I have not owned a car since 2002. My last vehicle was a beautiful Ruby-Red Honda Accord EX fully powered and smooth. Since then I have trekked onward with many modes of transportation. I have fell in love with long distance running after a local restaurant worker stole my bike outside a Tea House Cafe since I was too eager to get inside for some tofu veggie soup and just locked my lock around the palm tree, depriving my bike of secure safety from a thief. I wanted to keep up my cardio regiment. How did I know it was a local restaurant worker who was the culprit? Four months later I found my Warrior bike across the street from where it was stolen, unlocked behind the Hop Woo Chinese joint, and decided to steal it back. I used to do my best to travel somewhere new every year and decided that having a car was just an unwanted expense, and didn't want to have to be responsible for a car payment, insurance, and yearly registration. I wasn't even home half the year. The last time I had a car I remember I used to go to this cheap gas station and buy gas for $1.27. Yep a buck 27....I haven't had to deal with the oil crunch, maintenance & repairs, but what I have had to deal with is a sore prostate (public transpo seating), long waits at night, energy draining people, and even though I haven't done the math possibly a hefty paid penny for all my daily passes, tickets, and a few lost friends who have judged me since I am without wheels. I have got it down though. Getting around all over the world utilizing the means of getting one place and back to where I want to be. I have been riding the rails back in forth along the Pacific Coast since I was 11 years old. Good ol Amtrak and LA Union Station have always provided me a way to unite with family, or escape from them, and even allowed me to cross the country through the MidWest, across Texas, up through Florida, into Canada, through the Rockies, over Lake Ponchaterrain, into Penn Station, and up and down the Pacific Coast. I have been stranded with hungry hungover Marines, legendary tennis player Poncho Gonzales, angry babies, snorers, and many a times illegal aliens being deported by Immigration tied together with the infamous plastic ties. My earliest memory of trains is riding Amtrak in 1980 from Pasadena through Arizona and thru the Rockies finally ending up in Fort Collins for a Buchanan family reunion. I can picture of foto of me lounged over a wide leather seat with a big smile of mine as I was three riding through terrain that many have shared before me in search of gold, a new California life, and an endless view of the sea. Nothing like scooting and swaying around car to car by kicking the bottom of a train door to get it open. Just did it a few days ago as Amtrak took me back from the California Central Coast through the Central Valley along the fruit bowl of the world down into Bakersville. Do you know how to get to Bakersfield? I was thinking once of tattooing LAX USA on the bottom of my feet since for the last 31 years 90% of all my major traveling has begun and ended at the Los Angeles International Airport. Many a times came up early in the morning from Newport Beach in a Super Shuttle with my siblings, mama, and step father, and was in Maui splashing through the waves by sunset in Wailea. Nothing like waking up in one place of the world and ending it somewhere else, especially in a place as magical, cool, and pleasant like Maui. There I learned to snorkel (afraid of those surface water pencil fish), was taught to dive by my sister Megan in a pool near Kanapali, play long grueling-crying-throw-my racquet- at my brother paddle ball games, and enjoyed delicious juicy yummy papaya (the name of the family fish...therefore my porno name would be Papaya Matterhorn since ones porno name is first pet + first house street name (this is the first house I remembered living). When I fly I have rituals. Enjoy refreshing up before I take off. Always have to weave and hold my breath back to my seat so I can scoot by everyone that is still arriving or loading up their luggage in the overhead bins. I just enjoy to be cool when I sit and fly off the ground. When the pilot lays down the throttle and speeds down the runway I close my eyes, make the sign of the cross three times, visualize on a map my journey from start the finish, and put my seat back just when the plane lifts off. Its a letting go free feeling that prepares me just right for another journey. When the plane touches down I take a deep breath and 3x again give thanks to God for bringing me safe to my destination. I wish I would have kept a flying log of all my trips, but that idea like many others has gone to the wind, but man I have been up and down all over the place. Only once had to come down in a place different then where I was scheduled to go. It was due to the wings freezing up or something. Hardest landing was in New Dehli during an early early morning flight after an ingesting an Indian airplane breakfast omelette. It was like....Welcome to the capital of India....BAAAAM...SKID....BAAAAAM...I guess the shocks were pretty tight, since when we landed we just dropped and barely glided anywhere. Longest flight LAX to Sydney 14+ hours. Flying down into the Rockies is always an adventure especially in a puddle jumper heading into Aspen. Never flown first class or in a charter plane. I once flown over Disneyland in a private plane and remember that the Tea-Cups were teeny tiny spinning around in Fantasyland. Never scared to fly, but have had my fair share of dealing with the altitude and getting my ears back to normal. After 9/11 have always done my best to give thanks and remembrance by flying on that day. On 9/11/01 I was on a flight to DC for the first time and was on a tarmac in Charles Lindbergh Field at the San Diego Airport when the pilot made the announcement that there was a horrible tragedy involving the World Trade Center and we were ordered to return to the terminal. There I watched the towers fall thinking that thank God everyone got out since the implosion looked like an old Vegas hotel going down. It was too perfect, too clean to believe it wasn't planned and executed premeditatedly. I was stranded at the airport for awhile, conducted some interviews, shocked, angered, confused, saddened, and eagerly anxious concerning the reaction of our government of what would lie ahead. Two months later I discovered my 2nd favorite city in the United States of America by exploring our nations Capital for the first time. New York City is my favorite. Used to be a boxer from Brooklyn in my past life in the 20s. Want to hear about my first driving encounter? What was yours? Mine involved a B2200 blue Mazda truck, later to be known as the BlueBomb. Before the age of two that car had survived a few cross country journeys with my sister at the helm. All three of the Buchanan children drove that car for sometime. It was the summer, I was left at home as my dad supervised summer school leaving me with a wad of cash to enjoy at a local arcade. I decided I wanted to get there quicker and use the truck to make it happen. The truck was parked out below our apartment building behind the complex facing the wrong way. To get it out of the back I would have to make a 3-point turn. I knew nothing about driving. Only at arcades and go-kart tracks have I driven a vehicle and never used a break. How do I use that? I have been the passenger in the truck for years and have seen the turn made, but driving it on my own and pulling it off just didnt feel right or possible, but I wanted to get to the arcade. I got to the point where I had to make the turn at the end of the back driveway. In front of me was a brick wall, to the right garages of other places and to the left another brick wall protected by a tall tall tall hedge of newly planted bushing dick like trees. I made the initial turn and stopped, but just couldnt figure out how to back up and give myself enough room to make the complete turn around. To this day I have been cursed about seeing/feeling the sides of a car and having confidence in the space around the vehicle. My impatience decided to sweep around and get on my way, but ended up plowing through a few trees, scraping the front end of the truck and popping/destroying one of the plastic front headlight protectors. A huge pop brought out one of three homosexual chubby neighbors (that shacked it up together), who helped me put the car back in place how it was left. I called the local Mazda dealership to make sure a plastic light guard was in stock, and proceeded to spend the rest of my day on the bus to North Hollywood and walked all the way back to Burbank with a sunburned neck and that guard. Slapped it on and my papa never knew, but was a little skeptical when the neighbor came over one day asking for his 20.00 he leant me to help pay for the light. For almost blowing my cover, I sent him and his roommates a woman birthday stripper I found in the infamous LAxpress newspaper. Planes, Trains, Automobiles...a wonderful adventurous, frustrating at times film with two classic comedians. Miss John, and miss the Jerk soul of Steve. Two men that transformed and were truly natural on screen. Acquired humor yes, but great during their time. Thanks to John Hughes for penning the journey and guiding the cast and crew from NYC to Chicago.
CHECK OUT SOME OF MY FAVORITE SCENES
Remember Owen? (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qB84vzRjjMs)
Singing the Flintstones? (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gC1bayzNq2g)
What was the tune John played the piano smoking while Steve did his best to get some shut eye? (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmpMqa89wx8) Can you get the MESS AROUND?
What ever way you get there, when you get there, and how you feel once you are there, I applaud you since I have probably been there too???? I encourage you to change up how you go places. Take a left instead of right, follow the back roads to the sea, or walk up a hill to see the sun go down. The mode we travel can provide more newness than you can imagine.
Do you know what a rickshaw is?
TAKE A RIDE (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUQ49W_xcIs)
or ever been in an Egyptian taxi: (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4YMhbsmiH6c)
how about sky dive above Monterrey Bay? (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4YMhbsmiH6c)
Enjoy your journey be good to yourself- RVB
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