Back when I was living in Atlanta, I saw a movie with Dennis Quaid, Meg Ryan and Dennis Hopper named "Flesh and Bone.”

A somewhat forgettable film… but while I was watching it... I kept seeing all sorts of views and imagery that for some reason felt very familiar to me. At the end, I watched the credits to see where it was filmed... sure 'nuff it was filmed in a little town in West Texas called Marfa... a place I had wandered through many times. In retrospect since Dennis Quaid is a resident of Austin, this seems only logical.

This sign figured highly in the closing scenes of that movie when Meg Ryan drove off into the sunset… leaving Dennis Quaid in the parking lot of some lonely motel parking lot.

Years later... I saw this sign again as Garry and I were wandering through Marfa headed from Mexico towards New Mexico. I made a mental note of it's location for later exploration. In November of 2002 while rattling around out in the Big Bend... just generally goofing off... I made a forty mile detour out of my way… just to take this picture.

I have learned not doubt my instincts, I have learned to depend on them… because I’m usually right! I never forget someplace I've been... neither literally, nor figuratively. These are the landmarks of my passage through life. Unlike most people, I don’t suppress or “block out” negative events of my past. I don’t confuse forgetfulness with forgiveness. Even painful memories are worth remembering. In fact, they're very valuable reference points by which I navigate into the future.

I never allow myself the self endulgent convience of forgetting the past... ever!

Remembering where I've been... is what allows me to choose where I'm going.