I write these words at a free breakfast at a motel in Bend, Oregon.

I’m utterly amazed at Bend. This place is beautiful, and the downtown and parks along the Deschutes River are wonderful. Quite honestly, I’ve rode my motorcycle through here – I recall some visits with Jennifer that included me riding through these parts – but I don’t recall ever staying or stopping too long in Bend. I guess I always needed to be somewhere else.

I’m here for the FairWell Festival, but I’ve been spending most of my time frolicking in Bend. I bought a new book while shopping in the village. One more book about looking at life and death from a buddhist perspective. I haven’t bought one of these in a while. In part because of opportunity, but mostly because this particular book stood out to me.

‘How We Live Is How We Die‘ (2022) by Pema Chödrön.