'Hello friends,

It's me again checking in with my weekly update. I hope all are well and dealing with this heat wave that won't end. If you live someplace where that isn't a issue, then the rest of us are mighty jealous of your location!

I myself am doing good, except for my complextion keeps getting darker with every passsing day I bake in the sun. If it ain't bad enough working in 114 degrees outside for most of the week, only breaking down on the way home, could've been worst, and that is exactly what happend last Tueasday evening. My helper Mike and I were riding home in my old 67' Ford truck, loaded with debris, when I smelled fire and saw smoke coming out of the hood vents. I pulled over immediatly and opened the hood and saw the carburetor on fire! "Holy crap," I thought, as I tired to remove the fliter cover and expose the carb so I could douse the flames. I mangaed to lift the heavy metal housing, but not before scorching my arm a bit. Mike and I threw every drop of water we had on us and even tossed our frozen fruit drinks we were sipping on. We finally put the fire out as the traffic zoomed by in a hurry to get home and out of the blazing heat. Luckly we were not on the freeway, but on a side road with a lot less traffic and congestion. I was afriad it might explode for a few frightful seconds, and fortunately I lived to tell you that it did not. I had to call a truck to tow us and my sick baby home, but we had to wait quite a while for our turn, as the heatwave created tons of stalled automobiles and flat tires. I took it all in stride, becuase after drivings for months on my tour, I realized that breaking down at here is better than breaking down hundreds or thousands of miles away from home. I was happy that it wasn't much more than an inconvenience for a couple of hours.

I have recently wrote you about my physical condition since my return from the road and how the doctor suggested I lose 25 pouds or so. At first I couldn't see it, but now after six weeks of good rest and nutrition, for the most part, I still don't feel 100%. So I decided to get serious about losing those extra pounds, especially since I'm spending alot more time sitting behind the laptop writing my book. The thing is, I saw a movie on Netflixs called 'What the Health' and it inspired me to make a few changes in my own personal life, mostly with my dietary habits.

Without going into too much detail, the movie explains the concept of a meatless diet, primarily processed meats, as an alternative to a traditional low fat, sugar and carb program. basically just eating plants as an alternative protien source. Now as you know, I, being a former butcher for many a years, truly enjoy eating meat of all varieties, especially beef and pork, but this documentry really opened my eyes to many of the behind the scene studies and dealings with the very institutions that are supposed to be watching over our heath. I'll leave it at that for now, but I will recommend the movie to anyone who struggles with health and diet issues. I worked for many years in the grocery world before I became a traveling hanyman, so I believed, and totally understood many of the points that were made when it came to the risks associated with processed foods of all kinds, especially in this country. Meanwhile, I'm going to give up meat and dairy products for a couple of weeks and let you know how it works for the Johnny Man, and my 25 lbs. weight loss goal.

Well friends, so long, thats all for tonight. Stay cool and in touch and thanks for checking in!

Juanjohn

Hello friends,

Happy Sunday and Father's Day to you all, wherever you may call home! I had a great day today doing three of the things I enjoy the most in life; writing,cooking, and hanging out with family. We had to do most of it inside, simply because it's just too hot outside this time of year here in Tucson and the rest of Arizona!

Last week I mentioned working outside and suffering from a little heat exhaustion in 107 degrees, but this week was and will continue to be much hotter. Now if you are not familar with the blazing summer heat of the southwestern states, like my home state of Arizona, June is usually the hottest month of the year, and this year is no different. Today the temperature rose to 113 and the next few days are forecasted to be up to 116 or higher. I didn't work today, and since there isn't much one can do outside besides swim, I stayed inside busy with my book. I'm glad to have a remodeling gig starting tomorrow for a few days, because it will keep me inside most of the week and away from the furnace outside. It's days like today that make me think about some of the cooler places I visited on my adventure. It almost makes me miss the snow and ice from last winter and fall in the Dakota's and Colorado, just to mention some of my coldest stops. The only comfort we draw around here is that at least we're not in the Phoenix area, where the temps are always 5-6 degrees higher!

I decided to cook some ribs in the oven anyways and my sister baked her world class cornbread to go with my famous babyback ribs. We took a break from the writing and kitchen in the afternoon, along with my son Jonathan, to go to the theater and watch a movie. I mainly went to enjoy the air conditioner and popcorn for a couple of hours. We returned at dinner time and feasted on the pile of ribs, chicken and corbread.

Now I'm ending my day writing you this short post, hoping your day was just as relaxing and enjoyable as mine was! I continue to write with a passion and excitement, reliving the journey with every page I type. The book will be like fifty mini books, all unique and interesting in thier own way. The first edtion, or the first twenty-five states will be done soon, then I will send it to editing, while I create the cover. I'm excited as I have ever been about anything in my life, I can't wait!

So friends as always, I leave you until next week wishing you a good week and thanking you for your continued support! A Dios amigos!

Juanjohn