>>What -does- exist in this valley are a large quantity of cattle
>>ranches, some solar and wind farms, some small settlements that might
>>be described as 'hardscrabble', and - well, mule deer.
>
>"Mojave, mo' problems, am I right, folks?"
> - Mr. New Vegas So, fun fact: the town of Mojave, CA - just north of where this story takes place - has been burned to the ground three times and -literally blown away- once.
>>So there I was, bombing along at 57mph (because the cops along this
>>stretch are -bored- and love to hassle anyone who dares break 60) in
>>the full dark, singing "Hotel California" as one does to keep awake on
>>a dark desert highway after a very long day.
>
>Was the warm smell of colitas rising up through the air?
>
>(And what the hell are colitas, anyway?)
Sooo....there's what one might call a 'controversy' about the Eagles' best-known hit. Depending on which specific interpretation of the overall theme of the song is in favor, you could get a number of answers to that question.
IIRC the main camps form about whether it's about -prison-, the -mental hospital-, or -cocaine addiction-.
Two of those camps agree that colitas is a reference to marijuana - so, abiding by that majority vote, the answer is - no, I was doing the Fed Contractor schtick, so weed was right out.
>>And just as I'm dipping down between the bluffs, this deer erupts out
>>of the ditch by the side of the road, heading -right for me-, head
>>down, -charging- me. He proceeds to ram the driver's door -right by my
>>foot- before, incredibly, bouncing off, turning, and running back into
>>the ditch.
>
>Somewhere, on a deer forum, that deer is telling a story that starts,
>"So there I was in the dip by the aqueduct..."
I hope so. It would be only right.
>>So let that be a lesson if you drive in the desert scrub backlands of
>>California: the deer may be small here, but boy howdy are they -mean-
>
>"We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the
>deer began to take hold."
>
>Also, that must have been amusing to explain to your insurance
>adjuster. "Well, there was this deer, see..."
>
I mean, it was just a dent, and I had a couple in the car when I got it, so I figured why bother with that? There'd be no way they'd believe -that- kind of a story.
In Xanadu did Kubla Khan
A stately pleasure-dome decree
Where Alph, the sacred river, ran
Through caverns measureless to man
Down to a sunless sea