story
I once knew a little girl who decided to dig a hole to the other side of the earth and she ended up on a little island in the South Pacific. Somewhere in the lake hole that she popped out of there were big mana ominously standing guard. Peering down into this hole she plucked out the mud and flew back to the land of the trees.
This wise long hair gypsy girl… missed the sun and wandered back to the desert to sleep under the stars and play with coyote. Sitting in the juniper was owl watching with a smile. She asked owl where shall I go next? and he said you have been in the land of the bayous with the alligator, lightening bugs and crawfish, and you have swam with manta rays, sharks and dolphins, you have also wandered by camel, by elephant and even on the back of a jaguar. You have also sat in the council of the 5 red-tailed hawks o’ brave little one, so where is it you see the next adventure he asked back to her?
She said… well I love the sun, the desert, trees and the smell of rain. I love the coyote and wolves, rivers, mountains, islands and the ocean. Can I be everywhere and nowhere she asked? Hmmmm he said… there is only one way to do that, do you know it he asked? And she replied yes I think so… when I dream? No he said, that is only one way. Think harder.. And she said well I can take a crazy trip.. and he laughed and said well uh..No that would be checking out… think harder little gypsy girl, how can you be everywhere and nowhere all at the same time? Where can you find all that you seek? She stared at owl and then closed her eyes… in her heart she traced the past, alive with every beat in the present, creating her future with every mindful breath and she opened her eyes and smiled at owl… I know now… its in my heart, I can be everywhere and nowhere when I am in my heart.
things
So people talk about things they have done in their life to define them, for me it is just a short list of the adventures that have allowed me to become who I am and the path that I am walking.
i am of the wolf clan
I was born in the bayous of southern Louisiana
i grew up riding horses, swimming in muddy water, and playing music
i used to blindfold my sister and ride her on the handlebars of my bike to make her guess where we were
i used to race boys across the schoolyard at recess in first grade
My favorite playtime activity was the monkey bars and climbing trees
In a small town growing up in Louisiana, offered getting drunk every night and driving up and down the drag when i was 14 to escape;
my first job, was a photographer/reporter for a small town newspaper and at age 15 my first photo job was a police shooting of a guy trying to climb over a fence.
i was a band geek.. played clarinet til i was in college and taught drum corps
Was a swimmer and lifeguard instructor for Red Cross
Taught guys how to jump off burning oil rigs and get out of crashed helicopters in the Gulf of Mexico;
Was a lighting designer and rigger for rock concerts and theatre
I have scuba’d in the Andaman Sea, the Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean, the Mediterranean, and next is Australia
I have travelled by camel, elephant, horse, donkey, seen a jaguar chasing wild turkeys, slept next to wild lions, and caught a fertilance (bushmaster) in the jungles of Belize;
I have climbed in Thailand, Morocco, Yosemite, Devil’s Tower, Wild Iris, Superstitions, El Dorado Canyon, Queen Creek, Smith Rocks… the Pit in Flagstaff is my favorite
Travelled around the country in a VW bus more than once, including 6 continents;
Walked on water across floating plants 1/2 mile in to core the lake of Rano Kao in the volcano at Easter Island;
Did an archaeological survey in the jungles of the Peten in Guatemala/Belize and listened to howler monkeys for weeks, while staring at the mayan canoe every night in the black sky;
Have driven 120mph
Took a one way ticket around the world heading west
Like to sculpt with clay and build houses out of straw and earth
Can drive an underwater submersible
Make video documentaries and write short stories and poems
Am an artist of alchemy;
Look for wolves every summer at Glacier National Park,
Listen to coyotes sleeping on the rocks in the desert and have hummingbird sing to me in the morning
Have walked 12 feet from a griz and her cub eating berries that crossed in my path
Uncovered mastadon bones and ancient horse after a lake imploded from oil drilling that punctured a salt dome mine and drained the lake;
Have been in a hurricane that lifted the curtains up to the ceiling like a bad horror movie and sounded like a freight train running thru the house;
Hung out with alligators;
Greenpeace Activist and Videographer;
Have ancient DNA traced thru the human genome project back 40k years to the Sahara desert Berber people… no wonder i am a gypsy
First impressions are i am tough.. so here is the soft side:
i am a mom, he is my bestest buddy, he saved my life when he was born
i was raised by my grandparents… a seamstress and a band director
i am Taoist, have practiced the buddhist precepts, as well as yoga daily
i like to grow food and cook
i make tree swings, playhouses, play areas for kids and PLAY with them…
My homeless friend used to live in my shed now I just cook dinners for them
I created an urban eco experiment that i got to live what i taught for 15 years, with solar, strawbale, earth, raccoons, possums, crow families, bees, all kinds of living things in the middle of the city
i like to sleep on my roof and look at the moon and stars and dream up stories