What to pack...

I know, you're thinking right now that you are ready to read part 3 of Highway Hypnosis. Well I'll get to that in a few days, no worries. Have to share at this time about what I packed for my trip that helped bring Mrs. Sailor home to California. Once I had my flight ticket and knew this was really going to happen, I started to gather and purge from the closet. Sailor son had informed me that it had turned cold out in Chesapeake, also was checking daily as to the weather along the route. You will be impressed to know that with the helpful idea that I would wear layers and changing my mind of what to bring on a daily basis leading up to January 8th, I packed everything for a 5-6 day drive in a rolling backpack and a tote bag. The most important items were my new comfy tennis shoes and the faux leopard print rain boots. Oh and then there was also the multicolored scarf and the fingerless gloves that could turn into mittens. There you have it, a girl can see the U.S. and be bohemian fashionable as well. Maybe I could start a workshop on helping other women learn minimalist packing skills!

Highway hypnosis part 2

Got out the postcards from the trip across country and truly don't think I saw most of the scenery pictured on them. I do remember bits of the Great Smoky Mountains. It was later in the day and I was in heaven even with knowing what was ahead of me for the next several days. We had left Chesapeake around 9a.m. and for the first leg of the trip I got to ride in the uhaul truck with my boy. I hadn't seen him in over a year and even though his wife knew it would be a long separation she was so sweet to offer me the passenger seat with Dan while she rode with someone else in the Gann girl convoy. That day took us on some highway out of Virginia, I think through a part of N. Carolina and then into Tennessee. The weather wasn't bad until we were over the mountains and then it poured rain so bad that we saw at least one accident from someone who was probably going too fast and hydroplaned off the road. So as I said I got to spend hours talking and laughing and hearing all about Dan's Navy world and he and Tiff's future plans. Won't spoil with spilling that information, haha! We expected to arrive in Memphis at a decent hour since Matt kept our moral up by saying it was only another hour or so away, we finally arrived at Debbie and Bill's at 1 a.m. But then I got a taste of what it means when people talk about southern hospitality. Bill had to stand at his gate in the pouring rain helping get our 4 vehicles one being a huge uhaul, then 8 of us and Juno the dog trooped into their warm and welcoming home to have genuine Tennessee bbq sandwiches with all the fixins' and beds made up in rooms throughout the house. I finally fell asleep and don't even think I dreamed, road weariness got to me. We would say goodbye to the sailors the next day and be on our way to Arkansas for a visit with the girl's transplanted Aunt and Uncle. Off to tornado alley! To be continued...

Home is where the heart is...

For all of you waiting for part 2 of Highway Hypnosis, never fear it's coming. But for today I wanted to share something I wrote to honor my sailor since he's shipping out on Friday. I was going to tell it on the stage for Westside Stories but felt it's more of a personal essay than a story. The theme is "Home is Where the Heart Is".

Good evening, my name is Mona and I’ll begin by telling you a little bit about my homes. First there’s my old hometown of Ukiah and my heart was broken there on a few occasions but that was a long time ago. Then there’s our summer home, the cabin in the forest visited by the multi generations of our family who have had many heartfelt times living and laughing there for decades. And of course there’s my house in the burbs’ that I get to share with hubby Dave who every so often after 33 years still makes my heart pitter patter.

But when I really learned home is where the heart is was when I watched my only child graduate from boot camp and then be assigned to a base on the other side of the country. There’s a quote I heard once that goes something like this; when you have a child it’s like your heart has left your body and is out walking around in the world.

So that means soon my home will be the USS Truman, a huge aircraft carrier that I’ve never even seen except in photos. I say this because my heart, E4ABH Mechling will be working in the hanger deck on deployment for the next eight months thousands of miles away in an ocean I can only see on a map.

Yes home is where the heart is and for now that’s wherever my sailor might be.

Highway hypnosis, part 1

To all the Tyson Chicken truckers out there on interstate highway 40, also known in parts as Route 66, you suck big time!!! If there had been a phone number on the back of your rig asking to please call such and such number to report how you were driving I would have been on the phone in an Arkansas minute, however long that is since I found out southerners seem to move at a pace a little slower than those of us in the west. Well except for the truckers who drive like a bat out of hell! But let's go to the beginning of my adventure shall we. I began this trip flying out of SFO at 6:50 a.m. on Tuesday January 8th. It was going to be a long day since I had had exactly 4 hours sleep the night before and the flight although would only take 5 hours I was going to lose 3 hours due to my destination being Norfolk Virginia which is eastern time zone. Dinner time the west coast trio of me, DIL's mom Tina and little sis Brie arrived and had one of Sailor Dan's buddies Matt waiting with signs like a cute little tour guide to drive us to Gannimal House where the packing and loading of the Penske truck had begun. With the truck full to the gills by 2 a.m. the household tried to sleep and by 8 in the morning of Wednesday January 9th with tearful goodby to sweet neighbor Crystal the convoy hit the highway. Four vehicles, 8 people and grand-dog Juno said goodbye to Chesapeake, next stop Memphis. To be continued...

Joining the 56 club

Last Monday I turned 56 having been born in the year 1956. I somehow had the idea that this should be a magical number and something fabulous would happen to me. As a matter of fact I got to partake in a few fabulous things, my bff took me to Benbow for a weekend in the beautiful redwoods of Ave of the Giants Humboldt county. It was so peaceful and relaxing just hanging out with her in a fab old historic hotel. The weekend before that I got to watch my adorable god-daughter get married to her soulmate and have their gorgeous infant daughter baptised during the ceremony, so thankful that I got to be a part of that special event. Thanksgiving we hosted my mom, sis and sis' boyfriend and got weather and scenery that one can only find in our part of Northern California, well maybe elsewhere you could find it but I'm biased. So this makes me think that if you want to have something magical happen you should probably try to work on getting it yourself. It must be that the idea of publishing my story collection that I've been working on for the last 6 years has been coming to the surface of my subconscious since in dreams I have seen the cover floating through space or laying on a cloud or being held by some unknown person while they are reading it on a train or in a pasture. So I have a year of magical attempts and will work towards seeing The Fridge Magnet Chronicles in print. Happy Birthday to me!

Books, books and more books!

Last Saturday I covered for my friend Jeane at her booth during the Sonoma County Literary Festival. The hubby and I carried several boxes of local author's books to be for sale during the festival. Coming on board as Jeane's assistant is a part-time job from the heart. As a writer myself (although The Fridge Magnet Chronicles is going on 6 years in the making) I love to see the success of other local writer's. I am also old fashioned and love bookstores and the feel and smell of printed pages that I can sit with and loose myself into while reading a well written story. So it was my suprise that sales just weren't happening and alas didn't even earn enough money for Jeane to earn back her investment of the rented spot. What I did notice when folks stopped by the booth was that many took out their phones and snapped pictures of books title pages. Finally after mulling that for a week it came to me what that was about, people who Kindle could probably go home and get on Amazon and download the books I had for sale at a fraction of what a hard copy book goes for. Too late to do anything about it now but it's still annoying. All in all even if the books are bought electronicly the author still gets paid so that's good but next year if I'm at the booth selling local author's books those people who try to take photographs will get a nice picture of my hand instead. What do you think of that? "-)

New job

I have a new job! Commuting to Sonoma for work at Outdora as customer service. Commute seems a harsh word. I leave my house and about a half hour later after winding through pretty country roads over hills and past vineyards I arrive to begin my day in a town that's like a postcard. I've already lunched under the trees in the park at the town plaza and window shopped at Sister's, a consignment store that friends have raved about for years. My co-workers and boss at Outdora are really wonderful so far. With a completed week under my belt, although not really earning a great salary I have to say I feel a good fit has been found for me to work at til retirement. Will keep you posted.