The State With No Zip, Upon Which Many Go for a Trip, Addresses With Many a Name, but the Goal Is Not Fortune or Fame.

The Tourist was on his trip; looking hard for a place with no Zip. Happy Hermit's Haunted Hut was the name he had heard from a drunk at a bar. He drove around looking for "some old sign about changing your mind", which was screwed into a piece of granite, next to the front door.

Not yet discouraged, he climbed up US 40 to higher aspects. He was smiling big time. The Tourist had a great shiny outfit -- His grin. He seemed full of ambition, confidence and the energy and commitment to bear any burden. So are you the Bar Dude? Is the "Hermit" just a nick name? "I just bought the place a few years ago. People call me "Whatever".

After snacks, the Tourist had no company and carried on. "I see that sign in the Men's Room - "abandon all hope" you put up for kicks. The Bartender dried the bar shiny as he spoke softly. "Some guy wasn't gonna get laid. Made mucho noise."

The Bartender sipped on some strange Chai brew as he chuckled to himself. "Gotta keep the amateurs off this road." The Hermit looked at the big spider on the welcome sign. "My job is to keep people happy on their interludes and help prevent minor calamities."

Some Want Little, Some want Joy, Short Trip, Away From It All Trip.

"What do you mean?" The Tourist was quizzical. The Hermit picked up his speech, the one he had given so many times before. "OK, let me tell you who shouldn't be on this road. First of all this little muddy path is not intended to be appealing, right?"

"There are a hundred wonderful things in faith and politics and society that people feel certain about. Why do you want to take those away?" The Bartender put up his hand to stop the Tourist "Did I say I wanted them to have less certainty?" "No." The Tourist did not get his drift.

"People, stability-seeking people are great people. They are wonderful people. We all need each other' We are all prime, number one, super necessary citizens of this planet."

MOST PEOPLE JUST NEED BREAKS.

They make it work! Lots people ARE NOT transforming and changing, just curing and healing, and that's what they want and pray for.

Mission Mush Is not the Time for Transformation

"Mission Mush? Let me guess. Its not their job this time to go through the hell of transformation." It's kind of like, it's a Mission to eventually become transformed. It's just that life is always trying to transform us, but unless you are bending toward transformation, you will pick yourself up, dust yourself off, wash your hands, gain your composure and go on your way."

The Bartender bit his lip a little. "Life is full, absolutely full of opportunities for transformation, but they are all negative to the person who is trying to be certain, happy, successful and stable."

Proximate Transformation

It's just that no one calls it that! But they go through "proximate transformation". Most all humanity goes through proximate transformation on a daily basis. "Yes. Isn't that what you hear all the time --- get back on the horse when you are thrown." The Aspirant joined in. "The experience is valuable and helpful and maturing and enriching and has its own value, but it's only in the neighborhood of transformation. The Bar Tender apologized for the term.

The Tourist went on: "Eternity seems to be touchable. You have a sense of Gigantic Continuity. Stuff like that. Of course, I don't know this stuff. It's just what I have read."

"Not Some New Cool Manifestation or Nutty Heresy"

The Bartender downed more Chai and; returned to his confusing ways. "Your recording instrument will not work, and if you are not really interested in Transformation, you can't get there from here. Why don't you get in your car and lose altitude. U.S. 40 is just down the road. Stay on it and it becomes Colfax Avenue. It will take you to downtown Denver. The beautiful Magic of those wonderful feelings doesn't stick like stink. It caress like fond memory."

The Tourist got in his car and drove down the hill. He remembered that a drunk old man with a liquor license in an old hovel was "too much in his cups" to give him any directions. That's how he was going to relate it. This was his little talk.

He thought back on the Bar Tender. He completely doubted, then engaged, then got beguiled and enthralled; kind of like romance. Then thoughts emerged and converged. Maybe Transformation was never like a text. Maybe Transformation takes you on a late night dance floor and merges with you. And then maybe some day, makes mad love to you and shows you Deeper Selves, more Heavenly Neural Interconnections. And then It stays with you. Maybe something grows from there, For a long time. And then maybe months from now, he goes back to the Happy Hermit's Haunting Hut.