Surgery was, for the most part a success. When I say, for the most part, I mean the extreme pain I was having is gone. However, I still have problems with the numbness in both legs and feet. Dr. Verska is hopeful some of that will subside over time but there is no guarantee it will.

The pain was life changing and now that it is gone I can start living more normally again. After I get used to walking with numb feet.

I have been back in the Boise, Idaho area now for just over 3 months and have settled into a routine. I have continued to work on some web projects and spend time reflecting on my future. I have joined the local health club (Idaho Health Club). In general I have begun settling in. I'm not sure just when I came to the decision but I have decided to interrupt my travel adventure.

That's correct, I am going to move out of my RV back into an apartment. I plan to spend the summer in my RV and in the fall search out an apartment and move in. I will keep my RV because I want the ability to head for the hills for a few weeks whenever I get itchy feet.

The reason's I have decided to interrupt my adventure is many but I will try to explain the more important ones.

Probably the biggest is my granddaughter Ellery who is now 4 years old. After returning from the south this past February I was miserable, mostly because of the pain and the situation where I had to abort my winters travel plans and the miserable trip back here. When I got here I found Ellery had grown so much since I had last seen her in October. She is now talking where I can understand her and being with her is such joy.

After I hurt myself while in the south I was a little scared as I realized that I was alone and that a more serious illness or accident could happen again while I was a long way from home.

That brings me to the next reason, as I mentioned in a previous posting that I am single and have been for over 20 years. Yes, I am a crusty old bachelor! But this little problem I had last winter made me realize that as long as I travel and not spend any time in one place the odds of my finding a soul mate will be next to impossible.

A favorite saying I have used before, a Naval gunnery term (or military in general), where it is extremely hard to hit a moving target. And it is even harder for a moving body to hit a stationary object. In using that example I am saying that the odds of me meeting "that someone" would be greatly improved if I were to stop and stay in one place for a while.

Another big reason why I have decided to drop anchor for a while is the state of the nation. I am not speaking just of the economy though that is a big part of it. I refer to the core of our society as a whole. I now believe that the rise of our society is now behind us and we are now a society in decline. The reasons for this are many but chief among them is our new national goal of punishing achievers and rewarding non achievers. We are heading full tilt toward a society that is hell bent on redistributing wealth.

This fundamental change in our society signals the demise of the American dream. Why should anyone aspire to improve themselves if the government is going to take it from them and transfer it to others. When the incentive to be rewarded for ones own efforts is gone where will the achievers be?

It appears that Nikita Kruchev was partly correct when he said:

"I once said, 'We will bury you', and I got into trouble with it. Of course we will not bury you with a shovel. Your own working class will bury you."
Nikita Khrushchev

When I said partly I mean that it won't be the "working class" that bury's us but our own government in the name of the "working class" will bury us.

Why is this a reason why I have decided to put my travel adventure on hold? Because like my previous reasons I don't want to be a thousand miles from home, alone, when our economy grinds to a halt. And unless we make a u-turn soon that isn't going to happen. I am very pessimistic about the future my granddaughter Ellery has.

Sorry if the tone of my posting is a little depressing, but it is how I see our future now. I will move into a more "normal" lifestyle with the hope it will increase my sense of security. As I mentioned I will keep my RV and if necessary or desired I can hit the road again. As far as doing that full time again, it is not likely to happen again unless I have a travel companion. I just wouldn't feel secure a thousand or two thousand miles away from family in these times.