Bad news from the Badlands

1)A shrimp-related mishap at the Ramada Hotel, Flagstaff killed my computer. An ill-advised attempt to thaw out frozen shrimp by pouring hot water into the bag ended up with shrimpy water leaking all over my poor little Acer. It fizzled, it whirred, and finally it died for good. It contained a long, about-to-be posted blog entry from Albuquerque, Sedona, Santa Fe and Flagstaff.

2)There’s a big crack in the car windscreen, which, I have been told, can’t be repaired. Fuck knows how that happened. But I’m currently living in dread that it will extend, spiders’ web-like, across the entire windscreen, blocking my vision and sending me hurtling into one of Arizona’s many rocky chasms.

3)I’ve lost my camera, which contains some wonderful pics from Albuquerque, my friend Len, and a real illegal alien spotted in Arizona

4)By far the biggest tragedy of all – the loss of tea bags, most likely swiped by Red Indians in the badlands of New Mexico. I discovered the loss shortly after leaving the Yellowhorse trading post. Right now, I suspect, Big Chief Yellowhorse and his mates are sitting round the campfire enjoying “um heap good cuppa” while I have to make do with crappy hotel Liptons.

The car windscreen can wait – I can still see through it. The computer needs replacing, as the cranky old spare I’m writing on now could die at any moment. My phone takes pics, after a fashion, though it has not really captured the true grandeur of the Grand Canyon, where I was today.

Still, things could be a lot worse. The car is still going, I’m still relatively healthy. And I’ll be in Sin City soon – just a day’s drive from LA and the Pacific coast.

I think it may soon be time to start misbehavin’…