"Giant"

I remember - many years ago I had a friend when I was living in New Mexico who started calling me "Giant" - really out of a clear blue sky. She had never called me that before but she started calling me that.

One day we were going for a walk out on this dirt road - of which there were many then where I was living and we talked about this and that and at one point I asked her, "How come you started calling me giant?" She was quiet for a long time and then she said, "Well you know...once I saw you - you were really really tall. I mean taller than you normally are."

I didn't know what to say because physically speaking she was a lot shorter than I was and so there was another long pause and I said, " You mean taller than I normally am?" She said, "Oh yes - very much so" and I said, "Oh."

Well I realize that's not much of a story but when you couple it with this and this then you have something to think about.

It's a curious thing that seems to be displayed by me sometimes. I've mentioned it in the other posts and I'm just adding it here as a curiosity for you.

Goodlife.

Unexpected Adventures

I had to laugh when reading about Louis' porch sliding adventure and then slightly blood-curdling events that followed it. Still...it reminded me of my own adventure that I had completely forgotten.

Once when I was a youngster I remember walking the distance, oh maybe it was about half a mile, from my house to the theatre that we would go to as kids. They always had a great feature for us on Saturday - usually two shoot-'em-up action movies or stories about animals or horses and cartoons and also a serial - you remember those - serials?

I remember this one was a particularly fun day. It was wintertime and coming out of the theatre and starting for home with my friend another kid that I didn't know was mad at me for no reason that I can remember and charged at me.

Perhaps from the excitement of the movies I demonstrated marshal arts which I didn't know then at all and don't know much more about now. The next thing I knew this youngster, wearing a snowsuit I think or something that looked like it, was flying over my hip and sailing along the ice until he bumped up into a car parked in a driveway.

He wasn't hurt and he got up and ran over to me and I thought we were going to have to duke it out but he ran over to me and said, "How did you do that? I want to learn how to do that" and I suppressed a comment that I want to learn how to do that too and we had kind of a brief friendship there. He took it well I'd have to say.

Anyway, I was reminded of this by reading about Louis' unexpected adventure on his porch as a youngster. Just thought I'd pass that on to you. It was a funny and unexpected adventure for me as well.

Goodlife.

Lightning And Me

I recall when I was young, a teenager I believe, I accompanied my Father on a road trip he was making. This was rare for me to have the opportunity to go out with my Father who, at this time of his life, was going out and going on these road trips to do various sales of merchandise he had and deliver sometimes, samples to the stores so they could decide whether to order this or that or how much.

I recall once we were driving through Iowa and the area we drove into had just had one of the biggest rainstorms they'd ever had. It was 13 inches of rain - just all came down in one steady amount and while the bulk of the storm had cleared out there was still some thunderstorms in the area.

My Father was a very careful driver and he was driving very slowly and there were very few people on that highway, not surprisingly. It was a simple road - two lane blacktop and we suddenly found ourselves in a thunderstorm.

Lightning was crashing all around. I noted a lightning bolt crashing nearby and it was very loud thunder of course but then as the lightning started hitting closer to us something unusual happened and that's that I couldn't hear the thunder. I think it has something to do with distance and timing but not being a student of science I couldn't offer that explanation.

I recall at the time thinking that I thought I saw something in the lightning - I wonder if it would strike closer and I can see for sure - and almost instantaneously another bolt of lightning struck about 6 feet away from the car on my side and I had a chance to see clearly - yes - there were colors in the lightning. Just like colors in a rainbow only more distinct and more intense.

It is a curious thing that. I've had a lot of unusual encounters with lightning in my life. Later on in life I saw lightning that had no colors and while the storm was all around, this happening in Arizona, this form of lightning had no thunder and went on for some time. It looked just like lightning but it was a pale white light.

Another time also in the Southwest, this time in New Mexico, lightning struck very close to me - so close that my hair sizzled a bit and I was not harmed otherwise.

I do not want to suggest I'm recommending these experiences for they were both frightening and also interesting and yes exciting at the same time but overall after the experience I was glad it was over.

I'm mentioning this to you because of my ofttime experience and influence with the weather which I have been taught a great deal about from my teachers and have learned how to work benevolently with Mother Earth's elements, we call weather, which for her are simply parts of her physical personality.

Goodlife.

Guides And Teachers

On an occasion with a friend once, I remember we traveled spontaneously to one of The Nations. It was maybe a hundred, maybe a hundred and fifty miles from our home.

We felt drawn there and we went almost on a whim. We got there and it was late afternoon. It was up on one of the mesas.

We realized that whatever we were going to do there, we weren't going to have time to get back so we would have to stay overnight. We went to a lodge that was there and while they had rooms for rent, not many - just a few, they didn't have space for us but they were kind enough to suggest that if we wanted to stay nearby, which is something that is a plus when you're camping out in the "middle of nowhere" that we could use their side lot and it would have enough light and activity so there would be no danger. We thanked very much and went to put up our tent there.

I remember my friend felt strongly that it would be good to put the tent up under some bushes as she felt that it would provide an extra measure of shelter. However 2 dogs had strolled up very quietly, very gentle dogs, and I had the impression that that wasn't what they were suggesting.

I remember looking at the dogs, one then the other, and one had sort of laid its face on the instructions for putting up the tent - as it was a new tent and we hadn't ever put it together - so it was difficult to see the instructions. My impression of course was that - stop, is what the dog was saying very gently.

I looked at the other dog and the dog looked at me and promptly sat down and I knew that that dog was saying - this is where to put the tent.

I mentioned it to my friend and she said - no no, I've camped a lot before and I know best and so I said okay.

She started putting up the tent and she suddenly realized there was a large colony of ants there. She stepped back and brushed herself off and gathered up the tent materials and walked back and she looked at the dogs and smiled and understood that they were part of the welcoming committee. And being a person who really loved dogs I think she kind of got a kick out of it and took it good-naturedly.

Well - we put the tent up there in the exact spot they recommended and we not only had a nice restful nights sleep but the dogs stayed with us. I had the feeling they were protecting us.

The one that had sat down and showed us the space lingered for a while and the other one very politely stayed on the outside of the tent but where I was, rolled up against me - against the tent. So I had my friend on one side and my dog friend on the other side - all in all a good night.

In the morning dog friend was gone. They had never barked, never made a sound but had moved off back to their home and left us to greet the morning.

We folded up the tent, found the special place we had been drawn to and did a special prayer blessing in the most benevolent way we knew how. We drove home and what I remember to this day is how wonderful the experience was with our dog guides and teachers. These are truly wonderful beings.

Goodlife.

Some Of The Best Advice I ever Had

Many years ago I was driving, up north I think from Southern California, and it was late. I was trying to get to get to a town that was just a little bit past my capability for driving that day so I had picked up the speed a little bit.

I was going maybe 10 miles an hour over the speed limit and all of a sudden I noticed the red lights flashing behind me - I hadn't seen the police car coming up behind me.

I pulled over and stopped and didn't know exactly what to do but the next moment the sheriff had gotten out of the car and had come up to my window. I rolled down the window and he said, "Step back here for a minute." So I rolled up the window, got out and got in beside him in the front seat. He said, "Lets go."

I didn't know where we were going - I was worried that I was getting arrested but he never said anything like that. He drove down the highway for a bit - quiet - and then he gave me a gentle lecture about speeding and why it wasn't a good idea and he spoke in such a quiet gentle way I really listened to him - I paid attention.

After we had driven for quite a ways he drove across a part of the median, it was a divided highway, and we started heading back in the general direction of where my car was - not driving very fast. He was talking to me and all the while he was looking around the way a good police officer does but what he was saying didn't have anything to do with why he had pulled me over or at least, as far as I knew.

He asked me what I wanted to do with my life and at that time I had some interest in joining the police department in the town in which I lived. He listened to me and he said, "You know, I'm not sure if that's for you." I can't explain how he - he just said that.

He paused for a while and he said, "You know, the secret of life is to find something you like doing. Do it well and maybe it turns into a profession - see. Find out something that you're good at and then make sure that that becomes part of your job or is your job. Then find a good woman, settle down and have a good life."

We drove on for a while and I have to say initially I felt like maybe I was still interested in being a police officer because this person was such a stand-up guy but I brought it up again and he said, "No, I can't explain it to you but I just know that's not for you - that's not your life."

He said, "I have a way of knowing these things and I know that you haven't found your life yet. You haven't found your career and you haven't found the woman you're going to live with - but you will. Just stay with it."

We drove on past my car, he talked to me a little more - talking to me the way a good uncle or grandfather would. Then he swung back around behind my car and stopped and I didn't know what to do and he said, "That's all, you can go now. Slow down."

I got out of the car and walked back to my car and I did slow down. It didn't take that much longer to get to where I was going - maybe an extra 5 minutes. It's really funny - you think when you're going 10 miles an hour or even 15 miles an hour, as some folks do, over the speed limit you're going to get there faster.

I think that that sheriff wanted me to get to my life and wanted me to slow down because he felt I was going to do something important someday. I've tried to live up to his expectations.

Goodlife to you all.

Greetings

Greetings, I'm going to use this blog for stories associated with my travels and my experiences - pretty much exclusively. It'll take me a while to figure out what to put up here but I'll put something up eventually.

Goodlife to you all.