The last of the Great Plains have slipped away behind me and I have been swallowed up by the massifs. Rocky Mountains they are indeed.
Not just tectonic abduction but the triumphant return of trees. Pine scented glorious trees. It is only with their return did I really notice how there were virtually no trees for hundreds of plains miles behind me.
The Plains were breathtaking at times. The slow passing of the Tetons and finally just the enormous tracts of open land. Dotted with cattle. Sometimes I would crest a small drumlin and could see hundreds of miles in all directions.
Very hot, very bright and extremely windy.
Speaking of winds. The side wind was blowing strong from the south, my left side. Between my forward velocity ( average 120 km/h ) and the side winds the bike was leaning over a lot just to drive straight. My tank bag kept loping over. I have developed a knot in my left shoulder blade for my troubles. BTW there is a great sandwich shop in Chester, Montana. Get the tuna.

Once I entered the mountain pass eventually I stopped at another spot for a late lunch and spoke briefly with an older man who was reminiscing about his old Harley. I young waiter on his first day (how he trashed his first motorbike) and a young woman who also worked there.
Kurt Vonnegut’s name came up and I had to chime in, extolling his virtues. Also the topic of writing and general creativity.
The young woman started to describe what she saw as her blocks and limitations as a writer.
I did my best to playfully suggest that most the the neurotic circular thinking of youth tends to fade away with time.
If only one could truly understand this while still in their youthful bodies then they could gain so much now. (wouldn’t that be fantastic)
It would be so great to be young and skip the step of insecurity and just settle into a more comfortable self.
But time is there as a teacher, no?
One can’t fake experience. Faking it is sort of what youthful posturing is all about anyway.
She also described a creative block in the form of concern over her peers criticisms. I think the only real answer to that problem is a general attitude of,”fuck it”. The sooner one embraces that idea the sooner one becomes actualized. In fact I would think that early acts of “fuck it” would be interpreted as confidence, which in turn would have leadership qualities attached to it and peers would be impressed. Unless they’re bullies then fuck them. I alway liked what Trent Reznor had to say about creativity. He said that to be an artist one must pretend that your parents are dead.

Anyway the only reason I am going on about this is I gave her the URL to this blog and I want her to read my thoughts on the subject. Good luck K. You know you are a writer. Fuck it!