April 17, 2010
Hiya,
Spring has HIT here! My yard is filled with redbud blooms, dogwood drifts, fine soft greens and lilacs. The lavender is coming along, healthy and trimmed of its winter bristles. The iris will be up soon, along with lily-of-the-valley (just in time for the day of my birth.) My windows are wide open all the time now. Nights are full of wisps of wind and mornings start with birdsongs. I am in heaven.
I traveled to Indianapolis this past Wednesday. I just BARELY made my plane after getting stuck in a traffic jam. When I checked in, the machine said I was too late and did I want to take the next flight? The next flight?!!! No I did NOT! Fortunately the desk agent knew me and let me pass as did the TSA gal. I got to the gate as the last passengers were being called to their seats! Yikes!
Flying away from spring here and into spring there was fun. Our colors are just coming out. Spring is in full swing at the bottoms of our mountains. Up higher, it is a few weeks later in coming. In Indianapolis, a flat, flat place, all is in full spring mode right now. From one spot you can see for miles. Spring is laid out there, easy to see.
This talk was for a big bike club. The gal who arranged for me to come had happened to stumble into my blog last year as I was on my big bike ride. Here, a year later, I was, invited to speak about what had happened. Whoosh!
These talks are always fun and are always a bit different. A group of cancer survivors listens for one message and a group of older women listens for another. A mixed group of bike riders, some young and some not, some women and some not, some experienced with cancer and some not present a special challenge, especially since I can’t know who is coming until they arrive. Before my talks I mingle and see what I can glean but it is not until I am speaking that I see in the listener’s eyes that I am reaching them – or that I am not.
These listeners paid close attention. I tried, noticing the diversity in the group, to touch on cancer and riding and persistence and thrill as I was speaking. It is like conducting, I imagine, bringing in this group and then that one. I felt comfortable and, being quite familiar with my story, enjoyed highlighting different parts for different listeners.
When I finished, after we showed my video (follow the link below if you’d like to see it) no one said anything. But it was clear that no one was really ready to leave. No one moved. No one clapped. No one did anything. We, the audience and I, just looked at each other for a bit of a while. They were moved, clearly. Me too. And then a few people asked a few questions and came and said hello and then we all left.
Four of us went out to a pub and had some pub food and shared some bike stories and some Indianapolis stories and some Asheville stories. And then my host took me home and I fell deeply asleep.
On Thursday she took me out to breakfast and then we walked around a huge park in the center of the city. From the bridge you could see for miles in the distance, flat, sweeping huge spacious city that it is. And then she took me to the airport and I flew home to my little ville, tucked into the mountains and my little home, tucked into some hills. My desk is tucked into a corner of my little office here. I like this being tucked in. I felt unprotected out there on those plains. I liked the visit and I liked the people and I had a nice time. And I am very happy, very, to be tucked in back here.
I’ll be in touch next week.
