John Prine died. I cried. I had never cried at the death of a celebrity before, but he was one of my Mom's favorites, and losing him so soon after her felt somehow significant. I grew up with his music on constant rotation. I can see myself standing in the living room of our farmhouse. The radio sat on a table made out of an old barn door that still had a working knob in the middle of it. Dear Abbys playing and I try to sing along, but I'm 5 and I have no idea what he's saying. My moms laughing from the kitchen at my rendition. Later that same year she took me to see him and Arlo Guthrie. It was my first concert. I remember being so excited to see the guy who wrote Dear Abby, thinking maybe I would find out who this Abby was and why she was so dear to him. Either way, I would get to see the real life guy who’s songs I danced to in my living room with my mama. He was a storyteller and as a child I was drawn to that. On the way to the show we were in a small...
It was 4am in the Eastern Sierras and the moon was new. The night before, when it became all dark and all stars, I crawled into bed and let the two strong IPAs do their silent duty. Now camping alone as a woman comes with its share of apprehensions and vulnerable moments. Especially when said woman has an affinity for true crime podcasts to break up music on long road trips. So when I woke at 4am to ensure I didn’t miss the sunrise (eastern Sierra sunrises are my favorite thing in life and if you’ve never witnessed the peace and beauty of this moment while sipping coffee on a cool summer morning then put it on your bucket list like right this very second) I was alarmed to see a car parked 20ft from mine, that hadn’t been there when I retreated to my bed at dark. Questions raced through my sleep fogged mind. This is BLM land. You can camp anywhere. Why would someone pull so close to (pretty much in) another persons camp site in the middle of the night? Nex...
After sunset it was 5:30 pm and pitch black in the Eastern Sierras. The rock formations in the Alabama Hills turned from whimsical in the daylight to menacing under the cloud covered sky. With no stars to watch and the full moon blocked by haze I was left to decide whether to smoke to help me sleep or if it would just amplify the fact I was all alone in the middle of nowhere with nothing but the coyote songs to keep me company. I’m strong and independent, I’m strong in independent, I repeated this like a mantra as I wished for curtains to appear over my windows so the imaginary people outside can’t peak in. What is it about the dark that changes our perception? Why is it hard to perceive good things when you can’t see anything at all? It had been 5 months since the night that thrust me into moments like this. Endless moments of me proving to myself I don’t need anyone to do anything. I’m strong and independent, I’m strong and independent. I can sleep in the back country all alone...
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