“Be desireless. Be excellent. Be gone.”

The Movie: The Tao of Steve, 2000 (Duncan North, Greer Goodman & Jenniphyr Goodman, screenwriters; Jenniphyr Goodman, dir.)
Who says it: James “Kimo” Wills as Dave, a single man looking for love
The context: This line encapsulates the Tao of Steve – the way Dave’s friend Dex (Donal Logue), an underachieving 20-something, gets women even though he’s overweight and has no real job.
How to use it: Universal fantasy of the emotionally immature... which I admit, sometimes, includes me.

Yesterday's leg: 408 miles, one tank of gas
Stops: James Fenimore Cooper rest stop, NJ; Darien, CT; Newport, RI

Dizzy and I are at my sister Kathy's, but it hasn't really gone very well... to start with, I got lost in Newport, as I always do, so didn't get here until after 10 p.m. Kathy's husband, Adam, and her younger son, Patrick, were already asleep. My older nephew (and godson), George, was still awake, but Dizzy decided to be afraid of him. (Dizzy's fears include teenaged boys, skateboards, certain uniforms, umbrellas, and clowns. A skateboarding clown with an umbrella would be Satan personified to him.)

The real problem, though, was Kathy's two small dogs -- Cindy, an ancient pug-Chihuahua mix, and Ginger, a beautiful but frantic Pomeranian mix. Dizzy is extremely respectful of small dogs, having learned from our cousin Sheila's teacup Yorkie, but Kathy's dogs would not be soothed. They barked themselves hoarse until Kathy shut them away upstairs, and they were downright hysterical when they woke up this morning to find Dizzy still here.

At least I got to see Patrick for a few minutes before he went to school, and I'll be back soon for another visit -- if I can find somewhere for Dizzy to stay.

Today, at long last, we'll get to Maine. But first we're stopping in Cambridge, MA, to say hey to my friend Tom Ehrenfeld.