Well, everything's pretty much set in stone. Gideon and family are moving to Texas next Tuesday.

I drove into Vegas today to get the tickets and take advantage of the 7 day advance purchase price. And so, at 2:00 our time next week, we will be headed east.

I will miss the friendships we have formed here; despite this being a toiwn full of crooks, there are some good hearts in the community; they're just in the minority. I will NOT miss living in a town where the average rent for a 3 bedroom house ($799) is over 80% of the average gross monthly income of a full time employee in town ($960). I will NOT miss living in a community where they sell cars that don't run starting at $500 and a running car starting at $1100 (a car that will actually make it consistently over the mountain to Vegas will run you a minimum of $2500). I will NOT miss not being able to go down to the creek with a fishing pole when I'm ticked at my boss (there are creeks near where we're moving; I checked. I WILL miss "my" mountain, though...I was just getting to know her.

I will NOT miss the extreme summer heat; I WILL miss the mild winter.

I am happy to know we won't have to get rid of our dog entirely (we're just getting her trained, and she has a gentle nature); the people who gave her to us will watch her for 2 months, and between now and then I'll find someone with a truck to help us get our other things and the dog over here.

I will miss my sunsets, but who knows; there may be better ones waiting in Texas.

I will NOT miss the black widows.

I will miss the incredible people who work so hard in this community to make sure the poor are fed; while my volunteer work isn't much, I'm sure it will be missed.

But even what I miss I won't miss; I am, and have always been, a rambler, and I'm just headin' up the road to see what's in store around the bend. I just hope it leads us to a place where we can rest.

signing off,

Gideon MacLeish