Desert Messenger

SEE GYPSY PAGE 26 14 www.DesertMessenger.com February 1, 2017 Traveling with Gypsy Jane (A Valentine's Story) I met David at the library where we both are frequent visitors. You get to know the people at the next computer after a while. One day I gave him my card -- my new non- business card (because I don't have to charge for anything I do now). It says: "Jane Finley, writer, artist, teacher (meditation, exercise, re- laxation, stretching)" and lists my e-mail and my website addresses. Then one evening, I saw David at a restaurant and nodded "hello" but didn't approach as he was with an- other person. I heard him say, "Just a minute, I want to talk to that wom- an." So, I walked over to his table. "If you have a minute," he said, "I'd like to talk to you about meditation." I told him that I couldn't right now but that I was doing my laundry at the laundromat about 9:15 p.m. If he wanted to meet me there, we could talk during the wash cycle. He said, "Okay, I'll bring the soap." I learned later that he had also brought his laundry. When I got to the laundromat and didn't see him, I looked inside and walked around the outside of the building. Hmmmmm, "Stood Up At the Laundromat." I know a good ti- tle when I see one! I thought, "Well, if I've been stood up, at least I'm getting a story out of it" and smiled. I really liked that humorous title, and the energy was there to write the story. But, as life would have it, the story didn't end there because life continued the story for me as David drove up. Now David is a BIG man, and he has a big truck. A BIG, noisy truck, but David is not a noisy man. He's a photographer and an excellent one... sensitive with an eye for a good pic- ture. (It's spooky how much he looks like Clyde Butcher, the outstanding, black and white, nature photogra- pher I met at his studio in the Big Cypress Preserve in Florida, and, of course, they have the photography in common. I was at the studio so of- ten I became friends with Clyde and his wife Niki -- wonderful people!) Everything about David is BIG. He has a BIG, long, bushy beard, but not much hair on top. He covers it nicely though with a dynamite hat that's very becoming. (And I'll take a bald guy any day over someone who either wears a hairpiece, which you can always tell, or combs his hair across his bald head from one ear to the other. Natural is best!) And, most of all, David has a BIG talent: nature by Jane Finley writer * artist * teacher (stretching, exercise, relaxation, meditation) Stood up at the Laundromat Port Angeles, WA photography. He spends a lot of time roaming the mountains, valleys, and steams of the Olympic Peninsula and captures them in his lovely photo- graphs. He obviously loves this area, and it shows in his photographs. Like most interesting people, Da- vid is a dichotomy. Or maybe he's just eccentric (like me). (When I had my own business, I used to tell my clients that I charged for the work I did, but the eccentricity was free.) I was intrigued by the two bumper stickers on David's truck, and I knew there was a story here. The fi rst said "The brainwashed never wonder," which I LOVED, and it certainly caused me to wonder. (I have of- ten thought that my website could be called "Wonderings" instead of "Wanderings." It's a little -- a lot! -- of both.) The second bumper sticker was "Real men love Jesus." I didn't pursue that one, having learned early on to avoid the topics of sex, politics, and religion when I fi rst meet people....and maybe always! He DID mention during the evening that he put that bumper sticker on, as I remember, so he wouldn't get "beat up by rednecks." I had decided earlier, after walking through the laundromat, that was defi nitely not the place to talk about meditation. So when David drove up, I said, "You know, we can do bet- ter than this," thinking I would hop in his truck, and we would go some place outside since it was still light. (Love those long summer days....) There was a slight obstacle, how- ever. David's front seat and fl oor were covered with all sorts of things, about a foot deep. "I'll follow you," I said, when he suggested we go out to the spit. I'd never been there and always welcome a new experience. When I followed David in my camper right into a beautiful sun- set, I knew the evening would be special, and it was. We drove a long way out on the narrow spit. It was almost dark now, cold and windy. The sunset was almost gone, and we watched it go. Then when I turned around, I saw the beautiful lights of Port Angeles in the distance. It was spectacular! A further confi rmation that I might settle here eventually. I said, "You know, David, I don't think I can talk about meditation tonight. I'm just too fi lled with the awe of this place." And I was. I don't know about you, Dear Reader, but sometimes life is just so wonderful that it fi lls me with wonder from my toes right up to my neck. Then I know that it's enough....that I can't possibly take in any more. It's hard to express the feeling; so I hope you've experienced it and know what I'm talking about. I got the very same feeling when I fi rst visited Everglades National Park in Florida for the fi rst time or sitting watching the sunset at Tecopa Hot Springs in California. The Everglades was be- yond my wildest dreams, and after only an hour, I had to leave. I just couldn't absorb one bit more of the wonder of that place; I was that full. "And," I thought, "I can come back tomorrow and tomorrow and to- morrow".....rationing out the joy." I had on long pants, a warm jacket, and a scarf, but David had on shorts and a short-sleeve shirt. I lent him a windbreaker; so we could climb over the huge rocks and sit looking out over the Straits of Juan de Fuca. The sunset was gone now, but the serenity and beauty of the place re- I want a property in Quartzsite! I would like to buy at least .5 acre in town for a fair price. I prefer owner carry with a strong cash down payment or a cash-out for the right deal. Please contact me with your best proposal. -Dr. Michael Cole 602-791-0584 Call Don 928-927-3080 208-255-6955 Don's Rocks Decorative Landscaping Hauling, Dumptruck & Backhoe Services WE'RE BACK! Looking forward to seeing our Friends!

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