The weather is dry. The days seem long and the nights seem short. There isn’t much to do out here in a place like this. People usually come out here when they retire. There is only about Five Thousand people in this town. I wake up to the heat so dry my nostrils are closed. I can hear the wolves howling in the distance. There is absolute silence in this town.There isn’t much to do, so the cops wait around hour after hour waiting to catch someone. You’re in the desert. Needles, California. I drive about a fourth of mile before i reach the liquor store or a mile until i reach a store or fast food place. If you keep driving a few miles, you’ll be in Arizona. You can see the beautiful blue Colorado River. You realize time has flown. Because one minute it’s 2:00pm until you reach Arizona. Then its 3:00pm. You see the people of the town and how everyone is so simple. They are simply walking into a grocery store or getting something to eat. You see the sun shine on the rivers of Arizona. You see families smile and wave as they pass each other on their jet skis.

If you go another direction you end up in Nevada. It’s a part of the tri-state. You’re so close that you can go to three states in one day. It’s the place my brother and I bonded after dealing with such a great loss in our family. It’s a place where everyone goes to get away and simply celebrate. You breathe in the air and you can smell the hopes and dreams of those who go and visit. You look and you see the happiness in one’s eyes. You look in their eyes and they look into yours. Blue eyes, brown eyes, any eyes and there is hope. Hope for their future. Hope for a better day. Hope for a better tomorrow.

It’s my peace, it’s my safe place, it’s the place that brought my brother and I together.