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.