I’ve spent hours the last couple of days trying to unravel the mystery of “what happened to the thousands of dollars I spent on airfare to/from South America in 2021 and then cancelled?”. Faulty memory, crummy airline accounting systems, a few records on my old laptop’s hard drive and not on this one, and the complication of having used a travel agent for half the travel are all roadblocks. So far I’ve accounted for half the funds, and the other half I should unearth today. Moral of the story…try not to cancel a big, complex trip. Thanks, COVID.

In the previous post I featured my absolute favorite Cult song, Then Came the Last Days of May. Pure genius, that one, from the lyrics to the soaring guitar. I can listen to it over and over. Turns out I’ve done that, for 50 years!

I’m reading yet another of Peter Cawdron’s First Contact series. Cawdron has written 20 (!) books with variations on humanity’s first contact with alien life, and they’re quite good. He has an easy-to-read writing style and a superb imagination. Right now I’m reading Deja Vu, and I’m captivated. What a story. The dude has some amazing work ethic – he’s published at least 30 books in the last 11 years. I need his secret.

Why are college tuition costs so out of control? Here’s a surprisingly simple explanation. Talk about unintended consequences…

Blue Öyster Cult, 1972

Parched land, no desert sand
The sun is just a dot
And a little bit of water goes a long way ’cause it’s hot it’s hot
Three good buddies were laughin’ and smokin’
In the back of a rented Ford
They couldn’t know they weren’t going far

Each one with the money in his pocket
To go out and buy himself a brand new car
But they all held the money they had
Money they hoped would take them very far

Sky’s bright, the traffic light
Now and then a truck
And they hadn’t seen a cop around all day what luck
They brought everything they needed
Bags and scales to weigh the stuff
The driver said, “The border’s just over the bluff”

Wasn’t until the car suddenly stopped
In the middle of a cold and barren plain
And the other guy turned and spilled
Three boys blood did they know a trap had been laid?

They’re OK the last days of May
But I’ll be breathin’ dry air
I’m a-leaving soon
The others are already there all there
Wouldn’t be interested in coming along
Instead of staying here?
Its said the West is nice this time of year
That’s what they say