Colorful people:

June 11th....So I bought a brand new sewing machine today at Handcock fabrics. I was alone and in the parking lot walking to my car carrying the big box. the sewing machine was in all by myself.

 

For whatever reason an older gentleman offered to help me.

He started walking towards me and said: "Are you okay? Can I help you with that?"

 

I responded: "No. That's okay. I got it."

Now he was about a foot away from me. I looked into his eyes and I said:

"You know, I do karate still and I'm still pretty strong."

 

He said: "Yes you are. I just wanted to help. That's good you do karate."

 

Then I said: "You and I probably no doubt the same age. How old are you?"

 

He says:

85

I said: "Wow...I'm 68!"

and

as I walked towards my car he added. "Never give up!"

 

:  )

Here’s another story:                                                             June 11, 2015

So I was on my way to the car again, same day, different story, later in the day. My destination was The Artist Way. A night out for me. (It’s a 12 week, every Thursday from 7-8:30PM class) and I decided to say goodbye to Don who was collecting the dues for the three new boys who had just signed up. I finished the hour class with them and the mother was in the office with Don receiving the check for the right amount.

Don said he would handle the business aspect and let me go next door to fix my dinner and change into something nice. The timing was tight so I woofed down a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and hurriedly put on the “church” clothes I put out earlier as the Artist Way group is being held at a church group this time.

I thought Don could handle everything but I wanted to give him the courtesy of a quick touch base.

As I opened the kitchen door, I could hear the loud laughter and feel the excitement. As I opened the karate school door, I saw four boys, (the three who just started and were calm and serene and their rebel spirit cousin all age 8 thru 12) whacking the daylights out of one another with the foam pool noodles.

I don’t let kids do this. I don’t like to see out of control kids whacking each other. The noise is loud but it really doesn’t hurt. Years ago if you didn’t keep an eye on the boys they would whack each other  by taking off their white belts and using them as whips.

Oh no. Not on my deck. I yelled: “Stop.”

They kept going laughing and whacking and hitting and yelling.

It was an out of control mess.

I yelled again: “Stop”

The mother yelled: “Marcus, T.J, Damien, Josh…enough.”

Don stepped out of the office and said: “okay boys that’s enough”

Still no reaction:

My turn. “Give me those right now. Stop. Give those.” Finally the first little guy surrendered his noodle and then the next and the next and then I got the last one.

I said calmly: “When I am on the deck, you will not be using this equipment. You will use this in Sensei Barnhart’s class only. Understood? Sensei Barnhart works on the fighting aspects of karate. I will be showing you step by step how to move. Understood”? At this point they had calmed down somewhat. I guess because they were out of breath.

Funny but I was ready to kill Don for allowing that scene in the dojo, the sacred training hall but instead I acted like a team player. I am working on our public image. It is getting better but it’s not easy. You can’t ever change someone’s personality but for sure you can control how you react. That being said, we need a little color on the deck. ‘nuff said! 

The Nasty Pot

We all have our moments where if no one is around, we do things that may or may not freak other people out. We all do stuff, me included, that being said he goes:

 

We live a semi-minimalist lifestyle in our 800 square foot home. It's close quarters and there's not a lot of room for stuff. Our kitchen has basically two pots, one small (1.5 Qt.) and one large (a gallon). Both are stainless steel with thick bottoms and carefully selected treasures to go the distance.

A couple of days ago I walked in on Don soaking his hand in Epson salts in the small pot. Now we've been together for 17 years and our communication levels are pretty good. Rarely do we ever yell and far be it from either of us to make any house rules like the cooking pots are for cooking only. In the past we had a situation like placing a bowl under the pipe of the sink so the dirty trap could drain....but that's ancient history and never have we ever had an issue about a pot.

So I took a deep breath and I said:

"Are you soaking your hand in our little cooking pot?"

and he replied, "Yes. I like to dissolve the Epsom salt and then I can re-heat it".

I replied:

"Al righting then, however, I don't like that you are using a cooking pot for that purpose. I know that you grew up on a farm and everything is about form, fit and function, but I don't like it. This reminds me of when I was in my early 20's and some young friends of ours made us a spaghetti dinner and they had large bowls so the cook dumped the dog's bowl, washed it and then plopped the drained spaghetti in that dog bowl saying that a dogs mouth was sterile. It just brings back memories of how I feel conflicted about some stuff, so would you please not ever do that again? It creeps me out!"

Don just laughed and said:

"Okay, sweetheart. I'll just find an old pot at goodwill and use that for Epsom salt soaks. I promise."

Well, today we went shopping at goodwill and he found a small slow cooker (2 quart) for only five dollars and when we got home in big bold letters he wrote on it THE NASTY POT and we decided to store it for future use under the sink in our bathroom.

 

On the way home in the car I said to Don: "You know why communication works so well with you and why I'm not afraid to tell you stuff?"

and he said: "No, why?"

and I said: "Because, you don't get offend. You have a thick crusty skin."

and

he replied: "Yes. Thick crusty skin and that's why I need soaks!"

'nuff said.

 

Evidence of Change edit

Don-"Jude, I'm going to the bank. Do you want to come along?"

Me-"Yes. Let me grab my purse."

and off we go.

This is the time of year we award scholarships to graduating High School seniors. This year three big checks totaling $6,000. We enjoy this yearly event and our non profit corporation that allows us to off set the first year of college expenses with cashier checks awarded to some outstanding applicants. The day is perfect. No traffic and now we are at the bank.

 Don- "Jude, take off your sun glasses, we're at the bank. You know the rules."

Me- "Done, Don."

This is the first time in awhile that I've tagged along to get the cashier checks. It's been at least three years since I did this necessary job. I notice that the bank is near empty. Only one teller and the person at the desk is making phone calls to lists of people about opening new checking accounts. She directs us to the teller. I miss the interaction with the person at the desk and the fun of telling our story of scholarship applicants to the person who sits at the desk. It seems now the tellers do it all and they charged us $5 per cashier check! I stand by quietly as Don does the transaction and makes sure the spelling on the checks is correct. I wait till it's done before I ask my unanswered question.

Me-"What happens if the person who's name is on the cashier's check dies?" I ask the teller.

Teller-"Have any of your students ever died in the past?"

Don- "Yes. Someone named Kevin. He hit that tree on South Tropical a few years back"?

Me-"Oh yes. I remember but he wasn't part of the scholarship."

Teller- "Well god forbid one of these students die. You can always take the check back and re-deposit it in your account. Just keep the receipt".

Me- "Oh that would be awful. We would just let the family have it. EEEE-UUUUUUUUU.....I'm sorry I asked."

Teller-"Will there be anything else?"

Don- "No we're good".

So we leave the bank and climb in the car and head to the supermarket. I don't care where we go, I just love doing stuff with Don, it's always an adventure.

Being that it's Wednesday there are lots of BOGO free items everywhere. Don likes to stock up on ketchup, mayo, bread and of course the Marie Colanders TV dinners. He is the food shopper in the family but today I put something in the basket, Buttermilk waffles. I was wasn't going to get a pkg. since that flavor wasn't in the freezer section.

Don-"Non sense. What do you mean they don't have buttermilk waffles".

Me-"Just as well I don't need them. They are really quite decadent. They have the buttermilk pancakes but they give me a stomache."

Don-"Follow me. I'll show you where they are"

and sure enough he found buttermilk waffles, only they were not Eggo, they are Publix brand. Don says:

Don-"Same thing. I use to work in a cannery when I was in college. We would put vegetables in cans and the same vegetables were packaged for different companies. Look we're going to save a dollar by buying Publix brand"!

Me-"Wow! I didn't even see them over there. Thank you. You are so smart!"

Now it's time to check out and I scamper after Don as he is very efficient and pushes the cart rapidly towards the check out line. This is his favorite thing to do, when he banters with the cashier!

At the end of the isle I don't see a cart coming at me and this woman and I nearly collide. She gives me a big smile and I feel as though I know her but she says nothing so I keep moving towards the check out.

In my mind I'm thinking, wow, what a beautiful woman. When she smiled her face went from no lines to all kinds of laugh wrinkles and they are so beautiful. I liked her hair too, dark with gray streaks, natural like a cat's markings.

Waiting on line to be checked out I peruse the "rag" magazines and busy myself looking up the latest dirt while Don banters with the check out lady. I put a magazine back and turn and see that beautiful woman with the beautiful smile and the hair cut I love. I think. Oh I can tell her how adorable she is, I got a second chance to just say it.

I smile and stare at her and she says:

Woman with the cat markings color hair "I know you."

Me: "Maybe a church group or a book club?"

Woman with the cat markings on her hair "I use to work at Bank of America. I'm retired now."

Me: "Oh yes. I remember, way back when I was going thorough my divorce. I remember you sat at one of the desks. I probably bled all over you! How did you ever stand that job."

Woman with the cat markings-"I know. I'm so glad I'm not there anymore."

Me-"Now they just have sales people at the desks and the tellers do all the work. Life changes."

Woman with the cat hair- "Yup they try to sell you something whenever you go in."

Me-"Well I'm so glad to see you again and I just want to say, you look really, really good. Especially when you smile. You have this laugh lines that are absolutely beautiful and I love your hair too."

Lady with the cat hair_"Wow! Thank you. That really made my day!"

Now we are back in the car. We only spent $30 on apples and stuff that we really needed. I say to Don.

Me- "This is going to make a really nice story for your mom."

Written for Don's Mother who loves to read the stories I write:

                                                                                                    March 12, 2015

                                                  The Drawbridge Is Up

"If you want to go with me, we have to leave now. I'm going to Wallmart."

"Whaaaaaaattttttttt?" I asked. "You're leaving right now?  I'm ready lets go."

So here it is a Thursday morning and Don is in a hurry because he doesn't like to leave his computer on a weekday between the hours of 9AM and 5PM. Now a days he manages his 401K and watches the market closely to make up for the 2008  hit. He is slowly and steadily making some strides forward. Don is a "Steady Eddie" and has more discipline than most humans when it comes to daily routine.

Out the door we go.  Don is driving, clear sailing, no traffic and this is good because Don has zero tolerance for traffic, otherwise he would still be living in Seattle. Suddenly I realize that we are on a back road, North Tropical Trail and I realized that this is not the way to Wallmart. So I ask Don: "Where are we headed?" 

He replies: " I want to get gas first and I have a gas card for $50 but it can only be used at a Shell station. The only Shell Station is on the other side of the Barge Canal on North Merritt Island."

So I reply: "Well I have a gift card for Target and that's on the way, could we stop at Target?"

and he says: "No. Why don't you enjoy that without me?"

and I say: "Just trying to be efficient. I understand you want to get back to your "work"!" 

All-righty then...and now the reason for the title of this story. In the distance not more than a quarter of a mile away.....we see it. The draw bridge is up. We see that the Bridge that connects central Merritt Island to North Merritt Island is up and we see 30 cars bumper to bumper stopped for who knows how long. Hummmmmm.....the wheels start turning in my brain, some very wise baseball player once said: "When you are presented with a fork in the road, take it."

This gave me an opportunity to present and insert an unplanned event in the middle of Don's well orchestrated time efficient plan of First-gas, Second- Wallmart and then straight home so he could watch the market. Ha!

Looking out the passenger side window, I  see that the lane on my right is empty and it leads to the belt line (the super highway that goes directly to the beaches that are 3 miles away and our favorite wide open beach area.....Jetty Park). Yup. The lane we are in is a ticket to road rage and the lane on our right is a ticket to an unplanned frolicking adventure. 

I present my idea to Don. "With a quick turn of the wheel we could be in this empty lane lane here free of traffic and catch a Shell station on Beach side and on the way drive directly into Jetty Park. We could even grab a quick bite to eat!"

He says nothing, so I continue, "Hey, Don. You know what that famous baseball player said....and we got a fork in the road here.... How about I spring for a hot dog and fries at the concession stand at Jetty Park"? There's a Shell station on beach side." 

and Don went for it. Yippppp-eeeeeeeeeeee....we were off to Jetty Park.

Once again no traffic and clear sailing into our favorite place, Jetty Park. We easily found a parking spot and as planned, went directly to the concession stand and ordered a hot dog and fries. When the single plate arrived, I asked for a cutting device so we could split the hot dog and Don said to the pretty clerk: "We don't need a knife. I'll just use a karate chop!"

What fun. We find a table and mingle with the tourists. Both Don and I love to talk to strangers. Easy to comment on a beautiful baby in the arms of her mom and the Aussie sounding gentleman from Manchester, England now living in Toronto. People are really friendly when they are on vacation. We are surrounded by tourists. People from all over the world come here for vacations and it is not more than 15 minutes from where we live. People on vacation take the time to slow down and chat.

Well, I was really hungry. Normally I wouldn't eat a hot dog smothered in mustard, chili and raw onions on a bun that's sitting on a mountain of fries smothered in ketchup but I quickly devoured half what was on the plate and savored every bite!

It's easy to laugh when Don is your companion. Nothing is serious, except, I wanted to do a five minute Karate Demonstration for the pretty cashier/cook who we got to know while our order was being prepared. The place had emptied out and I was serious.  I wanted to  do a few kata and pre-arranged fighting...a short 5 minute demo but Don said; "NO"! Actually we would have except as we passed by the concession stand on our way out, the pretty cashier/cook was on a break!

You see, Don never says no to me. Well almost never....but I would have made that karate demo happen because, he loves me big. Even though the draw bridge was up and who knows it might be even now at this moment in time. The main thing is, we are having a lovely day. Hope you are to and that when you get a fork in the road, that you just take it!

Christmas 2014

"A trip to Bok Tower Gardens today"?
My husband asks soon we were on the road to Lake Wales.
It only took me 30 minutes to pack the
luggage and fix our lunch to take along
and
off we went!
With a GPS and no traffic we made it in under three
hours.
Upon our late in the day arrival, we noticed that the parking
lot at Bok Tower Gardens was emptying. We were delighted
to park our car in one of the front rows.
Our arrival time of 2:45 PM was just right.
We were able to enter the visitor center and receive a map to
the towers and get and get some suggestions
from the volunteer clerk and then we were off
and running!
Seemed like people from all over the world were
here. In particular languages like Spanish and Japanese
were spoken. On our "run" to the tower we noticed healthy plants
and colorful flowers. The path to the tower was on an incline and Don
seemed to enjoy the pace, while I was a little out of
breath as the fast pace of nearly a jog was getting to me.
The chimes began at the top of the hour and we made it with
a minute to spare.
Since we were only interested in the bell tower,we had hurried our way
but even though the entire area was filled with maybe two hundred people,
we easily found a bench to listen to the chimes. (Chimes is not a good word
as some of the bells weigh two tons. Think Hunchback of Notre Dame!)
After 6 months of anticipation, I couldn't wait. We just listened and smiled and
listened some more....until I just had to say it. I was disappointed
as bells sounded out of tune! Then I whispered in Don's ear and jokingly said
that the music sounded like a little kid banging away on a toy piano on Christmas morning.
Also, the music was not at all familiar till towards the end of the thirty minutes.
Disney tunes like: "When you wish upon a star" and then the Mary Poppins "Spoon full of sugar makes the medicine go down".
Other than that, it didn't sound like a real melody. That being said, I have to cut the carrion player some slack as:
Later we took the time to read the map/flyer and found that the "concert" sounded better from afar.
Also after carefully reading the handout brochure, we discovered another part of the gardens to visit
at a future time, the 20 room mansion.
Now that we know the way to Lake Wales, we will be back. It was fun get out of Merritt Island and even though we were prepared to stay overnight and explore the town the next day, we decided not to as Lake Wales is really just several fancy malls and not a real town after all, so we decided to head home. Our stay
at the Bok Tower Gardens was one hour but it we had fun and we did have a chance to eat the
lunch I packed and the best part is we got to sleep in our own beds with a promise of another day trip tomorrow!

Part Three: On death and dying

Part three: (In a time of minimalism and living a simple lifestyle, why do people keep memorabilia?)

Here we standing around are in a room of people, soft conversations and the music keeps playing tunes. We hear over the speaker the country singer wail: “You’ve got to pick yourself up and keep on keeping on”.

Scott says follow me and like a line of school children we followed the leader into the room next door.This room next is 1,200 square feet and is filled with 6 or more round tables and chairs. There are cafeteria tables loaded up with catered food and drinks. Nobody says a word as we scan the room and then we turn and see the cake.

I can’t recall how the cake is decorated only the green and brown icing. On the wall directly above the cake is a display of a white karate uniform, top and bottom belted with Ted’s green belt and brown tips. (Ted had reached the level of one step below brown belt when he stopped training with us, twelve years ago.)

Whoever put this display up of treasured memorabilia was technically off. They had wrapped Ted’s belt around only once.

I said nothing. My husband said nothing and then:

Scott said: “Sensei Judy, I think my dad would have wanted you to fix the belt and

wrap it properly”.

This was in fact a terrible error but the lay person would never have noticed. So the three of us, because of this imperfection leaned in and attempted to make it perfect! As we carefully kept the length of the belt off the cake, we worked together tugging and pulling and fussing and at the same time we filled the room with stories about karate, Scott’s dad, my dad and then Don had some of his own Ted stories to tell.  We also spoke of where we were when we all heard the news of our different father’s passings and then the conversation turned to onward and upward, Scott’s plans for the future and what’s next for him and then we did the same.

It took awhile for us to fix the display and get everything just right and then we stepped back to admire our work. The belt was now correctly wrapped twice around with a perfect knot but there were traces of green icing on the pants.

I said: “Oh know…..we could fix this……we could turn the pants around.”

Scott said:

“It’s okay. Really, it’s okay. My dad would understand. My dad wasn’t a perfectionist but he would get the job done. In fact this looks like something my dad would have done! It’s really okay. Thank you.”

Soon it was time to go as Don and I had a karate class to teach so we said our good bys to Mary and we didn’t mention to Mary about how we fixed the karate belt and the joy of sharing stories with Scott.

On the way home we spoke about impermanence and the appreciation of being alive right now and how wonderful it was to connect after all these years with Scott. 

j

On death and dying Part two:

Part two: On death and dying

My family owned a funeral  parlor in New Jersey. Funerals were family  reunions, just like weddings. I remember from a very young age the food and connecting with the relatives. Being Irish, we would eat, drink and be merry!

Don and I arrived early and signed the guest book and proceeded to the viewing room. I didn't know what to expect.

A few people had already arrived.

Mary was sitting in a big chair and called us over immediately. Hugs, soft words and then introductions to the brother and a few others. She was very happy to see us and introduce us as Ted's Sensei.

Country music and Snoop dog played and the upbeat, calming tunes, gave me a feeling that Ted was with us. A video showed photo images of a life lived.

I had just seen Ted a month or so ago and I couldn't bring myself to approached him laid out in a coffin holding a microphone, even though to me he looked healthy and as if he were just asleep.

Don however approached the coffin and stood reflectively, then he walked back to where I was, standing by the brother.

Don said:

"He looks so peaceful, but why the microphone?"

The brother replied:

"Ted was an avid Ham radio operator, his whole life he enjoyed it as a hobby".

We chatted for awhile and found out that Ted had died of a heart attack.

He went fast.

Ted's son, Scott the little guy was now a big guy 22 years old.

Scott flew in from Idaho for the week. He grew up tall and thin

and he was wearing a bright red sweater with the sleeves pushed

up to his elbows. He reminded me of me when my father died, eyes

welling up with a red nose and unable to hold back the tears.

I gave Scott a hug and so did Don.

Mary said, Scott take them into the other room and show them Ted's

memorabilia and then me and Don followed Scott into the other room.

On death and dying: Part one

A story in three parts by Judy Barnhart, 8^th degree blackbelt Shorin-Ryu Karate USA under the direction of Grand Master Ansei Ueshiro

On death and dying:

Part one:

The Invite to the Wake.

I can still smell the lilly’s and the roses. Must be on my clothing or in my hair. We attended a wake for a former karate student yesterday. His wife called me a week ago to let me know he had passed.

She said:

“Ted would have wanted you to know. He always spoke about you and Sensei Barnhart and he never forgot what you taught him. He use to practice his kata and the karate gave him a whole new life. Karate helped dramatically with his back problems even though his doctor told him no.”

I was shocked. It’s never easy to hear that someone you remembered as healthy and happy is dead.

I told her:

“I’m so sorry. Ted just stopped by last month with a few friends to show them his karate school and I gave them the grand tour. Oh no.”

We hadn’t seen Ted since 2002. He and his son Scott, who was ten at the time, trained in our dojo for about nearly two years.

Ted was a big man physically. He weighed at least 300 pounds and he stood around 6 foot tall. Aside from his appearance, Ted was easy to remember, as he was appreciative and respectful and had a big personality. Ted was someone who gave back to the dojo anyway he could. Ted was there for landscaping days, karate compai's, beach workouts and when we put a new roof on the Museum building next door, Ted was there to help. He gave us a day of his time to lean in and get the job done.

Even as big as he was, his kata reflected grace and precision. I don’t know why he stopped training but according to his wife, Mary, he never did stop the practice of his kata.

I told Mary we would be there on Wednesday at 3:00PM and we were.

To be continued. 

So we went to the beach. On a whim Don decided to take me out,not to Jetty Park but a side road off Taft St., south of Sunseed Co-op., a little cozy beach about 8 or 10 blocks north of the Cocoa Beach Peer.

 

It was late in the day, 6 PM-ish. A messy bunch of spilled spicy cheese doodles lead to the board walk. 

I said to Don: "Euuuuew! That looks like an alligator had a case of the runs and dumped these noodle like rods"!

Don turned around looked at the mess, stooped over, picked one up, sniffed it and then licked it and said:

"I think they are cheese doodles".

 

Then he gave another one a lick and said:

"Nope these are too hot and spicy for that".

 

I couldn't help but to yell another:

"Euuuuuuuuuew"!

 

Next we walked towards the beach and we are now on the board walk. Either side of the boardwalk had srailing and was surrounded by green leaves/ sea grapes and an odd plant with 4 or 5 tiny white petals. The sea grapes produced a multitude of hard green berries. Another plant had only one red berry. I just felt like  the red berry had to be picked. This was difficult for me as there were bunches of thorns to navigate thru. I managed to grab it and I handed it to Don  and he squished it a little between his fingers.

 

I yelled at Don: 

"Don't eat it! It could be poisonous"!

 

He set it on the side rail for a squirrel. Don hates squirrels.

 

As we walked on the beach and got as close to the ocean without getting wet, we looked around. We saw a family of four on our right just 50 feet away on the shore line and to our left, about the same distance two bikini clad women. Small back bikini's ample flesh showing.

 

The bikini clad women had tramp stamps on their lower backs clearly visible and their backsides spilling out the underside of the black bottoms, exposing panti-lobes! Originally, we spotted them sitting in the water in beach chairs that had no legs. The water was lapping over them and all of a sudden they stood up and ran to their beach blanket on the dry sand near us to light up cigarettes and then return to the semi sub-merged chairs! As they were lighing up, that's when we got a good glimpse of the lower back tattoos and panti-lobes!!!

 

I said to Don:

"I wish we had brought our beach chairs. I feel really tired and I just want to put my feet up. Maybe we could just lay on the sand?"

 

I was hesitant to even say that because I am so finicky about getting sandy. No sooner had I said the words lay on the sand, when Don flopped himself on his back in a completely relaxed "dead man pose"!

 

Once again, I was shocked by his odd behaviour. No way would I do what he did as there were some shells and cigarette buts in the sand so I took my time and brushed the surface and then laid my big beach hat on the sand and carefully laid down next to him, my head protected by the beach pillow I created out of my big floppy beach hat.

 

As we lay there looking up at the sky, Don placed his man purse under his head as a pillow. The ocean air felt good and the blue sky with layers of fast moving could's made for an interesting view. We were in heaven on earth!

 Any time we are out in nature Don likes to talk and let me see the world thru his eyes!

 He said:

"The darker clouds are closer to us and we may indeed get rained on but that would be nice, however, I doubt that will happen as the rain water in those clouds will disappear before they even get to us".

 

A few birds fluttered by squawking.

Don said:

"I wonder what they are talking about". 

 

I said:

"They are probably cranky because they haven't had dinner yet. Let's go eat".

 

I knew we were going to the Sunrise Diner for some Greek food and split a beer and that thought made it impossible for me to stay put.  I sat up and then Don sat up and we dusted ourselves off and ran to the car laughing as we made a game of winner gets to the car first.

 

I let Don win and he had to wait me. He waited patiently by the passenger side to hold the door for me when I finally arrived.

 

Since I slowed down, I got to notice the red grape was still on the railing and the trail of spicy cheese doodles were unmoved.

 

I liked that Don was up ahead and took the time to open my door. Don can be a little goofy at times and this okay and gives me something to write about but he has that other side too and for the most part it's that other side that I focus on....otherwise, our relationship would never work.

All is well.

 

My voice is much improved but still a little raspy

My voice is much improved

but

still a little raspy....I may have

said out loud only 10 or 15 words.

Yesterday mostly writing in a

notebook and pantomime and today

I'm still trying not to talk.

We have the 4 little dragon girls @1:00 PM

Everyone who joins gets at least 3 thirty minute

sessions with me to ease them into our

on going karate classes. They are all brand

new and they joined for

6 weeks.

Don will put on his gi and I will wear my gi

and

we will work as a team.

I am making the most of this first

time ever starting a group and

then not having a voice! Interesting....huh?

Don and I are working

together. With just a gesture from me, he

follows my lead and is my voice.... if he

starts talking too much I whisper in

his ear.

We did this "team approach" for the newest girl

when she joined on Saturday...a brief

orientation of how to bow, how to sit, how

to walk

and

now today I have the 4 at 1PM to give them

a little extra help on starting the first kata.

Just 3 techniques and then yoi and then a left

and a right and a straight ahead....

Hopefully in 30 minutes we can accomplish just that.

One of the dads, a photographer, will take

a few pictures and me and Don will both

be in our gi's.

This will be interesting and hopefully enjoyable.

Just when you think you've done it all and see it

all there is a new way to do something you've always done!

Relaxing and enjoying the surrender!

:  )

So far so good.

No way are we retireing!

Instead of full on work, work, work followed by sleep and then up and at it again, we are now into part time doing what we've always done and making a point to have a date night at least once a week. The other night my husband and I drove to a local beach and stopped at a health food store and then a late dinner with a side of cold beer at Appelbee's. What fun!
Interestingly a friend of ours was helping the cashier bag our groceries and my husband, the meticulous man that he is was searching for his wallet to prove that he was indeed 70 and qualified for the senior discount. Our friend the "sassy" Cutie who was helping with the bagging said: "You don't need to look at his id, just look at him". Fortunately me and my husband have a great sense of humor and we took it as silly fun. If she had said that to me, a few years younger than my husband, chances are I would have been offended. It was a wonderful moment to laugh and I am forever impressed how easily things roll right off my mate!
Next after emptying the organics into the cooler in the trunk we pointed for Jetty park.

The two of us hand in handed headed right for the jetty and as we walked the jetty, I snuggled up to my husband. We were in step and snuggling. Two white haired people enjoying a stroll in the twilight. This woman run up behind us and said: "I just took a video of you two. If you give me your email, I'll send it to you. You are the cutest couple. How long have you been in love?" My husband replied: "25 years!" Ha! I thought we have only been married for 16 but I didn't correct him. This is my new thing....I just let him be.
Well the nice lady showed us the video, me in my faded blue jeans and him in his elastic waste band pants both of us wearing old shirts, me a tank and him an old white short sleeved. I took one look at the video and I couldn't help myself. I said, "Geeeeeeeezzzzzzzz that looks like two old gay guys walking on the jetty"!
Well she never got my email and that's okay as I saw enough!
Next stop was Applebee's. Our new thing is we split one beer to be festive and gay. Well the waiter brought two mugs as this was a two for one night. Don enjoyed shrimp and I enjoyed the ribs. We kept the laughter and the conversation going all the way home. We ended the night with a hug and promise to stop at Publix's tomorrow for some Kefir! There is something to be said about the comfort of growing old together.

 

"You have brains in your head.
 You have feet in your shoes.
 You can steer yourself in any direction you choose."
                                                    CAT IN THE HAT

Car stuff.
I am the owner of a 2008 Nissan Altima, red! This car has not even 50,000 miles on it. It is a dream car. Great for trips and around town. A few months ago, I noticed a sloching noise like a boat that is docked, when I park the car or make a turn. I thought maybe it's because the car's tank was almost empty. But this was a new sound. I mentioned it to my x-race car husband and he didn't think it anything to worry about. Well today we were in the car and he was driving. He rarely drives my car. He parked it and we both heard the sloching sound. I said: "Thats' because the 20 gallon tank is more than 1/2 empty right? He said: "No. That's water". I said: "What? How can water get in the car?" He repied: "It's in the door." Without another word, he took action and opend my car door and shook it and then he grabbed the rubber seal on the bottom and created a small opening. Water strarted pouring out. It's a beautiful thing to be married to someone who can diagnose things and then fix them. Well it's not fixed and chances are it never will be but at least we no what's going on and I can mention it to the dealer next time we get it for a check up. :  )

My wild adventure out of town for a few days!

I had been tossing around the idea ofafter nearly 40 years hanging up my belt
andI just needed some time away to think. Don said go for it.

Just 4 nights and 5 days. Here goes:

Tallahassee is up scale and Gainesville not so much.

I preferred Gainesville

and

one full day there to run was plenty for me.

However, the buildings in Tally are old and historic and the

vistas like the covered bridge and duck ponds would take your

breath away.

 

One unusual thing I noticed was every single person with corse black

hair that I saw in Tally had a style that was miticulously manicured

with beautiful corn rolls. Magnificent!

The people in Tally dressed well and super helpful. I mostly saw working

people. 

Tally has a Hare Krishna group. I tried to find their "Higher Taste" restaurant

run by the Hare Krishnas. Google pointed us to their restaurant, in a strip mall,

a small store next to a momma poppa organic

market but the space was empty and the note stuck on the door said it was out

of business sooooo with a little follow thru I called

the number on the door only to find

that now they only deliver!

:  (  

No thank you! :  )

The best restaurant of the whole trip for me was the Sweet Pea Cafe.

I got the tempe rubin sandwhich....it was the best

meal of my trip and only $6.50!

:  )

My friend didn't like the atmosphere at the hippy run Sweet Pea, so we got take outs

and went to a park

she suggested a picnic table by the lake.

We had a choice of 4 picnic tables and it took her 15 minutes to

realize that there was a homeless person just two

picnic tables away....I told her she needed to get out

more to the other side of the tracks.

:  )

 My friend is into prissy stuff, way worse than me!

(She thought the hippy place was dirty and noisy....) 

The day before I took her to

Applebees for lunch and that made her happy!

:  )

Other than restaurants my Tally friend showed me some trails in the woods

and a covered bridge and her favorite "clean well lite

place"....an organic food market with nice lightning and

spa music....Much like Publics only with a

night club feel! hahahaha...I'm sure the prices reflected

the decor! As do the prices at Publixs

:  )

On a social note, my friend drove me to her friends house and we chatted

the afternoon away. This is a friend she's had for 40 years (all her

friends are into spiritual material-ism...."this book to

this workshop...to this church" all the latest in the spiritual world....people are the same

everywhere you go! I'm starting to believe that. Same conversations

where I live.)

her friend gave me the "oneness blessing"!

:  )

It's some kind of movement from India that some "movie

stars" promote....sorta like the hugging saint  or the

guy that does gazzing but different

very different and 

my friends friend told us that the head guy of the movement

gives workshops and certificates so you don't have to 

fly to India to recieve the blessing.

:  )

Then people have oneness pot lucks at their house...kinda

like my parents did back in the 50's saying the rosary together...odd but kinda'

nice to receive the calming blessing of hands on the head.

I stayed open and I am still enjoying the after effects!

 

My time in Tally one day and 1 night...I stayed at my friends Town house and

her home is lovely and I had time and space

(my very own bedroom and bathroom with a real bathtub). Everything

was super clean and I had time to

do my morning routine un-interrupted. Tally was great.

Just the one night.

Next I pointed home and broke up the trip as I planned

two nights and one afternoon and full day in Gainesville.

I fell in love with

The owner of the airbnb and had a little dog.

He had 16 outstanding reviews and

although he is a guy....I trusted my gut and I was right! Fabulous experience.

:  ) Both he and his dog were young, friendly and  intelligent.

He seemed to really be interested that I would find everything I needed.

His motto "Me cassa is su cassa"! I had my own bathroom

and my own bedroom....I didn't do kata there but I did meditate

and do my morning written pages.

Gainesville has a few libraries and a farmers market and many

vegan options....and unusual 2nd hand places to shop.

I found the Hare Krishna lunch spot at the

University...great! (Both my son and my x said it's a must do experience,,,

the lunch was awful but I met a woman and we bonded...she was a

grad student there and we exchanged similar stories about early

retirement....she gave me her contact info...funny but she is only

58 and I thought she was way older than me!...but she was extremely

colorful and I adore her.)

The one day I had there in Gainesville...all day Wednesday...I made

7 or 8 stops at different places I wanted to see. 

I lolly gagged all around the town from 9 AM to 7 PM.

Thank god I have a car and a GPS!

The high point of the experience was my trip to the Gainesville

Dojo.

I met with the owner and the experience was a culture shock.

It hit me so hard...in fact the whole trip hit me so hard that

I am now rethinking the idea of closing the karate school and retire-ing.

I remembered how much I like teaching and all that jazz!

The Shihan/Hanshi runs his 5,500 sq foot

building and includes many other disciplines...it was wild.

This is the old website and the old location the new website is being renovated

with youtube links and other high tech stuff....it is a college town after all

and the Sensei has a student who does state of the art teck

stuff and hosts his website. http://www.gainesvilledojo.net/

Welcome to the new world..even old classics get retouched.

on a similar note:

The owner of the airbnb I stayed at in Gainesville

said my WWW.Senseiforhire.com site looks like the year 2000.

Interesting. He's 25 and I value his opinion. He has his own

tech company and a degree in engineering and sells his own apps

and

teaches Salsa at the college! He is so cute!

:  )

I felt like a bird out of a cage in Gainesville for a

whole entire day to follow my whims.

 I just did and went and saw and stayed in the

moment enjoying the natives and gaining lots and lots of info. about

Gainesville and about myself and where I am headed at age 67.

I estimate that I have maybe 30 or 40 more years to fill on the earth plane.

I returned yesterday morning.

I came back to attend my Thursday night group...a courses in miracles.

After coming back:

At the top of my list is re-doing my website.

I am not sure who to contact or what I want it to look like

but I do have a friend who knows something and my plan

is to first call the host site about tools and then

keep searching for some new ideas. I am so ready to begin again. 

That being said...I am still on my leave of absense and I will return

to "work" on Monday!

Enough for now! 

:  )

"It's a hard, it's a hard, it's a hard rain....a gonna' fall!"

Bob Dylan

Yesterday I wanted to take a walk around Rotary Park with

Don.

He had to wait for me to get ready.

By the time I had my walking shoes on Don said

as he looked out the window:

"It's looking overcast"

and

I said:

"We can cancel"

He said:

"No. We are going to walk."

 

He took my hand and we went.

It was cold and a little dark for 1:30 PM

and

there was a light drizzle...not too bad.

We were both wearing big wide brimmed staw hats!

It felt good to hold his hand.

I know in India it is offensive for a man and woman

to hold hands....but he not only held my hand

he also put his arm around me as we walked

as I didn't have a jacket on

and

being close to him....I felt warm. Very nice!

 

Mostly we were silent walking briskly around the

jogging path. It took about 10 minutes (half mile).

and then

after leaving the park crossing Tropical Trail,

Don looked up at the sky and said:

"See those dark clouds up there. They are pretty

low in the sky."

I said:

"What do you mean? It's raining over there?"

He said:

"Yup and it's heading towards us."

I said:

"Really?"

We walked a little faster.

Now inside our house, I looked out the back door

and saw the rain.

Excitedly I called him to look.

First it was just regular rain kind of a medium burst

and in a few seconds...full on downpour, followed by

a power outage....hahahahaha...we just missed it.

It would have been horrible to get soaked but we just missed it

and

then the lights went out, the fans went out and best of all

the TV went out.

After gloating on our good fortune, Don took a nap and I 

read a book. All really is well.

You never know who's listening.

So today at the local thrift store that I visit several times a week and donate to on a regular basis, I over heard a conversation on the next isle. A big biker type male in his late 40's with Santa hair and a z z top white beard held up a black man tailored shirt with white buttons that had
in red, the words:

The intimidator

embroidered above the pocket the words
The intimidator
also embroidered on the sleeve the number

3

The man spoke rather loudly to what appeared to me to be his wife and his son, who were looking through
the rack of men's shirts. He said, "Do you know what this is? This is a collector idem."
Then he proceeded to put his arms in the sleeves. He continued:
"This shirt is a Dale Earnhart shirt. He was the greatest race car driver that ever lived. He was the number 3. They called him the intimidator."

His wife looked at him and said:
"That shirt doesn't fit you!"
I looked him in the eye across the aisle and I just made a face like something smelt funny and I shook my head. Then I went back to my looking through the hangers on my isle.
He kept talking to his wife and son and whoever else could hear:
"If you bought this shirt on eBay's, it would cost you easily 50 bucks." Even though there was a 12 inch gap to button the front panel and he could barely pull the sleeves off his arms, he took it off and tucked it under his arm and said:
"I'm buying it. It's mine!"
I didn't look up. I didn't say a word, I just went about my business. I knew that shirt real well. I bought it there last year and took off all the buttons and bought the right size shinny white ones to replace the old beige ones. I removed the old buttons and sewed on 12 new buttons and I sewed an extra piece of perfectly matching black cotton where the elbows are in the arms to make the sleeves longer because that was a boy's shirt and I made it to fit me! Ha! No way was I going to converse with him and tell him all that.. You never know who's listening. It was really fun for me that he spoke well of that black shirt! Made my day!

Thanksgiving 2013 100 thigs to appreciate

Thanksgiving 2013 a comment to be finished by next Thursday!

100 things to appreciate in my life right now:
1-I have good teeth and gums!
2-My husband makes me laugh...great sense of humor
3-I live in paradise (florida)
4-It's raining which means the cold front is here
5-I have a bath tub and I use it daily!
6-Today is my day off.
7-I sleep in a waterbed
8-We live in an area that is quiet
9-It's easy to stop and meditate any time...no one bothers us!
10-I am a fabulous but simple cook...I love my creations!
11-

Aborigines and my Thursday night group!

The book "Mutant Message Down under", has a different way of looking at the life we are so accustomed to living and it shows the contrast in how the civilized and the ancients live. It is said that the Aborigines have no names. Well they have names but their name is there talent: Taylor, Tracker, Star-gazer etc.

In my Thursday night group there are two teachers, a drummer, a doctor, a person who flys alot, an heiress (at least I think of her as an heiress as she lives a charmed life), a minister (who rarely shows up as she is very busy), and a bookkeeper, and a would be fashion designer/ massage therapist, and a friend who's aged parents consume her days (she too rarely shows up) and two former teachers, who now have plenty of free time.

I am one of the active working teachers. My job is to keep a karate group interested in a subject that breathes me. Hard to believe that I get paid for what I do and that after 37 years, teaching classic traditional karate is like breathing. I believe I would want to leave the earth plane if I no longer could share my talent for giving someone with a burning desire to learn, the gift of a lifetime of movement and the ability to turn around and teach that ability to others.

In Okinawa there are old men who do karate, and no one ever says, "You are too old to do this." The old karate men are revered.

I have no role model to follow. I don't know any women approaching 70, who own a karate castle on one acer in the middle of no-where.

I enjoy teaching a martial art that is also a daily practice. I guess you could say, I am a woman pioneer in a man's art or perhaps it just doesn't matter that I am alone on the bleeding edge!

The expression keep moving forward, "Zen Shin" (The battle cry of the Japanese in WW II) is easier than the mulling over of looking back. In ten years from now as I approach my 80's, I expect to be teaching and I expect to be healthy, happy and if not....I hope to be dead! All is well!

I married a sugar daddy!

 

It's Monday.. Lately I have been taking the time to do something by

myself on Mondays. I like to plan it and go someplace new. Today

I drove to Melbourne and enjoyed shopping at a church thrift shop.

It was really fun to find a few treasures but I especially liked making

the purchase at the end. I waited while the woman in front of me

bantered with the cashier, a ninety something year old gentleman,

wearing thick glasses. He had a posture that was very bent over.

(I love old men!)

Anyways:

The woman in front of me at the check out line was saying

to this old man:

"Okay I hope you give me a really good deal. I worked very

hard finding these idem's...maybe even a loan"?

and the little old man said:

"A loan? We should be asking you for a loan"!

Ha!

I thought that was very funny.

Next it was my turn.

He added up my tally. A shirt for one dollar, a wooden sign

for a dollar

that read:

"Peace to all who enter"

and

some stickers for five cents.

The old gentleman said to me as I pushed the two dollars

and fifteen cents toward him on the counter.

"I hope you have enough to cover this!"

and I said:

"Oh yeah....and there's plenty more where that came from.

I married a sugar daddy"!

More about the cat poster

It happened again only this time the missing cat poster
is on the telephone pole as you turn onto my street! At
least I only noticed it today. This poster is just like the others
with a blurred phone #...I told the story to a friend of mine
and she asked me to write somemore. As I am writing now,
I am sobbing uncontrolabe...remembering that feeling of not
being able to connect...that awful feeling of loss. I am remembering
when my son left for India the first or was it the second or third
time? It wasn't that day but maybe a week later I saw someone
who looked just like him walking down the street. Young, tall,
thin with long hair and a back pack. He looked carefree and on
his way to somewhere. This sobbing is like the feeling I've had
when my dad died and then again when I lost my mom. I am
remembering the inabillity to hear their voice or look into their
eyes. He's gone. He's really gone, it's like he's dead and it hurts.
I know it's just a feeling, a remembering but still it hurts. Funny
thing is, my son is sitting in my kitchen right now (on the floor)
drinking a smoothie and I asked him to go take a look at the
sign on the corner and he looked up at me and said: "No. I'm
drinking my smoothie right now!" Well I'm not sobbing
right now as I'm reading my notes from yesterday and I understand
all about "anicha" impermanence. At this moment I am happy
and feeling really good. Actually it's kind of fun to be inspired by something and write about it. This year Shane returns to India, trip # 7.

 

 

Lost Cat poster on a telephone pole

Early morning before eight, I went for my artist date, a walk around the block. Earplugs in and eyes wide open. I see a sign on a telephone that looks like a "wanted dead or alive" poster, it reads:

Lost cat.
Reward
(there is a color photo of a big, black furry feline, reclining)
and the phone number in red.

The poster is sealed in plastic laminate. The phone number however is blurred. Maybe the rain seeped through where it was stappled. My gut reaction was..."How interesting, hummm.... there is no way to connect once the cat is found." Then I saw the poster again on another telephone pole and I thought how sad...this poster's phone numbe is blurred too. My eyes got a little teary but no niagra falls!

The lone ranger!

All really is well and all nagging shit is just an illusion and the really good news is that it's a beautiful day! Yesterday I tossed the marble journal I wrote in to get me through my husband's shoulder and then right after heart stuff...it was a day by day diary filled with to do's and feelings and sometimes shitty ruminations! It went in the garbage because it was as I look back not even real....the ramblings of a scaredy cat!!! and I'm about to say this out loud....really loud: It's a beautiful day! : ) My husband just hollered from the other room in response: "Yes it is a beautiful day"! Ha! I'm feelin' gooooooooooooooooooooooood! We are going to see the Tonto movie (that's what we call it....hahahaha) this afternoon. All is well.

waving to god

Today is July 2nd. While seated in a waiting room, I noticed a little 2 year old sitting on his mom's lap. He wore plaid pants and a white shirt and he was munching on a pacifier. At first I thought: "That must be the mom and I bet the teenager on her right is her daughter. I had an ugly thought about their being too many blacks in the world as the latest stats say the white race had a negative dip this year and in the next 20 years the white race will be a minority." Anyway the little boy with black kinky hair jumped off his mommy's lap and waddled around the waiting room and into the buisness office as the mom ran after him. I sighed and all of a sudden found my self speaking up to the mom: "He is so adorable." After speaking these words something shifted in me as I watched the little guy run here and there. As they wizzed by me, the mom and her little guy in the plaid shorts, sporting a pacifier, I said to her: "It's like looking into the eyes of god." That expression sums up how I feel about all children and now the mom had her little guy in her arms and she turned to walk out. The little guy looked at me (he was sitting on her hip) and I looked back with my big toothy smile and that little guy started blowing me kisses. My eyes welled up as I waved bye,bye and they exited!

It's Christmas again December 2011

It's Christmas again and all is not Merry
Blues in my shoes feelin' a little scary

Got the blues in my shoes and Christmas is near.
I want to hide and not go out.
The thought of smiles and laugher
Just makes me pout!

Miserable not a good time to talk
Time to get mad or go for a walk.
I'm just so damn tired
I'm going to nap.

Where is my bed?
ahhhhh....yes...doesn't take long
I'm dreaming again
and
this time not about men!
In my dream I see such a sight
a gaggle of IBIS moving toward me in flight

Now in front of me
or
they appear to be

connecting to earth one by one

Bright white feathers
little feet prancing about

what an awe-inspiring sight
Their wings tucked in tight by their sides

I feel my body getting lighter and lighter
as I float above the scene
I see a blob of feathers moving and pecking on the ground
Now morphing into a river....I awake to the a sound!

Time to wake up some body is saying.
Says who?
Not me.
Just for a moment...just to get up and pee
Sleep is curative I say with a smile
I'm back in dreamland...I'm back in flight
Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.

May 14, 2011
Lingo
Beliefs are connected to language.
Language or Ligo
Those of us with similar beliefs use similar language/similar Lingo.
We feel the comfort of understanding the meaning.
But....what is the meaning of meaning.
Webster's New World Dictionary decribes meaning as:
What is intended to be signified or understood.
More Lingo:
signified=to be made know by sign or word to be important
understand
to stand amog
to assume from what is heard
to take as meany interpret
to take as a fact
to learn
to know the nature character of
to be sympathetic with
to have understanding comprenhension
to be informed believe
ego the self, the individual as self aware
phychonalists that part of the psyche that governs action rationally
sovereignty the statis rule etc. of a sovereign supreme and independent political authority
sovereign above all others, supreme in power,rank, independant of all others, a ruler
forgive, to give up resent against,or the desire to punish,pardon and an offense or offender)
What I have learned in my Monday night class is that I'm enjoying a belief system that let's everybody off the hook.
Ego is a beautiful thing. An understanding of oneself.
A soverign has a powerful ego and this is a beautiful thing.
No need to ever actively think about hurts once you give up resentment and desire to punish.
I get to continue to let everybody off the hook and keep moving forward in a feel good world with so much to appreciate.

I'm back from North Carolina.
Best part:
Making my own tag that said
IN THE SILENCE
I was "with out speaking" (towards the end of the day I just put my hand over the badge and said what I had to and then took my hand away and said" I'm back"...hahahaha....a trick I learned from somebody called Veronica....a real pisser...hahahahaha......she had done tons of women's retreats and it was at the end of the day....a nice transition back into talking.....she was so funny!)

Worst part:
Getting my wrist slapped twice for "bending the rules". I hate being corrected, especially in public. However, I made the best of it and learned some powerful lessons about listening and how perfect I really am...even if sometimes, I'm a perfect asshole!

No it wasn't the mountains or the air or the babbling river rocks or the walks in the forest, or the crazy church service on Sunday that blessed pets, or the breath work with a group of wailing women with a back drop of loud music during a holatropic breathwork exercise, or the meditation in the "dome" sitting across from a partner while we both sobbed and looked into each others eyes and the facilator wiped the "snot" leeking down over my upper lip like I was a little kid....hahahaha....or the kata every morning or the great food cooked by the "ladies", or the breasts being bared in the talking stick circle or hearing the story of Veronica taking off her clothes and wading into the river with just a Virgin Mary scarf around her private parts and then laying out on a rock, or the long lingering hugs and kisses on the cheeks or the barring of our souls in our
one hour check in's with our "family group" every morning (a group of five) or selling my hand made haki-makies (I moved eleven).........ahhhhhhhhhhh now I know what to send you for your b. day!!!!!! or bon fire in the dark...freezing and laughing over jokes till some enlightened being said "I'm cold....does anybody want to go?"....massive exit!....or the goddess dancing in the gym to drums played by 5 really hot guys, recruited from the church that had a service blessing dogs and birds and such!....or the homeless man that sang to me in Ashville as people dropped dollars in his guitar case......he sang me the story of his life in poetry..........aahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.........enough for now!

Thanks for getting me started.
I'm so glad to be home.

Preparing for my retreat:Feel like I'm taking an exotic trip to a far away place!

What fun.
I'm enjoying the getting ready.
Today I will sew two haki maki's and bring them to sell
and
my plan is every day two and by the time I'm ready to
drive off into the sunrise I'll have a large selection!

My other plan is to do a few things around here to get
organized.
Thinning out my stuff.
Bringing stuff to Jann's Estate Sale
and
that's it for today!

Positive Post
July 2, 2008
Wednesday

Nom de plume

It's Wednesday.
My husband's day off. He slept late. I got up early and was sewing and
listening to Abraham and becoming really full of myself.


Around 9:30 AM he was up and about and I found my husband sitting at the
kitchen table in his robe enjoying breakfast. He was a bit chatty
and wanted to ask my opinion about something in the paper about
a local prisoner finally being put to death, after 17 years this child molester
was officially put to death by the state.

My husband said:
"They should have let the victim's family push the button on that guy".

this started a sharing of Abraham stuff about death
and everything that comes to us is a match to how we are vibrating
and how we create it all, the child and the molester were of the
same vibration, there are no victims here and there is no death. The
molester is now in pure bliss, his suffering was in the death sentence
but perhaps his last 17 years being in jail.

Then I said to my husband:
"You know, I'm becoming more like you in my vibration. Your vibration
is rubbing off on me. I am feeling comfortable most of the time. Very little ups
and very little downs.
Except for running barefoot on the burning hot beach the other day, which was a huge
contrast to my comfort zone, fun but none-the-less a jolt to my vibration
and
then the pleasure of the cold water from the faucet at the end of the
boardwalk and no blisters afterward....hummm.......I feel pretty much even
most of the time, just like you, kinda' flat line comfortable."

My husband between slurps of his cereal replied:

"I think it's time for a new nom de plume.
Yes, you need to change Iron men to Fire walker".

Hahahahahah......I love him.
After ten years of dumping the contents of my head.....my husband knows
me really well.
Yes! This feels right. Ha-ha.....
Fire walker is now my new nom de plume!


By the way on Friday, the 4th of July, my husband and I will be celebrating ten years
of mature love!


With love and adoration for all of you,

Fire walker


Judy Barnhart

www.Senseiforhire.com

Death of a Sensei

Positive Post
June 13, 2008
Friday

"There is no death"
Abraham

"I am curious about the other side. Death is like a thief in the night.
I am un-afraid. I will look death in the eye".
My Mom
1907-1987


"The Bigger the Gorilla the bigger my spirit."
Sensei Eddie Garcia
1937-2008


Death of a Sensei


On the physical plane Eddie or as we called him Garcia Sensei, lives like a Damon Runyon character, a tough guy with a Brooklyn accent and the girls loved him, probably the most colorful character I ever met.

He is a bigger than life fellow Blackbelt of Shorin-Ryu Karate USA under the direction of Grand Master Ansei Ueshiro and I am honored to know him. He is
what legends are made of.

At 3:00 AM this morning, Eddie crossed the bridge to the spiritual plane. I am tickled that he choose Friday the 13t.

I am joyful.
He is the vibration of pure bliss.
I already feel the connect whenever I smile.

Positive Post
June 5, 2008
Thursday
Positive Post
5:00 PM

Sweating

I was thinking of you (all of us on this list) earlier, as a Positive Post
began percolating in my brain!

The percolating thought was:
My upper lip is a mustache of sweat
Droplets of salty fluid pour off my chin

My karate uniform is soaked
A layer of "coolant" coats my body

The delicious, delightful humidity abounds
I am in love with the season

Tiz the season to be sweating...tra, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la
My Sensei (karate teacher) use to say the boxer is most vulnerable in the first
round, the round when he is cold.

No problem here, just stepping onto the non-air-conditioned deck and the uniform
begins to get soaking wet.
It feels good to work hard and
It feels good to sweat.

In my karate school sweat is an indicator of hard work.
In my karate school a soaking wet uniform is a status symbol.

A weigh in
before
and
after a workout equals a difference of four pounds, so says
one of my male students.

I can't imagine losing more than a few ounces in perspiration
during a workout (I sweat like a girl...hahaha) but non the less it feels fabulous.

I also noticed myself sweating earlier today while doing some gardening stuff
and moving stuff around in the heat of the day.
Later I had the pleasure of a cold shower
and
now I'm sitting in air conditioning & an over head fan is on.

I like to sweat but I'm happy being all cool down now.
Love,
Iron Man