Opinions

I wonder if my presence in an auto parts store is a little bit like a truck driver shopping in a fine lingerie boutique. On this hot, summer day, the usual suspects at the auto parts store were comfortable on the stools at the counter; they know each other well. They talk about early morning flat tires and thank the owner for opening up “just for me” when trouble hit last weekend. They complain about the heat, ask about recent meniscus surgery and then they go their merry way.

It was time to come back from Mexico. It wasn’t because of the weather. The weather was wonderful. The nights up in the mountains were cool, and the days were warm, and sometimes, in the afternoons, a thunderstorm would roll in, and a refreshing rain would fall, leaving the air clean and sweet. No. It wasn’t the weather.

At the local golf course, which is beginning to resemble an old folks home, we’ve been playing Scrabble since “women of a certain age” shouldn’t be golfing in heat index temperatures exceeding 110 degrees.

Dating back to my childhood, the sound of the William Tell Overture meant only one thing, the Lone Ranger and Silver were galloping to the rescue. That music still reverberates hope.

Legendary actor and singer, the late Burl Ives, was the trusted voice in the 115-year-old folktale, “The Little Engine That Could,” about optimism and hard work, and a blue train that was motivated by saying, “I think I can.”

What does it mean to set your heart on something? And I’m not talking about something as simple as a little crush. I’m talking about the relentless pursuit of something. If you really set your heart on something, it means that you are going to dedicate your time, energy, and passion to making it happen.

Every day, whether here in Mexico or in the U.S., I take a walk. Walking in the morning would be nice, but that’s when I write, and so in the afternoon, I head out to see what the world looks like.