Just look at that map... the country is BIG...

I visited my mother for three hours today, she was having a rough time with her room mate passing on. The second one since she moved in. She had also lost control of her pillow that she has had since a little girl, the staff had taken it for cleaning. Little things become large distractions, she told me a few stories about family I hadn't heard before. I did get her to write her weekly letter, but for reasons I don't understand it only got to the outbox and not into send, but she can't tell me what I don't understand about her computer set up - so I have passed the information on to my sister for her to cure on a Sunday visit. She did talk to my brother on Skype. Tomorrow is my last visit on my way out of town, until my wife and I return in a more civilized fashion than roaring down the road on a motorcycle.

I took another nap in front of the fan, with my map of the United States in front of me, thinking about the return trip, estimating route and time. Maybe I should do all my riding at night and find refrigerators to cool off in during the day? Maybe instead of windmills all over, we need roofs with solar panels above the Interstate highways to keep the asphalt and concrete cool... and provide power. In this house there isn't a television on cable (so I haven't seen a weather forcast), all the monitors are hooked to computers and game systems. My sister a Computer Science/Mathematics teacher starts her day with the cryptic puzzle in the newspaper, and works and games the remainder of the day away. Mysteries are one of her favorite types of books, when not working on her syllabus. Good homemade stew and vanilla ice cream tonight, with biscuits.

Back to studying the map, my nephew thanked me for showing his father where the filter was on the fan he uses in his television room, it does put out more cooling air now. I got all my laundry cleaned and added everything to the pile of stuff not continuing on the run with me. I have a proper small load, the carbon signature of a slug perhaps. UPS only charged me a dollar and thirty cents per pound (thirty pounds) for ground arrive when they want. I almost wonder if I can beat the box across the country, then look again at that map - the Great American desert awaits me... tomorrow's departure should get me and my mind back on the road.