Bringin’ in the new year at Polvo, 2012

I did say I was going to continue with my tale of the road, when I left off a few months back, blogging about the tour Kem Watts, myself, Emilie Clepper, and Nick Young engaged upon, bringing in the new year of 2012. Perhaps I am a tad bit late, bringing on this tale in early March. In my mind comes the old quip: “Better late than never!”

Mr. Dave Duke is the owner of Polvo, a narrow strip of land, fashioned in the way the Spanish conceived of property hundreds of years ago. Fashioned strangely, may I add, in that the land is a good bit of 20-40 acres (probably more on the 40 side), but it stretches, literally, from the Rio Grande north, only being as wide as 100 yards, as I recall. I can’t remember why the Spanish made such land arrangements/agreements with the Natives back then. Please, someone educate in this regard.

Nonetheless, Polvo is the old word for this town that we descended upon, post-tour, Dec. 31, 2011. The town is now named Redford, but Dave has appropriated the old name for his own little settlement; a settlement that contains old adobe buildings, so old, that they are registered with the state as such: old; with the placards of old notoriety to boot. It is classic of Dave to host a party on New Years Eve on his place, a tradition that is five years in the making as of now.

Mr. Dave Duke also has a way of bringing together the most fascinating of people. If anyone has followed this tale, of which this blog entry is but the 2nd part (the first part is titled “Mo, Kem, and Em on the road in Terlingua, 2011 into 2012″), then they will know that I left off saying my favorite part of this tale is yet to come. Well, it cometh.

Gathered about the campfire at Polvo that nite, the eve of Dec 31, 2012, were your standard vagabounds, including Mr. Duke himself, myself, Mr. Claude Luke (cowboy poet extraordinaire), George and Anita Goss… and so forth… including some sketchy individual who calls himself ‘The Captain,’ or something of the like…

but also gathered were 2 couples engaging in the most fascinating of occupations, the two of them. I will now introduce you to them:

Firstly, American Dreams: Trash and Dirt
Mary Pearl and Ben, having gathered some resources via Kickstarter, as I recall, have put to the road in their little yellow car, traveling the country, constructing green houses out of trash and dirt. Two incredible individuals I say, Ben even picking up the wash tub bass one nite and playing quite well with us. Later I was to find that he made some living traveling on a cruise boat as the piano player.

Mary Pearl and Ben of American Dreams: Trash and Dirt

The second couple were a brother team: Noah and Tim, of America Recycled. They are traveling the states via bicycle, and learning, experiencing as they go, surviving upon their resources, in the tents, and eating road kill if need be (and if sufficiently fresh!). Myself, I’ve been eying the many varieties of greens lately on our roadsides, proclaiming, “My God, there is a fuckin’ garden out here!” I believe I have recently correctly identified Black Mustard, look for the tall greeny plant along the roads, by the 10′s of thousands, adorned w/ small yellow flowers, in bunches of 4′s.

I digress… Tim and Noah are also toting about quality audio and video recording gear, and making a fine show of their talents on their website of what they have come thru.

Tim and Noah of America Recycled

If you’ve got any sauce, or sense is it?… if you have the power to do so, and you feel it is not a waste of your time, do go and visit these folks at their respective websites, of which I shall provide once more:

American Dreams: Trash and Dirt

America Recycled

Please, donate to their causes! Upon investigation, can you not think of anythings more exciting! What better way to spend time, than traveling about via bike, experiencing/recording; or building greenhouses out of trash and dirt! Then, perhaps, after investigation and a bit of generosity, ponder on this phrase:

‘You buy money w/ your time’
-”Your Money or Your Life,” Vicki Robin and Joe Dominguez