Read Bob Woodward's 'Fear' or the road atlas?

   POINT RICHMOND, Calif. - One week home and not-yet-fully unpacked, I find myself drifting between wanting to read Bob Woodward's latest book Fear and thumbing through the road atlas.
     How far - and what roads - would I take to check out Roswell, N.M. on my next trip in an easterly direction? 
     So far Woodward's take on Donald Trump's unraveling administration is winning, though the atlas keeps quietly singing a song to me like the Sirens who tried to lure Ulysses and his men onto a rocky shore.
     Woodward's latest presidential examination was a right-on-target, welcome-home gift from Admiral Sylvia Fox. It reads as easily as a novel - a horrific, Stephen King gut-wrencher. But just as much a page turner. The Admiral knew Fear would be a must-read for me.
     Re-entry has been about as could be expected after 12-weeks' absence: a four-foot stack of mail to open, notices of missed deadlines for all manner of things, and complaints from a couple of readers of The Point website whose upcoming events I was unable to post while traveling.

Arriving in Sacramento last Saturday

     But those minor speed bumps pale compared to the many warm welcomes my neighbors and friends here in the the Point have given me - and continue to give me.
     In all the handshaking and good-to-see-you-home hugs since last Saturday, from nearly everyone I have been asked the same two questions, asked in different ways:
     How was your trip?
     When are you going again?
      The answer to the first has resulted in a dozen or more interesting conversations this past week.
       The answer to the second has been mostly just a shrug of my shoulders and a quizzical look on my face.
       I really should get unpacked from this summer's adventures before planning any more.

RV 'park' at an Ohio rest stop