PICK A TOWN---ANY TOWN!

HERE'S HOW TO ENJOY YOURSELF----ANYWHERE! I'm driving across Eastern Washington---Ho Hum--I'm ready to be amused--up ahead is a town--Ritzville---I'll go there and find a story--here's how it's done:

PARK----WALK AROUND---NOTICE!

Wild flowers and quilt shop?---not that much of a stretch--BUT LIQUOR STORE?? That is a stretch. I notice unlikely parings like this. The most bizarre I've ever seen was a gas station that specialized in toilet seats.

This warms my heart---super rich guy, Andrew Carnegie--steel magnate--the Bill Gates of his day--gave away all his money--building libraries like this in hundreds of towns across America. He understood what no right winger in America understands---WEALTH IS EARNED IN A CONTEXT-AND THE CONTEXT IS OWED SOMETHING--giving back is the right thing to do.

This catches my eye---I go in and begin asking questions----Interesting questions--so interesting that recipients cannot resist expressing themselves. That's how "the good stuff" is elicited.

Meet L.R. Keith---one of 1500 people in the world who still practice telegraphy. The thing around his neck is a dust mask. He knows a lot of good stuff and willingly shared it.

He wears his affection for telegraphy proudly--not on his sleeve but on his belt--see the Western Union initials?

So how do these 1500 old timers communicate? Telegraph wires are long gone. They do it by phone---but with an interesting twist---this special phone number when dialed--cannot carry the spoken word---only the click clack of a telegraph morse code. He showed me--dialed the number--

Then sat down and contacted his buddies--George in Edmonton and Bill in Saskatoon Canada--giving them a question from me with an amazingly rapid clickity clack. The answer came in a flash--Mr. Keith can decipher incoming messages almost at speaking speed.

Note taking has an interesting effect on folks--they begin to take me and themselves more seriously.

Almost everyone wants to share what they know--especially if you take it seriously enough to write it down. I usually tell them about this blog and that has its effect also.

Knowing that hundreds of American cities have Ritz theatres--I wondered if this most elgible city for that name had one----and bingo--it did.

I left before dark, driving about 20 miles and settling in this remote spot on a side road--with every intention of staying the night. Someone in a car settled uncomfortably close to me and I immediately moved to the city of Pasco---

Settling into this vacant lot. In more than 7000 nights of boondocking I've never been threatened by invasion--but I trust my instincts and move occasionally when I get uncomfortable. (but I digress)

RANDY PHILOSOPHIZES: Pick any town-- give it a chance to amuse or inform with the power of your notice and interesting questions---and you will reap surprising rewards.