I am a man making major changes to my life. I am quitting my job and moving from Minnesota to New Mexico. My friends and co-workers are supportive, although I suspect they secretly think I'm a little crazy. Sometimes I wonder if I'm a little crazy. Some have said that they have thought about doing the same thing, but they have never had the courage to do such a thing. Well, I'm doing it.

Several factors are driving this decision. First, I have always wanted to live in the American Southwest. I like the history and the prehistory, the culture, the art, and the lifestyle that I perceive it to be.

Second, I am anxious to get back to the mountains and a dryer climate. Minnesota is beautiful for its forests and its greenery and its lakes and rivers, but it's also known for its stifling, summer humidity and damp, cold winters. I really miss dry air, cool nights and mountaintops on horizons a hundred miles away. I miss the geology, the exposed rocks, the layers, the colors, the textures, and the sense of unfathomable time.

Third, (maybe this should be first) I have met a lady. Her influence has made me realize many things about myself, and she has helped me gather the courage to make this move. Without her, I think I would have withered into an aging, lonely, insignificant man, working a soul-less job, and hopelessly clinging to a tenuous paycheck. She has made me see that life is too short, and that I need to take chances and really experience life.

The fourth reason for moving is the developing attitude I have for my job of the last 6 years. Although I make a pretty good living, I draw no spirtual sustenance from my employment. It provides no balance in my life. My employer demands more and more of my time, which I am becoming more reluctant to give up. I have survived several stressful layoffs, and this spring there was talk of still more cost cutting, which translates into yet more layoffs. For their role in the cost cutting, the people in upper management give themselves high-fives and big raises, while the guys and gals in the trenches suddenly find themselves out on the street. I had sworn to myself that I wouldn't be caught in that situation again, so when the rumors of cuts started circulating this spring, I said 'enough', and I put my house on the market. I started thinning out my possessions and preparing for a change.

So here I am, packing my meager possessions under the deadline of a house closing, and preparing to drive half way across the continent to an unknown future. It should be a real trip. I was ready for a new adventure.