Friday, April 12, 2013

Saturday Night Soup for the Soup (25)



hen we left off last week, I had just crossed the bridge over the mighty Columbia at The Dalles and crossed back into Washington state. From there, i cranked a hard right turn and continued east.

Waiting for me, on the other side of the bridge, was the star of the Columbia River Swim Team: that smooth and slippery, lickity split, seal boy you may have heard about, Number 17, and his handsome friend, Biffers.


Here we see Columbia River Swim Team member Biffers trying to get into "the zone" before his event: the Cross River swim. Portland Flyboy Lewis is waiting on the other side to help him out of his postage stamp sized Speedo, and to towel him off. Lewis is a great athletics supporter...

The rock is part of the largest basalt lava flow on earth comprising 40,000 cubic miles of layer upon layer of glowing molten goop. In Washington state near Vantage, the lava is the thickest of any lava flow on earth measuring in at an incredible one mile thick. The great ice age floods ripped through the gorge on their way to the ocean like a hot knife slicing through butter. And speaking of a pointy things sliding through hot butter...

"The Couch by the Side of the Rock"
(one man's discard is another man's treasure)


I keep looking for a place to fit
Where I can speak my mind
I've been trying hard to find the people
That I won't leave behind

They say I got brains
But they ain't doing me no good
I wish they could

I found a huge massive chunk of lava that juts out into the Columbia. Remarkably, it withstood the cataclysmic ice age floods, with waves 350 feet high that tore through everything else in its path. I stopped there are hiked out to the edge, admiring the drama of rock, wild flowers, and lichens. Luckily it was too early for rattlesnakes to be crawling around.


"Cathy I'm lost" I said though I knew she was sleeping
I'm empty and aching and I don't know why
Counting the cars on the New Jersey Turnpike
They've all come to look for America
All come to look for America
All come to look for America


Another digitally constructed wide angle shot with mismatched colours at the seam
This Road Trip Diary mercifully ends next week at Stonehenge.

1. I Just Wasn't Made For These Times is another gem from Brian Wilson's masterpiece LP Pet Sounds . This song has become mythical and is often quoted in a myriad of places (If you do not believe me, Google it and see all the stuff you get that have notheing to do with Brian). It speaks of that unsettling feeling of not fitting into any recognizable mainstream in the time in the time and place in which you dwell. I know that feeling only too well.

2. America from Bookends by Simon and Garfunkel. Another one of those gems by Paul Simon. The lyrics use the metaphor of a bus trip across America, and snippets of scenes and bits of conversation with a fellow traveler (his Anima which is portrayed as a woman). This just fits my unsettled mood too well. It fits like a glove.

3. Bless You is John Lennon from 1974's Walls and Bridges. This is about changing relationships and the art of moving on with heart.

Bless you wherever you are
Windswept child on a shooting star
Restless Spirits depart
Still we're deep in each other's hearts

Some people say it's over
Now that we spread our wings
But we know better darling
The hollow ring is only last year's echo

Bless you whoever you are
Holding him now
Be warm and kind hearted
And remember though love is strange
Now and forever our love will remain


All of this makes it's way into this week's soup. You can get your bowl of Saturday Night Soul for the Soul by clicking the jukebox.

12 comments:

kevin said...

I cant get all your pictures to load properly on my computer but the one or two that have come through look great. I just love road trips.

I hope you are having a great weekend over there.

Kev in NZ

Wayne said...

I like the fly boy Lewis reference, and the way you added the swim team to the pics. fun to read.

T-Bird said...

Kevin Kiwi,

Yes I love road trips, too. The best ones have vague itineraries. I am going to point X and want se go thru A, B, and C while I am going and will take Route 66 back and check out Y and Z on the return loop. I do not favor these “at 3 pm next Thursday we must be in the elevator (is it the Brit “lift” down under?). At 3:02 the doors open.. We have seven seconds allocated to exiting...”.

I reduced the number of posts on my site. I am using the high resolution pics in the posts (I am so visual and can see the difference). If you have the time, I would be grateful if you could please let me know if it will load for you now. If it does not, then I will reduce the resolution a bit. I know one can click a pic to get the full resolution copy, but most people will only look at the embedded copy in the post so I want them to look as nice as possible. But it does have to load so....

RIC said...

Dear Will!
I'm sure you have quite a powerful machine as a computer. The instant I access your blog almost everything else in my computer gets blocked...
What's the good of embedding high resolution photos if we don't get to see them at all?... The other solution seems to be better for everyone, in my humble opinion...
By the way, I enjoyed reading your text very much, and once again I'll repeat to myself: «Ric, won't you believe in a photograph ever again!»
Lol!!!
Have a great weekend!

T-Bird said...

Yes Ricky, I have what was a monster machine about 3 years age. Vista would eat it for lunch though which is why I do not have not want Vista hogging my available memory.

I just changed the last two Soups pixs to half the resolution that I had. Does it load now? I need to make it viewable (you are spot on).

Next week ends these huge road trip photo centric posts for a while.

kevin said...

Hey
The pics seem to load now but it is still pretty slow. It may be because my computer is slow, im not sure.

anyways the pics look so good. I just love the photos you have posted. PS which guy is you ;)

We use the word 'Lift' just like the British do although we understand 'elevator' we wouldnt use it.

I am so jealous when you say that you have been out shopping in Seattle. We are currently getting the repeat series of 'Fraser' on TVNZ and i just marvel at the city skyline from his window. You have the Space needle there too is that right? Dam you are so lucky and i bet there is a lot of shops too. You must have American Eagle stores there i guess, i love that store for picking up good cheapish clothes, i wish we had American Eagle here. Our city lacks a good skyline because we have our buildings kept deliberately below a certain height.

I have just looked at the map of North America, you are so near to Canada and Portland. You have so many exciting places to go which are very nearby. Enjoy them.

I think i need an overseas holiday now, lol.

Kev in NZ

Robert said...

Another bowl of soup with lotza pretty boys... but in truth, I'd rather see your pictures than the boys in place of the boys instead! :-)

Hope you're enjoying the long weekend Wilhelm!! xoxo For me, it's been a happysad day!

Robert said...

D'oh. I double-phrased 'boys'! I should maybe pay more attention - to everything! :-) Thanks for being such a gentle soul Wilhelm!

Happy Sunday! xoxo

T-Bird said...

robert, i emailed you the images sans boys for your landscape viewing pleasures. Cheers.

RIC said...

Well, it does seem to run better now, Will. At least, it's not closing down now as it was yesterday. I believe it's nevertheless the «heaviest» blog I've ever tried to access... But it's worth while waiting for a while until everything gets in place!
Thanks for your nice messages! Things are getting better for me now.
Wish you a great week! :-)

d.K. said...

Nice post/ pics.

Also, thanks for the reminder to dig out my Beach Boys tunes, which as you say, are incredible.

Happy Memorial Day!

Anonymous said...

I'll miss the road trip but, inspires me to take one of my own. Can't for awhile but, I will. I'll be visiting family in California, and then to New Mexico for a visit with a cousin near Santa Fe, and a good friend of about 40 years in Albuquerque. Forty years, damn that's nine years longer than I've been married!!!!