Angels on My Bumpers

I met Roné years ago through Janet Oglethorpe,who met Roné at a NIA class in Oregon. Every April, when Roné displays and sells her beautiful jewelry at the Fiesta Art Fair, she visits writing group with Janet.

This trip, I stayed at her house overnight--which I wrote about two weeks ago.  I'll always remember that unplanned visit as a real turning point--as Brad and Roné and Meara gave me so much help in routing the rest of the trip, AND as they put me in touch with people along the way I could meet (and have, in person or otherwise).

Almost every day, I get a note from Roné that's like a cheering on, often ending with the words: "Angels on your bumpers!"

I could write pages here about the "angels" that have taken up residence on my bumpers.  One is Roné's longtime friend and acupuncturist Linda Jordon, who I got to meet and be treated by because  of my hip pain that day.

In her emails, Linda keeps reminding me of the healing waters I'm going to try in a day or two--at  the hot springs in Harbin--and she sends me daily suggestions for dealing with the aches that flare up if I sit too long in the car.

This morning I got this timely note from her:

"One thing about the turning point of the journey is the realization of how far out you are. Like climbing a mountain but now you have to climb down!


You don't want to hurry, so it is good not to wait too long to head back. That makes it easier to stop along the wsy, which your back will appreciate too. Coming down I5 you can see Mt Shasta, near Redding. I think of it as a Jr Mt Ranier."

I'm loving spending extra time here this morning under the covers in  bed in a Best Western, not hurrying, reading emails, reading pages in a novel I bought a week ago (Arcadia by Lauren Groff) and feeling like a kid on Christmas morning deciding which present to unwrap first and which to save.

Looks like "Jr. Mt. Ranier" is the biggest one still under the tree, so to speak!