“You smell this business with a sense as cold as is a dead man’s nose.”
Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale (II.1.151)
Aries: The Texas Gulf Bend gives way to the longest “barrier island” in North America. Inland from that barrier, there’s a series of estuaries, river deltas, creeks that drain central Texas into the Gulf, and the Inter-coastal Waterway. I was meandering along the edge of the Inter-coastal Waterway, making way someplace down there, and it’s a serious of low-water crossing and tall bridges. Narrow roads, two-lane black top with soft, Gulf sand on either side. I must’ve been in a hurry to get to a destination because I was stuck behind a car with Iowa tags. Tourists. Snowbirds, although, April is a little late to call ’em snowbirds. Whatever the deal was, the car had out-of-state tags, and I was in a hurry. No way to pass, not legally, not even illegally, and even though the speed limit was clearly marked at 55 MPH, the car in front of me was poking along at about half the posted speed. Numerous bad words ran through my mind, as these people in front of me dawdled, poked, meandered and otherwise aimlessly prevented me from reaching my destination. Damn Yankee tourists. In the Texas Gulf Bend area, time is a relative measurement. Wasn’t their fault, and I did get really irritated for a few minutes, then I kicked back, “island attitude” set in. When someone blocks your forward momentum? Think, “island attitude.” Much better than cussing at a carload of tourists.
Taurus: I’ve commented on this before. When I’m commuting from Austin to Dallas, or especially making the San Antonio to El Paso flight, why does the airline have to tell me that the seat cushion can be used as floatation device? The largest body of water I’ll be over for the duration of the flight is probably a stock pond, not much bigger than one of those super-size cups of coke from the corner store. Covering the American Southwest, I can’t think of any large bodies of water, and the lakes are pretty hard to hit, so what are the odds? Slim to none that I’ll need to use that seat bottom cushion as a floatation device. However, every time, I’m struck by the incongruity, a flight over the great American desert, and I’m being told about floatation devices. But those rules are there for some reason, federal regulations, or who knows what all. Seems pretty stupid to me. You’re going to find your Taurus self facing a similar, if not exactly the same, kind of rules and regulations. Laugh. Make snide comments, turn it all into a joke, but follow the rules. Those rules are there for some reason. Seems pretty silly. The incongruities are lost on some, between your Taurus self and me? We can chuckle.
Gemini: On a Wayne Hancock’s CD, Swing Time, there’s a familiar track, Route 66. The CD was a live recording, and met with limited commercial success. Critically? It’s a fabulous collection of songs from a singer and songwriter who’s also a brilliant honky-tonk performer. The essence of a crowded bar setting is caught with that CD. On the track in question? Every time “Amarillo” is mentioned, there’s a loud hoot, a live version of someone in the background, cheering for the home team. It’s touching and amusing, at the same time. It’s not like Amarillo has a lot to cheer about, other than it’s just up the road a piece from Lubbock. Historic Route 66 — the mother of all roads — cuts through Amarillo. The song predates the now-famous Cadillac Ranch, just west of Amarillo. That hoot, that holler? It’s now immortalized on a CD that should be a Certified Country Classic. So when you open your Gemini mouth, make sure you want what you say immortalized. Never can tell when your flippant Gemini voice gets recorded for all time.
Cancer: Passing along through a neighborhood, I noticed honeybees were busy doing their thing with the pollen distribution work. Cut to a nature show or read up on the bees — the kind of flower determines the flavor of the honey. These bees were busy on Rosemary. That’s an evergreen, used on cooking, particularly useful for memory and as an antiseptic (I think). I’m not much up on my herbs, I just know what I like. I’ll bet that Rosemary honey is good stuff. However, I’m unwilling to wrestle with the bees, or, for that matter, do all the work the worker-bees do, in order to have that sweet harvest. All those little guys with their stingers, toiling away for the greater good of the hive. And producing some fine, sweet nectar at the same time. I got to thinking about a Cancer I know, all that work, and no one seems to notice? Then, as I was studying the bees on the rosemary flowers, I considered the whole chain of events, and those individual bees? They didn’t know how important their actions were. Like a good Cancer I know.
Leo: I was in the El Paso area, and I was rather enjoying myself. It gets a bit odd, from time to time, as the weather is easily unpredictable. I don’t mean a little unpredictable, I mean like in a big way. Balmy calm, 80-degree afternoon one day, then later that evening, a huge wind came billowing in, not like a gentle zephyr. I mean, the howling, lifting the eves of the roof kind of wind. Looked like, felt like, most of New Mexico was in the heavens, and the stinging grit had a cold edge to it. I’m thoughtful, and I’ve prepared for this before, despite being shorts weather where I’m at, I’m ready for the drastic change in the Far West Texas weather. That’s what it’s like in Leo, too, as a little preparation goes a long way to insure domestic tranquility. That terrible weather? Sometimes, it drives folks indoors, to seek solace from astrologers, which, in my case, wasn’t a bad deal. Same thing for Leo.
Virgo: The biggest problem I’ve had with technology is that it the new equipment, both hardware and software, it all tries to second-guess what I want. While it would be nice to have a word processor that corrects all my mistakes and basically covers my ass when I try to bump the wrong verb into a noun, such matters don’t really exist. Then there’s hardware aspect, and I’m wondering who designed some of the hardware I use. The keyboards don’t always fit right. The earpiece for some hardware, phones and portable music players? Some that doesn’t line up the way it’s supposed to. I might be an odd duck, but just once, I’d like to get a new cell phone, or a new computer, or even a digital camera that worked like the advertising said it would. Ultimately, all this technology is nothing more than toys, although, for tax purposes, I do consider these tools for my employment. Look: instead of trying to be everything for everybody? Instead of being one of those pieces of hardware or software that presupposes my preferences, based on some arcane demographic, or a human interface engineer’s dream? Try a more simplistic approach. You’ll be happier. Hell, I’d be happier.
Libra: Shorts, sandals, Hawaiian shirts, and a merry spring attitude. That’s the message. Not everyone you encounter will appreciate your Libra gaiety or levity. So be it. Not everyone appreciates the fact that you’re casually attired while everyone else is stuck in drab, formal wear. Life’s tough for a number of people. It’s problematic for some folks. After what you’ve been through, with miscues, computers not working, and the usual complaints, a little bit of a lighter attitude, as evidenced by your spring clothing choices, goes a long way in making the Libra world a little bit better place to be. Not everyone can afford to dress casual-like. Most of the Libra’s I know, to them, “casual” is generally understated elegance, in one form or another. Go with that idea. Casual Friday may be an idea that’s come and gone, but that doesn’t mean you can’t observe it. My suggestion is still to go for the relaxed attire, and this attire should reflect a relaxed attitude you have. The outside should be a mirror image of what’s happening on the inside.
Scorpio: Early next week, a tall dark handsome stranger is going to enter your life. A person of quality from a distant land. Seeing as how I’m based in Texas, a distant land, for me, could be Louisiana, New Mexico, or even Oklahoma. Spiritually, I’ve also considered Eastern New Mexico to be part of Texas, as it was at one time, so maybe that would have to exclude portions of New Mexico and even Colorado. So when I suggest a tall, dark handsome stranger from someplace different, work with the definitions of a different place. I’ve got a client in Lower Manhattan, and the Bronx is a foreign land, as far as she’s concerned. The message, interaction, discourse and so forth with that stranger, that distant traveler? Therein is the clue. Listen to the traveler’s tales. Take note. In this case, it’s easier for your Scorpio self to learn from other folks’ mistakes rather than repeat the process yourself. I know that’s a bit of a shock for you, but try it. The concept presented by one person arriving from some place far-off pays a good dividend, if you’re willing to listen.
Sagittarius: My schedule between travel, appearances, classes, lectures, plus the arduous ordeal of turning in a regular weekly column, and doing the writing that I do on the side? All of that makes for a very confusing lifestyle. Days run into weeks, weekends happen, for me, in the middle of the week, and I get to a point where I’m awake most of the night and try to sleep most of the day. This isn’t a problem, as I tend to work when most people play. That means, I play when most people work. The only problems occur when I have to get up really early, sometimes around my sometimes bedtime, in order to hit the lake for fishing duties. The other problem is when there’s a weekend event scheduled, and I have to get up early to catch the early morning flight out of here to get there, wherever “there” is. It’s the way it goes, just pieces of this business. The problems we’re encountering in this next couple of days all has to do with the way we interact with folks who have more normal schedules. If your schedule gets like mine, all turned around and upside down? Don’t worry about it. Some of us pretend to thrive on getting three-hours sleep, and taking it all in as normal.
Capricorn: Upcoming, there’s a band I like, love their music, love the live show, and they’re going to playing at a club, just around the corner from me. I was planning on going to see the show, but I didn’t buy tickets ahead of time, and when the show time arrived, I was busy with a sticky astrological process (like “when is the exact time to file taxes?”) I wasn’t too heartbroken, there’s another show, next week, another group, and it’s some fun stuff, and I can always go see that for entertainment, too. Looking at the Capricorn chart, I noticed that there was a lot of the “I can do that later” type of planetary movement in your chart. Now, normally, I wouldn’t suggest procrastination as a lifestyle choice, but over the next couple of days? I’m wondering if a prognostication about procrastination isn’t, perhaps, a good idea. It has merit. It has promise, besides, you can attend to the other matters, later. Like seeing that band, or hearing some music at a local venue. To be sure, you’ll kick yourself later for not going, but you know, sometimes, you just can’t quite get it together to get out there. Maybe that’s not so bad.
Aquarius: Planning is part of the game. I looked at the weather the other evening, estimating that it was going to be a good afternoon to fish on the following day. I guessed that a crankbait, a lure designed to dive underwater, was what I wanted to use. I fetched one out of the tackle box, attached it to the end of the pole I was planning to use, a lightweight set-up just for afternoons like what was coming, so I guessed. Then I thought about it. Maybe a topwater would be better, huh? So I clipped the line, and tied on a different lure. Then I looked at the weather again, and paged through my notes from the last time I was fishing in April, and thoughts about it some more. Maybe a wacky-rig worm. I clipped the lure off, and put on a number two hook then stuck a worm on it. Again, I thought about it for a few minutes, and decided that a Texas-rig worm was the way to go. Clipped the line, and added the nose-weight for a Texas-rig worm, attached a different hook and I was set to go. Then I thought about it some more, and I looked at the time. I’d spent the better part of two hours, messing around with fishing tackle, still unsure of what I was supposed to be doing, and there was plenty of other real work that needed to be accomplished. Plus, I hadn’t wet a line yet. My coffee table was covered with lures, baits, tackle, odd bits of various tools I use, and I still wasn’t sure what I should be doing. I can save you my frustrating two hours of indecision, wait until the right time, then make the decision. This game of affixing one lure, then thinking about it, and changing it? That just wastes a lot of time. Wait and see what the morning brings.
Pisces: Ever get one of those days that seems to stretch into a couple of days that then stretch into a week or more when all you want to do is stay home? Can’t be bothered to head out for fun and games? I’m probably, at this time, still scrambling to get taxes and stuff done. You’re not quite as put out with the “waiting until the last minute” to finish certain administrative tasks, but there’s still that pervasive sense that home is the best place to be. Your Pisces self just can’t be bothered to be out and about. One Pisces will find fault with that, a late February Pisces, but other than that one Pisces, the rest of us gentle fishes just can’t be bothered. Spawn is over, and the post-spawn season means a few weeks when all is quiet on the lake of life. (That refers to the local bass spawn, in case you’re wondering.) But that post-spawn, tax-season, quietude? Perhaps a little less interaction with other folks, especially the non-Pisces folks? Maybe that’s a good idea. Maybe that’s a plan rather than an escape.
