Space Goddess

Last month you and I kept up-to-date frequently as we journeyed throughout India. While you may have been entertained (and I certainly hope you were), this method of journaling helped me chronicle all the amazing experiences we had. I’ve discovered I have Sometimer’s Disease—Sometimes I remember and sometimes I don’t. Electronic journaling becomes my version of “data storage!”  

On Monday, May 19th, we are off on another adventure—this time to our “home away from home,” Africa! We will be on safari in Botswana and Zambia, arrangements made by our wonderful friends at Wilderness Safaris, followed by 3 relaxing nights in Mauritius as guests of the Oberoi Mauritius. Book-end this journey with stays in Johannesburg and you have our essential itinerary.

Because there is no Internet connection in the bush, I’ve decided not to take my laptop with me. Okay, I heard you cheer—watch it!

Knowing that you may really want to follow our journey, I am posting our itinerary in advance. All you need to do to make it current is to draw stick figures of Michael and me on your computer screen each day as you read about where we’ll be. You might want to add little leopards, elephants, hippos, and lions, too.

Here’s what I suggest: I am going to post the itinerary today and will divide the posts by destinations in order of visit. Your job is to read each post ON THE DAY(S) we are at those safari camps/hotels. Because we will be staying in one place for a few days at a time, you’ll have the opportunity to re-read each post and, if lucky, memorize it so you can use it as your “mantra of the day” or perhaps share it as a juicy tidbit at the next cocktail party you attend!

So, are we ready to begin? Let’s head off to the next post!

Last night we had one of those storms that are part of Kansas lore (think “Wizard of Oz”). I’ve already described it and I’m confident you’ve memorized each and every word of my previous entries!

This morning my wandering mind took me to the Land of Coincidinks (coincidences for you regular folk). I’ve heard that events in life happen in 3’s and this was my 3rd hailstorm in 3 weeks. The first 2 brought such joyful memories and this one came after we laid my dear friend, Richard Stern, to rest.

Richard’s funeral was beautiful and we shared the joy, the gentleness, the bigness, the creativity, the music and photography that was Richard. Right before the Rabbi began the service, we listened to the song, “Here comes the sun”, a joyful reminder to celebrate Richard, to treasure our times together and our memories, and a request to fully live our lives after a “long, cold lonely winter.”

Last night when the storm began, I was grateful that the rains had waited until after the funeral and burial. I didn’t revel in the storm last night—it was something to endure, to get through, and hope that no electrical surge would fry my computer. I was very tired last night—very, very tired—and fell asleep as the storm raged on.

This morning I turned on my TV and searched for the Today Show. I love the times Matt Lauer globe-trots around the world and today was the last of the 2008 5-day series. Much to my dismay, the Today Show had been supplanted by local coverage of last night’s storm. I was shocked to see that 7 tornadoes had touched down in our region and, while no deaths have been reported, storm damage was severe. Closed to feeling and being totally self-absorbed, I channel-surfed, unable to find anything I wanted to watch. Although I’ve lately become a fan of watching the talking heads shout their political views, even that couldn’t soothe me this morning. That damn storm…

The light crept in through my shutters and began to reach my soul. I am truly saddened by what occurred to the homes north of here. I couldn’t imagine how to or where to begin sifting through the mess and moving on…just like I feel about the grieving process with Richard. “Where’s the positive in this hail, God? Were the storms raging Mother Nature’s tears?”

OR—perhaps, “How loving You are to give Richard an opportunity to experience the majesty of nature…from a new and sacred view…and this time his photographic eye is all he needs.”

Hailstorm #2 (see the previous post—I’ll wait…ready?):

Last week a typical spring storm meandered through Kansas City with the usual cast of characters—rain, wind, lightning and thunder. This time we had a surprise guest, hail. The hail loudly announced its arrival at 3:00 AM chastising me for trying to sleep through it. I got up and looked outside. Our deck was covered in white—reminding me of the picnic at the Peak. This time, however, the hail wasn’t accompanied by a gourmet meal; it’s presence gave me a chance to replay the event in Shimla and to delight in my memories.

 Thank you, hail!

Last night severe thunderstorms, damaging winds, hail and tornadoes roared through our region. Luckily we experienced no damage and were able to simply listen and watch Mother Nature’s orchestra perform. As staccato flashes of lightning,  the booming tympany of thunder, the chords of rain,  and the thrumming of hail (Kimberly–”thrumming” is in honor of you!) entertained me, my mind started to wander (most of the time, it wanders back to me–which is a good thing!).

I began to consider “hail”—that I’ve been in 3 hailstorms in 3 weeks (a life record for me, perhaps, but not one worth celebrating!):

The first hailstorm of this series was when I was in the Himilayas above Shimla, India. The General Manager of Wildflower Hall, an Oberoi hotel, invited a group of us on a picnic on the grounds of a historic cottage, the Peak. When the skies turned threatening and the wind started to howl, we decided to wait a bit to see if the storm would pass. The storm passed quickly and we piled into the 4-wheel drive vehicles ready for our picnic. Apparently, some clouds thought they were invited to the picnic, too, and they followed us to the cottage. The view was spectacular and the gardens looked like Monet might have painted them. Soon, not wanting to be left behind, wind and rain joined the clouds and our picnic moved indoors. We were invited to explore the cottage (can you call a 3,000 square foot home a cottage???) as the servers scurried around to prepare for our indoor picnic. This was no “picnic” (as I said in an earlier blog), it was a feast! For me, the dessert was being able to roam around the Peak, look at the rooms, the layers of history in the decor, and for a moment in time, I was experiencing 19th century Shimla!

The hail had pummeled the cottage, as it had for decades, and the grounds were covered in balls of white ice. The hail gave me an opportunity to pause, to leisurely reflect, and to absorb the beauty of the Shimla, the Himalayas and to give thanks that I was given this gift of experience.