Boston, New York, Plymouth…yeah, we’ve done some serious travelling recently. Now that we’re battened down for the winter, I can finally start to sort through some images…
Magic Shiny Goddess Travels
December 9, 2008 at 11:37 pm (art, magic, optimism, peace, personal growth, photography, travel)
Adventures with Aunty Mobile
January 25, 2008 at 10:52 pm (magic, optimism, peace, personal growth)
Update: We acquired a car on Christmas eve. It is pictured above on Saddle Road, with Spencer at the wheel, before the adventure happened which is described below.
Myself and the Aunty Mobile had quite an adventure the other day, which I would like to share with you…sort of a way of giving myself kudos unabashedly, but also to communicate to all who read this post that things are never quite as bad as they seem, and that attitude is everything…
We were concluding a very nice three-week visit with soul-buddy Spencer, who is a whitewater river guide, mountain climber and all-round adventurer. Before jetting to Hawai’i to visit us, he had been in Nepal, hiking the trails there.
It was my job to take him to the Kona airport, which is about a hundred miles away or more on the other side of the Big Island from where we live in Puna.
I dropped Spencer off at the airport with hugs and kisses and his promise to check his email more often, and then I went to a corner store to get lunch. All seemed normal until I got about 30 miles outside of town. This area is a barren wasteland, though beautiful with grasses now grown over the rolling lava field hills. I was making my way up a hill when it happened: the wipers (it was pouring rain) started to slow down, and the entire car was losing power fast. I had just enough time to find a good place to pull off to the side of the road when the car went dead. Absolutely dead, no juice at all.
I just sat there, thinking fast. A nice lady pulled over just then and let me use her cellphone (mine needs the bill paid!) and so got a message out to Darlene at Sirius Coffee Connection (www.siriuscoffeeconnection.com) where we & all our friends hang out, as David and Wes were not at Wes’ office when I called.
The lady left, and I got back into the car. Boy, was I upset! Miles from nowhere, in possession of limited cash, and no hope of rescue. Or so I thought. Man, I said to myself, this is sure a stupid situation! Of course I cried for awhile out of sheer frustration.
After I calmed down, I thought some more: of course, some nice person of some sort, with a good heart and decent intentions, would come by and help. It would probably be a local.
I alternately stood next to the car or sat in the driver’s seat, weather permitting, for about an hour and a half, and was passed up by a towtruck, a state vehicle of some kind, and many, many cars, trucks and SUV’s. I caught myself being angry at them for not stopping, and at Spencer for being on a nice comfy airplane going to his destination a heck of a lot faster than I was going nowhere.
I made myself think instead; I imagined a truck pulling into the lay-by across from me full of nice people with jumper cables. I took stock of my supplies: full water-bottle, a sandwich, a bag of sesame sticks, a sleeping bag. I had everything I needed to stay awhile; I had even brought my black cohosh capsules for some unknown reason (we women of a certain stage in life rely on these!). I looked around at the landscape and told myself that at least I had broken down in a beautiful place. I rummaged around in the back and found a Smithsonian magazine and started to read the article about Petra as the rain poured down some more.
With the opening and closing of the door, I noticed that the dash was again showing ‘door open’ indicator lights. So the battery was not dead after all! Something must be therefore not charging the battery fully. Was it the alternator? Maybe. But those indicator lights told me that, should someone actually stop by with the jumper cables, I would no longer be stuck and could at least make it to the next town.
At last I could begin to look around with some appreciation, though it was still unclear what I should do. I know what happens to abandoned vehicles here (they are picked apart like carrion). I decided to just wait.
Suddenly, just as I had imagined, my eye was caught by a white truck pulling over into the lay-by across the road from me! I crossed the road, and was greeted by two friendly Hawai’ian men. Their insignia told me that they worked for the state highway department, and they asked me what was wrong. They lent me their cellphone so I could try David again; not reaching him, I called Darlene again and gave her an update. Then I asked, “Do you guys have any jumper cables?”
They weren’t sure what they had in their equipment-laden truck, but the younger of the men got out and searched the truck bed. And found nice, new, shiny jumper cables! They pulled over to the other side of the road, and I hooked up my battery to one end of the set, and they did the same to their battery. The car started immediately! When they asked how long I had been at the side of the road, and I told them, they rolled their eyes and shook their heads. I told them, “I knew locals (this is what the Hawai’ians call themselves) would come and help, because that’s how things are here!” and they smiled. Then they counselled me to drive to Waimea as fast as I could, and not play the radio or use the wipers. I thanked them profusely.
A few hours later, with a phonecall to David (thank goodness for payphones!) who helped me troubleshoot and one to tell him I had made it to Hilo, I was pulling into Pahoa when the dash lights started to dim. I knew the car was going down again and managed to pull into the Sirius Coffee Connection parking lot- what divine intervention is that! The one place in town my car would be safe: it’s right across from the police station. I got out, grabbed my things, and started walking. I stood at the four-corners lights for perhaps ten minutes, and an older hippie couple with a tiny truck pulled over to ask where I was going. They told me to hop in the back, and drove me all the way home.
I was tired; I was exhausted; but I was home! I was so grateful. David made dinner, and I fell asleep with gratitude in my heart for all the angels I was sent that day.
And the addendum? The problem is the engine grounding braid! So simple to fix!
Blessings, everyone. Remember that this is a friendly universe!
Happy New Year!
January 4, 2008 at 9:34 pm (art, goddess, magic, optimism, peace, personal growth)
Aloha from Hawai’i!
Happy New Year!
Contacts from around the world have been getting in touch, or getting back in touch, with me quite unexpectedly. What a pleasure this is!
The big news is: after first two months of walking and hitching, and six months of riding double (illegal!) on our little red scooter, we finally have a CAR. It’s a Toyota station wagon; it’s plushy on the inside, the engine runs well, and it looks slightly icky on the outside. In short, the perfect Aunty Mobile: a sleeper car that no one will look at twice. You can be sure I’ll post a picture of it, once I figure out which is its best side.
Being the rainy season here, it is so nice to arrive at one’s destination completely dry, and without smelling of rotting babydolls due to mildewed head-to-toe rainsuits. So very nice, and I am immensely grateful. Thank you Patrick!
Not only that, but as of late January, I will once again have Real Office Space! Thank you, Kevin!
Tash Photo Rules o.k.!
December 10, 2007 at 12:31 am (art, goddess, green collar technology, magic, optimism, peace, personal growth)
Tash is a British photographer who is Goddess-friendly, to say the least. He’s at the forefront of local and global alternative news and happenings in his area of the world. There are many grass-roots movements for social change that we don’t ordinarily hear about, but Tash is bringing these things to the attention of a much larger audience thanks to his work. Thank you Tash! Here’s his website link: http://ia351404.us.archive.org/3/items/OneEyeOnTheRoad/index.htm
And here’s a youtube link to his excellent Glastonbury timelapse montage:
Watch for the cows that zoom in and out of frame!
Unplug For Peace
December 3, 2007 at 10:01 pm (green collar technology, magic, optimism, peace, personal growth)
http://www.jbthevoice.com/unplugforpeace/
Check this out, people. It’s important!
Electricity-Free in Kalapana, Hawaii
December 3, 2007 at 9:43 pm (art, goddess, green collar technology, magic, optimism, peace, personal growth)
Hello everyone!
I’ve been away awhile as my work contract is up, and so have been far, far away from the internet most days. Above is a picture of where I live electricity-free, internet-free, and largely plumbing-free. I forget that this is unusual, and that other folks might be interested in how such a lifestyle can be managed with style and grace. Please feel free to ask me questions, and know that I have in-town internet access 2 days a week, so all questions will be answered…
In my cruising thru the internet, I’ve started to see quite a lot of talk about low-tech living and living in harmony with the earth. Just why this should be such a foreign concept to a lot of people I don’t know; where else would we live but here? I’ve also noticed that there’s no easy way to talk about this without coming off like some sanctimonious, slavering fanatic. I find that odd too. Know that you will not ever be preached at by me!
Optimism Is A Skill.com Podcast #3 Up and Running and Ready For Your Ears!
September 24, 2007 at 8:32 pm (magic, optimism, peace, personal growth)
Tags: magic, optimism, peace, personal growth
What a privilege it is to work with the team on this show…the wisdom contained in it is working for me, and I’m a reactionary hothead with way too good an imagination. Fiery goddesses, take heart; there is help for your funky, highly emotional self!
(prleap.com) Optimismisaskill.com’s podcast show #3 has just been released! It’s entitled “Low Self Esteem Is the Root of All Evil, Part 2″, and it discusses helpful processes for overwriting our negative tendencies and negative self-talk with positive tendencies and positive self-talk. It also discusses strategies for beginning to love ourselves and treat ourselves well, in simple terms that anyone can understand.
The first podcast discussed the convergence of today’s dominant ideologies – science, religion, and techonology – and how they are arriving at the same conclusion – everything on earth is an infinite number of expressions of the same fundamental essence. It explored how this shift in consciousness is bringing about the end of the scarcity model and the emergence of the abundant universe model.
The second podcast, entitled “Low Self Esteem Is the Root of All Evil, Part 1″, discussed the socially accepted cultural origins of the worldwide phenomena of low self esteem, and what can be done to start to heal this destructive situation for ourselves-and thereby help the world at large.
Future bi-weekly podcasts will focus on overcoming self-sabotage, communication skills, building healthy relationships with healthy people, stress level management, goal achievement, behavior modification and the law of attraction.
OptimismIsASkill.com
http://www.optimismisaskill.com
P.O. Box 492405
Keaau, HI 96749Jim McLelland
808.333.0200
Optimism Is A Skill.com! Listen Listen!
September 3, 2007 at 9:16 pm (art, goddess, magic, optimism, peace, personal growth, poetry)
Hey! (here insert the sound of loudly tooting one’s own horn!)
I am a part of the team that produces this excellent and worthy podcast; in addition to doing this show’s transcription, research and promotion, I also composed and performed its musical score. So please check it out!
(PRLEAP.COM) Optimismisaskill.com, a team dedicated to building world peace through personal growth, introduces the release of their monthly podcasts hosted by Jim McLelland.
Jim has for the past ten years worked in the areas of personal and organizational development, assisting his clients in the implementation of new processes and behaviors with a focus on achieving greater peace and prosperity. The first podcast discusses the convergence of today’s dominant ideologies – science, religion, and technology – and how they are arriving at the same conclusion – all things are an infinite number of expressions of the same fundamental essence. The podcasts explore how this shift in consciousness is bringing about the end of the Scarcity Model and the emergence of the Abundant Universe Model.
Future bi-weekly podcasts will focus on self-esteem, overcoming self-sabotage, communication skills, building healthy relationships with healthy people, stress level management, goal achievement, behavior modification and the law of attraction.
OptimismIsASkill.com
http://www.optimismisaskill.com
P.O. Box 492405
Keaau, HI 96749
Jim McLelland
808.333.0200
