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I just started a little jogging 22nd of January around 12:30 in the afternoon I’m out here in the desert doing some jogging. I’m trying to get in shape as I think being in shape is the best thing to do in my case. I’m trying to recover a mistake I made. Trying to recover (from) a mistake I made through several years ago and it’s hard for me to do but Christ I’m giving it a pretty good shot. I’m going to go for another jog. Back on again. I gotta convince myself that I shouldn’t get myself depressed. Because depression is absolutely a loser’s game. If you’re depressed you won’t get anywhere you won’t feel good about living day to day and you might as well be dead. And what I want to do is get to the point where I’m feeling good about myself every day feeling good about what I’m doing and one way to do it is possibly getting into physical shape. It’s the first thing to do because once you’re in physical shape then it ain’t such a big step to get mentally in shape.

You know it’s nice to be able to take pleasure going out in the desert after a rainstorm like there was just one and looking at the various vegetable matter that are present after a rainstorm. I feel good. I feel really good. I should always learn that if you feel bad my god you are wasting your time putting undue pressure on your nerves. It’s not right. Take a look at how good your situation is and then see how you feel and I think okay. I look at my situation and I think well hell it’s not that good but it’s not that bad. It’s not the greatest. But for a guy that’s been through what I’ve been though and is starting to take care of himself physically, that’s taking care of him mentally.

~Roger J. Nixon, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia
1981 from microcassette

In November 1979, Roger was working oil rigs in Louisiana when he suffered a traumatic brain injury (TBI) that left him brain damaged and memory impaired. As part of his rehabilitation, he took to writing poetry. Yet, he doesn't focus on his injury. Instead, he writes about the familiar world around him as he perceives it, whether it be Europe, the Middle East, or America.