Where’s Dorko?

Hello! Thanks for stopping by when I haven’t been able to post for a while.

As Johnny Cash once said, “I’ve been everywhere, man.”

One of the places was Malibu, California. It really was that pretty. I was there on the blood moon, and it was a wonderful experience even though I was very tired.

I learned some new concepts in driving, too — cross the Mojave at night! Not only is it a relentless hellscape of sunshine, with not a single scrap of shade anywhere for hours and hours, but it’s glorious at night. After dusk, the Mojave is cool, wide open, and even survivable. Plus, you get to see what actually goes on there. For example, I found this Punjabi restaurant/truck stop in the middle of nothing, California. I had not realized there were that many Indian truck drivers in America, for one thing. In that part of the country, when they say “Mexican and Indian,” they normally mean “Mexican and Native American.”

I felt stupid for initially being confused about this defunct cab parked out front. Foolish me, thinking, who the hell takes a cab from here to anywhere? Where would you have the cab take you? Forgive me for thinking it’s funny. I still have no idea why it’s there.

My favorite thing about this cab was how it was redacted — they took black spray paint and went over the checkers. I wanted to get a better picture of how goofy that looked, but felt a little conspicuous. Besides, I didn’t want to offend the owner, who introduced me to India’s most delicious snack food. Seriously, if you ever see a bag of these, do yourself a favor and grab it.