Possibly my last post in this blog

I want to continue to use it, but other than from my tablet, I'm unable to access the account to post anything. Unfortunately, I've not been able to get help from anyone running the blog site. My tablet isn't a good platform for typing in posts. So, if you would like to follow my continuing adventures, be aware that it may not be through this blog. Actually, now that I'm thinking about it, I will post at least one more entry, once I'm able to direct those interested to a new blog.

Happy Holidays, my friends!

Fitting in...in my own mind.

I think that, perhaps, my entries will come a little closer together for a while. I expect to be spending a lot of time alone in the next few months, though that is by no means assured. After all, the Universe is running this show, I'm just the actor and audience.

 

Wow! Having insurance is interesting. They paid for my meds, but they won't pay for chiropractic care...which is very unfortunate as I really need some! The accident hurt me more than I thought, especially noticeable since I haven't been getting treated for the injuries. The insurance will reimburse me for the treatments, but need the money to pay for the treatments in the first place. It is times like this that I either wish I had money, or had a wealthy benefactor who was willing to front me the money and then wait to get it back from the insurance company. Since I have neither, I just deal with it as best I can. I can tell you this, I am seriously becoming acquainted with chronic pain!

 

I had an MRI the other day and now know that I have a herniated disk that is putting pressure on a nerve in my lower back that is hindering my dancing, and is making walking any distance a challenge. I have a referral to go see a neurosurgeon, but they are booked many months out. I'll be going tomorrow for a stress test and the day after for a consultation on the hernia that I need worked on. I also have an appointment next week to see an eye doctor; this came as a surprise as I didn't know I was going to be seeing one until I got a letter in the mail telling me to call such-and-such to schedule. This is exciting because it has been a couple years since I had my last checkup. Bifocals this time!!! It is hard to draw on balloons when one needs two different sets of eyes to see the child and the balloon.

 

On a deeper note, I was observing to a friend today that, when I was a young man, I couldn't imagine enjoying spending time alone like I do now. I have this little 19 foot wrecked RV that I stay in when I come to Bellingham and I find that I just want to spend all my time in it. I get out of it rarely right now, though that might have something to do with the health issues going on for me. No, I feel no form of depression...in fact, I am quite happy and jolly. I've just found that I truly enjoy the privacy...though privacy in and of itself isn't something I'm known for. I tend to tell folks exactly what is going on for me, if I think such knowledge may be of benefit.

 

When I was young, I used to always want music playing, always wanted to be around people. I couldn't imagine living anywhere but in big cities like LA, San Fran, or at least medium-sized ones like Cincinnati. Now, I find it difficult even to visit Seattle. I recently rode my bike on a tour around Arizona and did my best not to even have to drive through Phoenix...though I did have to do so. Now, Bellingham is almost too big, population about 100, 000. I noticed, if I was truly being honest with myself, I never really felt like I fitted in anywhere back then. Now, being comfortable in my own skin, I find I don't need the excited distractions of people to be comfortable and content anymore. Now I do fit in, in the only place that matters: my own mind.

 

May you also be at peace.

Primarily, health update.

Hello all,

 

It is odd, but I could've sworn that I had posted 2 new posts since Havasu. I'll have to look into that. Well, to update again: I am now back in Bellingham, WA. I have a Hernia which needs tending to and I have a support system here that doesn't need that much support themselves. I thought about going to my mother's in Bandon, OR for the surgery, but my mom needs help herself so my being there needing looking after would only be a burden to her, though she would welcome me with open arms. Here in B'ham, I will have my old RV to stay in, which I truly enjoy, as well as several friends who think of me highly enough to make sure I am comfortable during my downtime. Hopefully, I will be able to get some writing in while I'm down.

 

As those who have been following my blog know, I had an accident in Nov, '13. It seems that that event opened the door to several more stressors being added to my body system. I have a pinched nerve in my lower back, for example, that now seems to occasionally effect how I use my legs. They become weak and tired easily...not good for a dance teacher! I often use two walking sticks to make sure I'm able to maintain balance. I've also been having horrendous headaches lately, unlike any I've can remember having had before. They are interesting, that's for sure. Due to ignorance in the health field, I have no way of knowing if the headaches are related to the pinched nerve.

 

Insurance! WOW! Never had it before and it is pretty darn cool! I'd been without blood pressure meds for over a month because doctor's require an office visit to prescribe the substance. Seems odd to me that it would be a controlled substance since it can't get one high and is require it to help not have strokes. Oh, well...In any case, not only did I get a new prescription, but I also was able to get a refill of pain meds and muscle relaxers...for free! Thanks Obamacare! I've also found out that I have high cholesterol and high blood sugar. All the rest of the blood-work came back okay. Which is great, but leaves a question about why my body is doing what it is doing these days. (Regardless of the fate of the insurance, I have safely acquired at least a year's worth of blood pressure meds! When first measured by the nurse, my bp was 178/106. When I went in yesterday, after a week of having the meds, it was 138/87.)

 

I will have to wait awhile for many of the medical things I need done to come about, but at least it is in the works and I MIGHT be about to get treated longer for the effects of the accident. I can't sit and look down at my computer screen for very long without developing a severe pain in the neck and upper back...directly traceable to the accident. Additionally, my lower back hurts easily, also directly traceable to the accident. My right shoulder joint is also hurting a bit, which came from the accident as well. I had thought that I would have to stop treatment because I have no more money available to treat; the other guy's insurance requires that I pay for treatment and then they would review the expenditure and decide if they would reimburse me.

 

Please note: my description of my ills has nothing to do with complaining. The inner experience of all this is, "It just is what it is." Sometimes life is pleasant, other times it isn't. Usually it is a mix of pleasant, unpleasant, and neutral. I am happy and content, with only a little stress regarding not being able to work for a while due to the hernia, and once I get that fixed, the healing time. Perhaps I'll look into online schooling...

Leaving Havasu

March 17th, St. Patrick's Day. Travel time once again. I had breakfast with Dave, the gentleman who has been so generous with letting me camp on his back porch. Then we both were something of a whirlwind as we packed as quickly as we could to try to get an early start, me to Bandon, Or, him back to LA. Fail on both accounts. Neither of us got out until after noon.

Funny thing about when I leave a place that I sense what I came for is finished, I had no problem at all, emotionally, in leaving. I'll miss a few of the people, but the town has no appeal for me now. I rode the 20 miles to the freeway and filled the tank and headed on to Vegas to visit my daughter.

The sun was quite warm while I headed West, but as soon as I turned North on 95, the wind picked up; dust blowing everywhere. In passing from Arizona into California, there is a traffic stop on the freeway where they check for something or another. They usually just wave motorcycles through but this time, there just wasn't anyone there. Everyone got waved through. The gas was $3.429, and nine miles from California. Twenty one miles from where I filled up at, and at the first Needles, CA exit, gas was $4.769.

Passing from California into Nevada, the road changes abruptly from a 2-lane to a divided double lane highway. Big change in the quality of the road. Nevada obviously has more money to spend and they want to show it off.

Got to visit with my awesome daughter and spend a couple hours with her and my furry grandsons (cats), punctuated by a brief appearance of her boyfriend. Then it was time to go. Hope I get to see her again before too long.

It seems that Las Vegas city has an ordinance of no overnight camping. After almost running out of gas - the bike has a 5.4 gallon tank and I put in 5.198 - I found that even Walmart can't let someone camp. So, I looked online for free camping and found a rest area 80 miles away. So, I rode there and had a good nights sleep.

Travel...and jealousy.

Hello all! I'd likely get a lot more subscribers if I were to be a little more diligent about writing posts. Oh, well, such is not presently within my power. This is the first time I've had the computer charged in quite some time. Unfortunately, my power cord burnt up a couple weeks ago. I ordered another one and hopefully will get it soon.

So, yesterday was quite humbling. I'm presently back in Lake Havasu City, AZ. I'm camped on the back porch of my friend's (Dave) second home. Usually he is in California, but he showed up out of the blue the evening before last. Well, he was leaving to go on a ride with the local Goldwing club and he locked the front door. I had pulled my bike into the garage to plug the battery into the charger for a bit and I shut the garage door. I had told Dave that I would make sure I locked the sliding glass door before I left for the day, which I did...and then I remembered that my bike was locked inside the garage. STUCK! For the day, until he got back. After I finished laughing at my own silliness, I posted it to my FaceBook.

A lot has happened since I last updated this blog. I had my young friend, Alexaray, come to travel around with me for a bit. It was fun, having her youthful energy around. We get along well. We rode around the state of Arizona, just seeing what we could. Got to say, Arizona is a very beautiful state! Between Sedona and Flagstaff, especially. WOW! Seriously, wow!

We stayed at several Couchsurfing locations (see couchsurfing.org), one each in Yuma, Tuscon, and Flagstaff. Had an interesting experience when the police was called on me for "accosting a teenager" in a Walmart parking lot. (She and I were horsing around while taking down the camper and had gotten into a tickle fight.) To put your mind at ease, she's 20. There were no teenagers around,as far I I know. The cop smiled, after checking our IDs and giving us an odd look, and then wished us a good day and safe ride.


She's now back in Bellingham after having seen the Sate, including the grand Canyon, Oak Creek Canyon between Sedona and Flagstaff, and many other awesome sights.
.....................................................................................................................
 Later in the week: Had an interesting experience a few days ago. I found out that it was a friend's birthday here in Havasu. She's 64 or 65, I think. I won't go into too many details but because she is such a great dancer, I have often gone to where I knew she'd be so that we could dance together.  Well, she got into a relationship with a guy since the last time I saw or talked to her and it turns out that he suffers under the tyranny of the Demon of Jealousy. I showed up at her birthday party at a public venue to make her a balloon and have a birthday dance but was accosted by her boyfriend's demon. He came up and told me that he "had my number" while having a smile pasted on his face to not let on that he was basically threatening me. He also had a hand on my shoulder. I was shocked, even though I have been under Jealousy's sway before. I had had no thought of doing anything that would give him a reason to be jealous, even to the point of not even knowing it was going to be her birthday. A mutual friend had come up with the idea of my going to make her a balloon. Oh, well.

Here's something I've learned about jealousy: it makes the person you are with do EXACTLY what you don't want them to do...look at every other member of your sex in the room and judge them against you so that they will know where NOT to look. I must say, I thought it was a compliment that he thought that I was so much better than he was that she might want to leave him to come to me, even though I only want her as a friend. I really feel for them both. I've noticed that her demeanor has greatly changed, no longer the happy, bubbly woman she was the last time I was in town. Now she almost always looks sad, doesn't often look guys in the eye, especially me. All the signs of being emotionally abused by a jealous partner. I hope that he is able to excise the Demon in time to save the relationship. Or, if he can't, I hope she is able to break out of the prison she has allowed him to put her in.

I think that I will write a blog post about what I know of jealousy. Having been on both sides of the fence of that particular hell, I've learned a thing or two.

Clarification.

A friend of mine recently suggested that my asking for sponsorship of this lifestyle was arrogant and self-serving. So, I think I would give a little more of my reasoning, and I would do it here so that other's might know of my thinking on the matter. Last weekend, I was approached by a fellow who was putting together a festival for special needs people. He asked, as do many people who are interested in having my skills at charity events, if I would be willing to donate my time and skills. I had to decline, because I just don't have the resources to give away so many balloons at one time. It costs a lot of money to stay supplied. Additionally, because I have some bills I have to pay and have a few things that do require money--I've been using whatever kind of blood pressure medication I can scrounge because I don't have the $100 or more to see a doctor to get a prescription to name but one--I usually make "bulk" money on the weekends, because that is when everyone else is off work and out playing.

So, this gentleman said, "Perhaps I can find someone to sponsor you for the festival." In other words, find someone willing to pay for the balloons and perhaps give me something extra for the effort toward living expenses. Usually what happens in such cases (it has happened often in the past) is that a company will sponsor me so that they can get some cheap advertisement out of the deal. Which is okay as far as it goes, but to me, doing it that way tinges the giving with commercialism. Not quite the same energy as a bunch of people giving just because it is in their hearts to do so.

Because of a couple of friends who stepped up to sponsor this last balloon buy (which I upped significantly because of the generosity of these friends) I will be able to volunteer for a couple charity events without me having to be the recipient of the charity I'll be entertaining for.

So there ya go, just a little more information about this crazy life experience I'm having this time round. Om Shanti

WHAT JOY!!! Examples of my day...

Hello, my friends.

 

Recently, you may have read about my attempt to find sponsors for my odd lifestyle and the joy that I seek to spread through my balloons and teachings. Well, a little update is in order, I believe. Although the whole of my lifestyle has not yet received anywhere near the numbers that would allow me to totally give away all of my balloons and stay alive at a meager level of existence, I have received a couple gifts that results in the funding of this month's balloon order(s)!!

 

I don't often write in here the things I do regarding bringing smiles to others because I don't like the idea of bragging, or seeming to be doing so. However, since I would like to include my sponsors and readers in the joy that I feel, doing what I do, I will endeavor to give examples from time to time. Please note, each thing I write is multiplied many times throughout almost every day.

 

Just now, a young man came into the store I'm at with two children, a 7 year old boy and an 11 year old girl. The son looked a little down and sat down away from Dad while he was ordering a drink for the daughter. I took my squeaker from my pocket and, palming it so that they couldn't see it, went up and asked the family group (the son had rejoined the other two) if they would like to see something cool. I guess it is seeing my grey beard that results in almost everyone I ask that of saying yes.

 

After getting their attention, I reached out and made it appear that a napkin holder had a squeak in it. The kids were amazed and tried to make it squeak, in vain. So I told them that it was a "move-able_ squeak and moved it to a different location. They, again, attempted to make the same point squeak. Nope. Then I took the squeak and put it on the son's shoulder. Looking incredulous, they attempted to make his shoulder squeak. Then I moved the squeak to Dad's arm and left it there. Five minutes later, they were still poking Dad's arm to try to make it squeak. Then, while Dad went to check on his car (which, I was told, had broken down and was needing towed), the children sat near me and I made the boy a motorcycle balloon and the girl a kitty. The boy told me that he loves motorcycles and has many magazines about them.

 

When they left, they all thanked me and were smiling and happy. Like I say, this same scene is reenacted many times a day. Sometimes it is an old woman, sometimes a waitress or waiter (they like getting them for their loved ones), sometimes an office worker or cashier. It doesn't matter to me who is the recipient of my entertainment, as long as I can leave them a little happier than I found them. Often, the points I try to make about: how awesome each person is, how to stay out of gangs, why it is better to treat each person with respect, how it takes everyone and everything in the universe to get one child a balloon (these and many more like it) lead to impromptu counseling sessions. Many of these run very deep and end with hugs.

 

This is my life almost every day. Once in a while I take a day off and just stay "home" in my camper, or ride somewhere just to see it, but let there be a child or someone unhappy... :-) Almost everyone who has ever gone out to eat with me has had to sit through my twisting a balloon for a waitress and or getting up to sing "Happy Birthday" to a child or an old person...or pretty much anyone.

 

I'll post more examples in the coming days. May you be as blessed as I am. :-)

Sponsoring joy

It is amazing, the joy I feel from very simple things. May it not leave for what few minutes I have left in this body, whether such be but seconds or decades! Today I acquired a small, folding step stool to help me climb into the camper. I am overjoyed at the ease with which I'm now able to heave my injured bulk into bed. It is as awesome as the camper itself. And to think that I, dancer with never-failing legs, find myself needing such help...For truth, everything changes.

It seems that my body doesn't really know what to think these days. Pain in lots of odd places, blood pressure of 168/98, lots of discomfort in my chest when I move quickly or get my heart rate up. But I still have full use of my facilities, am still filled with joy and peace, and most wonderfully, have several times this week reached my daily goal of getting 5 people to spontaneously say, "You've made my day!" It is this, combined with the multitude of smiles in my wake, that gives me confidence that I am leading a wondrously beautiful life, regardless whether those who do not see the good that I do, believe me worthy of respect or support.

My most joyful entertainment tool is a simple, $.75 squeaker found in many dog toys. With one of these I can confound, confuse and entertain a large group of both adults and children. Today, 4 of the 6 people who told me that I made their day, did so because of the entertainment created by one of these little plastic toys in the hands of a skilled children's entertainer. I hope to get few examples on video and on the Web soon. I can imagine such a video going viral.

Soon,  I will be posting a gofundme.com appeal for crowd-sourcing sponsors of my little life endeavor to spread joy everywhere I can. I truly enjoy what I do,  but sometimes living so close to the edge is difficult.  For instance, coming up with the money to buy more balloons when I run out; it is a great expense to me,  yet I know that many people spend such money as though it is pocket change. One day's worth of middle  class-style shopping can provide balloons (latex smiles) for literally hundreds or even thousands of strangers, the majority of which are children.

I understand why such sponsors don't just offer themselves without prompting. We are, are we not, in the land of, "If you don't make your own money, you are worthless?" Or so or consumer-driven society would have us believe. So, on the basis of that Foundation, of what value am I? At the same time, I have a great many people each day thank me for living as I do and doing what I do. So even if I were deluding myself as to my value upon the earth, meager though it is, still I have all these strangers and new friends blessing me with their gratitude. I am SO blessed!

In any case,  please consider becoming a sponsor. Presently, I spend about half of my income buying balloons. Those of you who know me personally know that I don't drink, smoke, or waste money on drugs. I would love to get my own smile fixed soon as it is beginning to cause pain, but will buy more balloons before going to a dentist. So, if you have few dollars and would like to gift others (friends you may never know) with moments that, through my efforts, help make their lives more joyful and less stressful,  please consider using PayPal to donate whatever you feel would bless you to give. You can be assured I'll get it if you send it to my email,  twistofair(at)yahoo.com.

Regardless of any donation or gift,  I wish you the greatest joy, deepest peace, and all the love you can imagine for your entire life.

Time to roll again?

Soon, it will be time to get on the road again. It is much harder this year. The pin and stiffness from the accident makes doing a lot of the things I usually do more difficult. I still wear my helmet most of the time, even though it hurts because I would rather live. After the save of the seatbelt, I've developed a greater respect for safety equiptment. If my daughter hadn't decided to move to Vegas and asked me to put the bike in the U-Haul, I would still be in Bellingham, being treated by the chiropractor and massage therapist every other day. I think I need it, but it is much harder to get that level of care while on the road. I thought I had to come down here because I kept running out of money. Usually, it is easy to make money while in the road, but I didn't consider just how much my health impacted my ability to perform.

I was able to work a flea market yesterday and made a little money, (Thank you, Universe) but not like I was able to last year. It's okay, I am close friends with Change, and the Unniverse always supplies. Occasionally, I forget that for a few minutes, but my memory returns in just a few.

I love my life. I reaally do. Even though money has been tight frequently throughout most of my life thus far, I feel very wealthy. We all have life eevents that we consider to be problems and lack of funding seems to be one of mine. However, I have a number of friends who also have money problems...because they have too much stuff and are having to work all the time to support their stuff. I've found that, even when I had a lot of comfortable things, I wasn't all the comfortablee because I had to bow to the obligation of working harder and longer than I wanted to because having a bunch of stuff means I have to pay out a lot of money to support it all.

Years ago, I was studied to become a Realtor in San Francisco. I saw many multimillion dollar homes, many that cost more than a million a year just in upkeep. I like having quality things, it's enjoyable, but the tradeoff of not having those things is that I don't have to worry about supporting them, and  I don't need to worry about losing them. This extra time allows me to play with the kids. What joy!  It also gives me time to meditate and release many of the issues of the heart/mind that would rob me of peace.

Okay, that's enough for now. I'm typing on my tablet and that doesn't lend itself to long posts.
Om Shanti

Twisting and lessons.

The balloons are flying over Lake Havasu City. They didn't let me on the lot because they were afraid I would twist their balloons into poodles. I kept telling them that I could only twist balloons that I could get my hands around. Instead, I went to the loccal flea market. They let me in free, but then realized that they had "made a mistake" and though I didn't have to pay today, I would have to rent a booth space to work it in the future. No wonder there aren't very many kids there...there's nothing there for them. I'm happy I was there for them today.

It's getting close to time to hit the road again. I'm going to head down to Yuma next, stay there until February 2nd. Then I'll head up to Vegas and twist a couple days before my young friend gets to town.

I'm sitting in a Burger Kind watching this young family. It is very interesting to hear how the parents are programming their children's emotions. The kids are 3, 5, and 6. The 5 yearols is a boy. The dad is about 27, the mom is no older than 25. The son dropped his hamburger and the mom got mad at him. The dad also showed his displeasure, though he let the mom handle the situation. She asked him why he did it and he said  he didn't know. She cut him off and said hee did know and because he lied, he can go without a hamburger. Then she went back to eating as did the rest of the family, except the boy; he laid his head on his arms and sat very still, obviously very unhappy.

Mom likely had no idea that she just tought the boy that getting mad when he doesn't get what he wants is correct behavior for everyone except on his parents. The two likely learned the same lesson. For half an hour,  that little boy sat there almost unmoving. Pretty amazing self control mfor a 5 year old boy.

Sponsoring balloons

Well, sometimes giving my balloons away doesn't seem to work well, for me at least. I am overjoyed that I have the skills to make people's day, as I'm often told, but I would love to find a sponsor for the cost of the balloons. I live so close to the edge that when it comes time to buy more balloons, I will often find myself doing without some important things I need. Balloons come first, then stuff like phone bills and gas for the bike. I'm blessed that the Universe loves to feed me so I don't have to concern myself with food. I think I may make a video asking for sponsors on gofundme.com.

Empowerment

It's interesting to me to watch my daughter grow older. I've seen my nieces get up, but I wasn't often in touch with them. My daughter, on the other hand, I have been in touch with since she was 13. She is now 27. I see her doing many things that I remember she adamantly swearing that she would never do, like smoking amd drinking. I remember her somewhat looking down on my son (whom I've rarely had any comtact with --his choice) for some of the stuff he publicly professes to enjoy, only to find her doing the same things. No judgment here, she is her own being making her own choices, it is just fascinating to watch the process.

The other night, I stopped in a restaurant and sat at the counter.  I made a balloon for the server that had a litle teaching written on it. I write, "Cho o se a happy day." The highlighted O in "Choose" I write with a different color. The lesson is that the "o" stands out when one is looking for it in the same way the joy stamds out in each moment if one is looking for it.

Well, a man came in with his family amd sat down. After some time, he came up to the register and told so,eone there that he had been waiting a long time and hadn't seen a server yet. My server said in a loud stage whisper that, yes, he had seen a server since he had drinks. He replied that the hostess gave the drinks to his family and that was the last time.  Well, it turned out that this family was in my server's section. Shentook their order and while she was punching in their order, said loudly enough that lots of folks heard, "f~~~g a~~ hole". Soon after, she was fired.

Odd things happen around me and she would up crying on my shoulder,  complaining that, "That man cost me my job." Unfortunately, it didn't come out, but it was obvious to me that she cost herself the job by her lack of self control. She chose to play the victim without looking at her role. Had she taken responsibility for her role, she would have been empowered to offer other options than firing and may have saved her job. I write all this here because it is a good lesson for us all.

If something negative happens in our lives and we take responsibility for the whole of it, then that taking of responsibility empowers us to find creative solutions. If we take the victim route, then we have to take whatever comes our way.

I watched a lovely movie last night with a v err y surprising ending that speaks to just this lesson,  called 'About Time.' Rated PG, I think, for sexual references and perhaps a few cuss words. Overall, a decent enough movie for teens and adults...I recommend it.

Lake Havasu City, AZ

I arrived in town two nights ago. I had the idea of surprising a friend of mine (who I used to dance with a lot) by showing up at the Elks Lodge. This idea was helped along by a mutual friend. Well, it was a surprise alright...seems that since the last time I saw her and this time, she has gotten into a relationship. I got the distinct impression that, as far as her new male friend was concerned at least, my presence was not welcomed. She and I had a couple dances and then I left. While I was in the parking lot, getting ready to go find a place to pop the camper, one of the Lodge's bigwigs stopped and talked with me about my "rig"...the bike/trailer combination. He wound up giving me permission to stay on the Elks property for the night.

Backing up a little in the story, when we hooked my trailer up to my daughter's car to haul it down here to the Southwest, I had to change the wiring harness to get the trailer to work with her car. After getting it to Vegas, I had to reinstall the old harness, but was unable to get the tail lights to work on the trailer. I got all the other lights to work, just not the tail lights. Back to the Elks: our mutual friend referred to above (Tony) volunteered to fix the tail lights. That was the reason I was given permission to use the private Elks RV lot. Tony did wind up fixing my tail lights; turned out to be a pretty time consuming job. I doubt I would've figured out the problem by myself.

Well, I've wondered about town for a couple days now. I have learned that the towns that I feel "welcomed" in are towns that my presence does some manner of good for someone. Havasu, this year, doesn't feel welcoming. Just as an example, I went to Wal-Mart's to pop the camper last night. After getting it all set up and being warmly ensconced in my sleeping bag, a security guard came by to tell me that I would not be allowed to camp in the parking lot and would have to move. Now, it is well known that if you are traveling in a camper, you can pull into any Wal-Mart and sleep for the night. This Wal-Mart didn't even have signs prohibiting camping. Well, it turns out that there is no public camping allowed in Havasu anywhere. One has to drive out of town into the Open Range to find free camping.

I drove out to the open range and found a spot to camp. As I was preparing the camper for the night--with a flashlight in my mouth--a cop pulled to a stop up on the road and shut off his lights. Sitting there, lights off, it seemed after my recent expulsion, that he was waiting to get backup to come talk to me. Well, after a few minutes I decided to just pack up and leave the area. As I drove in front of him (a sheriff) I got off the bike and approached him with my hands carefully away from my sides, and asked what was up. He said he was watching traffic and that it was fine for me to camp there.

Thus far, I've made $1 since I've been in town. I've spent pretty much everything I had...which wasn't much. I have had the opportunity to plant a few mind-seeds into a few young people. I love doing that, it makes me feel that my choice to live this way is valid. Yes, I have a few issues, usually centered around funds, but then, doesn't almost everyone? I've just traded my big issues for smaller ones.

I've noticed that though I often complain of not having a few dollars, other friends of mine are complaining about not having the thousands they need to pay their monthly bills. To someone who can't swim, water an inch above their nose presents a tremendous challenge. To someone who can swim, staying afloat in water above their heads sometimes becomes a life-threatening challenge. There is a street festival in town tomorrow. Last year I was paid $100 to come twist. I also was allowed to accept tips for my balloons. This year, I was given permission to busk, but no extra pay. I was told that it was a fundraiser and that is why I needed to volunteer my time and balloons...the people who are the recipients of the funds that are raised are often in a better position financially than I am. That isn't a complaint, but rather I find it to be an amusing little fact.

Okay, it's getting dark and I am exhausted. I have chiropractic and massage treatments scheduled for tomorrow so I guess it is time to go collect the camper and head out into the desert.

Christmas update

I'm now in Las Vegas. It was a tough drive down because of the injuries from the accident, but we made it. I put my bike in the back of my daughter's U-Haul while she pulled my trailer with her car. We got a later than desired start due to a blanket of snow. I didn't want Cly to drive on snow hauling  a trailer when she had never pulled a trailer before. Then it turned out that we had trouble getting the lights to the trailer to work with her car. Well, we finally got everything ready to go and hit the road.

I've got to say, there was a big comedy of errors getting everything ready! However, most parts aren't needed for the story to work. The biggest event of them all, though, happened just south of Seattle. I was following Cly at 60 MPH in busy traffic when suddenly sparks began to fly and the trailer started wobbling all over the place. Cly pulled to the emergency lane with me right behind her. We found that the ball had broken or unscrewed. In any case, it wasn't there. (I sure hope no one was hurt by the metal pieces!!!) The trailer was attached to her car only by the emergency chains. Luckily, I was able to take the ball from my motorcycle off and put it on her car. We had no more trouble with the trailer the rest of the way.

It felt odd, getting back on the road in this way. In fact, I find that I must trust the Universe even more than usual because I am not able to work much at all. Usually, I can trust that I can ride to where I need to to make a living and have the agility to do so once I get there. Right now, I don't have the agility and can barely ride.

So, I'll ask this, if you would like to help me make it through this time of healing in the form of financial Dana, it will reach me if you PayPal it to my email, twistofair (at) yahoo.com. Any help will be greatly appreciated and well used.

I am presently camping on my daughter's futon in Vegas. I don't gamble so being a block off the strip is interesting. I've walked through the Circus Circus casino looking for cheap food...seems they don't do that anymore. It used to be that the casino's would offer very cheap food, knowing that if people came into the casino, then it is likely that they would play. Seems that the big casinos don't need to offer such things anymore. All the food was at rich tourist prices.

My arms have been hurting a lot for the past few weeks and so twisting balloons (or even ripping toilet paper off the roll) is almost too much to do. Seeing all these tourists walking around while I need money and have a few balloons, yet not being able to twist is really challenging. Sigh...the Universe is giving me a present...I wonder what it might be.

Christmas came and went without much notice in my life this year. Well, I knew that it was Christmas, but there was hardly any sign that Christmas had happened. My friend, Francine, cooked a lovely dinner for me, Cly and Alexaray about a week ago; an early Christmas. I exchanged a couple Christmas wishes with a few folks and that was about it. I had an Ethiopian meal at one restaurant and desert at another and that was it. Cly and Serryn went to his family's celebrations and I just hung out. This was the most low-key Christmas holiday I've had yet in this lifetime. Not sure how I feel about that. :-/

All in all, even though I am having difficulties, I still feel very blessed and content. It is joyful to once again be talking with people about how awesome they are. It really is an amazing feeling to tell a stranger how wonderful they are and to see them tear up. Or when I ask a deep question and see that this was the first time they had ever thought about what might be deeper than who they were going to marry and what kind of job they might want to have. I am truly a blessed man!

May all beings feel as blessed as I do. Om Shanti and Happy Holidays.

Novermber and Most of December

A lot has happened since the last post. Most notably for my few readers would be the accident I was involved in on November 3rd. When I left Bandon, I had chosen to go North to Bellingham for three main reasons: 1. To see my young friend, Alexaray Taylor, settled and comfortable in her new home...my old RV. 2. To surprise my daughter for her 27th birthday. And 3. To visit friends who I had no idea when I might see again. After all, I was just around the corner from them, only 500 miles away.

So, Alexaray is a lovely young woman (20 years) with whom I had had a strong spiritual connection with from Florida. I had spoken to her a few times while I was visiting my family down there. I had offered her some advice that she liked and so we kept a very loose texting connection for a few months after I left there. Then we lost contact. Well, about three months ago, she contacted my sister with the idea of finding my number. After just a short time of talking on the phone, she decided to come visit me in Bandon. The visit was to talk place very close to my 50th birthday.

She did come out and we had a great time. It was her first visit to the Pacific Northwest and so, having received a camper trailer and hitch from my mother for my birthday, we just traveled about and I showed her as much of the area as I could over that week. We got along as though we have spent decades in each other's company, a truly blessed time. At the end of just a few days, she was questioning whether she even wanted to go back to Florida. I talked her into going so that she would be sure of her decision.

She did go back, but really wanted to move out to the PNW. So I arranged with my friend, Francine, for her to live in the RV that I had lived in for years. Then I arranged with another friend, Keith, to give her the car he had offered me on several occasions. Alexaray told me that she had enough money saved up to not have to immediately through herself into work and so it seemed a perfect fit.

Cut back to Bandon where my time to leave was fast approaching. I decided to head North for two weeks for the reasons outlined above. I arrived in Bellingham a couple days in advance and so was able to borrow a vehicle to pick her up at the airport. Oddly enough, it was so foggy all the way to Bellingham that, even though the freeway runs right through downtown, nothing could be seen of the city but a slight glow. In fact, all the way to Bellingham the fog obscured all vision more than just a few hundred feet away. It was the strangest weather I had seen in my 10 years in the PNW.

Well, the car Keith gave to Alexaray was a manual, and she wasn't very familiar with a manual, so I went about helping her to become comfortable driving one. Just as she was becoming comfortable, 3 days before my scheduled leave date of November 5th, we were on our way to church on almost empty roads. About .5 miles from church, a young man pulled his car out in front of us without warning. It wouldn't have mattered if I had been driving, there was nothing to be done; we hit.

I just had time to see that the accident was going to happen before we hit. I remember saying, "Here it comes!" I put my left hand out to try to brace Alexaray and my right hand out in front of me and "boom", I left the seat and flew into the seatbelt (WEAR THEM!!!!) which caught me but my head, unfortunately, did not stop so quickly. Instant pain! I was very surprised my the words that came out of my mouth as I sat there holding my neck; normally I don't cuss but I heard, "Oh, f---." coming out over and over. Poor Alexaray, to just get a car and then have it taken away in such an abrupt manner...

From what I understood, the other two involved were okay. It seemed like no time and an eternity passed before the EMT arrived and were taking care of me. They transported me to the ER where after a bit of time, they finally gave me something that took away the pain. To make a long story shorter, I spent a week going to a chiropractor every day, then 3 times a week until I left Bellingham. I've also been getting massages 3 times a week, though I would gladly have missed all of that to have a pain-free body, but it is what it is. As I often say, "The Universe wraps Its gifts in the worst wrapping It can find. The worse the wrapping, the more valuable the gifts will be." I don't know the extent of the gifts the Universe intends to give me, but one lovely gift was to be blessed with the company of some wonderful friends, not the least of which has been my young friend, Alexaray.

While all this was going on, my daughter decided to move away from Bellingham to Las Vegas. She had developed an online relationship with a young man there and they decided to give living together a shot. Cly asked me to drive her U-Haul down and since there was no way to make money in Bellingham (being too cold and rainy, plus the fact that I can only wear my helmet for VERY short times, thus am unable to ride the bike) I decided to help her as it was also a way to get my bike close to a non-helmet law state. Although I don't enjoy riding without a helmet all that much, sometimes we must do what we must do. Hopefully, the Universe will be as kind to me on this next journey as It has been during my last journey.

I really want to thank all of my friends in Bellingham for their kindness and continuing generosity. May they receive the blessings of their kindness and may my action while embodied be worthy to receive it.

Mushroom picking...and other stuff.

I was invited to go mushroom picking with one of my young friends (and top dance student) on Friday. He is a chef/cook (don't know the exact title) at one of the restaurants at The Dunes Golf Resort. I've tasted his cooking on more than one occasion and I can honestly say that he is inspired! He collects the mushrooms for home consumption.

Maarten is also very tall with long legs and lots of energy...which means he can walk really fast! We walked about 6 miles, WAY faster than I have walked in years! And with me wearing boots that weigh in at 2.5 pounds apiece, there is no wonder at all why I have a deep blister on the bottom of one foot. It was an awesome experience though! I don't remember ever having walked through a wooded area with my eyes constantly on the ground before. There were thousands of mushrooms, some were very large, yet not many were edible.

We took two 5-gallon buckets and for the first half of the trip, we only found enough to half-fill one bucket. We harvested Porticini(s), Hedgehogs, Chantels , Coral, lobsters and I think there was another one that I can't remember right now. I know that we found a place where there was some Chicken-of-the-woods growing on the side of a dead log, but it had passed it's prime some days before and so was inedible. I had only heard of two of the mushrooms before.

The highlights of the trip for me were Maarten--he's an awesome young man--because I take such delight in who he presents himself to be, he triggers a lot of laughter in me. He is very quiet and usually serious, so when he smiles or opens up, it is a gift he grants. I found myself wanting to find some very big or rare mushrooms just to see him smile. He did find a very big porticini and he just beamed. It was fun to watch. :-)

Another highlight was the cliffs overlooking the ocean. I'll try to attach a couple pictures. He showed me a very beautiful area of a very beautiful coastline. I phrased it that way because all of the Oregon coast is beautiful, but this part stood out as being especially lovely. The was a tree that looked as though it was growing out of a bunch of leaves caught in the crook of a branch in another tree.

I had to keep calling him over to identify this or that mushroom. Finally, just 2 miles from the car, I found myself in an odd place in the woods with Maarten on the other side of the trail. I saw a bunch of mushrooms that looked like they might be edible so I called him over. I remember saying to him that I hoped they would be worth the walk for him. It turned out that that area of the woods had a HUGE amount of Chantels. We filled both buckets to overflowing. It was so fun to watch his enthusiasm! I was charged just because of the energy radiating off of him.

But then was the rest of the walk back to the car. WOW! I was very tired by the times we made it back to the car, but I still had a lesson to teach. He drove me home and, after changing, I raced over to teach a dance lesson. My legs were so tired I could barely walk. But, it was a fun lesson.

The Dharma lesson that stood out for me was the fact that we find what we look for. I don't remember having ever noticed all the thousands of mushrooms all over the forest. I have noticed many times that when I look for trouble, I find it. When I look for good, I find it. When I look for ways to make money, I find them. And when I look for how little I have, I find it.

It's getting close to the time for me to head south. The rainy season is starting here in the Northwest. My leave date is the 20th, but I have no real idea yet where I will go or for how long. With the camper/trailer, though, it is likely to be an easier trip in some ways. It will likely cost a but more as the trailer costs down on my mileage and I've been told the extra weight really eats up the back tire. I'm hoping some money will arrive from somewhere before I go. (IE, I find unexpected work, a donation comes in, a festival happens.) At present, it is looking like I may be leaving with less than $100 to my name. Still haven't figured out how to get the Universe to manifest dental work....

 That's it for now. I'm quite tired. I'll most likely update more often once I'm back on the road again.

Shit Happens...YAAAY!

Ah, the interesting experiences of Dharma gates. It is very interesting to me that most Dharma gates (ways in which the Universe teaches us lessons) are unpleasant in nature. I'm not going to go into discussing the latest lesson the Universe is teaching me, but I can say that the mantra, "Gate Gate Paragate Parasam gate Bodhi Svaha" is really coming in handy!

A couple interesting things came up while talking with my mother this morning. I often say about dance that, "Social dancing is a series of mistakes that is linked by the occasional correct movement." What this saying points to is that the creative aspect of Dance lies in recovering from that which was introduced unexpectedly. If no unexpected events happened in dancing, then one would only be a robot of the dance floor...there would be no reason to be creative.

The same is true of life, "Life is a series of mistakes (unexpected events) linked by the occasional correct action." The creative force of living happens in how we respond to the unexpected events in life. If it weren't for the unexpected, then we would be robots from birth to death, and what fun would that be?! I've found that those who approach life from the viewpoint that the unexpected is the "spice" of life are much more creative and interesting. Why even talk to those who view the unexpected as a impediment to the smooth flow of their lives? No knowledge can be gained such a one that couldn't be gained from reading a book.

So, Shit Happens...how can we most skillfully respond? I try to look at each event of Shit Happens as a lesson in creative response. I could react, but that just invokes old habit patterns of thought and action...there is no creative growth in that. Sometimes, I forget and do react, but I find creative response happening more and more often. This is very positive as the repetition of creative response ingrains a more skillful habit than feeding old habits. The new habits I choose to cultivate (with varying levels of success) are creative, open, and growth producing. I can always tell when I am responding rather than reacting: when I respond, I feel empowered. When I react, I feel diminished. Of course, I had to learn to pay attention inward to be able to distinguish the difference between the two at very subtle levels of awareness, but once that work had grown, the rest became much easier.

So, I guess the question is for the reader, and for myself, "Have I reacted to the latest event, or have I creatively responded?" For me, a future now will provide me with more information to decide the answer.

May your life be skillful and creative.

My 50th birthday anniversary.

Finally! I've gotten my computer back!! It cost more than I would've liked, but much less than a new computer. My hard drive totally crashed. That means I've lost 1000s of songs (for dance), the last several months of writing, a number of contacts, and quite a few programs. The hard drive now in my computer was taken from an external hard drive and has just the very basic of programs on it, just enough to allow me to be somewhat productive. One thing is sure, I am going to back up everything even somewhat important on a regular basis now. It seems quite a shame to have lost all that information. I was so used to having the computer sign me into sites that I've forgotten sign in names and passwords.

So, my 50th birthday anniversary was interesting and fun. I believe I already mentioned that my mother is getting me a camper trailer for the bike. Still haven't gotten the hitch. I upgraded my cell phone to a Samsung  Galaxy SIII, but today I had issues with it most of the day. While doing research on how to fix the problem, I found that it REALLY isn't as good a phone as the professional reviewers suggest. I think I may take it back and get a different one. My mom made two wonderful pineapple upside-down cakes and bought a 1/4 sheet cake and a couple gallons of ice cream. I got to teach a group class...and boy, was I ever rusty! Surprised me. One of the highlights of the evening was when a young teenager let me into her world a little bit. It is such a joy and honor to be invited deeper into the mind and experience of another. Sometimes, I can even help them move forward on their path. I got to dance with lots of wonderful people that I haven't seen in a long time. It was very pleasant to reconnect.

Upgrading the cell phone pretty much took all of my financial resources for the moment, well, that and the cost of the computer repair, which I still owe $40 for. It is in my mind that the Universe will provide me with more, soon. I have a farmer's market to work in Coos Bay tomorrow as well as a couple $25 dance lessons to teach and a festival this weekend. Perhaps the combination will help me rebuild my "reserve".

Next week, I have a 20 year old woman flying up from Florida to study with me next week. She used to work for my sister and brother at Firehouse Subs. I met her a couple years ago and thought she had a great deal of promise to Awaken in this lifetime. We had lost touch a while back and a few weeks ago, she contacted my sister to get my number. It has been delightful teaching her! I am even more confident that she is a blessing to the world and will continue to grow into even more of a blessing as she gains skill in living. There is even the possibility that she might want to help me to start a larger teaching program that may launch me into the teaching circuit. Whether that happens or not, I am honored to work with her.

Okay, perhaps I will post another update soon. They were difficult to do on the tablet, as nice as the little machine is; MUCH easier on an actual computer!

Long catchup post. I have a new rolling home!

I was reminded recently by a couple folks that I haven't made an entry in a while. So I guess is time for me to make one. I have got a new home! For my 50th birthday, which is on Saturday, my mother is buying me a camping trailer for my motorcycle. It has come to me in the way the gifts from the universe often do, with coincidences that are just too obvious to ignore. I placed on one of the motorcycle forums a request for any information leading to my getting a camping trailer at a reasonable cost. 3 people replied with Craigslist ads from around the country. One of the campers is located in Olympia, Washington.

While on the site, I noticed that I had gotten a private message from a user named, Chromo. He said that he has been following my blog and that he used to be a clown and a magician and was thinking about pulling his stuff out and trying what I do. So I replied to him. Then I signed off and called on the trailer in Olympia. Jim, the owner, didn't answer so I left him a message, and sent him an email. I was answering a friends email to me, and had just written, " I found a trailer in Seattle" when the phone rang and it was Jim, about the trailer. He told me that there was a guy in Michigan, I think, that was interested in buying the trailer but he didn't know for sure if the guy was going to  buy it so he was going to call the guy and give him the first dibs. He hung up with me and called the guy and then called me back. It turns out that the guy that was interested in buying the trailer, was none other than Chromo the guy from the forum.

Jim told me that chromo had said to sell me the trailer as I could make better use of it than him. He said that chromo had said that he knew me and told him about the blog. So I now have a trailer, well, not quite yet. I ordered a trailer hitch which should be here sometime next week, then I will put it on, and I will drive up to Olympia on the 18th to pick it up. I'll stay in it that night, and then go pick up my friend from the airport in Eugene. The trailer will give me room for suitcases.

Backing up in time, I left Bellingham for the Buddhist monastery in Oregon a few weeks ago. I had planned to stay throughout the end of August into September 2nd, however, I have hurt my back while still Washington. It became too hard to stay at the monastery and so I left a few days early. While at the monastery though, I was able to give several people rides on the bike who had never been on motorcycles before. I even gave the abbot of the monastery a ride. That was fun. Actually giving all of them rides was fun.

The first thing I did when I left the monastery was to stop and get gas. While at the gas pump, I was accosted and abused by a  Christian preacher. I had never been through such an aggressive verbal assault. I was literally afraid for my life. If he had got next to me on the road with his vehicles, I have very little doubt that he would have tried to run me off the road. He was very ignorant about Buddhist practices and acted like I was worshipping the devil. He was actually yelling, I knew that there was nothing I could do to sway his opinion so I just bowed and politely said,"May you have a beautiful life and find peace." I actually had to talk over him in order to be able to say those things. He yelled, "Don't you go acting pious with me! I am giving you the truth!"

"Giving?!" I wonder if he actually thought that he could convert me with that behavior. I had told him that I had just come out of a Buddhist monastery  that should have indicated that I was somewhat serious about my Buddhist faith. His tirade raised my defenses and made it much more difficult to hear his message. Since his message was delivered in such an abusive way, even if I hadn't come out of a Buddhist monastery there is no way that I could have taken him seriously. He was obviously  in such fear of what might come next after death that he could not stand the possibility that someone would say something that could make him question his faith. He actually told me that he did not have any reason to study any other religious  tradition as he already knew the truth.

Bellingham, computer, and car.

I have another post in the process of being written that covers events up till I arrived in bellingham but I want to write about events in Bellingham before they get so distant that I forget it all. First thing of note is that my very good friend, Keith, has offered me a car. It is quite doubtful that I will keep it because of having the bike and not wishing to support both right now; besides, I can only drive one at a time. Cars are very cost prohibitive. Of course, motorcycles aren't the cheapest things either. (The price was right in getting this one...and in getting it repaired.) I am so grateful for the generousity of the Universe and my friends. Which leads me to my next bit of news....

My computer has completely died. When attempting to use the self-diagnostic tool, it tells me in red letter, "Replace hard drive." No portion of the computer works beyond the start up screen before windows kicks in. Not even the appearance mouse pointer. So, I'm asking the Universe to provide me with a small Apple laptop to use. It has to be small so that it doesn't take up much room on the bike. I lost quite a bit of information with the death of the hard drive, and some of that info was contact information. So, if you don't hear from me, it may be due to the fact that I've lost your contact information. The death of the hard drive took with it the lastest work on my book. The backups I have are very old now. As a friend pointed out, this may be a good time for a rewrite... That's perfectly fine with me, but doing it on this tablet is NOT going to work, I don't think. So, if anyone has an intense feeling of compassion and generousity (and the resources to back it up) let me know and I'll be happy to provide you with an address. Additionally, I'll overjoyed to share with you one of the first copies of any book I happen to write while using your gift.

I have often said that doing balloons could be a 6 figure income if worked as a business. I've never been much of  businessman, but I'm getting to watch the process in action here in the Bellingham area.  I'm not going to write down here the method by which it's being done, but I'm feeling the effects of the process. I now have lots more compassion for small business owners when a Wal-Mart moves into the neighborhood. I've basically found myself pushed out of twisting at every fair, festival and farmer's market in the area. The result being that income is hard to come by, in the traditional ways I've done it in the past, at least.

I've gotten to visit my daughter a few days so far and visit with a few friends. The bike is running...ok. I killed the battery twice yesterday.  I'm wondering how many times I can jumpstart a new battery from a car before it causes significant damage to either the battery or the bike. The bike isn't pulling smoothly in the lower gears. I'm wondering if it might be the start of the fuel pump needing some TLC.