March 30, 2016, Prescott- I’ve been pretty busy this week, with work, and a brief foray into the “after work” social gathering scene. I find it still as shallow as it was when I frequented such gatherings, before Penny came along. People have their closed groups, and no matter that one or two might invite a newcomer, out of courtesy, it doesn’t take long for the body language to stiffen and the eye contact to move to those familiar faces.
My thoughts went today to the places where, and the people with whom, I feel at home. Not all are my ever-agreeable supporters. Some are critics, but they are honest critics, and are often quite helpful. As my beloved always said, “The opposite of love is indifference”.
In this hour of a March that is headed out like a lion, after treating us to icy wind and a dusting of snow, I want to honour the places that are homes to me, in the West, since it’s been a while.
Prescott and vicinity, Flagstaff, Marana, Tubac, Bisbee, Thatcher, the Sunnyslope area of Phoenix, Holbrook, Hopi land, Pine Springs, Reno and Carson City, San Diego and vicinity, Dana Point, San Clemente, Lomita, Santa Barbara, Ojai, Ashland (OR), Portland, Spokane, Anacortes, Wrangell, Juneau, Sitka, Ketchikan, Afton (WY), Cortez, Boulder, Colorado Springs, San Luis (CO), Socorro, Albuquerque, Truth or Consequences. I can go to any of these places, and there will be a welcoming presence.
I will talk further about my homes in the Midwest, the South, the Northeast, and the rest of the world, in subsequent posts. The point is, I am ever grateful for all who have reached out, kept faith in me, and not abandoned me out of difference of opinion, hurt feelings, or convenience.
Let’s see whether the March Lion gives way, willingly, to the April Lamb.
A Sagittarian Seeker 
Here in Tennessee, we are heading into our lion time of the year. This is the start of the tornado season (April to June) but March has been mild and very cloudy. Our social structures are often sorely lacking in true connection!
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Tennessee has been one of my byways, over the years. I have made a pledge to myself to stop in Memphis and Nashville, and explore the historic districts of those fine cities, perhaps as early as this July.
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Great!! The Music city! I live right now in Murfreesboro which is about 45 minutes from Nashville. In the Summer though I may be in Nashville! Maybe I’ll see you at the beautiful Baha’i center in Nashville? 🙂
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March was windy here. Brought down some trees. Some of those places we’ve visited. Want to visit a lot more yet. The west is so wonderful and big. Life is too short! 🙂 Hope you have fun. Blessings for your travels.
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The West has been home, as a region, for many of the past thirty-eight years. Its openness has indeed been a comfort.
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It’s spring here — warming, sunny, light breezes. We’ve had about 3/4 of normal rain — some rain but not enough to break a drought. I’ve long thought that most friendships are rather acquaintances — the world really doesn’t revolve around ‘me,’ but in a sort of spiral in which we come into contact with one or two who become good friends.
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I think of friendships more in terms of extended family. I am not as self-absorbed, in that way, as some tend to think. It has been more in terms of “How might I serve this person, or help meet their needs?”
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Gary — I didn’t mean to imply a criticism of self-absorption or self-centeredness so much as to expose a way that I tend to deal with being alone for the last 50 years. I have sensed a sort of melancholy in some of your posts, related to the fact that many people are so self-absorbed that they don’t warmly let in new people, or that people rather callously ignore others (or worse) with whom they don’t agree.
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