My birthday…48 years wise…and
still learning.
November 7, 1999
Sorry it took so long to get back to you, but it was quite an experience spending the summer here in Parker. I used to think I knew what HOT was, but apparently I didn’t. It gets so darn hot here you can’t even breathe! I walk to work five days a week and even though it’s only about 6 blocks (by city measures) each way, the first thing I do when I get there is head right for the walk in cooler…
The job is going fine, but it’s taking a bit longer than I expected to save money for the computer and all the accessories I want. But oh well…there’s no hurry. For the first time in my life, no one is “waiting” for me. In fact, I’d have to say that this time spent in Parker has been the “easiest” time of my life, and I’ve been basking in a completely stress free existence. By my own choice, it seems I’ve always had high pressure jobs where the buck stops with me. But here… I just serve food and recite my poetry to customers. Then I go home, and I DON’T take my job with me. By June, it became too hot to row my raft around the river and my trips to town became an unwelcome necessity which I put off until the last possible moment. But I survived my summer in the desert... not bad for a girl from the Oregon Coast.
But all in all, it was a restful time. Because I’ve always raised horses, dogs, cats, birds, fish, and various other animals... and was a working single mother with two sons, it seems like I’ve always had people and animals relying on me for just about everything. But here in Parker, I don’t even have a pet waiting for me when I come home, (unless you count the wild ducks I’ve made friends with or the feral cat I’ve been feeding). I have no car... but no payments. I make plenty of money for my living expenses and am still able to save toward my computer and website. I have full coverage medical and dental insurance and yet I work only 30 hours a week. I’ve made many new friends, (both Indian and white) whom I will always cherish, but no one ever knocks on my door unexpectedly… and no one calls me on the phone. Life is so EASY! Perhaps too easy… as it will be very tempting not to leave at all.
But I will - because I have work to do and all this “ease” is merely temptation in disguise. I feel like my entire life has been merely preparation for what the I must do with my gift and I will not be deterred from my mission. At least I am having that “rest and recuperation” period I was hoping for, and believe me… I’m enjoying every single minute of it.
Happy birthday to me! (See picture below)
BELOW: The Colorado River just outside of Parker. I took this picture while flying with my friend Ray.
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