Dear Friend,
Well, hello. It means a lot to us that you take the time to read Tracks by the Post because we know that there are many other things pulling at your time and energy. This is the season in which overwhelm tends to thrive, but, please, don’t let it!
Breathe deeper and drink more water. Take more time outside; bring plant-life in-doors. Add fun lights to your dwelling, put on some music, bake a dish of cinnamon-apple-yams and delight in how good you make others feel when you give them one of your smiles.
Overwhelm is so derailing. It can be chronic and it can be acute and we don’t always see it coming but, Wham, there it is: Stress. Yuck.
And we’re only human, we tend to flail with our emotions without thinking physiologically. Our bodies are made up of systems, eleven of them. Consider each as you count: Circulatory, lymphatic, respiratory, integumentary, endocrine, gastrointestinal, urinary, musculoskeletal, nervous, reproductive, immune. You are all that!
Sometimes it is good to remember that each system benefits from good vibes, and that stress is hard on every one of those systems, so it is hard on you. Please be kind to you.
It may seem ridiculous but I actually am going to segue into talking about roads.
It’s not exactly a major shift in subjects because so much of our bodies' functions could be metaphors for bits of society’s infrastructure like roads and power and water utilities … but you are clever and I didn’t want to try to write a quasi-witty transition between something important like managing stress and something insignificant like The Interstate Highway System, because overall, it is way more important to manage stress than it is to go for a drive, unless you are going for a drive to get your kicks… on the 1926 National Highway System numerical designation 66.
This is the highway launched in 1926 that joined Chicago to Los Angeles through 8 states covering nearly 2450 miles.
Frank recently drove a portion of Route 66 on his way from the Grand Canyon to San Diego. These photos represent just a few of the colorful relics and landmarks that can be seen along the famous road.
Thanks to popular Disney Documentaries like the 2006, “Cars,” directed by John Lasseter, you know all about how Route 66 was officially removed from the US Highway System in 1985 because it had been rerouted in sections and ultimately replaced by the Interstate Highway Systems.
Some news that you might not know: Portions of route 66 are now National Scenic Byways, and beginning in 2010, U. S. Bicycle Route 66 was developed by the United States Bicycle Route System. Good things come to roads that wait.
Speaking of roads that are waiting, our travels are on hold for another week while we work on critical computer tasks, creating with media that we’ve accrued over the last year of travel.
And regarding Phase 1: we have been continuing our trailer search and have narrowed down our criterium. Our AT&T hot spot is still working well. Songs and sandwiches are accomplished prn (pro re nata: which, as you know, in latin, means: as needed).
As always, we hope that you’ll let us know how you are doing. Write to us when you have a moment and tell us your latest news or ask a riddle. Either way, it will be nice to hear from you.
Again, dear Friend, thank you for your caring prayers and kind thoughts in our direction. We keep you in our daily Thanksgivings, grateful that you are you!
Wishing you a happy week…
Gently Be,
Leslie and Frank