I WONDER WHAT THEY'RE DOING IN FRANCE

I've never been to France, other than via Google Earth.  I always wanted to, but that won't ever happen.  Too far away, too expensive to make the trip, and I'm too old now to go and do the things I'd like to investigate there.  In fact, I don't even travel much in the U.S. anymore.  America is a big country, but I spent a lot of time rambling around in it.  Lots of diversity here, all the way from swamps and lowlands to deserts and high mountains.  Since I'm a mountain person first and foremost, I usually investigated them thoroughly.  I've lived in the southern Appalachians of North Carolina, even in the Rocky Mountains of New Mexico for a while . . . but I never saw the mountains of any other country.  France has mountains, and that's attractive to me.

I'll always wonder what it's like to spend time in a foreign country.  I've always had a fascination with geography, about the different landscapes around the world.  What's it like down in Patagonia in Argentina?  What's South Africa like up close and personal?  And what about the south Island of New Zealand?  Are the mountains of France as beautiful as they look on Google Earth?  I've seen lots of beautiful mountains right here in America, and we've even got mountains right here in Texas.  I visit them from time to time, down in the Big Bend Country along the Mexican border.  Got friends there, always enjoy their company . . . and that's what it's partly about, isn't it?  If you travel, you meet people, and that tells you a lot about a place.

I met a man not long ago (he lives near here) who was born in England.  He became a seaman, eventually a ship captain, and he spent most of his years doing that in France.  When I discovered that about him, I had a million questions for him.  He still goes back there from time to time, especially when he needs medical care.  He talked about a doctor there in France, a half Vietnamese, half French guy who pretty much reconstructed his face after a bout with skin cancer, had nothing but praise for the medical system there and the doctors.  This doctor, he said, had a fascination with the American West and came to the U.S. each year investigate what he reads about.  I share that fascination with the man, hope he finds what he's looking for.  Were I a younger man, I'd probably contact him and cut a deal - you show me French mountains, and I'll show you my mountains.

I guess my particular interest in foreign places is more about the people there.  It's Sunday here, a misty morning with the expectation of rain.  We don't get enough rain where I live, so that's welcome. I get up early, before sunrise, and drink coffee, take care of chores around the house like letting out the dogs and cats for a morning romp.  Shortly, I'll drive across town to my shop and take care of some animals there, and maybe I'll drink more coffee before doing the things almost everyone in small town America does.  It's a simple life for the most part, and I like it that way.  Half the people in town will go to church this morning, then gather somewhere for lunch.  People will go to the park and meet friends this afternoon, or some will go to the lake for a little recreation.  Since it's Sunday, the downtown area will be deserted, except for out of town motorists driving through.  It's a quiet day here at daybreak, will stay that way throughout the day.

And somewhere in France, I can only imagine that there's a town much like where I live - a place where people will do pretty much the same as I'm doing here in Texas.  Maybe that's the way it should be.  Maybe that's just proof that the world is really a small place after all . . . at least in some ways.

THE BEST ANIMAL ON THE PLANET

The best animal on the planet is a live one that is not endangered in any way.  And there's lots of endangered animals, and we're at the top of the list.  Yeah, humans, the most predatory of all animals, the top of the food chain, the smartest - and we're endangered because we treat the other animals mostly with contempt.  We eat them, enslave them, and pretty much use them any way we please . . . and it's killing us.

I love animals, just about all of them.  My favorite animal is probably the cat, and not just house cats.  I think they're the most beautiful animals on earth, with horses being a close second.  People?  We're ugly compared to most animals.  Plain as white paper at best, butt ugly at worst.  It's a good thing we're the smartest of animals because we sure won't win any prizes for looks.  And sometimes, I wonder if we're all that smart.  Would a smart animal eat itself to death?  Would it procreate itself into oblivion?  Would it screw up its enviroment to the point it can't live there anymore? 

Don't get me wrong because I'm not trying to say all animals are good animals.  They can go wrong just like people occasionally do; they just don't do it on a monumental scale like we do.  If you judge us based on Forest Gump's saying that stupid is as stupid does, we're the absolute dumbest of all animals.  And we're the most dangerous.  I trust most animals to do what they're supposed to because they've still got instincts.  We have the ability to reason, but we usually do a damn poor job of using it.  Don't believe that?  Be an observer of human nature and you'll discover how badly flawed we are.  Observe animal behavior and you might learn something.  The world of animals is a brutal world, a predatory one where the fit survives and the weak perishes most of the time.  We can domesticate animals and take some of that out of them, but they remain what they are - an animal. 

I've learned something from my association with animals.  Like all human beings, I have some big time flaws.  I don't really like people all that much.  I have some friends and family, and I love these people.  When it comes to people I don't know, I usually avoid them.  I love animals better than most people because I can accept them as what they are, and I've had difficulties doing that with people.  People piss me off, disappoint me, and I've been hurt more by people than animals.  Maybe that's because I understand that some animals are dangerous and stay clear of them, admire them at a distance.  I have a hard time recognizing that in people.  They don't look dangerous most of the time.  I can't look at a person and see them as a tiger, and they just might be more dangerous than any tiger ever had time to be.  But I'm getting better about recognizing good people as I get older.  And there are lots of good people in this world.

My doorbell rang the other night just about the time I was cutting myself a big slice of pumpkin pie.  So, I go to the door, and find a couple of young men standing there.  Mormon missionaries, same garb - black and white, dressed nice, and bearing backpacks with their religious progaganda.  And they're standing there smiling, like a couple of big dogs wagging their tails, and I said, "Do you guys like pumpkin pie?"  They said they did, so I invited them in for a slice of pie.  And they stayed for two hours, and we never talked about religion.  We talked about Utah and guitars and things like that, and it was a pleasant visit.  And before they left, I asked if they had anywhere to go for Thanksgiving.  They said no, so I invited them back to eat with us.  They accepted, and looked surprised in doing so.

I don't know much about Mormons, but I know that these young men aren't up to anything dangerous.  They're just doing a duty, fulfilling a requirement of their Church, and showing them a little kindness sure won't hurt me any.  These kids are a long way from home, and they run across enough hostility as it is without getting more of it from me.  If a dog wags his tail at me, I'm more than likely going to pet him.  I might be cautious about it at first, but if he shows me good intent, I take it as such.  Why should I be any different about people?  I'm not sure, but it's just possible that the best animal on the planet might be one with a tail.