I took a break from the long drive today, spending time reading, writing, and walking around and admiring adobe houses (see photos). The highlight today was the baseball game, the Albuquerque Isotopes (Isotopes!), the Triple-A affiliate of Colorado Rockies. They played against El Paso Chihuahuas, the affiliate of San Diego Padres.
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1,400 miles so far have taught me things that I knew in my head, but had not been felt in my senses.
Secondary roads are not compatible with modern lifestyles. With freeways, it would have taken much less time and distance to get to where I am now. But I wouldn't have seen, heard, or smelled the places where people live, and certainly I wouldn't have felt the pain of going through the rough roads and terrain.
I passed houses that look like ruins but are actually still occupied. What do they do to make a living? Rivers are dry, rain is rare, and nothing edible grows in the soil. Why are they still here? Then, things I have read and seen in books and museums became real to my senses.
How people live may be as diverse as the number of people, but the freedom to choose what they can do is not equally given.