Let's Tango, pay our taxes & keep on writing

I keep the dream in my pocket
Never let it fade away
Inside, outside
No loneliness in this dream

Lindsey Buckingham
Some lines from his song: "Tango in the Night"

Time to Tango .... the night away ....

One of my favorite movies is "Sunset." It is a fictional piece about Wyatt Earp and Tom Mix joining forces to fight evil in Hollywood, California, on the eve of the first-ever presentation of the Academy Awards. How could anyone ever beat that story line?

James Garner plays Wyatt, and Bruce Willis plays Tom. There are elements of truth here. A few years after Tombstone and the gunfight at the OK corral, Earp moved on to California where he and Mix, cowboy turned actor, became friends. Several years after that, Mix was a pallbearer at Earp's funeral.

I am not going to tell you every single reason why I am into this movie, but one reason is the Tango that Willis and actress Miranda Garrison perform during a scene set in a "south of the border-type" night club. Other than the pistol play (yeh, sure), I think that is the best part of the movie. I want to learn to Tango whenever I see the movie. This is coming from a guy who ordinarily needs two drinks before moving onto a dance floor. (The words, "fear nothing," do not apply to dancing.) And, put me down on your list of idiots, because I think there actually is something profound to the Tango. Something beyond sexy. Something beyond grace and beauty when danced by a couple who know what they are doing. I think this is one dance that does have a real story of its own to tell, and movements which reveal insight into the psyche of the dancers. I will now return to reality.

But first, sliding sideways for a moment .... I think a "south of the border-type" location is a place where I could live for a while. I like the people. I like the music. Its boxers are the toughest in the world. Tequila is not brandy, but it works. The climate usually is warm. There are places to explore and waters into which to toss a canoe. Just a thought.

Beware, the mean tax man cometh ....

I own three adjoining, platted lots totaling about four acres in another state. Saturday, I received the "real estate assessment notice" for 2009 in the mail. The assessed value, reads the notice, has "increased over last year's value by 142.86 percent."

These lots are woodland, with no buildings, no improvements (no water, no electricity) and can be reached only by traveling a non-maintained, private road. Yet, the value of these lots for tax purposes supposedly has increased nearly 150 percent in the span of only one year, while property values all around the country are slumping and the housing market is in a recession?

I think I will ask the county director of tax equalization there if he wants to buy these lots from me. This is not "the change" I wanted, and yes, I am being sarcastic. Very, very, very sarcastic.

Still cold outside, so why not write more?

Last night, it was three degrees Fahrenheit above zero at this time. This night, it is an even zero. Better yet, the cold is accompanied by a brisk breeze. You don't need to be a weatherman to know which way the snow is blowin'. Sorry. Sometimes I lose it.

I usually measure winter as existing from the first of November to the end of March. There is more to it than those months, of course, but that time frame holds the greatest measure of true winter around here. I have seen snow on Labor Day weekend and during the last week of May on the shores of Lake Superior. That is not common, but that is the way it is. Like it or leave it.

I am feeling lazy and relaxed tonight. As I have said before, when I began this blog my intent was to write at least a few words every day for the first 30 days, then slide into a "when I feel like it" pattern. I passed that mark, and might go for 60 consecutive days. Why? Because the wind still blows cold, I guess.

I would like to be reading more about other people's lives and learn about them, their likes, dislikes and backgrounds, than to be putting out all this stuff about me. However, I will continue to do it. I would hope the reason is obvious. I believe in two-way streets.

Music Note: Listening to Fleetwood Mac ....
Specifically, "Tango in the Night" ....
(This band is in the Twin Cities Tuesday)