Will bring me back to where I come from. Those trains and boats and planes will bring me back to you, bring me back to you.
It is 3:30 PM in Bangkok and I am sitting at an outdoor cafe at a famous gay spa called Babylon. I just had the most amazing 90 minute massage (yes, it had a happy ending...you had to ask...Can I get an Amen in the house) well it should end that way because this entire odyssey should have a happy ending.
The first thing I did on this odyssey was to go to the Grand Temple. That is where I met the British sisters who reminded me of Maggie Smith and Judy Dentch. I did a long prayer in the temple to ask the Gods to look after me. I asked the Gods to keep me safe, help me grow, find people to laugh with, have unexpected experiences, make new friends and throw a little magic my way. I went back to temple to thank the Gods for hearing me and giving me more than I ever imagined.
I have no idea who I am these days and my travel buddies say you only know once you return. I feel different inside my own skin, my mind feels so much clearer and I am deeply proud of myself. I know that many people travel this way but I haven't.The last time I traveled for months alone I was 19. I can't tell you how it makes me feel when I open my passport and see those 8 countries stamped all over it. I had a certain degree of fear before I left. The fear was mosty the fear of the unknown. I have l always heard that as we get older we get set in our ways and I was no exception. I needed to shake myself up, scare myself, leave the comfort of watching design shows, challenge myself and walk out of my life. No, to actually walk away from my life. I kept saying to myself quietly like a mantra "Jon, walk out of your life so you can walk back into it.
I board a plane early tomorrow morning and will travel for 15 hours. My friend Matt, who's heart is bigger than the journey I have taken will pick me up. Once I step out of that airport I will begin to walk back into my new life.
I had a fear that this blog would be boring and just me rambling on...I have a propensity to do that. I thought my stories would be like people showing you their vacation photos, after awhile you just get bored. Because I have been living and breathing this experience I was not sure how interesting it would be. I then realized the blog was for me. Kudos to Allison, when she first mentioned it I thought is was a horror flick. Whoever wanted to share the journey came along for the ride. I carried all of your hearts in my hearts and I laughed and talked to many of you often.
It only seems appropriate that I end this blog with these words of Joni's.
California I'm coming home. I will see the folks I dig, I'll even kiss that sunset pig, California I'm coming home. Will you take me as I am, will you, will you take me as I am, California I'm coming home....California I'm coming home.
One Love,
Jon
Friday, January 30, 2009
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Fun Facts & Final Thoughts to Share
O.K. First things first I must make a discalmer about my blog. True, I can't spell at all and my grammer can be shotty at best. For the first time I looked over some of the blogs and I was horrified at some of the mistakes. Yes, some of them are mine but many are due to the computers I have had to deal with that were circa 95. I also would like to explain why I only posted pictures once. The deal is the pictures were too large, they needed to be reformated blah, blah blah. It took my friend 2 days to figure it out and he is a graphic artisit. I know I am Jon 2012 and you all marvel at my computer skills and I have dissapointed you. When I return I will ask my dear friend Amy to help me post the rest of the pictures. Until then I have demoted myslelf to Jon 2010.
OK. People see waht I mean, this bloddy computer will not do spell check and keeps freezing. I must get in the pool and I am just going to post it mistakes and all. Oh Well I am noy in Kansas.
Now on to the fun facts:
I will have been gone a total of 76 days...it seems so much longer.
I stayed in 17 hotels, Villas or Bingalows. Shortest stay 2 nights the longest 9 days.
I went to 5 countries/ Thailand, Cambodia, Loas, Vietnam and Indonesia in that order. I passed through Singapor, Mylasia, Hong Kong and Japan.
I went to 11 islands.
I visited 22 cities.
I took 17 planes. Some were connecting flights but I still got on and off a plane so I counted it.
I took 9 boat trips, 4 bus trips and 1 train.
I saw to plays/Simon Cabaret in Thailand it was halariously bad and When Elepahants Weep in Cambodia it was deeply moving.
I attended 3 Bali traditional ceremonies.
Talked ona phone twice for a very short time...a miracle for me.
I NEVER EVER discussed work for a minute...thanks to Matt & Allison.
I found out my real hair color after 20 years...Ouy Vay am I Gray. Hopefully I look more like Richard Gere than Richard Jennings.
I was told by a friend who needs to remain nameless (Darrel Cummings) that I would get sick for days and just get ready for it. I was in a very upscale Italian resturaunt in Cambodia. I ordered a bruscetta like a good Dago and they brought me a bib lettuce salad with crutons and real ceaser dressing. People it was bib lettuce, not a hard lettuce but a soft kinder gentler lettuce. The name alone evokes a babys terrycloth bib coming out of the dryer. How much harm could it do. I was dying for something green. Anyway... 2 hours later I was cramping like a High School Girl after gym class. I had some pills and it was over in 24 hours.
I have had no meat on this trip and I am hoping to stay a vegatarian. God help me when I see a Steak au Poivre on a menu.
I have been a regular Jane Goodal on this trip....O.K. maybe more like Jane Fonda becasue of my political rage...O.K. O.K. more like Jane Hathaway from the Beverly Hilbillies, but she was a brid watcher and I watched many a birds.
I now have friends I can visit in Amsterdam, Australia, France, Bali, Singapor, North Korea, Mylasia, and Japan, France & London.
There were these 6 geese in Bali that would walk down the center of the street every morning and night. With cars and motrbikes honking they would not move. They slowed traffic down for about 20 minutes and every day people would just deal with the geese. Their insistance was really a sight to behold and I have some good pcitures.
I went on line and picked out a Versage suit, picked out a beautiful cotton silk fabric and had a suit cutsom made for $175. Say it ain't so Joe...its so Joe.
I woke up singing Like a Brid on a Wire (by Lenoard Cohen) and couldn't stop singing it all day. I got back to my Villa for a disco nap and there was a brid in my room. He wouldn't move and we were roomates for 3 days.
The way they deal with the gargabe on the beach is they burn it twice a day. I would say this is not really the best solution eh?
Woman are being tortured all over the world when you read newspapers from India and Indonesia you could loose your mind.
I rode a motorbike...yes you heard me. Oh people I was so Steve McQueen, well perhaps more like James Dean, alright more like Bill Murray in Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas but I looked pretty darn cute.
I did not see one argument, outburts or anyone get mad at anyone on this entire trip.
O.K. How come Monks are so sexy? I know this sounds crazy but shouldn't they be bald, round, in a creme-cycle orange robe and look like...well Uncle Fester. These monks all look like Keanu and they stare at you in a way that just gets to you...I am sorry they are hot. I have asked other people and it is not only me. Oh, I am going to hell in a handbasket for even posting this. No worries, there are millions of handbaskets here.
Books I have read:
The Hour I first Believed by Wally Lamb
The Happiest Places on Earth: One Grumps Search for Bliss by Eric Weiner. (My dear friend Mark gave me this book and it was the best gift for this trip it taught me so much. Mark nailled it and I am so greatful. It is a MUST read)
The Adventures of Hulkeberry Finn by Mark Twain (Thanks to my boss Alan, he told me it is one of the best books on racisum and he was so right)
The Worst Thing I have Done By Ursella Hegi ( Thanks Lorraine)
A Prayer for Owen Meany By John Irving (need I say more)
The History of Indo-China (Thansk Darell, this was a huge help)
No Death, No Fear by Thich Nhat Hanh ( Thanks Roberta)
Hotel of Saints by Ursulla Hegi
A Boys Own Story by Edmond White
Harbor by Lorraine Adams
Kaftka on the Sea by Haruki Murakami (Thanks Jerry you are a God for this recomendation)
Dance, Dance Dance, by " "After Dark by " " Haruki Murakami
Almost the Moon by Alice Sebold
People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks.
Memoirs Of Hardian by Maequerite Yourcenar ( Once again Jerry comes through)
Over 6,000 pages in total.
For all of you that posted comments thank you so much I can't tell you how they lifted my spirits.
I will do one more final blog on Friday night. I will post the pictures and talk about the renetry then I think I close this chapter. Thanks for coming along for the ride and I will talk more about that in the final blog.
I'll be coming home soon, I'll be coming home.
Jon xoox
OK. People see waht I mean, this bloddy computer will not do spell check and keeps freezing. I must get in the pool and I am just going to post it mistakes and all. Oh Well I am noy in Kansas.
Now on to the fun facts:
I will have been gone a total of 76 days...it seems so much longer.
I stayed in 17 hotels, Villas or Bingalows. Shortest stay 2 nights the longest 9 days.
I went to 5 countries/ Thailand, Cambodia, Loas, Vietnam and Indonesia in that order. I passed through Singapor, Mylasia, Hong Kong and Japan.
I went to 11 islands.
I visited 22 cities.
I took 17 planes. Some were connecting flights but I still got on and off a plane so I counted it.
I took 9 boat trips, 4 bus trips and 1 train.
I saw to plays/Simon Cabaret in Thailand it was halariously bad and When Elepahants Weep in Cambodia it was deeply moving.
I attended 3 Bali traditional ceremonies.
Talked ona phone twice for a very short time...a miracle for me.
I NEVER EVER discussed work for a minute...thanks to Matt & Allison.
I found out my real hair color after 20 years...Ouy Vay am I Gray. Hopefully I look more like Richard Gere than Richard Jennings.
I was told by a friend who needs to remain nameless (Darrel Cummings) that I would get sick for days and just get ready for it. I was in a very upscale Italian resturaunt in Cambodia. I ordered a bruscetta like a good Dago and they brought me a bib lettuce salad with crutons and real ceaser dressing. People it was bib lettuce, not a hard lettuce but a soft kinder gentler lettuce. The name alone evokes a babys terrycloth bib coming out of the dryer. How much harm could it do. I was dying for something green. Anyway... 2 hours later I was cramping like a High School Girl after gym class. I had some pills and it was over in 24 hours.
I have had no meat on this trip and I am hoping to stay a vegatarian. God help me when I see a Steak au Poivre on a menu.
I have been a regular Jane Goodal on this trip....O.K. maybe more like Jane Fonda becasue of my political rage...O.K. O.K. more like Jane Hathaway from the Beverly Hilbillies, but she was a brid watcher and I watched many a birds.
I now have friends I can visit in Amsterdam, Australia, France, Bali, Singapor, North Korea, Mylasia, and Japan, France & London.
There were these 6 geese in Bali that would walk down the center of the street every morning and night. With cars and motrbikes honking they would not move. They slowed traffic down for about 20 minutes and every day people would just deal with the geese. Their insistance was really a sight to behold and I have some good pcitures.
I went on line and picked out a Versage suit, picked out a beautiful cotton silk fabric and had a suit cutsom made for $175. Say it ain't so Joe...its so Joe.
I woke up singing Like a Brid on a Wire (by Lenoard Cohen) and couldn't stop singing it all day. I got back to my Villa for a disco nap and there was a brid in my room. He wouldn't move and we were roomates for 3 days.
The way they deal with the gargabe on the beach is they burn it twice a day. I would say this is not really the best solution eh?
Woman are being tortured all over the world when you read newspapers from India and Indonesia you could loose your mind.
I rode a motorbike...yes you heard me. Oh people I was so Steve McQueen, well perhaps more like James Dean, alright more like Bill Murray in Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas but I looked pretty darn cute.
I did not see one argument, outburts or anyone get mad at anyone on this entire trip.
O.K. How come Monks are so sexy? I know this sounds crazy but shouldn't they be bald, round, in a creme-cycle orange robe and look like...well Uncle Fester. These monks all look like Keanu and they stare at you in a way that just gets to you...I am sorry they are hot. I have asked other people and it is not only me. Oh, I am going to hell in a handbasket for even posting this. No worries, there are millions of handbaskets here.
Books I have read:
The Hour I first Believed by Wally Lamb
The Happiest Places on Earth: One Grumps Search for Bliss by Eric Weiner. (My dear friend Mark gave me this book and it was the best gift for this trip it taught me so much. Mark nailled it and I am so greatful. It is a MUST read)
The Adventures of Hulkeberry Finn by Mark Twain (Thanks to my boss Alan, he told me it is one of the best books on racisum and he was so right)
The Worst Thing I have Done By Ursella Hegi ( Thanks Lorraine)
A Prayer for Owen Meany By John Irving (need I say more)
The History of Indo-China (Thansk Darell, this was a huge help)
No Death, No Fear by Thich Nhat Hanh ( Thanks Roberta)
Hotel of Saints by Ursulla Hegi
A Boys Own Story by Edmond White
Harbor by Lorraine Adams
Kaftka on the Sea by Haruki Murakami (Thanks Jerry you are a God for this recomendation)
Dance, Dance Dance, by " "After Dark by " " Haruki Murakami
Almost the Moon by Alice Sebold
People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks.
Memoirs Of Hardian by Maequerite Yourcenar ( Once again Jerry comes through)
Over 6,000 pages in total.
For all of you that posted comments thank you so much I can't tell you how they lifted my spirits.
I will do one more final blog on Friday night. I will post the pictures and talk about the renetry then I think I close this chapter. Thanks for coming along for the ride and I will talk more about that in the final blog.
I'll be coming home soon, I'll be coming home.
Jon xoox
Sunday, January 25, 2009
My Friends & Family,
I have so much I want to convey so bare with me I will be posting a lot before I maje the treck home on Saurday.
The Most Amazing thing I Saw: This is tough but it has to be the sun coming up over the Anchor Watt Temples.
My Scariest Moment: Coming into Bali at 2:00AM and the Balinese Tourist Police (who are their own police force and totally corrupt) took me by the arms into a corner and said give us a tip or we will put you in jail. They wanted $20 each I told them no and gave them $10. I have written the Embassy about it and apparently it happens all the time. Being so much like Anderson Cooper I read about this on line and I was ready for them.
The Biggest Surprise: Spending as much time as I did in the Village with my Friends.
The Most Unexpected Moment: Meeting Huck, the soldier. He has been emailing me and he told me he had a really difficult week of combat. I can't even imagine what that means. He also told me he head mixed feeling about the closing of Guantanamo. I find that fascinating. Hopefully we can correspond about that. If he were with me we would go at that subject head on. When we were on the Island he did something so sweet, I can't even remember what it was. I do remember wanting to say to him "If you are trying to get down my pants...You had me at Afghanistan." I was cautious and didn't say it but You had me at Afghanistan will be the title of the short story.
The Experience I can not shake: Without question it is The Killing Fields. My history of Asia was not the best and I never fully understood what the Khmer Rouge did to the Cambodian people. Their goal was to wipe out the middle class and anyone with an education. The killed millions of Vietnamese who were living their and Cambodians, leaving a country of the rich and the poorest of the poor. As a result
they lowered a gene pool and now you have people with no deductive thinking skills. How they killed the people in the fields especially the children is beyond anything I could ever understand. The history of what the Khmer Rouge did is felt constantly in Cambodia. The people trust no one, they are all out for themselves, corruption is everywhere and the country wears you down.
The Greatest Gift: My friendship with all these new people especially Mags/Mum and Morag.
The Most Fun Moment: Sitting in the rice fields with my friends from the Village and singing American Tunes into the wee hours on New Years Eve. Vodka, Jungle Juice and Pringles was all we needed.
The Most Insane Experience: The friend who I met through a friend in Cambodia told me the day I met him that he was bi-polar. He then told me he had been off his medication for days because of food poisoning. We then went to a very upscale spa and get a wonderful 90 minute massage for $12. After the massage (I am in a totally relaxed Zen state) he gets in a fight with the owner and tried to strangle the man. He is a big guy and could have killed him. It took me and about 5 guys who work their to try and get him off this guy. The entire scene was so ugly and my friend was in a totally bi-polar manic state. They locked the Spa up and would not let us out until the cops came. We then went to the jail (in Cambodia people) and I had to convince the Embassy, the police and the guy who owned the spa to let my friend go. If he went to jail he would have never survived, lost his job and God know what else. The jail was like...picture Mayberry in Iraq. My negotiating skills were in rare form and it was the longest four hours of the trip.
Moment of Sheer Happiness: When I was In Thailand the 5th day of the journey and I realized that I could do this and as long as I let go of control I could make this journey work. The key was having a suitcase full of books. I have read 14 books (more on that later) but as long as you have your noise in a good book you can wait 5 hours for a plane.
Most profound psycic experience: I has this vision of my freind Chuck and I as monks at Anchor Watt. Chuck was in charge of me becasue he was far more diciplined and I was always getting into trouple. It makes sense if you know us. No joke this felt sooooooooooooooooooooooo real.
My Best Laugh: The first time I got the Thai people to understand my sense of humor. Once I got them going we laughed so hard. I broke the laugh barrier and that was what I needed to survive this journey. I killed in all 5 countries people.
Best Piece of Useful Information: I met a wonderful couple from (guess...Australia)
and they were just a joy. They travel a great deal and she was hit by a bus in China and was in the hospital for 2 months. Thye alwasy take outv travelers insurance (something I never thought of) but it literally saved her life. No one should EVER travel without it, especially if you are leaving the country.
My Commitment: To not work so hard. To not try and control what I can't control. To travel more. Most importantly I am going to do what I can for the Village in Bali. I will be asking for your help. Trust me with dollar I can get so many things they need at a 99 cent store. The village now has their own little personal Ambassador (move over Angelina) and I am dragging you with me.
Anderson-Peace Out...
I have so much I want to convey so bare with me I will be posting a lot before I maje the treck home on Saurday.
The Most Amazing thing I Saw: This is tough but it has to be the sun coming up over the Anchor Watt Temples.
My Scariest Moment: Coming into Bali at 2:00AM and the Balinese Tourist Police (who are their own police force and totally corrupt) took me by the arms into a corner and said give us a tip or we will put you in jail. They wanted $20 each I told them no and gave them $10. I have written the Embassy about it and apparently it happens all the time. Being so much like Anderson Cooper I read about this on line and I was ready for them.
The Biggest Surprise: Spending as much time as I did in the Village with my Friends.
The Most Unexpected Moment: Meeting Huck, the soldier. He has been emailing me and he told me he had a really difficult week of combat. I can't even imagine what that means. He also told me he head mixed feeling about the closing of Guantanamo. I find that fascinating. Hopefully we can correspond about that. If he were with me we would go at that subject head on. When we were on the Island he did something so sweet, I can't even remember what it was. I do remember wanting to say to him "If you are trying to get down my pants...You had me at Afghanistan." I was cautious and didn't say it but You had me at Afghanistan will be the title of the short story.
The Experience I can not shake: Without question it is The Killing Fields. My history of Asia was not the best and I never fully understood what the Khmer Rouge did to the Cambodian people. Their goal was to wipe out the middle class and anyone with an education. The killed millions of Vietnamese who were living their and Cambodians, leaving a country of the rich and the poorest of the poor. As a result
they lowered a gene pool and now you have people with no deductive thinking skills. How they killed the people in the fields especially the children is beyond anything I could ever understand. The history of what the Khmer Rouge did is felt constantly in Cambodia. The people trust no one, they are all out for themselves, corruption is everywhere and the country wears you down.
The Greatest Gift: My friendship with all these new people especially Mags/Mum and Morag.
The Most Fun Moment: Sitting in the rice fields with my friends from the Village and singing American Tunes into the wee hours on New Years Eve. Vodka, Jungle Juice and Pringles was all we needed.
The Most Insane Experience: The friend who I met through a friend in Cambodia told me the day I met him that he was bi-polar. He then told me he had been off his medication for days because of food poisoning. We then went to a very upscale spa and get a wonderful 90 minute massage for $12. After the massage (I am in a totally relaxed Zen state) he gets in a fight with the owner and tried to strangle the man. He is a big guy and could have killed him. It took me and about 5 guys who work their to try and get him off this guy. The entire scene was so ugly and my friend was in a totally bi-polar manic state. They locked the Spa up and would not let us out until the cops came. We then went to the jail (in Cambodia people) and I had to convince the Embassy, the police and the guy who owned the spa to let my friend go. If he went to jail he would have never survived, lost his job and God know what else. The jail was like...picture Mayberry in Iraq. My negotiating skills were in rare form and it was the longest four hours of the trip.
Moment of Sheer Happiness: When I was In Thailand the 5th day of the journey and I realized that I could do this and as long as I let go of control I could make this journey work. The key was having a suitcase full of books. I have read 14 books (more on that later) but as long as you have your noise in a good book you can wait 5 hours for a plane.
Most profound psycic experience: I has this vision of my freind Chuck and I as monks at Anchor Watt. Chuck was in charge of me becasue he was far more diciplined and I was always getting into trouple. It makes sense if you know us. No joke this felt sooooooooooooooooooooooo real.
My Best Laugh: The first time I got the Thai people to understand my sense of humor. Once I got them going we laughed so hard. I broke the laugh barrier and that was what I needed to survive this journey. I killed in all 5 countries people.
Best Piece of Useful Information: I met a wonderful couple from (guess...Australia)
and they were just a joy. They travel a great deal and she was hit by a bus in China and was in the hospital for 2 months. Thye alwasy take outv travelers insurance (something I never thought of) but it literally saved her life. No one should EVER travel without it, especially if you are leaving the country.
My Commitment: To not work so hard. To not try and control what I can't control. To travel more. Most importantly I am going to do what I can for the Village in Bali. I will be asking for your help. Trust me with dollar I can get so many things they need at a 99 cent store. The village now has their own little personal Ambassador (move over Angelina) and I am dragging you with me.
Anderson-Peace Out...
Friday, January 23, 2009
Obama...and observation from the River
In Obama's first book he writes about walking along the river in Indonesia. He was in his first few years of grade school. He and his friends would walk along the river and look for empty bottles to sell. There is a fair amount of trash that floats in the river. I have spent a good deal of time in Indonesia and I would watch tall, lanky young boys with brown skin walk up and down the river looking for bottles. They would each have a rice sack and try and get as many bottles and cans as they could. This is a sight you see often. One day I just sat and and watched and thought one for these boys could become President of the United sates of America. That is what I saw when Obama took the oath of office.
It was really something to be here in Indonesia when the Inauguration happened because these people are so proud and it meant so much to them. It is all anyone talk about. I was on the beach yesterday, the garbage is not to be believed. It is the saddest sight and the first time I saw it I just cried. I am here during the rainy season and all of this trash from the river washes up on to the beach. I will not swim in the water and I am at the ocean for days and this was the first time I went. I went to watch the sunset over the ocean and read. I positioned my chair so I couldn't see the mounds of trash. The man who makes his living renting lounge chairs on the beach started to talk to me about Obama. I go days only talking to the locals no one at my Villa is of interest to me. This young man loved politics and had a surprising amount of knowledge. He taught himself to read a bit in English and followed the election the best he could. We talked for about and hour and before I left he said "I am so sorry the garbage in my country upsets you so much, maybe Obama could help us fix this." I sat and thought my God the entire world wants him to fix everything...even the garbage he picked through as a child.
God speed Obama, God speed.
It was really something to be here in Indonesia when the Inauguration happened because these people are so proud and it meant so much to them. It is all anyone talk about. I was on the beach yesterday, the garbage is not to be believed. It is the saddest sight and the first time I saw it I just cried. I am here during the rainy season and all of this trash from the river washes up on to the beach. I will not swim in the water and I am at the ocean for days and this was the first time I went. I went to watch the sunset over the ocean and read. I positioned my chair so I couldn't see the mounds of trash. The man who makes his living renting lounge chairs on the beach started to talk to me about Obama. I go days only talking to the locals no one at my Villa is of interest to me. This young man loved politics and had a surprising amount of knowledge. He taught himself to read a bit in English and followed the election the best he could. We talked for about and hour and before I left he said "I am so sorry the garbage in my country upsets you so much, maybe Obama could help us fix this." I sat and thought my God the entire world wants him to fix everything...even the garbage he picked through as a child.
God speed Obama, God speed.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Random Thoughts & Odds & Ends
I found that I stopped cursing on this trip. People you met hardly ever curse as a result you don't curse because you never hear that language used.
I saw a woman in her 70's in Cambodia wheeling a huge cart with about 30 enormous rice bags filled with water bottles. It was so high I had no idea how she could balance it. I was going to ask if I could take her picture but the pain and anger on her face stopped me. The image of sorrow that she wheeled around has not left me.
I DON'T like taking pictures. Now I know why I never owned a camera before. The dam thing seems to always be in the way. Will it fall into the ocean, is their sand on it, blah blah blah. I found it took me out of the experience. My idea of really getting into photography was just an idea.
Morag and I got an AMAZING Massage, body scrub with salt and yogurt, milk rose pedal bath, manicure, pedicure, and head massage and shampoo for $40. This could make my friends Tina and Lorraine move to Bali.
People in Bali tap their horns ever so lightly because they never know when they are passing a temple. For that reason their is no road rage it would be disrespectful to the Gods.
I have discovered that I am not an adventurous eater. I stopped eating meat and chicken and if their is pasta (my comfort food) on the menu I make a B line for it. I wish I had more adventure with food but I am pretty pedestrian.
Mags told me to listen to kids playing in the distance (that sound is in every county I have been in and one of my favorites) and their is no difference with language it all sound the same. It is really true, all you can hear are the high screeching sounds of excitement and the kids yelling back and forth. It was a really fun thing to observe.
I don't journal...don't aks me. I tried, I really did but I got so bored with it. At the end of the day I was tired and had just lived it so why write about it. At first I was giving myself a hard time you know how that is and then I thought maybe this blog is my journal and gave myself a break.
In Bali a baby can't touch the ground for 3 months. When they turn three months their is a big ceremony because the baby gently begins to enter the earth and leave the spirit world.
In Vietnam they put a tranquilizer in the cow and once it is sedated strap it to the back of a motor bike, not a motorcycle mind you but a motor bike and transport it on the highway side-saddle at the back of the bike.
If I have not become the Gay Indiana Jones on this trip then who the hell is. I tell you people my butchness quota is through the roof. (I heard that laughter coming from you Brad, how Rude!)
In Vietnam if a man wants to impress or marry a woman he needs to have a second motorbike for dating and one for work.
I have yet in all my travels heard a man make a lude or rude comment to a woman. No cattle calls no need for a holler-back girl where I have been.
I have been reading Asian and Indian newspapers at length I am fascinated by what they print. My God their is so much inhumanity to man. You can't believe the horrors and atrocities that are happening constantly.
My dream life has been so disappointing. As many of you know I have an incredibly active dream life and will write down significant dreams. I also did dream work in New York and ran a dream group. My dreams have been BORING, dull uninspired and down right annoying. Well my waking life has been pretty spectacular so you can't have it all eh?
More to come as the sand in my hourglass sifts down.
One Love, One Life, You Got to do What You Can
I saw a woman in her 70's in Cambodia wheeling a huge cart with about 30 enormous rice bags filled with water bottles. It was so high I had no idea how she could balance it. I was going to ask if I could take her picture but the pain and anger on her face stopped me. The image of sorrow that she wheeled around has not left me.
I DON'T like taking pictures. Now I know why I never owned a camera before. The dam thing seems to always be in the way. Will it fall into the ocean, is their sand on it, blah blah blah. I found it took me out of the experience. My idea of really getting into photography was just an idea.
Morag and I got an AMAZING Massage, body scrub with salt and yogurt, milk rose pedal bath, manicure, pedicure, and head massage and shampoo for $40. This could make my friends Tina and Lorraine move to Bali.
People in Bali tap their horns ever so lightly because they never know when they are passing a temple. For that reason their is no road rage it would be disrespectful to the Gods.
I have discovered that I am not an adventurous eater. I stopped eating meat and chicken and if their is pasta (my comfort food) on the menu I make a B line for it. I wish I had more adventure with food but I am pretty pedestrian.
Mags told me to listen to kids playing in the distance (that sound is in every county I have been in and one of my favorites) and their is no difference with language it all sound the same. It is really true, all you can hear are the high screeching sounds of excitement and the kids yelling back and forth. It was a really fun thing to observe.
I don't journal...don't aks me. I tried, I really did but I got so bored with it. At the end of the day I was tired and had just lived it so why write about it. At first I was giving myself a hard time you know how that is and then I thought maybe this blog is my journal and gave myself a break.
In Bali a baby can't touch the ground for 3 months. When they turn three months their is a big ceremony because the baby gently begins to enter the earth and leave the spirit world.
In Vietnam they put a tranquilizer in the cow and once it is sedated strap it to the back of a motor bike, not a motorcycle mind you but a motor bike and transport it on the highway side-saddle at the back of the bike.
If I have not become the Gay Indiana Jones on this trip then who the hell is. I tell you people my butchness quota is through the roof. (I heard that laughter coming from you Brad, how Rude!)
In Vietnam if a man wants to impress or marry a woman he needs to have a second motorbike for dating and one for work.
I have yet in all my travels heard a man make a lude or rude comment to a woman. No cattle calls no need for a holler-back girl where I have been.
I have been reading Asian and Indian newspapers at length I am fascinated by what they print. My God their is so much inhumanity to man. You can't believe the horrors and atrocities that are happening constantly.
My dream life has been so disappointing. As many of you know I have an incredibly active dream life and will write down significant dreams. I also did dream work in New York and ran a dream group. My dreams have been BORING, dull uninspired and down right annoying. Well my waking life has been pretty spectacular so you can't have it all eh?
More to come as the sand in my hourglass sifts down.
One Love, One Life, You Got to do What You Can
Saturday, January 17, 2009
My heart belongs to Bali, Ba, Ba, Ba, Ba, Ba, Bali
Getting off the Island was not as easy as we thought. I was leaving on a speed boat (one hour ride) at noon and Mags/Mum and Morag (the correct spelling) were going on the one o'clock boat because the noon boat was full. We are told that the ocean is always rough when there is a full moon and this is a particularly rough ocean. We start to ride and it is really scary. I instantly start talking to this wonderful woman behind me. She is and Aussie (Gotta love the Australians and Canadians) and her name is Sally and we start pouring out our lives to each other. We are both well aware that the more we keep talking the less we will focus on how horrendous this ride is. We slam duck so many times, so hard that I think, I will never be able to father a child. Sally and I are suddenly so bummed that we didn't meet on the Island because we would have had so much fun hanging out. The ride takes and extra half hour but we arrive safely. I was never so happy to see land. I have hired my friends Wydia and Alik from the village to pick us up. We find out that their is a storm and they are rerouting the boat that Mags and Morag are on and it will take them three and half hours to arrive. We can't wait that long so I just assume we will met up at the hotel. Morag has booked the hotel and she and Mags have stayed their before and they tell me it is really special. On the way to Ubud I suddenly realize I don't know the name of the hotel and I don't have Morag's mobile. I assumed they would be with me in the car an instruct Wydia with the location of the hotel. I can't for the life of me think of the hotel and I am starting to freak. I don't know where I am going, I have no way to contact my friends and I am at a loss. Wydia says "Don't worry Mr. Jon we can work this out, if worse comes to worse I will take you to Artini." I shout out "What did you just say...Artini I think that sounds right." We call information and sure enough they say they are waiting for Mr. Jon, Mum and daughter. I ask Wydia "Of all the countless hotels on Ubud how did you pick Artini?" He laughs and say "I don't know it came out of the air and I don't won't Mr. Jon to worry or be unhappy." Well, I can't begin to tell you how pleased he was with himself. We drive the rest of the way changing song lyrics to include Obama. "Take me home county road, to the place I belong, West Virgina, Mr. Obama take us home. take us home." Home indeed, Artini is like no place I have EVER been. There is a 15 foot wall with Hindu God statues and all kinds of plants growing out of the stone facing the pool. I am in a tree house with a 20 foot vaulted ceiling with bamboo and an art piece in the center. I have a deck facing these lush gardens and a wall of windows fading gardens and Hindu statues. All of this for $45 a night.
Mags and Morag and I continue to eat and laugh a lot...as our love, friendship and bond quietly deepens. Morag and I go to the Village for a ceremonial dance celebration (Mum has the right idea and decided to stay in for the night) and Morag and I are in the midst of an incredible storm. Morag and I were literally climbing up hills with water gushing at us with a torrential force. Morag lost her shoes and their were enormous trees that fell down, rocks, heads of statues floating by. We thought we lost my friends from the village so we just tried to walk home in the deluge. Thank God they found us and drove us back the rest of the way. I kept praying that we didn't get struck by lighning, break a leg or get hit by a car. Mum was waiting up because she was worried about us in this downpour. I had a scotch with Mum as Morag and I recalled the escapades of the night. Trust me it was a night that neither of us will ever forget.
The first time I was in Udud I was taking a disco nap and all of the sudden I heard the sky break open and I thought holy shit this is it the world is coming to an end. I am not joking people I eally thought this. I was hoping that God would open the ski, extend his hands in a munficent gesture, gather up all of the fundamentalist, Zealots all for the Christan nuts and scream "This is not what I meant, you got it all wrong you fools, when will you stop killing each other, their is no Holy Land it is all Holy ever square inch of it, Stop beating your wives, Hurting your sons and daughters, for Gods sake, (actually that would be My sake) stop killing, torturing, hurting, and judging each other or I am taking all of this away. You get it you bloddy fools." I rush to the window and open the curtains and the sky is still. I hear the sky break open again and I think Oh My God we are being attached. Bali was attached in 2001 and 2005 and several hundred people were killed so this is not out of the realm. I am putting on some clothes to go to the lobby and find out what is happening. The sky breaks open again but this time sheets and sheets of rain come down. I realize this is thunder and I am in the rainy season. I have never seen rain or head thunder like this in my life. I am told today that this is the worst monsoon season they have had in years. Don't get me wrong I Iove this rain and thunder it makes you feel so alive like the earth is talking to you.
I will do my very best to explain this but I can't even understand it. I only spent two weeks with Mags and Morag and it felt like we had been traveling for a year. There are a years worth of memories, laughter, tears, confidences and a bonding that defies definition. It happened collectively and separately with each of us. This whirlwind of love and friendship that usurped our bodies almost seemed to be out of our control. We were destined to met (Remember I had no desire to go to Phenom Penn) and develop this lifelong friendship. When Morag left on Tuesday I just looked at her and cried and said "I really really love you, you are so deep in my heart how did that happen?" Morag looked at me and said "I know I really love you, and we will be friends for life."
The next day Mags left in the morning. This was the goodbye I was dreading. I just sobbed and told Mags what and inspiration she was to me and how much I loved her. She pulled me back and put both her hands on my shoulders...the way you do when you really want someone to hear what you are going to say "I want you at my deathbed. I want you there." I said that can't be for a long time." Mags said twenty five years from now, I said give me thirty and we both laughed. When she said that I new exactly what she meant..I understood. I mad a promise to Mags, to myself and the Hindu Gods around me that when the time came no matter where I was I would be there.
Mags doesn't even know the significance of what she asked me she will read it on this blog no doubt. When my Mother was dying of Leukemia eight years ago I flew to New York twice to be at her deathbed. I wanted nothing more in the world then to be there to help her pass over. Help her go to the light as they say, or just close the light when the mid-day sun was too strong, to put a cold towel on her head. Remember I am a dam good nurse. But my mother was afraid of dying and my being there freaked her out. She sent me home in a very cold and dismissive manner. The doctor told me that my presence was agitating her and I should go back to LA and wait for the phone call. I know my Mother loved me deeply and I now know she was just scared. My Father or sisters would have been with her in a minute if that was what she wanted. She died alone and I have come to understand that was the only ways she could do it. When Mags made that request it touched me in so many ways in ways she didn't even know. I walked past all of the gardens and statues and all of the beautiful male staff in their green and gold sarongs looked a me and said "Mr. Jon are you O.K." I just broke down like a Ford. They rushed over and said "Don't worry you will see your Mum soon, you just have a heavy heart today." They ran around getting me tissues, holding me, rubbing my shoulders a few of them teared up. They all loved Mum as well and felt my sadness. Every time they see me they ask if I am O.K. and take such good care of me. Do you see why I love this people?
I hire Alic to take me on a three our trekking trip through the rice fields to get my mind of the absence of my friends. To be deep inside the fields was beyond words. Alic was so impressed with my stamina and balancing abilities. You walk on these little narrow strips of grass or mud in your bare feet. Thank God I have the athletic ability of David Beckham, O.K. David Cassidy, alright alright, David Brenner.
Tonight I went to a ceremony in the Village with my friends and it was a ceremony they do twice a year to bless metal. Not Heavy Metal but all of the metal they own. They bring their motorbikes, knives, pots hatchets for harvesting the rice. The dress me in full Hindu drag so I can enter the Temple and their is dancing, and prayer and it is really something to see. I was the only non-Hindu at the ceremony (around 500 people) and I felt welcomed by everyone. It has me wondering what Americas culture is. Sure we have baseball and other such events but it has left me at a loss. I need to ponder this some more because I am not sure what I really want to say. I will say that my heart belongs to Bali and I am a Bali boy that is for certain. I have been touched deeply by so many people here and have been bathing in their culture. It has changed me in ways I don't even understand. What I do know is this that on this journey may have been the hour that I first really belived.
Your Loyal Rolling Stone,
xoxo
PS I have 11 days left on this journey and so much to share so blogs should be coming your way at a rapid pace. Usually an 11 day vaction will thrill me and I am so sad that this is all I have left...imagine that...imagine how lucky I feel.
Mags and Morag and I continue to eat and laugh a lot...as our love, friendship and bond quietly deepens. Morag and I go to the Village for a ceremonial dance celebration (Mum has the right idea and decided to stay in for the night) and Morag and I are in the midst of an incredible storm. Morag and I were literally climbing up hills with water gushing at us with a torrential force. Morag lost her shoes and their were enormous trees that fell down, rocks, heads of statues floating by. We thought we lost my friends from the village so we just tried to walk home in the deluge. Thank God they found us and drove us back the rest of the way. I kept praying that we didn't get struck by lighning, break a leg or get hit by a car. Mum was waiting up because she was worried about us in this downpour. I had a scotch with Mum as Morag and I recalled the escapades of the night. Trust me it was a night that neither of us will ever forget.
The first time I was in Udud I was taking a disco nap and all of the sudden I heard the sky break open and I thought holy shit this is it the world is coming to an end. I am not joking people I eally thought this. I was hoping that God would open the ski, extend his hands in a munficent gesture, gather up all of the fundamentalist, Zealots all for the Christan nuts and scream "This is not what I meant, you got it all wrong you fools, when will you stop killing each other, their is no Holy Land it is all Holy ever square inch of it, Stop beating your wives, Hurting your sons and daughters, for Gods sake, (actually that would be My sake) stop killing, torturing, hurting, and judging each other or I am taking all of this away. You get it you bloddy fools." I rush to the window and open the curtains and the sky is still. I hear the sky break open again and I think Oh My God we are being attached. Bali was attached in 2001 and 2005 and several hundred people were killed so this is not out of the realm. I am putting on some clothes to go to the lobby and find out what is happening. The sky breaks open again but this time sheets and sheets of rain come down. I realize this is thunder and I am in the rainy season. I have never seen rain or head thunder like this in my life. I am told today that this is the worst monsoon season they have had in years. Don't get me wrong I Iove this rain and thunder it makes you feel so alive like the earth is talking to you.
I will do my very best to explain this but I can't even understand it. I only spent two weeks with Mags and Morag and it felt like we had been traveling for a year. There are a years worth of memories, laughter, tears, confidences and a bonding that defies definition. It happened collectively and separately with each of us. This whirlwind of love and friendship that usurped our bodies almost seemed to be out of our control. We were destined to met (Remember I had no desire to go to Phenom Penn) and develop this lifelong friendship. When Morag left on Tuesday I just looked at her and cried and said "I really really love you, you are so deep in my heart how did that happen?" Morag looked at me and said "I know I really love you, and we will be friends for life."
The next day Mags left in the morning. This was the goodbye I was dreading. I just sobbed and told Mags what and inspiration she was to me and how much I loved her. She pulled me back and put both her hands on my shoulders...the way you do when you really want someone to hear what you are going to say "I want you at my deathbed. I want you there." I said that can't be for a long time." Mags said twenty five years from now, I said give me thirty and we both laughed. When she said that I new exactly what she meant..I understood. I mad a promise to Mags, to myself and the Hindu Gods around me that when the time came no matter where I was I would be there.
Mags doesn't even know the significance of what she asked me she will read it on this blog no doubt. When my Mother was dying of Leukemia eight years ago I flew to New York twice to be at her deathbed. I wanted nothing more in the world then to be there to help her pass over. Help her go to the light as they say, or just close the light when the mid-day sun was too strong, to put a cold towel on her head. Remember I am a dam good nurse. But my mother was afraid of dying and my being there freaked her out. She sent me home in a very cold and dismissive manner. The doctor told me that my presence was agitating her and I should go back to LA and wait for the phone call. I know my Mother loved me deeply and I now know she was just scared. My Father or sisters would have been with her in a minute if that was what she wanted. She died alone and I have come to understand that was the only ways she could do it. When Mags made that request it touched me in so many ways in ways she didn't even know. I walked past all of the gardens and statues and all of the beautiful male staff in their green and gold sarongs looked a me and said "Mr. Jon are you O.K." I just broke down like a Ford. They rushed over and said "Don't worry you will see your Mum soon, you just have a heavy heart today." They ran around getting me tissues, holding me, rubbing my shoulders a few of them teared up. They all loved Mum as well and felt my sadness. Every time they see me they ask if I am O.K. and take such good care of me. Do you see why I love this people?
I hire Alic to take me on a three our trekking trip through the rice fields to get my mind of the absence of my friends. To be deep inside the fields was beyond words. Alic was so impressed with my stamina and balancing abilities. You walk on these little narrow strips of grass or mud in your bare feet. Thank God I have the athletic ability of David Beckham, O.K. David Cassidy, alright alright, David Brenner.
Tonight I went to a ceremony in the Village with my friends and it was a ceremony they do twice a year to bless metal. Not Heavy Metal but all of the metal they own. They bring their motorbikes, knives, pots hatchets for harvesting the rice. The dress me in full Hindu drag so I can enter the Temple and their is dancing, and prayer and it is really something to see. I was the only non-Hindu at the ceremony (around 500 people) and I felt welcomed by everyone. It has me wondering what Americas culture is. Sure we have baseball and other such events but it has left me at a loss. I need to ponder this some more because I am not sure what I really want to say. I will say that my heart belongs to Bali and I am a Bali boy that is for certain. I have been touched deeply by so many people here and have been bathing in their culture. It has changed me in ways I don't even understand. What I do know is this that on this journey may have been the hour that I first really belived.
Your Loyal Rolling Stone,
xoxo
PS I have 11 days left on this journey and so much to share so blogs should be coming your way at a rapid pace. Usually an 11 day vaction will thrill me and I am so sad that this is all I have left...imagine that...imagine how lucky I feel.
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
A Soldiers Story and Mags Returns...
O.K. my friends sit back because the magic of Bali continues to envelop me. I swear I couldn't make this up if I tried...so once again let me set the scene for you.
I am on an island in Lombok, Gili Trankang right next to Bali. This is an island of 700 people with no car, motorbikes and no police. This is not a lush resort but a Rasta party island. You are met at the dock by Tuk-Tuk carriages pulled by very sad horses. Their is poverty here, you just can't escape it, the power goes out several times a day, hot water is never a guarantee and it is all salt water, very strange to the skin. My bungalow is attached to an open cafe, bar and stage facing the most beautiful turquoise, sea green ocean. Yet, there is trash in different areas and you just have to turn your head to the beauty and there is plenty of it.
When I arrived I found out most of the people on the island are Muslim. I have been in the accepting bliss of Buddhist and Hindu's so for the first time I need to keep a low profile that I am gay. In all my travels this is the first time that I have encountered any homophobia, The Rasta world is full of wonderful male affection, everyone calls you their brother yet there is that homophobic and sexist element to the Rasta world that you just can't deny. Of course it takes hours for my room to be ready. Ganja is king here and they are all stoned and move at a snails pace from the herb and the heat.
I get in the water and I have arrived it is the ocean I have longed for; crystal clear, warm in a way that takes no adjusting to the temperature, the color is spectacular and it feels like flower pedals on your skin. I have arrived..yet I am not happy. I miss my friend Roberta something awful. She longs for this water, we have always shared the ocean in a deep way and I want her here with me. I have a good cry in the water and remember my first day always takes awhile to get my footing. I also get an email from Mags that she and her daughter will be arriving in two days.This lifts my spirits and just knowing I will have some friends on the island soon is a comfort.
The place I am at is called Sama Sama it means, same same, your welcome and together. The Rasta band is really good and there is a huge dancing, drinking smoking scene going on. They play 90% Bob Marley music the happiest music on earth. I have made friends with a bartender named Zen and as I drink my scotch with all this Rasta joy bouncing and swirling around me...
I am not happy. I feel like I don't belong and like an island unto myself. Without question one of the most beautiful men I HAVE ever laid my eyes on sits next to me. He is straight and I can see he is trying to get the bartenders attention. I shout "hey Zen, can you get my buddy a drink" my friend says "thank for the hook up." I find out he is from Canada. Let me say the best people I have met on this trip that weren't native are Canadians...I love these people.
I am not happy. I feel like I don't belong and like an island unto myself. Without question one of the most beautiful men I HAVE ever laid my eyes on sits next to me. He is straight and I can see he is trying to get the bartenders attention. I shout "hey Zen, can you get my buddy a drink" my friend says "thank for the hook up." I find out he is from Canada. Let me say the best people I have met on this trip that weren't native are Canadians...I love these people.
O.K. so here is where it all begins. For this blog I will call my friend Huck. We start talking and zoom in on this really amazing conversation. This dude is smart, insightful, profound and we are in it. About an hour into the conversation he hits a curve ball in my direction that almost knocks me off my seat. Make no mistake, I catch the ball and throw it right back. He says he is a soldier on leave from Afghanistan and he goes back to war in a few days. You can talk to people outside of America for the longest time and they don't ask you what you do---it doesn't identify you. This was the last thing I would have ever thought this beautiful sensitive spirit would do. I turn and say O.K. let's break this sucker down. Our conversation goes deep and wide fast and furious. We close the bar and he is now even more fascinating to me. It is 2:00AM and I assume I am off to bed. Huck turns to me and says "Here is how I see it, we are not done with this conversation, I am not done with you, lets go get some weed and smoke a joint on the beach." I say I am sooooooo there. Scoring of course takes all of 5 minutes and it even comes with papers. Mind you I have not been high for 6 weeks and we sit on this ocean that is lit keeping the sea green waves black even at the dead of night. Huck and I continue to share our lives and I learn that he had an epiphany in Afghanistan that has transformed him. He went in to kill lives and now he wants to save them. I can't really say much more but trust me the exchange of who and why we are was profound. Every now and then I would just burst out "Jesus Christ you are beautiful" he would lower his head and smile and say thanks. He knew I was not coming on to him it was so beyond that. Yet my appreciation for his unquestionable beauty had to be exclaimed from time to time. We say good night and he tells me he is getting an enormous tattoo tomorrow and to stop by the tattoo shack with the hammock on the porch..
I was lying in bed that night thinking about how I was feeling sorry for myself and longing to be around my own gay brothers. I was feeling a bit resentful of the homophobia I knew was coming at me from the straight men. The last person I ever thought would rescue me from this state of mind I was in was a straight soldier.
I was lying in bed that night thinking about how I was feeling sorry for myself and longing to be around my own gay brothers. I was feeling a bit resentful of the homophobia I knew was coming at me from the straight men. The last person I ever thought would rescue me from this state of mind I was in was a straight soldier.
I must take us back to the bar for a minute. While the soldier is telling me his story the Rasta band plays a Rasta version of Leaving on a Jet Plane, I shit you not. This has floored me...
I think O.K. this song must be a hit in this region. So I Google the song the next day. I was wrong it was written by Jon Denver and many people recorded it but it was a monster #1 hit for Peter, Paul and Mary. It is Mary's beautiful vocal we know. I look up every version and reference to the song. I find out that Janis Joplin recorded it. When I get back to the states I am so all over that. But I can't find a bloody connection to Thailand of Bali. I ask the lead singer why did you sing that song? He tells me cause someone is always leaving Sama Sama and bags are back and kept by the bar. When he heard the song he thought it would be a good song for Sama Sama. He never plays it because it is sad and the their are really no sad Reggae songs. I just say, alright Gods keep playing with me...cause I am having so much fun with this.
I think O.K. this song must be a hit in this region. So I Google the song the next day. I was wrong it was written by Jon Denver and many people recorded it but it was a monster #1 hit for Peter, Paul and Mary. It is Mary's beautiful vocal we know. I look up every version and reference to the song. I find out that Janis Joplin recorded it. When I get back to the states I am so all over that. But I can't find a bloody connection to Thailand of Bali. I ask the lead singer why did you sing that song? He tells me cause someone is always leaving Sama Sama and bags are back and kept by the bar. When he heard the song he thought it would be a good song for Sama Sama. He never plays it because it is sad and the their are really no sad Reggae songs. I just say, alright Gods keep playing with me...cause I am having so much fun with this.
The next day I go to bed at 7:00AM because my encounter with Huck has my mind reeling and I stay up trying to write a short story about the encounter with Huck & Jon. I stroll over to the Tattoo shack around noon. The tattoo is a huge and on a place that people rarely get them. He tells me he is getting really scared because it is going to hurt and take around three hours. I say I will hang out an keep him company. I become the Tattoo Nurse. I go back to my bungalow and get him some bills that will help him sleep. I make sure he drinks a lot of water, buy Pringles (They are everywhere), tell him funny stories, put cold towels on is forehead, document the ordeal with my camera and basically make sure he is O.K.
I watch him lay perfectly still and the tattoo artist has never done a tattoo in this area before. He is amazed, as I am at how perfectly still Huck is for the three hours of intense pain. I think to myself this is a soldier who understands all to well what a false move means.He knows how to be a statue or you could be killed. Later I interview him for my shot story on examples in combat when he must be perfectly still. It was a soldiers strength. The will and determination that I witnessed for three hours taught me more than I am able to share.
I watch him lay perfectly still and the tattoo artist has never done a tattoo in this area before. He is amazed, as I am at how perfectly still Huck is for the three hours of intense pain. I think to myself this is a soldier who understands all to well what a false move means.He knows how to be a statue or you could be killed. Later I interview him for my shot story on examples in combat when he must be perfectly still. It was a soldiers strength. The will and determination that I witnessed for three hours taught me more than I am able to share.
I am at a cafe on the dock with Huck and Daliana another amazing friend from good old Canada. She has had an amazing experience with Huck as well and we are both sad to see our soldier off. As he gets up to leave I hug him, kiss him on the cheek and tell him how special he is and he was on of the best unexpected surprises on my journey. My Dad is a Korean vet and has had to live through the horrors of the war, my lover Jim, of a many years was a Vietnam vet and has had to deal with the horrors of Agent Orange. I have a lifetime of connections to vets. I do anything I can to help my friend Vera when she does fundraisers for our troops. I suddenly understand that I have never met anyone in this crazy war. I start to worry about Huck's safety and think O.K. Gods you have been played with me enough and it has been great fun but now PLEASE turn you eyes to my friend, play with him and keep him safe, if he comes out of this he could do so much good, even typing the word "if "scares me. Yet, his bags are backed and he is ready to go....and I can't control what I can't control. I can only say to one and all say a prayer not for Owen Meany but for my new friend Huck.
Once Huck is off who comes strolling by but Mags ( we also call her Mum) and her daughter Moregg and I am thrilled to pieces that we have finally hooked up. There is a travel dance you do with people to try and meet up and sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. Mags is 71 and looks like Marsha Wallace from The Newheart Show except her hair is a wild burgundy color and she has the most delightful Australian accent. The important thing about Mags is that her soul is without question on of the purest souls I have ever met. This woman radiates an easy natural love that is in some state of grace. She is someone who has never gotten old...their is nothing about her that connects her to her age. Her daughter is as lovely as she is and that is no surprise. Their friendship and ability to be exactly who they are is so moving to Daliana and I. We have talked at length at what it means to watch this relationship. I
So my days on this island flow like this. We have gone on an 8 hour snorkeling trip. We watch current American cinema in these huts with bed cushions and drink scotch and pal around this island. Daliana will dance all night long and crawl into my bed at 10AM to chat while she kills and hour before seeing a friend off, I never go to bed before 4:00AM, we are big on nightcaps on the ocean and we eat and try to keep the flies off our food. I am not sure if it is traveling or this island but we all move in and out of deep personal conversations with tears and laughter. I have no doubt these people will be in my life forever. I already have a deep well of love for them.
Tomorrow Mags, Moregg and I go back to Ubud we just weren't done with the magic of Ubud. I will say goodbye to Daliana but she is in nursing school (to be a nurse in third world countries) in California so it won't be a sad goodbye. Letting go of Mags and Moregg will not be easy, it will be a miracle if I don't burst into tears.
So my far away friends, there are new friends, new chapters and new prayers. I am entering the last three weeks of this odyssey and I will leave you with this. When a character in A Prayer for Owen Meany can't feel or find God this is what Owen says. "Sit for a long time and think about all the people who are alive in your life...that you love, think of who they are and what you feel for them...that simple act is God.
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