Pilot's Log

Moonshine is on Injured Reserve; the brakes again.  They haven't gotten completely unreliable but there were times in my drive today that I had to push the pedal all the way to the firewall.  I also had a couple very close calls/narrowly avoided collisions with other vehicles.  So the car is going to stay in the carport till I can get it to our mechanic.

Meanwhile, if I have to go anywhere I'll borrow Dad's Nissan pickup truck.

Much of the action in the world's novels takes place inside buildings, according to author Robert Bringhurst. But characters in older Russian literature are an exception, he says. They are always out in the forests, traveling and rambling. In accordance with astrological omens, I suggest that you draw inspiration from the Russians' example in the coming days. As often and as long as you can, put yourself in locations where the sky is overhead. Nature is the preferred setting, but even urban spots are good. Your luck, wisdom, and courage are likely to increase in direct proportion to how much time you spend outdoors.

If it weren't this place's rainy season...

"If I seem free, it's because I'm always running." So said Sagittarian musician Jimi Hendrix, widely regarded as one of the most inventive and electrifying guitarists who ever lived. Does that prospect have any appeal to you, Sagittarius? I don't, of course, recommend that you keep running for the rest of your long life. After a while, it will be wise to rest and ruminate. But I do think it might be illuminating to try this brazen approach for a week or two. If it feels right, you might also want to mix in some dancing and skipping and leaping with your running.

While there is nothing wrong with running, and I'd do it more if I had a safe place to do it, I'm more inclined to see the wisdom of yet another Sagittarian rock guitarist--Keith Richards--who very famously said that he would walk before they made him run. :)

In the old fairy tale "Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves," the poor woodcutter Ali Baba is collecting firewood in the forest when he spies a gang of thieves bragging about their exploits. Observing them from a hiding place, he hears them chant a phrase, "open sesame." This magically unseals the opening to a cave that happens to be full of their stolen treasure. Later, when the thieves have departed, Ali Baba goes to the cave and says "open sesame" himself. The hocus-pocus works. He slips into the cave and steals a bag of gold from the robbers' plunder. This story has resemblances to an adventure you could enjoy sometime soon, Sagittarius. I suspect you may discover your own version of "open sesame." It will give you access to a less literal and more legitimate bounty.

This week promises a magic carpet ride and some shaking for the Sheikh.  Maybe we'll Rock some Casbah as well.

For the itch you are experiencing, neither chamomile nor aloe vera will bring you relief. Nor would over-the-counter medications like calamine lotion. No, Sagittarius. Your itch isn't caused by something as tangible as a rash or hives, and can't be soothed by any obvious healing agent. It is, shall we say, more in the realm of a soul itch -- a prickly tickle that is hard to diagnose, let alone treat. I'm guessing that there may be just one effective cure: Become as still and quiet and empty as you possibly can, and then invite your Future Self to scratch it for you.

My brother is talking vacation...if his travelling bone is in need of exercize, then so is mine.