Face transplant news prompts thoughts

There was big news today, and I hope you did not miss it. A woman in Cleveland was given a face transplant. Apparently, she was horribly disfigured, and so this will surely be a wonderful thing for her. The face she got was from a woman who had died. This is the fourth face transplant in history.

At first I thought it would be very strange for the family of the dead woman -- to see that same face on another person. Oh, that would be eerie, don't you think?

But I suppose the face will look different because of the differing shape and bone structure of its new host.

Still, the thought about getting a new face prompts some thoughts, at least it did for me.

Have you seen the new movie "Australia" starring hunky, studly guy Hugh Jackman (sexiest man of the year according to People Magazine)? He looks like he came right off the cover of a romance novel, with bulging muscles and the kind of face that I believe would drive most women wild.

I have decided that if he should die (I'm not wishing it, mind you), I would like to have his face. I could workout a bit more in the gym to build up my muscles. It would be very interesting to be that good looking. I have always wondered what it would be like.

Anyway, if you know me know now and one day meet me and I look very, very different, then you will know why.

Washington state is coffee crazy

When most people think of Washington they think of Seattle or they think of tall mountains, or ferns or slimy banana slugs. And they think of coffee. Washington is the birthplace of Starbucks. Even in eastern Washington, which is mostly wide open space (as you can see in this photo), people love their coffee. Along U.S. 395, this billboard advertises the next caffeine opportunity. From the looks of this picture, it's hard to imagine there's anything ahead but sagebrush.

Happy Travel Trailer

This is a very happy trailer. I photographed it in Chloride, Arizona, which is pretty much a ghost town these days.

Two headed things along the road

I came across this two headed cow (calf) in a museum in Colorado. That was quite a few years ago, so I don't know if it is still there. I suppose there are many other two headed creatures out there in museum-land. I saw a two-headed rattlesnake in a museum near the entrance to Carlsbad Caverns National Park. It was okay, but not nearly as impressive as the two headed calf.

And while on the subject of odd things, in a little town in Arizona -- can't remember the name now -- I had the good fortune to see the world's largest hairball (from a cat). It was huge and very impressive. I think it must have been coughed up by a very big cat. I think it would have choked a little cat.

A good reason to travel the back roads with your RV

Do you prefer to travel the back roads with your RV instead of the highways? I drive the "blue highways" as often as possible, where I can see the roadside up close rather than from a distance. Here is a short video essay I did about one of my favorite things to watch for as I travel the two-lane highways of North America.

A very unusual big tree with a bear inside

I found this photo on a greeting card at an old-fashioned hardware store in rural Washington. On the front it says, "Two natives of Washington, a bear den and dwelling in a Washington Saw Log." You can see the bear inside its den on the left side of the photo. After a bit of research, I learned that the photo was once on a postcard, with the following description on the back: "This log was cut four miles from Aberdene from a spruce log 40 feet from the Butt which was 13 feet in diameter at one end and eight feet at the other. It is 40 feet long, 9 feet in diameter at one end of eight feet at the other, cut to show at the St. Louis Fair, and is now in Belle Isle Park at Detroit, Mich. There are chairs, settee and table cut inside of the log. When in St. Louis it housed two bears and a large cougar."

Do you know anything about this saw log? Maybe if you are old enough you once saw it. It's not at Belle Isle Park in Detroit anymore. If it is still around I would like to know so I can visit it someday. It reminds me of the One-Log House in the California Redwoods. That one is a little smaller, cost a dollar to go inside, and never housed any bears.

Barbie -- the perfect woman of my youth!

Oh, man! Check out this Barbie TV commercial from 1959. Here she is, the perfect woman -- the image of femininity young girls of my generation aspired to be when they grew up. Ken, Barbie's guy, didn't come along until later. I never wanted to be Ken. He was way too stiff, too plastic. . . boring! Really, really boring! My sister owned a Barbie or two. I remember seeing her naked -- the doll, not my sister. She was only partially realistic, and not interesting to a young guy just producing his first testosterone. Fast forward a few decades. My daughter entered prime Barbie age and passed right through without paying any attention to the most popular doll in the history of mankind. What a relief!

Anyway, check out this commercial with its swell music.