I got an email from Linda Kot--she finally traded in her flip phone for an iPhone!
She wrote about how over-the-top excited she was to finally have a phone like her friends, a phone to double as a camera and share pictures. But why had she resisted so long?
She wrote about Chatty Cathy--how she yearned for one with all her heart as a child, yet never got one. In time, Chatty Cathy became symbolic of the lessons ingrained in her by her family: Only buy what you absolutely need; avoid name brands; be thrifty. Linda was euphoric that she had stepped over that line and bought her own iPhone. Already she's sending me pictures of her new grand-puppy Josie on it!
Whether it's money or ingrained beliefs, don't we all have Stop Signs that keep us from doing even little things we want to do? Not just material things--but experiences? Doesn't everybody have a "Chatty Cathy"?
There was a flag in a shop in Bodega Bay. Multi-colored. Twenty-five dollars. What did I need with a multi-colored flag? I must have seen it on a day when I was thinking, "I've already spent too much!"
But, later, when I saw a flag like that flying at an art gallery, I thought: I gotta have that flag!
And so I called Second Wind shop of flags and whirligigs and ordered one. I could probably have ordered one from the Internet, but I wanted it to come from Elaine and Second Wind, a reminder of a conversation we had one afternoon before she directed me to the best bowl of clam chowder ever.
Today the flag arrived. Elaine, the owner, had packed the box full of Jelly Bellies and salt water taffy, all colors, like the ones I used to bring back from Cape Cod. The flag is great and I'm going to hang it in a window as a reminder of a special afternoon at Bodega Bay. But what really touched me was a beautiful Bodega Bay postcard from Elaine:
"Welcome home! Hope this package and the little surprises tucked inside bring a smile to your face and that warm memories of your trip to Bodega Bay fill your heart! It was great meeting you!"
Her note made me even happier than the flag.
Those are the kinds of things that keep a journey going long after you've been towed your last mile on the actual road. It's all about the people, the gifts of kindness.
Sometimes being generous with ourselves connects us to all kinds of surprises from other people. I suggest we all pick a Chatty Cathy and go for it.
1 comment:
Your blog is so much fun, Linda. I love reading it and smiling as I do so. How lucky am I to have a writing friend such as you. Let's plan a get-together soon now that you've been towed home. Were you so reluctant to return that you had to be hauled kicking and screaming?
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