Transitions

Well....just two days before I was due to board my flight while I was in  Costco with my friend Noreen (Costco is a supermarket warehouse for giants -everything is mega sized and the space looks like an airline hanger!) - I received a phone call from our Board President that set in motion a chain of events which resulted in me delaying my departure date indefinitely...Such is the nature of unexpected change. I still have to pinch myself in the face of such a turnaround of events. On the one hand I feel very blessed to be able to stay on here - it's like I've really come home to my larger spiritual family - but at the same time it's a bit of a shock to the system. I miss everyone in my other home in Australia and New Zealand deeply, particularly Mum and Dad. Boo Hoo! Of course nothing is certain and I could be shipped home tomorrow to the Antipodes. I am awaiting the outcome of my visa application as I write. And I am facing my fears - fears of having insufficient income and means to look after myself.

So it's a journey of trust right now which was highlighted for me when my shopping trolley scraped the outside of the mirror of a car in the car park of another supermarket - Giant (which isn't as gigantic as Costco). I left a note under the windscreen of the car confessing 'trolley collision scratched paint' crime. As America has a reputation for being highly litigious soI feared the worst and took a blurry picture of the scratch. I drove away and some way up the road my phone rang: I answered in a timid tone expecting it to be about the you know what.

Me "Hello" I heard a deep slightly irritated sounding gruff voice on the other end of the phone 

Him "Yes, I am the person whose mirror you scraped. The car that you left the note on".

Me "Yes. I am sooooooo sorry".

Him: "Well, it's not the first time this has happened to me in that car park" (I wondered if the Giant Carpark was hexed) And it was was good of you to leave the note on my windscreen" (He wasn't to know that the two hemispheres of my brain had argued with one another at the time of the incident - one arguing for running away and leaving no note so I wouldn't have to pay the millions I didn't have - and the the other arguing for the braver more honest course of action come what may....). He paused...my fate hung in the balance. "So, don't worry. Thanks for leaving the note".
Me: Oh thank you. (Huge relief)

Here is a blurry picture of the trolley scratch on my new friend's car!

So I have some fear but this is balanced by a sense of elation too. Here is a picture of potentiality that my friend Noreen took of me at the US Botanic Gardens. Lets see if that happens?

See you when I'm looking at you

I'm about to get on the plane to return back to Australia via New Zealand. I think I've got the 'blog bug' and will keep going with Down Under Tales! How can I encompass such a big year living here - I can't. But I am so grateful to all my friends here and my American family - who provided me with support on so many different levels. I just have a big heartfelt thanks. It was my spiritual teacher Jetsunma who asked me to come and I am so grateful I was able to take up the offer for this length of time. There's been lots of blessings.I am better for the experience in so many ways. May I return just like a well thrown recreational Boomerang. The other kind dispatch you! Here are a few snapshots of new friends and new old friends! Keepsake smiles.

A finally in a world first - a Boomerang Cake!

Re-connecting around wheels and shared history

Many light years ago I was an exchange student in Vienna Virginia living with the Johnson/Fountain Family. I was 16. That's when I met Patty who was a few years older than me. She took me under her wing and showed me around. Patty and I have this shared history with the Johnson/Fountain family who we still keep in touch with - and the school we went to - James Madison High School. We went biefly back to our stomping ground - here's a picture of the home I lived in as an exchange student with Martha, Dan and Tucker - that Patty too stayed in and a couple of shots of our school.

 I can still remember bits of the Warhawk school chant. I made my sisters laugh when I tried to chant it accompanied by bad cheerleader movements.

Another connection Patty and I have - as it turns out - is with motorcycles and cars. Patty has remained connected to both - although my connection with my Kwaka 250Z and my Hillman Hunter Twin Carbi with mag wheels are long gone. It was wonderful to connect with Patty again after all this time. We spent much of the day with her Harley Owners Group (Hog) at the local Harley distributor in the lead up to Memorial Day commemorations which remembers those Americans who have died in service. On this day nearly a million motor cyles converge on Washington DC as part of the  Rolling Thunder Run . It is the worlds largest single-day motorcycle event. It formed in the aftermath of the Vietnam War to highlight issues around Vietnam prisoners of war and those missing in action. The run includes thousands of US Veteran riders. One of the things as an Australia New Zealander that I've noticed is how many more Veterans there are in the USA than in Australia or NZ - they are a visible presence in every day life including women veterans.

Here's what caught my eye. I start first with my friend Patty directing motorcycle traffic.

The history of engagement in war is a long one in America: Memorial Day has its origins in the American Civil War. Interestingly Patty and her husband live very very close to the Civil War Manassas National Battlefield Heritage Park. You don't have to go far afield in Virginia (or Maryland for that matter) to find evidence of the Civil War in the landscape.  War is never a happy event. There is great loss of life and great injury. Some wars bring peace, some don't. But may all who are impacted by war including veterans and their families find peace. And thanks to Fairfax Harley Owner Group (HOG) for being so welcoming of someone who didn't look like them, but who not-so-secretly appreciates the beautiful design/s of Harley's.

Patty thank you for being a wonderful host. I think your number plate sums it up best! See you next time.