“I got so down and out in 'Frisco
Tired of the pills and the rain picked up, headed for the sunshine
I left a good thing behind
Seemed all of our love was in vain
My baby's coming in on the Tucson train
I come here looking for a new life
One I wouldn't have to explain
To that voice that keeps me awake at night
When a little peace would make everything right
If I could just turn off my brain
Now my baby's coming in on the Tucson train
We fought hard over nothing
We fought till nothing remained
I've carried that nothing for a long time
Now I carry my operator's license
And spend my days just running this crane
My baby's coming in on the Tucson train
Hard work'll clear your mind and body
The hard sun will burn out the pain
If they're looking for me, tell 'em buddy
I'm waiting down at the station
Just praying to the five-fifteen
I'll wait all God's creation
Just to show her a man can change
Now my baby's coming in on the Tucson train”
There’s Bruce Springsteen’s ode to one of the coolest, most transformative towns around. The pic is of my Teacher, the great Shinzen Young, crossing paths with my sidekick, Rosalita Bernice Tootalian, at an impromptu Christmas Day Dim Sum. Rosalita (don’t) jump a little higher, I like to joke. I’m trying to talk Shinny into a visit to Crooked Tooth or Borderlands or some other Tucson brewery before we turn the boat around to head back East on Interstate 10.
Loving our time under the Sonoran Desert sun, our awesome, off-season odyssey will soon have us back in South Haven, Michigan for a cold minute. Then we’ll visit Vietnam for Tet, welcoming the new year of the Horse (Ngựa). Post Lunar NYE, we’ll venture Northwest to spend some quality time with the pachyderm nation residing in The Golden Triangle, the mountainous region where Myanmar, Laos, and Thailand come together, and the Mekong and Ruak rivers meet. Goods times, and an opportunity to renew our personal practice.
We’ll be back in March for more 2026 planning, but, for now, if you’re interested in discovering a happiness that has little to do with the world’s chaotic, concerning warble, then consider coming out for April’s Way of The Contrary Ceremonial Retreat Weekend. Or join us for an overview of the Meditation Master Shinzen’s teaching on what the whole sweep of Mindfulness is truly about: Concentration, Relaxation, Insight, and Unconditional Love, coupled with days of stillness practice, at our Spring Noble Silence Meditation Retreat Weekend (NMSR). More good news and stories from the road soon. Toksha, Until the Next, P + R