August 5, 2008, Gallup, NM. Woke up in a cheap motel in Gallup this morning to the sound of crime scene investigators working up a scene 2 doors down. Something serious happened. Detectives milling about while 3 fellows in rubber gloves were handling evidence on the hood of their car. They had some sort of kit and were busy running their procedure. Somebody had a bad day.
Update. According to the lady at the desk, somebody expired in their room. The police were doing their routine schtick looking for signs of foul play.
Today we drove north on Route 666 491 through the Navajo Nation to a geometric point of interest where 4 states collide.
The Navajo’s charge $3/head for access to this geopolitical point. It is a remote spot where imaginary lines intersect. You can buy fry bread and refrigerator magnets in the numerous kiosks.
Things overheard at 4-Corners: The Navajo lady in the information shack was explaining (rather proudly) to a tourist from Toledo that the Utes refer to the Navajo as “Head Bashers” and “Bloody Knives”. Hmmm. Some bad blood there.
Lamentations on Chemistry 
Above the exact intersection of Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona aluminum has no magnetism. Try it.
That is also true where the Greenwich Meridian crosses the International Dateline.
Hmm, Gallup NM? Will you get to visit my birth place – Roswell? And yes, the year was 1957.
I wouldn’t have posted that. Sounds like you might be called in as a witness. I’ve yet to succcumb to the allure of the $30/ night roadside motel with flickering sign missing the M and L. I just keep driving till I get to a civilized spot.
P.S- always remove the bedspread.
1. Detectives milling about while 3 fellows in rubber gloves were handling evidence on the hood of their car.
2. According to the lady at the desk, somebody expired in the room.
3. Utes refer to the Navajo as “Head Bashers” and “Bloody Knives”. Hmmm. Some bad blood there.
4. It is a remote spot where imaginary lines intersect.
O.K. you’ve just described the fine start of a Stephen King book.
I’ve got to go to sleep. It’s possible you’re pulling some bad Karma behind you. Fortunately for you, it seems to prefer others. Chemists as a group make boring sacrificial victims. It’s hard to instill terror in people who believe in rules.
You have a point. Maybe I need a month in a buddhist monastery to calm down the continuum.
Uncle Al, You mean I have to go back to the corner to do the experiment? The wife unit will not be happy…