Got my feet on the ground in Asia again, and it feels excellent... And once again I'm reminded of why I'm here... it's not about 'adventure' or finding new challenges, discovering idyllic villages, the perfect beach, climbing mountains, riding the zipline through the jungle etc. It's about retreat. From television, from professional sports, from the so-called news of the day, from being Rich Glauber in Eugene, from my laptop, from dance class, from the phone, from the normal every day life that I enjoy in Eugene. Don't get me wrong, it's an excellent life that I get to lead, but it's so great to step outside of it and have a look at other ways of being.
And here I am back in Chiang Mai, at the Royal Guest House where I've hung out for parts of the last three winters, over to the Lost Book Shop, run by the witty Irishman, George. He tells me that it was supposed to be called 'the Last Book Shop' but when the sign arrived, they had gotten it wrong, and he decided, what the hell, "Lost Book Shop'' sounds pretty good too, so the name stuck. George is assisted by Joy, a tiny and very intelligent Thai woman who I've gotten to know over the years. She told me about some Aussie guy who had ripped them off for a couple of books, and when she confronted him, he slapped her in the face. And then she went into wild woman mode, grabbed stuff off the desk and flung it in his face hyper speed, went for the hammer and he took off. She had some store video of the exchange and when she played it for me, all the customers came over to have a look. Great TV! Joy is awesome... probably weighs 95 pounds but she was a dervish.
Yes, it's a retreat for me here, great food everywhere, Thai massage everywhere, a swimming pool at the guest house where I do my laps, a spartan room on the 4th floor with a bed, a desk, a light and a bathroom with hot water shower, for under $10/night. It's a time to read and to reflect, to play a lot of guitar, work on songwriting, perform at the CU Corner for friends and the public. There's something great about waking up in the middle of the night, and instead of reaching for the radio or the computer, reaching for a book or the guitar. My mind is way more engaged and that's what this is about.
I feel super lucky about the whole thing. Lucky that I get to be an American with these kind of choices, lucky that I've got a certain skill (plus 40 years of practice) that opens doors and lets me connect with others and with myself. Music is endless, and it's cumulative... stuff I worked on years ago gets to come out here. I'm reminded of an interview that I heard with Jerry Seinfeld in which he talked about how great it is to 'have material', to have stuff that's been tested and refined and 'works'. I've got that satisfaction as well, it feels very good. And it's cumulative.... that Ray Charles stuff I worked on this year... it's gonna get played and enjoyed here. That 'Mock Me Rama' birthday song I wrote in August... it's gonna get played and enjoyed... that Hank Williams stuff from last year.... same same... that 'We've Got It' swing thing I wrote for the Reach Center fundraiser... same same. Cumulative...
When I looked at my dates for the trip, I realized that it was 100 days on the road, and something about that number was pleasing. Sounds way better than three months and ten days or whatever. One hundred days feels more understandable... one day at a time... times a hundred.
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