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It's Sunday, September 17th, 1:54pm CST, and we're a few miles south of Eden, Texas. I had no digital phone service yesterday on the road, so I couldn't blog. I posted the Geocache thing from the motel last night. They had high speed internet access, as do almost all hotels now. I even saw a roadside rest stop with free wireless. The revolution continues.

Okay I promised I would tell the story of the strange women I met in Taos some years ago. I present this as a faithful reproduction of the conversation with no overt commentary or conclusions drawn. Let me say that I am always aware of the strange nature of the core story of Christianity. So I am gentle and patient when I meet people whose beliefs are, well, unusual. Who am I to pass judgment, right?

This took place about 10 years ago. We were on our way to Creede and stopped in Taos, as we often do. Jeanene was looking through some stores, so I stopped into a coffee shop to pass some time. I was sipping my beverage peacefully, when I overheard a fascinating conversation from a table nearby. Three women were deeply immersed in a passionate conversation about planets circling some of the stars that we know as the Pleiades constellation. Their conversation made it clear that at least two of the women were convinced that they were, in fact, from one or more of these planets.

I listened for a few minutes, and then I realized that if I did not get into this conversation I would regret it for the rest of my days. When in doubt, straight-up honesty is usually your best bet. So I walked over to their table and said, "Excuse me. I'm sorry to bother you, but I couldn't help overhearing that some of you are not from our planet, but are from some other star system. The Pleiades, I think?"

"Yes," they said with no embarrassment or further explanation.

"Well, I confess that I've never met anyone from another planet, at least not that I'm aware of, and I would very much like to hear about this. Would you mind telling me about your planet, what you are doing here, and how you got to earth?"

They couldn't have been friendlier. I was offered a seat and had the pleasure of asking as many questions as I wanted. They were only too happy to talk with me. Indeed, I began to have the feeling that not many people took them seriously enough to sit and listen to them.

I assure you, I was only to willing to lend them my ears.

The conversation was much too long to recount here, so let me tell you what I learned of them. They became convinced that they were from other planets because their artistic, sensitive, and spiritual natures set them so at odds with the world around them, at least as they understood it. They were so different, they simply could not be from earth. And I imagine a number of people would not debate that point with them.

How they discovered they were from planets in the Pleiades constellation was unclear to me. I think the delicate teacup shape of the Pleiades - certainly very pleasing to the eye - combined with a previous meeting with a man who claimed to be from that region of the skies and who bore some resemblance to them philosophically had something to do with their discovery of the exact point of their origins.

They spoke of how difficult it was to live among common humans, delicate and spiritually attuned as they were. At one point I almost felt I was back in my youth, hearing the preachers talking about living "in the world but not of the world," as they so often said.

One of the women was also adept at performing "spiritual readings," as she called them, using Tarot cards. I was offered such a reading at a small fee - $30 if I remember - but I refused, not having the cash, the time, or the inclination. Nonetheless, they all agreed that I was also a spiritual person who exuded some kind of mystical presence. They affirmed me strongly in this regard. One of them asked if I knew that I had a Native American spiritual guide. "No," I said, very interested. "How would I know this?"

"He's standing right behind you," she said.

I turned but confessed that I could not see him.

"My grandfather was part Cherokee," I offered. This seemed to make sense to them and they thought my guide might in fact be my deceased grandfather, which I thought was rather touching, were it to be true.

Finally the conversation drew to a close. One of them asked me what I did for a living.

I'm a Baptist preacher," I said boldly and with no further explanation. This revelation shocked them into silence. I told them how much I had enjoyed the conversation - which was certainly true - and bid them goodbye.

As I walked away I thought to myself, "I will never forget this day as long as I live!"

Mexican Food and Cole Slaw

One more thing. We ate lunch in Eden at the City Cafe. The Tex-Mex food looked promising, so we ordered fajitas and enchiladas. I was surprised to find that coleslaw was included on every plate of Mexican food. This is something I've never heard of before.

I tried mixing a bit of enchilada with coleslaw, as an experiment. I'm always up for new experiences. Jeanene watched with interest as I chewed. How is it, "she asked."

My answer was simple and clear. "It's an absolute abomination."

Well, that's all of my blogging from the road. We are a couple of hours from home, and next week it is back to life as usual. I finished the Shepherd story and go into the studio to record on Thursday.

Talk to you soon,

rlp

Being a running account of our trip to Colorado, blogged in real time by rlp. What a geek!

Note: This was originally posted in two days with the latest entry at the top of the page, blog style. I've compiled it into one entry and in chronological order for the sake of clarity. The original comments may still be seen at the September 8th and 9th postings.

Friday, 9-8 - 11:10am CST
We're on the road and my treo connects to the Internet just fine. Well, it's about like a dialup connection. I didn't realize how spoiled I was having used a cable modem for a few years now. This first entry is just a test. I'll be looking for interesting Texas sites to show you. I'll connect to the Internet right in the car and blog as I go. I'm geeky enough to think this is way cool.

I'll also drop into the chat room off and on while Jeanene is driving. It will give me something to do. Maybe I'll see you in there.

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Friday, 9-8-06 - 12:45pm CST

I'm writing from Pepe's Cafe in Ozona, Texas. We stopped for lunch just before we turn north. Here's some advice for you. Get off the Interstate, dammit. We did and asked a local where to eat. There's only one place, she said. Pepe's

Great food. Our last Mexican food for a time. Colorado doesn't do Mexican food very well. I speak from experience. Amazingly, Pepe's had free wireless, so we ate and I wrote this while Jeanene looked around.

Gotta hit the road. Catch me in the chatroom later.

rlp

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Friday, 9-8-06 - 5:25pm CST

I have one word for you - Panhandle.

Yeah.

Flat, boring, nothing, nada. Even the town names are flat. We just left Levelland, having passed through Lamesa, which is certainly derived from the Spanish "La Mesa," but is pronounced "La-Meesa" by the locals. One town tried for a splash of color - you know, just to be interesting. Brownfield. Be still my fluttering heart.

Highway 385 just north of Levelland - not that anyone cares.

Okay, in the time that I wrote that we have reached Littlefield and have turned West on highway 84, which will take us right into East Central New Mexico. The view isn't going to improve until tomorrow, but when we reach Taos, things will be cool. And I can tell you about the time I met some women from Taos who were convinced they were from a planet circling one of the stars in the Pleiades. True story.

That's Taos. That's for tomorrow.

I think I'll drop in the chat room to see if anyone's in there. Hang on a sec...

XYP is in there. I'll go chat a bit.

later,

rlp

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Friday, 9-8-06 - 9:15pm Mountain Time

At the end of a long day we ended up in Santa Rosa, New Mexico, right on historic Route 66. To stay with the spirit of this place, we had dinner at a classic diner right on 66.

Tomorrow we'll follow the pre-1937 route 66 up to Las Vegas (New Mexico). From there we go up into the mountains and over to Taos. I'm bushed. Will take pictures of any classic Route 66 stuff I can find.

rlp

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Saturday, 9-9-06 - 12:15pm Mountain Time

We left Santa Rosa, New Mexico this morning, heading for Las Vegas NM. We'll end up going into Colorado this evening. We're traveling roughly along historic Route 66.

In 1937, Route 66 changed. The new route went straight from Santa Rosa to Albuquerque and then on to Gallup, going west. Before 1937, route 66 meandered north from Santa Rosa to Las Vegas, over to Santa Fe, and then down to Albuquerque. When the route changed, dozens of towns were cut off from the main traffic flow. It was a sad precursor to what would happen to all these towns when the interstate arrived some years later.

We drove the old, pre-1937 Route 66. There is almost nothing left along the way. The little towns are mostly forgotten. Dillia, Los Montoyas, Romeroville, and others.

Old 66 (pre 1937), now hwy. 84 from Santa Rosa to Las Vegas

Dillia

Los Montoyas

We're going to follow old 66 to Santa Fe, then head north to Colorado. I'll post pictures and some commentary later today.

rlp

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Saturday, 9-9-06 - 5:45pm Mountain Time

We're currently on hwy 285 north of Antonito, Colorado and heading toward Alamosa. While I'm writing this, I can't get online because I don't have digital phone service. So it may be later before it goes live. Note: 9:30pm - I couldn't get online in Colorado until we got to the house where we are staying. One of the neighbors has unsecured wireless access. Heh.

It's been a long day. We decided to follow the pre-1937 Route 66 until we got to Santa Fe. It was rather disappointing. There was nothing there. No towns to see. I don't know if anything used to be there, but there isn't much to see now.

I do enjoy the feel of Route 66, as opposed to the feel of the interstate highways. The road is narrow and the scenery is close on your right and your left. You feel like you are a part of the scenery. I snapped a picture that might give you a feel for this.

Outside of Pecos we found the ruins of some pueblo dwellers. The settlement had an estimated 2000 people living there at the height of their era. There was continuous population there for 500 to 1000 years. At the end, there were 27 people left. They gave up and walked away. The place was empty after that.

Pueblo Ruins

There was a mission, of course. In the 1500s, Franciscan monks founded a church there. The native people burned it to the ground, but the monks built it back again. Somehow a good bit of it is still standing.

Mission Church

I know it's popular these days to be outraged at what Europeans did in the past with regard to the "New World," as they called it and with regard to native peoples, as we call them. What they did was clearly an abomination from our point of view and looking at it through our filters. But from a historical perspective, the Franciscan monks that built this mission truly thought they were saving the savages from the fires of hell. These missions were seen - at least by the monks and priests who lived and worked in them - as humanitarian efforts. The government officials and church officials were doubtless as corrupt then as now and wanted gold and power. Some things never change.

Interesting side note: Near the pueblos they found evidence of earlier inhabitants who lived in pit houses. The ones who built the pueblos drove them away and took their land. Probably killed and tortured them. You know how it is with people.

As we left route 66 and turned north to head toward Colorado, we passed one last retail establishment that looks as though it has been out of business for a good 30 or 40 years. Sometime before 1937, this place was jumping with business as people headed west. Route 66 changed and their way of life died.

Things change, roads change, people change, perspectives change. The pit house people had their day, and they are gone forever. The pueblo people lived their way of life for hundreds of years, but their way of life is gone. The monks came, had their time of power, and faded away. The people who worked the businesses along Route 66 had their chance too.

Now is our time, yours and mine. We will make whatever we will of it. Some of us will be good people, some of us will be bad people, and most of us will be somewhere in between. What happens to us seems very important, but time moves on. Someday people will read about us and shake their heads in amazement at the mistakes we made in our ignorance.

This will be my last real-time entry. After this I'm in Colorado, and I plan to mostly live and only blog a little if any. I might post one or two things. We'll see.

see ya soon,

rlp

This posting was a journal entry for September 9th. It has been combined with September 8th's posting into one entry. I left this entry here to preserve the comments.