Biscuits in North Carolina

Biscuits and apple butter are the only things I will remember with fondness when I think of the South. Maybe it's the time of the tour, the long days and drives, and the contention within the company that has not made the South enjoyable...I don't know. All I know is that I'm ready to move on. I tried boiled peanuts and, okay, the South. I'm ready to go back to the West. I've become a robot. I get on the bus, put on my headphones, and stare out the window. The scenery changes before my eyes, blurs of palm trees, then cyprus, pine, aspen, then miles of nothing but sky. I drift somewhere between consiousness and sleep attempting to take in whatever I can that will keep me aware. A splash of color maybe from a sign or a house, an occaisional bird, a mountain. Tonight it was a sunset. I imagined my soul flying away from my body right to the sun where it was encircled and I felt safe and warm. Those are the moments I cherish. I want to become that sun. Here's one of my favorite quotes and it's for everyone who might need it right now, including me. Hopefully I remember it all correctly. To laugh often and much; To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; To appreciate beauty, to find the best in others; To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded. ---Ralph Waldo Emerson