Trip update

Greetings!

Tim Geen and Dave Marshall, sorry it’s taken me so long to describe the great weekend we had at your place Mar. 25-26. Something happened earlier that Friday which threw me off-balance for a few days thereafter and, truth be told, even made the decision to continue this blog something that was for a while uncertain.

But i’ve weathered that storm, having devoted a considerable amount of time to studying and reflecting on what there was to learn from the incident, and am proud to report to all you remaining hangers-on of The Readership: i’M BACK! As well as: IT’S ALL GOOD!

Dinner at Tim’s and Dave’s was a blast, that salmon in a pastry shell being scrumptious and even now unforgettable. i can't recall the last time i sat around such an elegant table with seven other guys who were so much fun to be with. And what a treat to be able to bring Sandy along -- great that she and your corgies got along with each other! -- and to spend the night! i’m glad too that i got the chance to experience before you move that view from the hilltop over the bay and out onto Lake Ontario, and with so many swans, geese, ducks, and gulls to view and to hear from the veranda .. so very special.

Hey ONE of you guys would’ve told me if you’d won an Emmy, wouldn’t you have, Dave?! If not this time for the pilot episode on flying, maybe next year for your documentary on HIV among migrant farm-workers. It was great to be able to catch a glimpse of it. Keep up the good work, my friend.

FanTAStick to hook up with Mary Starkweather, erstwhile sister of Janet and Anne (et al.) last Tuesday evening. Those of The Readership who hail from Rochester (and who might know Mary) will be tickled to hear that after picking up me and the pooch from my place, we stopped to get a can of Foster's lager for me, and a bottle of wine-cooler for Mary, then drove up to the Cobbs Hill reservoir to sit on the grass looking down on Monroe Ave., and watch the sun set. And to laugh at Sandy trying to look vicious for other dogs who passed nearby, including one cute little puppy dog who was all fluff and tumble. We dropped Sandy back home when it got dark and hit the East end for one more drink before calling it a night. What a great reunion, brief though it was.

Dinner at a Chinese restaurant Wed. evening with Mike Morone's mom Dorothy and her husband John was great. Man, they had like six buffet tables to choose from! I should leave town more often! Mike's mom is a great spirit and even though we haven't seen each other much over the years, she always makes me feel like family. Thanks for being who you are Dot ... Have i already mentioned what a great guy my friend Mike Morone is? Check this out.

Well dear readers, i am mildly disappointed to have to announce a major change in my transportation program to California.

You may have heard that i'd scored a dude’s Mercedes-Benz to drive cross-country, for a guy in LA who’d bought it over Ebay from another guy right here in my home town. Lowell (the buyer and a studio exec for Warner Brothers) had even changed the plan we'd discussed of my driving it to LA (from where he would then drive me and Sandy the ten hours north), to my driving it directly to Heartwood, where he would later pick it up on his way to his second home in Oregon, whose state-line lies just the other side of the next county north from Humboldt, del Norte.

But a phone call from him yesterday (i’m writing this Friday night, 4/22) brought that lovely dream to a screeching halt: the ‘control arm’ -- a device having something to do with the steering column -- that the current owner had brought to the garage was rejected by the mechanic due to its inferior nature, and the search for a new one has begun again. It is now highly unlikely that this sweet chariot will be readied in time for me to drive it west, alas.

Lowell, the auto’s new owner, had contacted me as soon as he’d heard what had happened – “for some reason i feel worse for Sandy!” he candidly, casually confided in me – but i replied that i’d struggled all along not to become overly attached to any outcome, so that although i was of course disappointed, i was not crushed, and went about what was left of the work-day in a decidedly good mood (relatively)!

i had saved all of the emails from the 5 or 6 others who’d contacted me offering rides thinking that i might need them, and sent them an email this morning telling them i was back in the market for a ride/drive west.

It’s not completely impossible that the Merc’ might be repaired in time for me to make use of it for getting to Heartwood – But i have let go of my dream of driving that thing, and am concentrating all my energies on rides with others.

What better opportunity than this to publicly shout out big thanks! to the friends from my days in Saudi Arabia – Enda (who posted an ad on my behalf on Craigslist Ottawa) and Simon (who hit Detroit for me) – as well as my posse from my Amsterdam days – Matt (who posted to Albany and NYC for me), Lauren (Philly), Kerstin (Syracuse), Hadleigh (Boston) and Rob (Baltimore). You guys are the greatest, and your names have been put on the dougie t. list of people who will one day receive at least one free massage from me. (Some of you may indeed receive many free massages from me!)

Sandy has a new home in the Golden State! The one reply i got to the ad-with-photo (“Pet of the Week!”) i placed in the 4/12 issue of the Redwood Times was an email from a woman named Sarah who works for a guy named Mike who’s got property where his 5 dogs run around, ten miles from Heartwood! And in country like this, ten miles is like “next-door neighbor!”

Better still, Mike has granted my wish to spend the last two days there with Sandy, prior to the start of the program (May 6). The dogs (4 females and an alpha-male) get shuttled back and forth between his house and this property where i’ll be staying, and are taken care of by a young woman named Katie, who feeds them organic kibble and meat-scraps / bones from a butcher who sells only Humboldt-county beef. Given Heartwood’s no-pets policy, i couldn’t have hoped for anything better.

Finally finished Power vs. Force by David Hawkins. Anyone else read this? i have not yet personally tested the procedure he describes for ascertaining the truth of any yes/no question, but if what he says is true, then we (the people of the world) must prepare ourselves and our friends for immense and rapid changes in human affairs – politics, commerce, education, science, etc. -- the likes of which have been unseen since .. The Flood, i suppose. After i’ve had a chance to test the procedure myself (you only need one other person!), i’ll report my results here.

Aside from the procedure itself, the book was for the most part excellent, inspirational reading. i’ve photocopied his Map of Consciousness which lists 17 items in each of 6 categories. Most intriguing are the emotions most associated with a particular level of consciousness which in ascending order are: shame, guilt, apathy, grief, fear, desire, anger, pride, courage, neutrality, willingness, acceptance, reason, love, joy, peace, and (finally) enlightenment.

Last day at work today! Jim Napier, God bless him, gave me a huge cash bonus as a good-bye gift! (Would it be tacky of me to divulge the amount?) i genuinely appreciated the way a couple of days ago he'd described my unexpectedly lengthy “temporary” stint at his and his brother Bob’s law practice as "a win-win situation." Big thanks boys and Jim, it was great re-connecting with you .. i'll keep in touch.

Well, the two cups of coffee i had after dinner are beginning to wear off, and now it’s just a wait till the rain stops and i can get the pooch out for her end-of-the-day walk before we both go to bed. My delightful sister-in-law Kathy and her/our lovely friend Linda, both of whom have displayed a generosity of spirit and of pocketbook that is simply astounding, had our last Friday-night dinner at Hogan’s Hideaway on Park Avenue, which had become a really nice weekly tradition of ours over the three months that i’ve been back in my home-town. Shrimp scampi on a bed of pasta with grilled red peppers and artichoke hearts filled me to the gills, and my tummy is still hard at work, although with a smile.

God in spite of that Merc’ deal falling through the way it did yesterday, i am lovin’ life, which in turn is making me think that i must be doin’ somethin’ right. i really feel i’ve come to a point of acceptance of what is, at least more than i ever have before. it feels good. i’ve got so many to thank for having shown me the way.

Now if i could only get this ego out of the way a bit more ...

OH MY GOD! This very well may be the last post before my arrival in California! Or if i get the chance to get online as i go cross-country, you'll get a mid-trip report. Otherwise, don't feel distressed if Tuesday rolls around and there isn't a new posting from yours truly. Gotta run, which means you're done reading this update!

Got a minute or two? Want to postpone a little while longer whatever it is you're supposed to be doing? Post a comment before you go. Bye!