jerry fuentes

The one thing that sucks about being on the road and traveling for a bit is that you are forced to wear all the same clothes.  You wear it out.  Whenever you buy a new shirt or new pants you wear them out repeatedly.  Seriously, you are sporting that shit everyday.  That’s the beauty of being able to abuse the newness of new outfits.  However, there is a window in which this can be done.  Eventually, it must fall into rotation and take its place in what you consider to be your wardrobe.  You can’t overplay it.  The diminishing return only weakens whatever was cool about that piece of clothing to begin with.  Well, when your closet becomes a suitcase and you were forced to make some choices, in a way you are sacrificing those pieces because you will be SO SICK of wearing and washing the same stuff that you’ll never want to wear it again… As I was doing a load of wash at my dad’s house in Arizona, I underestimated the impact of seeing mountains in the distance from your neighborhood and cactus all over the place in so many shapes. 

Arizona Sunset w/ something shooting through the sky

A lemon from the lemon tree in my pop’s backyard

I have now settled in Los Angeles for a moment and I am playing a string of shows with an amazing band.  I enjoyed riding a bike along the beach and tried to ride without holding onto the handle bars but I quickly realized that it takes quite a bit of practice.  I think we all want to get to a place where we can ride without holding on anymore.  Not only do you look cooler, but you have a sense that you are actually enjoying your ride as you feel the freedom in the wind hitting your face.  At most I could only let go for seconds before I frantically grabbed the handle bars and realized it’s been a hell of long time since I rode a bike.  Although in living most of my adult life I think I have not only been riding without holding the handle bars, sometimes I get the sensation that I have a blindfold on as well.  Despite the times I’ve fallen it has definitely been a most enjoyable ride.  I feel fortunate that I have been able to get back on and continue riding, bruises and all.  I am also very aware of how lucky I am to have people around me that help me up, dust me off, and put me back on the bicycle.  Although by this time I’d think I would have figured out a way for the seat to not make my ass so sore.