II know I said that I was tired of photographing my dog but holy shit, is this a great picture or what? With the paw splashing the water? Come on. This is Loona in a pond somewhere between Oklahoma City and Little Rock, AR. It turns out that I'm driving through this part of the country at the perfect time of year. They just got hit with all kinds of rain and the air is moist and warm. It's amazing to come out of the brown scorched dessert that spans from California to New Mexico and to drive into a stunningly green place like Arkansas.

I have to say I really enjoy exploring with this dog. She has a very curious nature and she regards the world with a great additude. Always ears up and eyes open. I'm getting very used to just pulling over anywhere and letting her out of the car. We walk along together, me with my camera, her with her nose, and see what's there. Sometimes I just squat in a field of grass and watch her walk around, listenting to the noises, until Loona gets bored and comes up to me with this look like "What the fuck?" and then we keep walking.

We made two stops today. One of them was this no-named pond place. The second was a State park by a huge lake, both of whose name's I've of course forgotten. I wanted to get close to the lake but all the camp sites seemed to be closed or crowded with seniors sitting outside of their RVs in lawn chairs, saying absolutely nothing and barely moving. As I rolled by them slowly, I think they followed me with their eyes but their heads did not move. I started to think maybe they were just "Scare Seniors" to keep crows away from... the lawn chairs I guess.

We drove around some more and found a very remote area where there was this great trail that ran through a totally wild area, dotted with small plaques that explained the wildlife. One was in a marshy area and explained that this was a "wetland" where two kinds of rare owls live and other creatures and that it had been wild for all time. As I read this plaque, there was this terrific and sudden cracking noise as something heavy started running in the thick woods. I recognized the sound, from spending time in our woods in UPstate New York, as being deer who suddenly realized we were there and got spooked. Sure enough, two deer bounded onto the trail about twenty feet away. Loona lost her mind, chasing them and barking like crazy. . They ran off, but one of them, strangely, doubled back and ran right by Loona, almost right over her. Loona jumped up as it ran by, trying to do I don't know what, and then they were gone.

Then the trail opened on to this huge field of lush grass called Prairie Grass or Native grass. A plaque explained that this grass was everywhere when the first European settlers came. It has deep roots and is robust and nutritious. Buffallo once occupied fields like this, eating themselves silly. These kinds of plaques always seem to have an inferred post-script like "That, of course, was before we fucked it all up. Sorry!" But someone had worked awfully hard to keep this field and all this land looking virginal and wild. It was like going back in time. I looked to the far end of the field. It sloped gently upwards and I couldn't see beyond it. We started to walk up the slope. I was curious what was over that hill.

We walked up and up the slope, turning occasionally to take in this view behind us. As we neared the top, I saw this row of curious colored lights, sticking out of the ground, right in the middle of nowhere. What the hell could that be?

As I got closer I saw that, just beyone the lights, was a strip of black pavement. I didn't know what it could be. It wasn't a road, it was just a strip about twenty or thirty feet wide in the middle of all this wild grass in all this virgin land. As I walked higher and higher, I could see what it was. It was the end of an airport runway! There was this huge number 18 at the end and a white broken line and it stretched from here waaaaay to the other end, which I couldn't see. Very strange and incongruous sight!

As Loona and I walked down the white line, we found that there was nothing else there. No airport, No tower, no planes, nothing. Just this one black landing strip. It didn't look like it was well maintained, it had cracks in it. But one could certainly land the shit out of a plane on it, I suppose. Though it did have a nasty dip right in the middle. I doubt if pilots liked landing on it. But I guess, with the lines so brightly painted, it must have been in some recent use. We enjoyed walking right down the middle of it. It made us feel small. I guessed that, if a plane came along wanting to land, we'd see it in time to move out of the way.

About an hour from Little Rock, the road became rife with State Troopers. They were everywhere, pulling over everybody. Now, I have no licence, so I put the cruise control on 65 (limit is 70) and drove real careful. I passed a speedtrap, driving under the limit, but the guy pulled out into traffic. I thought he couldn't be coming for me but sure enough, he started driving behind me real close for a long time. It's so unnerving when they do that. After a while, he pulled into the next lane and seemed to be passing me but when he get along side of me he slowed down and just started deliberately driving next to me. I glanced over and saw that he was looking right at me. I didn't know what I was supposed to do. Was he just making a race check? Maybe because I was driving a pimped out Navigator? I didn't know. And I was too nervous about my licence situation to be offended anyway. I just kept looking forward, trying to force this look on my face like "Oh well. I'm driving. Yes I am. Don't even notice you. Ho hum. I sure don't ever break the law." We drove like that for a while, I thought I was going to just lose my mind and drive off the road. Then he slowed down, got behind me, and turned his lights on! What the fuck! He pulled me over and said he did so because I was swerving. I don't know that I was but I just said "Sorry, this is a rental and I'm not used to driving such a huge car." He laughed and seemed friendly but he asked for my licence and told me to step out of the car. We walked back to his cruiser and he asked me where I was headed. I told him that I was driving my dog back to New York. He asked me where I intended to spend the night. I said I figured I would stop in Little Rock. He said maybe, instead, I'd like to come back to his house and have sex with him. Just kidding. Wanted to see if you're still paying attention. He really did ask me where I was headed and he called in my licence number. Fuck.

I tried really hard to cram in a bunch of personal details so that he would see me as a human being before the call came back on his radio that I was a criminal. My mind raced as I saw this whole blissfully fun trip maybe coming to an end. They'd take away the Navigator and arrest me. God knows what they'd do with the dog. Maybe put her in a Kennel or worse, a pound. I'd have to make bail and if I was put in a bad prison that could take a while. Then I wouldn't be able to drive out of there so what the fuck would I do? Get on a flight from Little Rock? What about the dog? Shit shit shit. Please don't arrest me. I wasn't even speeding! He was a very nice cop, but I've been arrested before by cops who made very pleasant chit chat right up to the moment they slapped the cuffs on. "Oh, you're from Newton? Nice town. I got friends from there. Put your hands on the car, please." Anyway, as I was manically telling him about how my wife and baby were flying into new York and I couldn't wait to see them, his radio came on and the voice said "This guy's license is revoked." The cop looked at me and said "revoked?" and I did my ridiculously feeble suprise "Huh? What's that about? Can't be revoked. That's weird. Hmmmm. I'll have to, um...." He started filling something out. I tried this: "Oh, you know what? I got a ticket a couple of months ago, and I got a notice that it would lead to suspension, but I paid it and they said it was all taken care of. Maybe it just didn't hit the computer yet. That's it" He said "Okay, you think that's it?" And at that moment the radio said, as if it had been listening "It says it's revoked on account of him getting three violations within eighteen months." So that erased my bullshit story right away. I just said "Oh. Well..." The cop, still very friendly said "You're not transporting anything illegal in that car, are you? Guns? Drugs? Do you mind if I search it?" I told him "Please do." He let me take the dog out on the leash. I walked her up and down the shouldler a little, wondering what would happen if we just ran, as the cop searched the Navigator. He looked all over, even in the spare tire well. Then he motioned me back over, handed me my license and said "Okay, well have a safe trip."

WWWWHHH - fucking - EEEEEEEW!

Dodged that bullet. But it made me realize that, even if I drive the speed limit the whole way, which I mostly have, this trip could still end early and badly. We'll just have to see. By the way, if you are a law enforcement official reading this and you are between here and New York, um.... I'm not really... doing any of this. The pictures are all in my back yard and I made it all up. I'm in Baltimore right now and I'm in High School.

Here is one last picture from the runway. I wonder if you can look closely and guess what I'm doing here....

That's all for now, my friends...

Thanks for reading,