Desert Messenger

12 www.DesertMessenger.com January 20, 2016 Traveling with Gypsy Jane by Jane Finley writer * artist * teacher (stretching, exercise, relaxation, meditation) A silent cheer for the coyote Laramie, Wyoming What a day! Sunny and in the high 60s -- almost short-sleeve weather. And the sky! The most beautiful blue, dotted with an oc- casional puffy, white cloud -- the kind you see in story books. The University of Wyoming is not in session now; so I was the only car parked in the campus parking lot -- soooooooooo quiet. I was in the back of my camper, fixing an early dinner, when I no- ticed an animal at the far end of the lot coming toward me. When I first saw it, I thought it was a dog. But as it got closer, I noticed its scroungy appearance, bouncy gait, pointed nose, and thin frame with a scrag- gly tail. I began to think it might be a coyote; I HOPED it was a coyote! And it was! It got within 20 feet of my camper before noticing me and stopping. We stared at each other for a few minutes. Then, I guess it de- cided I was safe because it continued on its route smack dab into civiliza- tion. It passed within ten feet of my camper. What a thrill! Sometimes when I'm driving on a lonely road, I catch a quick glimpse of one -- a coyote all alone, way out in a field somewhere. When I turn the car around, it's always gone. Coy- otes, to me, epitomize the last vestige of freedom in an increasingly smaller world, wild and free, have become my totem. I rarely see one, and when I do, I let out a silent cheer! ~*~*~*~*~*~ Happiness I asked the professors who teach the meaning of life to tell me what is happiness. And I went to famous executives who boss the work of thousands of men. They all shook their heads and gave me a smile as though I was trying to fool with them. And one Sunday afternoon I wandered out along the Desplaines River, And I saw a crowd of Hungarians under the trees with their women and children and a keg of beer and an accordion. Carl Sandberg's "Happiness" published in Chicago Poems, 1916 ~*~*~*~*~*~ SEE GARDENS PAGE 47 • Old Costume Jewelry • Old Fountain Pens • Silver & Gold Coins • Sterling Silverware • Gold Filled Jewelry • Old Watches • Gold & Silver Jewelry Any Condition • Gold Nuggets • Dental Gold BUYING Hi Ally Swap Meet ~ Front Row Main St., Quartzsite All American CREDIT REPAIR IS YOUR CREDIT SCORE A JOKE? Are You Avoiding Your Credit? Can't Buy a Car? or Home? or Get a Loan? Can't get a Credit Card? IF YOU ANSWERED YES, THEN YOU NEED ME! Raise your credit score 100 pts or more in less than 45 days! Call Me Today! Nancy 503-724-5482 By Joanne Winer Celia's Rainbow Gardens has had many "Garden Angels" over the past years, volunteers and or- ganizations that have come togeth- er to help make the Gardens grow with their labor, people who have donated items needed for the Gar- dens, and more who have worked behind the scenes at events that helped with fundraising to keep the work going There has also been a lot of work done by Town Park em- ployees, and more who have sup- ported the Gardens by sending in recipes for the cookbooks we are doing, and have bought cookbooks, cards, craft items, and much more. They are all very important to the Gardens, and we could not have done as much as we have without all these kind hearts and hands. There are also some very special people whose contributions have been so important to the overall vision of the Gardens, and whose caring and love have made this huge project such an uplifting ex- perience, because when times have been trying and hard to deal with, they have always been able to lift our spirits and keep us going when giving up would have been easier I think of these wonderful people as my special garden angels, and re- cently, one of them who has been with us for over 17 years has gone to join the rest of the angels. When we started honoring the volunteers and supporters by hav- ing a Party in the Park all those years ago, we decided that we would invite local bands to come out and join in the party and make great music for everyone to enjoy. One of the bands that we used to have play was Stillwaters, and these guys put on a great show, thanks to Harvey Capra, drummer, who got them in- volved and made sure we had great entertainment every year. When Harvey moved to California, he told me not to worry; Stillwaters My Garden Angels

• Cover