Thoughts on 9/11

I was as horrified as everyone else when I got up on 9/11 almost 10 years ago and saw the unimaginable events playing out. And as we are coming up to the anniversary of it, I have been thinmking about how it came to be even closer to me than I ever imagined.
You have heard me talk of Jane, my tent mate in Yosemite. She was from New York. As I saw what was going on, I was concerned about her as I know she worked in the area, I did not know if she worked in the towers.  She was not there that day. I sent her an email asking her to just let me know she was ok. She didn't answer for three days. When she was able to get back to me that she was ok I was grateful that the one and only person I knew in New York was safe and sound.   So she will be here to celebrate another milestone birthday in November.
Here I was in California, and across the continent I knew just one person that could be touched by this immense tragedy. How small the world is. And how widespread our lives are these days. We get to know people from all walks of life, and we are able to keep in touch in so many ways. Easier than even 20 years ago. The world is still a big place with many wondorous things in it, and many not so good things but I try to look at all the beauty and good each time I open my eyes.
When I see what people can do to each other like 9/11, then I have to see what the firefighters and the Security people and police did on that day. What made everyday citizens become heroes both outside and inside the twin towers. That makes me feel both proud and humble.
Would I have that kind of courage in the face of such an event? I guess we would only know if it happens to us. We had a group of preteens at the beach here, and one boy was body surfing when he got caught in a rip tide. A 13 year old girl who was in the water helped to save him without thought for her own safety. He was pulled from the water unresponsive and was revived and now has a long recovery but he will recover due to a young girl doing what she could and without thought to her own safety. Courage comes in all forms. Everyday.
When in our travels we have the opportunity to be helpful to our fellow man or woman, or for that matter our fellow animal, I feel we need to push our normal boundaries and find it in ourselves to honor the ones that came before us and give of our selves. That should be the legacy of 9/11. That we have learned that there is no difference in any of us in the middle of a disaster, or emergency, we are all afraid, it is those that step up that are the brave ones.
It doesn't always go the way we plan, but it is always the right thing to do.
I always wanted to go to New York, now that Hurricane Irene has passed, I may have to wait a while, but I am going to plan a trip to visit Jane and see how she really is face to face. I want to see the Big Apple.
Keep moving people!

Curve balls in life

I guess this can be considered about traveling and wandering. I think I just need to vent a bit. Since returning from Sunny California I have been trying to readjust to the fact that I miss my friends, the wonderful food and the warmth of California. I miss the wide open spaces and even the brown of it right now since it is late summer. I miss the fact that I had to wear sunglasses every day I was out. I miss that my friends were welcoming and happy and people were friendly.
I am sitting in my house and not liking anything but the view. Last night there was a great meteor shower. I got up at 4:30 to see it. I missed most of it becuase of the overcast. Nothing new. I am wearing a sweater and Uggs as it is cold enough to have them on. COME ON! ITS AUGUST!
Ok, I admit is partially that because of my job that I feel this way. And my bitchy neighbor too. But I have never found so many people be so on guard, or so unwilling to be open and friendly in my life! Am I so stand offish that no one at least wants to talk and get to know me? I don't think that I am dull or stupid or so opinionated that I can't be approached!
Ok, so enough of that. So because of this set back I decided to call a couple of old friends and lick my wounds a bit. Then after I did that I ate some very nice, very dark chocolate (very small piece I might add) and then I tried to do some meditation and visualization. Well, I have to say the chocolate worked best. BUT, I also got out my trusted "Guide for the Advanced Soul, A book of insight."  you hold a problem in your mind, then close your eyes and open the book to any page for an answer. Very new age. But it gives me perspective every time.
What did it say you ask me?
"Success is a journey, not a destination-half the fun is getting there.  Gita Bellin
So, ok, I guess it is where I am supposed to be at the moment and as much "fun" as I am having in this stew of life I would really like to be past it. But there is no rushing these life lessons I guess. Now I know why there are all those platitudes of making lemonade and keeping your eye on the ball.
 So, for now that I have complained and groused and stomped my feet like a 5 year old. I will go upstairs and play with my puppies and fix dinner and stop being childish. Life can't always be wonderful. But if I am lucky I will see a spectacular sunset alone tonight and I will be grateful for the opportunity to see it with my eyes. To lift a glass of wine with my hands, and to eat the food that I have made, and keep warm and safe in my home. And if I should think of just one more thing to be grateful for, it would be that I have friends out there that will read this and laugh at my musings and think, yep that sounds just like her. Because after all I do have some pretty spectacular friends out there even if they are farther away than I would like. Oh yeah, that's something to be grateful for, my friends from all over.
Ya know, I feel better already. It is the journey that brought all of you into my life. However short or long it was. And I have all of those memories to make me realize how really crappy the lives of these people must be to have to be so mean and manipulative. So, thanks to all of you for making me hit the curve ball. I may not make it out of the park, but it is definitely a base hit. Play on my friends! I am ready to take on another round with the cursed crew!

Going to the Fair (Mid State Fair that is........)

Every year that i lived in Paso Robles, I looked forward to July for two reasons. My birthday and the Mid State Fair. Because of the location of Paso there are no good venues for concerts within an hour and a half of you. And growing up in the Bay Area I was within 30 minutes of so many good places to see great artists in so many amazing places that it was one of my favorite things to do all year round.

In Paso we get big names for two weeks a year right in our back yard in an out door venue that is not the greatest as it gets windy and cold at night but it gets great crowds most times and you have a super time.

This year my three concerts that I got to go and see with my amazing friends Brianna, Katie and Tayven was Sugarland, Jason Aldean and Lady Antebellum on my birthday.

We had second row for Jason Aldean. The girls are in love! They made signs for him and I have to tell you it worked!. He loved it. Sugarland we were futher back but it was still great to see them play so well. But a concert is only as good as the performance and the people you share it with. I love the concerts that the performer interacts with the audience more, and I have people with me who can get up and have a good time by singing and dancing and shouting and showing that they are alive and enjoying the concert. I figure if it's called a live show we should be alive! Be excited about it! It is an event in your life and it is an event in that performers life though they have them all the time, it is up to them to make it different in each place they play. That is one of the things I liked about the older entertainers is they knew how to play to an audience. Most of the new acts don't. Some do, and they seem to bring them closer to them even if they sit in the very back of the arena. Why go if it sounds like the CD? I didn't have to pay 60 bucks to hear a replica of what I have. I want to have something new to take home.

We dont' have the pictures of the Lady A concert up yet as they don't seem to be on my download from the girls so they will be on at a later date. But to me it was the best of all as we saw them go from an opening act and a on the free stage act to the big show and enjoying every minute of it. They are polished and shining up the act and coming on strong.

But it is more about seeing the strange outfits at the fair in the 95 degree heat and what people actually wear out! It is more fun to sit and people watch, and i am not just talking about the young girls in the very short jean shorts with the boots and cowboy hats, i am talking about the really huge men and women in their 40's and 50s that should know better! I had forgotten how really silly it was at the fair.

But it is also about running into old friends that you haven't seen in a year and that you can stand around at Jimmy's watering hole with a drink or a beer and catch up on everyone that you haven't seen. it is so much fun to see all the sea of humanity that shows up for the two weeks of the fair. And to know that it is in your back yard.

We ate all the food that you eat at a fair that you wouldn't think of eating any other time of the year. The corndogs, the fried waffle things, the most delicious cinnamon rolls ever from the Western place! YUM! And of course you can't go to the fair and not have kettle corn. It just seems to call to you. There are so many other good things that are there, the fish tacos and the Santa Maria BBQ....I could go on and on, but you get the idea. And then there are the vendors and shopping. Three huge buildings of stuff that you never see except at the fair. It's more fun than ever! Just to look at it all. I love it! Even in the heat, but by 5-6pm it begins to cool down and the temperature will drop from 95 to 50 in an hour so you have to have a jacket. It is one of the things we used to love about it there. It always cooled down.

So, I loved the fair this year as it was special just getting there and seeing everyone. I didn't get to see all that I wanted but I was so busy, and to tell the truth I had to nap most days to keep up with the three of them. Funny how age does that to you.

Well, my friends I hope that this summer, you have a grand time, and find a great summer memory to include in your book of memories. When you get really old you will be able to pull it out and revisit the feeling and enjoy it again and again.