up a hand for Kris and his pals, one more time.

OH, WOE

 I just turned to the web site of the local paper and discovered alarming, saddening, depressing news: the Iron Springs Cafe in Prescott has closed.

Long-time readers of this blog will remember that it was my favorite eating place and I had written about it here and here and here and probably many other times.

Apparently the beloved landmark closed its doors earlier this month.

Another victim of Covid-19?

I can only presume so.

I am sad, very sad.

No more Bloody Caesars.

No more Gumbo.

No more Blackened Catfish.

No more other taste sensations.

No more fun.

If it is forever, R.I.P., and thank you for so many good times.

THE FRIDAY FUNNIES

 Wella, wella, wella, young fella, it's Friday once again.

That greeting is for all the rest of my thousands of Gentle Readers too.

I hope your week was amusing.

Maybe not if you didn't live, like I do, in the 1 percent of the United States that *wasn't* frozen solid.

My sympathies are with you.

And to help you thaw out and warm up, here's some humor.

And with that heavenly thought let me wish you all an exhilirating weekend full of warmth and cleanup.

And in spite of your troubles, always remember to keep laughing!

Here, kitty-kitty . . .

(Oh-ho!)

"Mother Country" by John Stewart

WAY BACK WEDNESDAY

 Comical Carol, from down in Phoenix, was prompted by my posting an old-timey photo of myself last week, to send me some old pictures from *her* collection.

These are probably from the 1970's and when you notice how much cigarette smoking was going on you might be amazed (as I am) that we are all still alive!

That is Comical Carol herself, though this lovely portrait *doesn't* have her wacky sense of humor on display.

Then there's the famous She Who Must Be Obeyed, exhulting over some weird board game we were playing.

Baseball Steve, in a rare quiet moment *not* in the middle of one of his convoluted stories.

And finally, your sappy scribe.

On viewing these windows into the past I couldn't help but think of an old Bob Dylan song: Everybody Must Get Stoned.

WHAT A DAY!

 Upon checking my calendar today I learned that this is Shrove Tuesday.

And Pancake Tuesday.

And Fat Tuesday.

And Mardi Gras.

Basically it's all the same thing.

The day before Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent.

So have at it, Gentle Readers.

Days of fasting are ahead.