The Last Adventure... (of 2009): Day 2- 1.7k words

Saturday 12/19/09

4:55am - My inner clock went off, right on time… we don't need no sticking alarms.  The room was warm now, so I turned off the heaters, which had been going on and off all night, trying to keep the air above the temperature where we could see our exhalations and have our reading glasses fog up.

I put on my long johns and a long-sleeved t-shirt, and then my pants, shirt, sweater, and coat, and went outside for my morning fix of nicotine, caffeine, and fresh air.  There was a heavy drizzling overcast, so the beautiful star-light that we had been appreciating thru our window as we drifted off to sleep last night was not available as I had hoped it would be.  Instead, I was bathed in almost total darkness.

I heard some movement in the brush, and strained to see thru the blackness.  It was a wolf… a BIG wolf… and it was headed straight towards me.  Then I noticed its tongue was hanging out the side of its mouth, and its tail was wagging.

Whew… it was a neighborhood dog, and it was only coming over to say hi.  I dropped my cigarette behind me, and put both my hands down by my knees and turned them so the backs of them were facing the beautiful 'husky-wolf-mix', the way my mom had taught me… to let the dog smell my hands and not feel threatened.

I wish people were as good as dogs (and other animals) at sensing the intentions of people.  Animals seem to be able to tell right away if a person is kind and gentle, or angry and potentially dangerous.  Bees are that way too.  I wonder why humans seem to have lost that ability?

As I was daydreaming and scratching the top of the wolf-dog's head, I remembered the 'going to sleep technique' my mom taught me when I was a young child.  I wrote it down to share with others a few years ago, and this seems like a good place to 'insert' it:

 

SLEEPING WELL AND WAKING UP HAPPY

 As you put your head on your pillow, and start to relax…                                                                  Listen to your breath.  Hear it become deeper and slower.                                                                    Let your body go limp, and let your mind unwind.                                                                                    Let your mind begin to stop turning.                                                                      

 Then… as you sense yourself starting to drift off to sleep,                                                                 Think about something that happened that day.                                                                                        Do not think about anything specific about what happened,                                                                   But instead, think about the good feeling it gave you.

 As you continue to relax and as you continue to drift to sleep,                                                          Try to make the last semi-conscience thought be…                                                                                  Of something that you know is going to happen tomorrow.                                                                Again, don’t think of anything specific about what will happen…

 Think only of how good it will make you feel.                                                                                          It even works if you can’t think of anything that you know will happen.                                                  All you have to do is believe that something will happen                                                                   Which will make you feel good.

 You can even let a little smile etch your face if you wish.                                                                         My mother taught me this technique when I was a child.                                                                   Now, I do not even have to think about it when I go to sleep…                                                               But I ALWAYS wake up happy.

                                  Thank you Mom

Rand and Kathy were running late, so they asked us to go to the restaurant ahead of them, to make sure we could get a table at the popular breakfast hang hot in down town Weed.  I ate my 'meat lovers omelet', and then proceeded to finish the remaining half of G's food.  I was embarrassed, but not enough to not finish it… including her bread with all four containers of the jam that came with our meals.  G is working with me to try and break my habit of feeling like I must finish all the food on our plates.  Like she says, "The scraps I leave will not help any of the starving orphans."

When I mentioned to our hosts about how I had been trying to find some mistletoe to share with the friends and family we were gonna being seeing on   our adventure, Rand assured me that we would find some as we were coming into Ashland (Oregon), where we were headed after we finished our meal.

Sure enough, shortly after getting off the freeway, they over at a wide spot in the road, and there it was… waiting for the picking.  I reached down and grabbed a medium sized broken branch lying at my feet and used the hooked end of it, to carefully snap off more than enough of the stuff to suit my needs.

I laughed and said out loud as I was harvesting my treasure, that it probably looked as if I had done this before.  They seemed surprised when they found out this was the first time I'd gathered mistletoe, nor had I seen it done this way before.  I was kinda happy the stuff wasn't as hard to collect as I had anticipated, and kinda sad… it would have been more fun for me if it had taken a little more effort.

I gave a few sprigs of it to the ladies, and put all but a little piece of it in the back of my truck.  After holding it over my head and giving G a little smooch, I waited for Rand to finish up with Kathy, and then walked towards her.  She was so cute… she had just met me… and I could tell as I approached her that she had no idea what was coming.

NOTE:  The following description is not what really happened.  I just wrote it this way to make the story 'better'.

She was stiff when I put my lips on her cheek, but almost instantly melted into my arms and bent over backwards at her waist, allowing the moment to be as overly dramatic as I had hoped it would be.  After pulling her back up into an upright position, I turned towards Rand with the mistletoe held high.  He backed away slowly, with his arms held out in front of him… shaking his head and saying with a little a smirk on his face… "I don't know you well enough Ned, let's wait awhile for this."  Thankfully G's friends were just as silly as her boyfriend.

We arrived at their newly purchased condo with just enough time to unpack, and then were off to the movie theater to watch 'Avatar', the new movie that was getting so much hype.  I had hoped to wait until I was with one or both of my daughters to see it, but the excitement in our hosts eyes when I mentioned the movie, was enough to easily make me change my plans.  The movie was entertaining, but not the 'next classic' like some of the critics had been advertising it to be.

I want to talk only of two things about the movie…

1.  The 'G-rating' of the brutality and the sexuality:  I was totally impressed and refreshed by the way these normally 'over the top' aspects of most movies was kept at an almost 'Walt Disney' level.  No breasts… no gratuitous groping… and NO BLOOD.  The violent scenes were still violent and as far as I'm concerned there was nothing lost, by not having gore and guts and blood spilling out everywhere.

2.  The line, "I SEE YOU":  It is the translation of an 'alien word' that is used when two people are in love, and they want to express that feeling to the other person.  Personally, I think the meaning translates the same in both languages.  I thought it was beautiful.  Of course… I am a hopeless romantic.

After the movie, we stopped off at a local market so Rand and Kathy could pick up some snacks to take to the potluck we were going to next.

It was an Eckankar Christmas party.  I italicized the 'x-mas' word because I thought it was kind of interesting that a group of people who didn't believe in Jesus, would celebrate his birthday.  I know, I know, I know… they celebrate the 'concept' of what Jesus stood for, I don't really have any problem with this,    I'm just trying to be cute.  G… am I cute?

One of G's friends is a leader and in the philosophy of something called, 'Higher Alignment', which is a method to describe and understand the way certain people are the way they are.  The way certain aspects of a person's personality effect how a person thinks.

It's pretty complicated and involved, the only reason I'm bringing it up now is because 'Larry' says that when two people are in a relationship and their 'energies' or 'processes' are not the same… one of the keys as to whether their relationship will survive or not, is whether they can honestly say to the other person, "oh, isn't that cute", when they do or say something that may be the complete opposite of what they would do or say, in the same situation or circumstances.  So far, G and I think the other one is very cute.

We stayed at the potluck for about an hour and a half, and then G and I excused ourselves, with the excuse that we wanted to watch a football game.  It was not a total fabrication, but when we couldn't find a pub or sports bar right away, we both took advantage of the alone time, and went back to our friends' condo.

When we got back, the first thing we did was get on line to check my email, to see if my youngest daughter Ashley had followed thru with her promise to provide us with a couple choices of motels to stay at the next evening, near their home in Portland.  As I pretty much expected… she had not.  I sent her an, "Oh, isn't that cute" message, and then read my book for a while before G joined me for some lovin'.  Two nights in a row… this is a fun adventure!

The Last Adventure... (of 2009): Day 1- 1.9k words

Friday December 18, 2009

5am - Up and at 'em.  Gaeir wanted to sleep until the last possible moment, but I felt like a kid on Christmas morning… a week early.  I finished stuffing the last of this month's Eckankar newsletter envelopes as I drank my morning coffee, and then began packing the truck.  I've talked a little about Eckankar in one or more of my other stories, but I'll do it again here.  Don't worry, I'll be brief… this is not gonna be a spiritual soapbox story.  These are my words, and may not be exactly correct, I am still in the infancy stage of my education in this religion:

Eckankar is a 'new age' religion, based on the (very) ancient teachings that go back to the period long before Jesus 'walked' this planet.  There are many similarities (in my opinion) between Christianity and Eckankar, but there are a few substantial differences, which I will try to outline for you now… briefly.

1.  Eckankar not only teaches about 'god's light' but also 'god's sound.'  The word they use for this sound is "HU" (pronounced hue), and is the basic foundation of the religion… some say not only the most important part, but really the only part that matters.  This sound is 'sung' as part of the meditative portion of their services and at almost any other time the follower, or student, or 'chela' (pronounced chee-la) wishes or desires.  Usually it is sung as a single note, but when done with others… can be sung in some very beautiful harmonies (and sometimes not so beautiful, but the not so splendid dissonance when this happens can be useful, as a way to 'see the beauty in all things.'

2.  The chelas also believe that there is a 'living master' who speaks the 'word of The Eck.'  The current master is a man named Harold Klemp.  He's been 'in place' for about 40 years, and will soon name his successor.  They also believe that this man can be 'your inner master', and communicate with you as you 'soul travel.'  A term they use for what I call 'visualization' or the 'power of positive thinking.'

3.  The last difference I will talk about now is that they believe in reincarnation, and believe that everyone who is alive at the present time has a soul, which has 'lived' thousands of times in the past.  This leads to karma (or dharma as I would call it, because it refers to something other than this 'current' lifetime), which says that the circumstances that we are dealing with now, is directly related to our actions of a past life.  I will end this discourse with one of my favorite 'lines' of all times:

             "Do unto others as you would want them to do unto you."

So… back to the morning packing… getting ready for our departure:  Fortunately the parking lot at the top of our driveway was empty, so I had plenty of room to bring my truck up the hill.  That saved about 30 minutes and about 300 calories.  It's not a long driveway, but it's pretty steep.  I guess Christmas break had already started at the University, and since all our neighbors are students, they must've left early to be with their families.

I'm continuing to enjoy the young energy from our neighbors, but there are a few things that are starting to get old.  The main one is the way the (don't) take care of their garbage.  I’m continuing to leave baggies of cigarette butts with notes attached, asking the 'offending parties' to please 'pack their own trash'.  The associated problem is the cans.  We live at the top of a short driveway, and it seems very difficult for all the other households to remember to take their cans down and then bring them back up each week.  I have my phone alarm set to remind me every week… it's not rocket science.  All in all though, I have to say… they seem to be good kids… polite and amazingly quiet in the evening hours, and that is worth a lot, in my book.

7:30am - G is up and slowly getting at 'em.  She is not nearly the morning person that I am, and I am slowly learning that I need to be careful with her, for the first hour or so, after she wakes up.  Actually, I'm learning I have to be careful with her in general, and at all times.  She is not fragile by any means, but it helps me to think of her like a china doll, because normally I'm very much like a bull in a china shop.  She didn't tell me until later that day, that my gentle coaxing and prodding didn't help her do what she had to do any faster, and in fact made her anxious and nervous.

She says this anxiety is based on her early childhood memories of her mother picking her up off the floor, without any warning, and taking her away for some other kind of activity.  I told her my memories of these types of things are more of excitement that I got to do something new and different, while she remembers being sad or even mad that she was not able to finish the project she was working on.  G was a very precocious child… I'm sure of that.

My attempt at helping her that morning by asking her to tell me when her bags where ready to take out to the truck was enough to set her off… poor darlin'.  I am so lucky to have been raised by perfect parents… I have NO quirks or idiosyncrasies in my personality.  I am the easiest person in the world to get along with.  Ha.

8:42am - Off and away, only 12 minutes late.  We didn't have, or want to have, any specific schedule for this trip, but there was a long time family friend expecting us in Walnut Creek at 10am, and she said she'd get up early to meet us, so I didn't want to cut into her sleeping time and then not show up as scheduled.

Virginia has been my 'step-mom' since mine died about 8 years ago.  She and her husband were friends with my family long before I was even born, and they continued their relationship throughout the decades.  Her kids grew up with my older brothers and sister, and their kids and I are now continuing the family friendship.  Her daughter Terry is now Virginia's 'caregiver', as she ages… very gracefully.

12:30pm - We spent two wonderful hours with them, and I hope it will not be the last time I see my 'mom' again.  Now, we're heading north on I-505… next stop Weed, just north of Redding, to visit and stay with Rand and Kathy, two of G's friends she knows thru Eckankar.

We didn't have anything to eat before we left, and only nibbled on the lemon    and coffee cakes that Terry had set out for us, so G said she wanted a snack and me asked if I had remembered to pack the berries and cottage cheese.

I said yes to that question, but that was the easy one.  The next question made my shoulders droop.  "Did you remember to rinse off the berries?"  My silence gave her my answer, and then her shoulders drooped.  G has a very sensitive system, and the preservatives that are applied to the berries when they're packaged upset her stomach.  She's told me that before.  Several times.

But as is G's natural character, she didn't even give the slightest indication that she was upset.  She just sighed quietly, and asked if we could stop someplace convenient, so she could get a snack.

Then she looked at me intently.  I could feel her looking at me, and when I turned towards her, she was smiling a knowing kind of smile.  "What?" I said.  She smiled bigger and told me, "I had a dream last night that someone had tried to poison me."

I escaped with a perfect seg-way… I told her that while I was looking for mistletoe the other day to bring with us, I found out that it was poisonous.  She graciously let the subject of my attempted murder go, and asked if I had found any.  When I said, "No", she started pointing at the trees along the freeway… it was everywhere!

We stopped at a rest stop that had some oak trees and got out.  We found a clump of it growing in a tree right next to the restrooms, but it was too high for us to reach it.  I told the Caltrans worker who was doing some landscaping, that I'd love to do some tree trimming for him, and explained my idea to break off the limb with the mistletoe on it, with my rope and a rock tied to the end of it.  He politely told me no.

4:30pm - We got to Weed 30 minutes early, and had to kick around town for a while.  I thought it would be fun to pay a visit to the Mt. Shasta Brewing Company, but discovered that not only does G not drink… she is allergic to the smell of it.  I thought about asking her to stuff some Kleenex in her nostrils, but decided not to risk the first day of our adventure by pushing her twice.

As it turned out, I was able to upset her anyway, when I bought a bottle of beer and drank it while we were playing on some 'rides' at a local park.

Her discomfort with and around alcohol seems to be the biggest problem for us so far.  We come form different extremes on this issue… me from the 'socially acceptable' end of the scale where having a beer or a cocktail is not frowned on, and her from the end where having even one serving creates worry and stress.

We're both having difficulties understanding the other person's point of view, but are both more than willing to keep our minds open.  Our discussions… including current and past experiences used as stepping-stones to explain ourselves… continues to stay cordial and even enjoyable.

That's one of the greatest joys of having a girlfriend like G.  She has yet to express any of her feelings with anything other than a calm and steady voice.  It's new for me to have a partner who isn't emotional to the point of volatility.  It continues to be a joy to be around her… her even keel and composed attitude is MUCH more conducive for me, and is a better motivating force for me to want to modify my behavior.  I've always been the kind of a person who believes an open hand is better than a closed fist.  Good thing I have sensitivity to go along with my stubbornness.

7:30pm - We were already settling into our guest room above our hosts' garage, after a pleasant meal of salad and soup.  G told Kathy she could eat that way for every meal the rest of her life.  I cringed.  I need meat… red meat… at least once or twice a week.  G calls me her "pet wolf", and wolves eat meat.

10:00pm - My 'prayer for some lovin' was answered… and after about an hour    of post coital chit-chat… we fell soundly asleep in each other's arms.

The Last Adventure... (of 2009): Preface- 425 words

            

                THE LAST ADVENTURE

 

 

 

 

 

                           (OF 2009)

 

 

This is the seventh installment of my recent decision to document some of the meaningful activities of my life.  This story is different… for two reasons:  (1) It is the first (besides my initial story) of an adventure trip without my motorcycle 'Honey' as the means of transportation, and (2) It's the first time I've documented a story where I am not alone for the entirety of the trip.  I hope it's not the last.

 

Gaeir (rhymes with fire) is continuing to support the development of my spiritual and artistic endeavors and was kind enough to finance this adventure… a loop, no… a figure eight, from Santa Cruz, CA to Seattle, WA to Enterprise, OR and then back to Santa Cruz.  We also made stops to visit friends and family in Walnut Creek, CA, Weed, CA, Ashland, OR, Portland, OR, and Sunriver, OR.

                 I hope you find the distraction of my story enjoyable.

 

                                      Other Stories by this Author:

                         The Yucatan Peninsula vs. Hurricane Wilma

                           Please Allow Me To Introduce My Selves

                                                 I Love Texas

                               From Here to There and Back Again

               Sometimes You Find Love in the Most Unexpected Places

                         California is my Home  (but I still Love Texas)

Not long after returning from Austin, Texas with Honey (my motorcycle), Gaeir asked me if I was interested in taking a trip during her holiday vacation, to visit family members we don't often see.  I have one daughter in Portland and one in Seattle, and she has two brothers in eastern Oregon.  She'd not yet met mine, and I hadn't met hers, so I quickly and easily agreed.  Family has always been important to me, and since Gaeir and I are planning on continuing our relationship, it only made sense for us to become acquainted with our closest relatives.

As our departure date approached, I began to notice a nervous excitement growing inside me.  This was gonna be the first adventure story-log I was going to do, traveling by a vehicle other than Honey.  The only reason I agreed to give her a rest for this trip, is because we were gonna be traveling in the dead of winter in the Great Northwest Territory of our Nation, and I knew we would be on roads that might require us to have chains on our tires… not acceptable riding weather on a motorcycle.  I knew Honey would accept the decision with a smile and probably more than just a little relief.