Many years ago, in one of my precious incarnations, I was the marketing director for a large enclosed shopping mall that had a 10-plex theater attached to it. Although they screened the Rocky Horror Picture Show every Friday night, somehow I never managed to drag my butt into the theater at midnight to watch this campy horror flick. Yes, I was a Rocky Horror virgin!

Read the rest of this entry »

Bob Dylan’s song, Blowin’ In The Wind, asked the question

How many times must a man look up before he can see the sky?

I have looked up and seen the sky in its million different moods. I have seen it without a wisp of a cloud to mar its pure cerulean blue. I have watched puffy white cumulus clouds billow up over the horizon where the sea meets the sky. From a sheltering doorway I have waited out gray skies that poured rain down on Bangkok, revealing a sparkling new city as the deluge swept litter and grime from the dirty sidewalks into the storm sewers. There is such beauty in the sky, and I never really noticed it before. I was so caught up in life – or what I thought was life – that I never took time to look at the sky. It wasn’t until I decided to pursue what brought me joy that I began to notice all the beauty in this world.

There is risk in what I have done. I walked away from a very successful, albeit unfulfilling career. I moved to Florida despite the fact that my house in North Carolina has not yet sold. I am unemployed, with large mortgages to pay each month, no income, and a declining Read the rest of this entry »

I love my country but sometimes it drives me crazy….for instance my experience this afternoon at the well-known Sarasota book and gift store, Elysian Fields. I’d been to this store before and liked it, so, having just returned to Sarasota and being in the neighborhood, I stopped in to see what was gong on. They have a nice selection of gifts and spiritual books, as well of many ongoing events such as meditation classes, intuitive arts fairs, etc., and I was looking forward to getting involved.

As I walked in, I noticed a sign on the front door stating that all backpacks must be left at the front counter. Now, my backpack serves as my purse and goes wherever I go. Frankly, I think it would be foolish to leave it out of my sight and in the hands of strangers, so I politely asked if I could carry the backpack with me as I shopped, explaining that it is my purse. One of the pleasant women behind the front counter suggested that I remove my wallet from the backpack so that I could leave it at the front desk, just so that “everyone is treated the same.” I could have pressed the point and asked her what she suggested I do with my checkbook, camera, lenses, iPod, and laptop computer. Did she expect me to lug all of those items around the store in my arms as I Read the rest of this entry »

My friends Ruthie and Keith will especially enjoy the bumper sticker I saw yesterday here in Sarasota:

“Paddle faster…I think I hear banjo music”

Ruthie and Keith left their traditional jobs a while back and went in search of something that made them joyful (sound familiar?). They stayed tuned in to the Universe with faith they’d be shown the path they were supposed to take. Both had worked in offices but both were accomplished musicians and their love of music eventually led them to the discovery of “Old Time Music,” which is the music of Appalachia that preceded bluegrass. Read the rest of this entry »

My friend Pete emailed me a couple of day ago to say it had been 12 days since I last blogged, adding, “we’re all waiting.” It was the first time that I realized I had created Hole In The Donut junkies. For those of you who have been waiting with bated breath, I assure you that I have not disappeared forever….

I arrived back home in Sarasota one week ago and it has taken exactly that amount of time to tackle all the tasks waiting for me after a seven month absence. The car had to be unloaded and I had to find room for all the stuff I hauled down from North Carolina this trip, which required trying on every piece of clothing I owned, discarding anything I hadn’t worn in the last year, and customizing my tiny closet with racks and special hangers in order to fit everything in. Four checkbooks needed to be balanced, tons of mail had to be opened and addressed, I needed a haircut, and the car needed an oil change. Groceries had to be purchased. Laundry had to be done. My camera had to be sent in for repairs. A letters of dispute had to be sent to US Airways, who is trying to get out of crediting me for the frequent flier mileage from my trip, etc, etc, etc.

In the midst of all this I made the “enlightened” decision to upgrade the software for my blog to a new version that I thought (hoped) would help me to get better ranking in the search engines. Unfortunately, the new software was only three days old when I downloaded and installed it and it was fairly buggy, so there were a lot of problems with my blog (you may have noticed it looks a bit different now). It has taken me the better part of two weeks Read the rest of this entry »

Willie Nelson said it best with his famous lyrics:

On the road again, Goin’ places that I’ve never been, Seein’ things that I may never see again, And I can’t wait to get on the road again.

That’s me – I just LOVE being on the road. Even when I’m driving between places I’ve been before I try to take a new route. So when it was time to leave Illinois and return to the Outer Banks I studied the map, looking for virgin territory. I’m just barely exaggerating when I say you can’t get there from here – there is no easy way to drive from Illinois to North Carolina. With the help of Google Maps I found a new route that took me through Indianapolis, around Dayton, Ohio, and southeast on US Rt.35 into West Virginia.

Lowe Hotel, Point Pleasant, West Virginia

Lobby of Lowe Hotel

Nicely furnished room

Just over the Ohio border I pulled into the little town of Point Pleasant, West Virginia. It was around 10 PM so I couldn’t really see much, but it was obvious that the three block long downtown was lined with adorably restored older buildings that had been converted to cute shops. In the very middle of Main Street stood the Lowe Hotel – the only hotel in town. Read the rest of this entry »