Late High Fiesta

During Spring Break, my family and I drove from Santa Fe to Los Angeles, an old stomping ground for Gen and myself. It was a classic American road trip, complete with fast food, generic motels, and … high gas prices? This latter condition gave the sojourn an anachronistic feel, as if we were characters in a diorama in some giant museum. "Look, honey" I could almost hear someone say, "it's back in that age when people could still afford to drive their cars long distances!"

I mentioned this to Gen as we traveled and she laughed, even though she understood that I was only half-kidding. As an archaeologist, she knows all about the passing of ages and eras – and she concurs that America is in the process of a major historical transition.

In fact, the trip illuminated both extremes of the current, odd, excessive chapter of our national history that I have been calling 'Late High Fiesta.'

At one extreme was Gen's cancer. This was the main purpose of our 2000-mile expedition – to visit her oncologist and review her progress. Two years ago she was diagnosed with a very rare and relatively new form of cancer called carcinoid tumors, a serious but slow-growing disease. It required a specialist and three surgical 'interventions' to control, including the removal of a portion of her liver. The result, fortunately, was good news. The latest round of tests revealed her to be essentially cancer-free, though she must maintain vigilance (and a monthly shot) for the rest of her life.

Although  the  precise  cause  of  carcinoid  tumors  remains  a