Carrion Luggage (Book)

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Carrion Luggage

Carrion Luggage

Native to the Americas, the turkey vulture (Cathartes aura) travels widely in search of sustenance. While usually foraging alone, it relies on other individuals of its species for companionship and mutual protection. Sometimes misunderstood, sometimes feared, sometimes shunned, it nevertheless performs an important role in the ecosystem.

This scavenger bird is a marvel of efficiency. Rather than expend energy flapping its wings, it instead locates uplifting columns of air, and spirals within them in order to glide to greater heights. This behavior has been mistaken for opportunism, interpreted as if it is circling doomed terrestrial animals destined to be its next meal. In truth, the vulture takes advantage of these thermals to gain the altitude needed glide longer distances, flying not out of necessity, but for the joy of it.

It also avoids the exertion necessary to capture live prey, preferring instead to feast upon that which is already dead. In this behavior, it resembles many humans.

It is not what most of us would consider to be a pretty bird. While its habits are often off-putting, or even disgusting, to members of more fastidious species, the turkey vulture helps to keep the environment from being clogged with detritus. Hence its Latin binomial, which translates to English as "golden purifier."

I rarely know where the winds will take me next, or what I might find there. The journey is the destination.

Show Recent Comments

10 Most Recent Blog Comments:

tj gives thanks for all things

about 3 hours ago
In response to "You Keep Using That Word"

I've lived, worked, and traveled in South Dakota for over a decade and never heard of a tavern being anything other than a drinking establishment. I suspect if I were to enter a tavern and order a tavern, I'd likely get shown to the door.

1 Like

Scary_Soldier_Mike

about 5 hours ago
In response to "You Keep Using That Word"

I've driven nearly the entire length of southern South Dakota, but neither entered nor ate a tavern. Regarding the entirety of the Mississippi entry, one just has to wonder how many mothers ask for a ride anywhere.

2 Like

Elisa, Stik-or-Treat

about 5 hours ago
In response to "Flick of the Risk"

Spudy Specter👻

-From what I understand, the thing with Monsanto patent was more weighted in the position of market manipulation and less about the science. It's unfortunate that the business practices ended up so entwined with the science.

1 Like

Elisa, Stik-or-Treat

about 5 hours ago
In response to "Naturally"

Every once in a while HuffPo can get it right. They actually had an article about security theater (I believe specifically about airports) where they called out the absurdity of it. Great. Now I'm going to have to track it down at some point to satisfy my own curiosity.

1 Like

🌝 HuntersMoon

a day ago
In response to "Unhelpful Tips"

@ Brandiwyn🎶Sprinting - I like that idea. Make them fish their tips out of the toilet! Ohhhh. Not THAT bowl.

It's funny. I lived in Germany and remember. Now I reside in Mexico and many parts of the country have a steward that hands you towels, etc. when you've completed your task... and you better not forget to tip! One followed my wife (who was ignorant of the practice) out to our table.

2 Like

Brandiwyn🎶Sprinting

a day ago
In response to "Unhelpful Tips"

In Germany, it's customary to tip to use a public toilet. (With coins in a bowl, not a tip screen.)

1 Like

🌝 HuntersMoon

a day ago
In response to "Unhelpful Tips"

Tip creep has become noticeable. It used to be 15% now it's 18% and many places push 20%. At the Club House (where I used to live) they went to 18% included in the bill. You didn't have a choice. WRONG. I just quit eating there.

1 Like

tj gives thanks for all things

a day ago
In response to "Unhelpful Tips"

Only once did I have to dispute a tip. The service was terrible, so we didn't add a tip. But when our waitress took the card to run it, she added a tip almost equivalent to the bill itself. Luckily, my wife reviewed the receipt and discovered the added tip and canceled the payment. We spoke to a manager, made the correct payment, and were told the waitress would be talked to.

3 Like

Annette

Oct 30, 2025 at 2:21pm
In response to "Un-Holey"

I remember that article. Or a version of it. I don't follow 'Bon Appetit,' but I probably saw the headline and a re-baked version of the scooped bagel interaction of carb-phobic Californian in New York.

His attitude is that of a visitor in deep Mongolia being upset that they can't find an Applebee's.

Eat what they sell you when out of town, is the answer to all of that.

Clearly, people who have real health issues with certain ingredients are allowed to ask if their chosen dish has the potential to kill them. In which case, they have to pick something else instead of trying to bend reality to their whim.

Spoken as someone who runs a six person household with two who can't have dairy, one who can't have shrimp, one who gags when he eats mushrooms, one who can't have kiwi, and one who makes faces when experiencing new textures. We have everything in the pantry and refrigerator. It's up to each person to stay clear of the things that they can't (or don't want to) have.

3 Like

tj gives thanks for all things

Oct 30, 2025 at 11:39am
In response to "Un-Holey"

Scooping a bagel is equivalent to cutting the crust off a slice of fresh-baked bread, throwing the bread away, and eating the crust; it's evil.

3 Like

November 1, 2025 at 10:06am

#1100614

You Keep Using That Word

A language lesson (or not) from Mental Floss:

America’s 10 Most Commonly Misunderstood Slang Terms
A dirty bird in Kentucky is a good thing, actually.

First, researchers used data from two sites, OnlyInYourState and EnjoyTravel.com, to create a list of state-specific terms. They then asked 1028 U.S. residents to guess what they thought each one meant. The 10 terms that were wrongly defined most frequently are listed below (along with some entertaining honorable mentions).

I'd treat this as "for entertainment purposes only."

Tavern // South Dakota

In South Dakota, a tavern isn’t always—as most survey participants assumed—a bar. Sometimes, it’s a ground-beef sandwich similar to a sloppy joe.

I was unaware of this name for that kind of sandwich. In my defense, I've never spent more time in South Dakota than I had to.

Carry // Mississippi

The common assumption was that carry in Mississippi meant “to have a gun on your person.” And it does mean that—but it can also mean “to drive (someone),” in the same way you might say, “I have to take my mom to the airport.”

And then shoot her.

Gnarly // California

Gnarly is such a classic bit of ’80s slang that you can’t fault respondents for assuming it’s a synonym for cool.

Funny thing about words: they mean what we want them to mean.

Borrow pit // Montana

A borrow pit is a pit formed when material is excavated (i.e. borrowed) from it and relocated somewhere else.

Montana? We call it that in Virginia.

There are a few more there at the site. Some are mildly amusing. Nothing earth-shakingly important; just a bit of fun.

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