Midian Ranch Blog

This is the web log for Midian Ranch, an isolated homestead in rural Nevada. It is owned by Jason and Tina Walters, whom are also its regular posters. This blog is exclusively for the enlightenment and edification of our friends, family, and colleagues.

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Location: Gerlach, Nevada, United States

Friday, December 14, 2007

Where Have We Been?

I suppose a more accurate title for this posting might be “Where Haven’t We Been?” The answer is: we haven’t been together. Oh, it’s not what you think. Tina and I are still happily married. But due to a rather unfortunate alignment of the stars in precisely the wrong order, I was forced to leave Midian Ranch for the last two months. Tina was forced by the same circumstances to stay here. Neither of us was thrilled by this situation, but sometimes life throws you a curve ball. All I can say is that I suppose what really matters is how hard you swing when one comes your way.

THE GOOD

Tina has done a fantastic job of living on her own out here in the wilderness. Everyone and everything is in good shape including (and most importantly) Tina herself. She’s gotten fantastically good at lighting fires - scary Jeremiah Johnson good. So good in fact that it’s a little unnerving. All she has to do is touch something flammable and it becomes a raging bonfire. Kind of makes me wonder what other supernatural abilities she’s developed in my absence.

I managed to sell the house in Richmond. We’ve closed and he money should be in the bank on Monday. That’s in part what I’ve been away doing over the last couple of months. I’ve been working for my former business partner Dominic (BTW: Thank you for the help Dom.) as a driving courier while I basically visited everyone I’ve known in my adult life to see if they were in the market for a home. It took a couple of months but I found someone. My old paintball buddy Paul Conrad and his wife drove a hard but fair bargain. Now they have a new home and Tina and I have a new lease on life. We didn’t get exactly what we wanted for the place, but we’ll walk away with enough to pay off our debts, live for a while, and make some investments. Plus we own the ranch, our home, and all of our vehicles outright. They may be humble but they’re 100% ours. That’s good enough for me.

THE BAD

I had to live apart from my wife for two months, work 12 plus hours a day, and live in my sister-in-law’s spare room (BTW: Thank you Keri.) I put a huge number of miles on my truck and ended up sinking a lot of he money I made back into it. People I’ve known for years felt sorry for me, which actually sucked way worse than being broke an in debt (though not more than living apart from Tina). I don’t enjoy pity.

Mom thinks that I’ve shown some rather uncharacteristic humility during this entire episode. While I don’t know about that, I do know that I didn’t find being a driving messenger particularly humiliating. Actually, it was kind of enjoyable. In another life I might have chosen to make it my permanent profession. But in this one I’ve got bigger fish to fry.

THE UGLY

I’ve been spending a lot of time alone lately. The last two months gave me ample time to reflect on the less-than-pleasant aspects of my own personality, conduct, and past. I don’t want to go into amazing detail or anything but failure has a way of putting things into perspective. I suppose it’s all part of the humility thing Mom was talking about.

I’ve been blessed with a life in which most of the things that I’ve touched have turned into gold. Maybe a stint in leadsville was just what the doctor ordered.

THE AWESOME

On Monday we drove down to Las Vegas to see our friends Mike and Melissa Noe get married… by an Elvis impersonator! He sung three numbers climaxing with a resounding Viva Las Vegas. What could be more Nevadan than that? You can link by clicking here and clicking on the M. Noe wedding (you'll need real player).