Desert Messenger

12 www.DesertMessenger.com December 16, 2015 Read Desert MESSENGER E-edition online @ www.MyQuartzsite.com Traveling with Gypsy Jane by Jane Finley writer * artist * teacher (stretching, exercise, relaxation, meditation) Long lost friends & purple toenails Rock Springs, Colorado (This is the fi rst story I wrote, Everglades City, Florida, February 8, 2003) PART I: Long Lost Friends Niki Butcher, with her husband Clyde, runs the Clyde Butcher Big Cypress Gallery. It is located on Highway 41 west of Naples, Florida on the way to Shark Valley in Everglades National Park. Niki told me this story: Clyde and Marshall were college roommates. (I don't know how long ago, but I will tell you that Clyde sports a very bushy, long, white beard.) Clyde and Marshall lost touch over the years; Clyde to pursue his love of black-and-white, nature photography and Marshall to do some big-time career thing. As the story goes, one day Mar- shall was driving along Highway 41 when he passed the sign for the gallery (just east of the Visitor's Center in Big Cypress National Preserve). He read the sign as he passed, and Clyde Butcher, his college roommate, came to mind. Could it be? Could there be more than one Clyde Butcher? He didn't think so. He'd driven past by then and decided to turn around and check it out. Long story, short: It turned out to be the very same Clyde Butcher, his college roommate! Niki was ecstatic as she told me how close the friendship has become and how important Marshall is in their lives. She didn't say this in so many TV ANTENNAS Authorized Dealer Works in Quartzsite - Lake Havasu City - Yuma All over the USA, Canada and Mexico OLD MOVIE CHANNELS NBC • CBS • ABC • FOX • PBS • WEATHER •MORE! 18 TO 36 CHANNELS GUARANTEED TO WORK - SETUP ASSISTANCE PARTS & REPAIR TYSON WELLS MARKETPLACE SPACE #4 FRONT ROW 2 spaces west of K B Tools AZ • Quartzsite • Military Caps Rhinestone & Quartzsite T-Shirts Solitude Miles ~ John ~ 605-431-5028 Over 25 years in Quartzsite, Parker, LHC NOW OPEN! See Celia 585 N. Central Quartzsite Open Mon-Fri 8-5 928-927-8787 Johnny DelPino, Owner BEST AUTO RV & TRUCK REPAIR SERVICE YOU CAN DEPEND ON! We sell U-HAUL BOXES RON & PATTY'S DIECAST Collectibles & Apparel Located AT THE MAIN EVENT Corner of W. Main & Quartzsite Blvd. 704-575-6719 NASCAR ACROSS FROM BURGER KING Nature's Nuggets BUYS & SELLS GOLD Nuggets - Jewelry- Coins- Sivler Call Richard 928-927-5479 • 435-730-3388 In Quartzsite over 20 Years! GOLD SHOW Feb. 12-14 2016 Quartzsite Licensed Business BAD RIVER PACK 605-280-8818 THANK YOU QUARTZSITE! We would like to thank all who have stopped by our booth over the past seven years - Many great customers and friends. We've elected to slow down and are now selling 3 days a week at the Mesa Market Place. We're in row C spaces 105 & 107. If you are in the Mesa area, please stop by and say hi. Fee free to give us a call or like us on Faceook. Email us at BadRiverPack@gmail.com JERKY • SUMMER SAUSAGE • SNACK STICKS • PEMMICAN words, but I got the feeling that she feels he was "sent" to them at a time when they were contemplat- ing major changes in their lives. Becoming reacquainted with Mar- shall was a serendipitous happen- ing -- a gift from the universe.. PART II: Purple Toe Nails Niki said Marshall has purple toenails. When I looked puzzled, she continued, "What's the fi rst thing you look at when you get out of bed in the morning?" She answers her own question, "You look down at your feet and see your toenails." She took off her shoe and sock, and sure enough, she too had purple toenails! She says one is bound to notice purple toenails fi rst thing in the morning. Marshall told her that purple toenails are a daily reminder to "stay on the path -- to stay on YOUR path." Many people will ask, "Where is the path? What is MY path? How do I fi nd it?" To this I answer: Hear your inner voice; listen to your SEE GYPSY PAGE 32

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