It Was Like My Whole Experience Had Been Choreographed

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From the moment I stepped out of my car in the Fred Meyer’s parking lot yesterday afternoon, to the moment I arrived back at my car after shopping, I felt surrounded in magic.

When I arrived, I grabbed a small shopping cart which someone had shoved under a tree in the parking lot, and waited to cross the pavement from where I’d parked to the sidewalk in front of Fred’s. A truck stopped for me, and I gave the driver a smile and a “go ahead” wave, and got a wave back. When the truck went on through, a woman came to the sidewalk, waiting to cross over to where I was standing. We smiled and waved at each other and executed a perfect cross-over together.

As I slowly weaved my way through the store, everyone I met – of every age and color and gender – exchanged a smile with me and treated me with kindness. And when I got to the produce section, a man glanced over at me and, in the same moment, we recognized each other. I scrabbled around in my memory and came up with the name “Matt!” Matt was a former co-worker of my husband’s at the Skagit Valley Herald, but had left his career as a photojournalist to teach full-time in Anacortes 15 or 16 years ago.

Matt’s wife, Jill, a second grade teacher in Anacortes, was there, too. When Matt went to introduce me to Jill, he said, “I’m sorry, but I don’t remember your name…” And that TOTALLY made my day! I have often been that person – the one who doesn’t remember the name – and I felt so proud that I hadn’t been that person THIS time. I thanked Matt for not remembering my name – told him it was reassuring that THIS time I won in the name-remembering thing, and Matt nodded and laughed with me about that. For the next little while Jill, Matt, and I exchanged stories about our teaching careers – talked and laughed and got caught up.

I noticed a young Fred Meyer employee stocking the bananas and intuitively turned to him and smiled. He grinned back at me and said yes, he had been listening into our conversation. Enrique said he wanted to be a school counselor someday – he wanted to be that person who helps students stay in school and get their diplomas – and he was enjoying our conversation about teaching. Enrique was so cool! He was excited about his future in education, excited about getting his degree, excited about helping others. Enrique gave me hope for the world.

When it was time for us to continue on with our shopping, I asked Jill if I could have a hug – because there’s nothing like the hug of a second grade teacher – and she laughed and gave me a bonafide second-grade-teacher hug, and I got a bonus hug from Matt, too.

I got in the checkout line behind a couple maybe in their eighties. I enjoyed watching the way they worked together as a team with their groceries. It occurred to me this couple had maybe been together fifty or sixty years. Watching them, I was kind of in awe of them.

A man came up behind me in the line with no groceries at all. I asked him if he’d like to go in front of me, and he said no, he just wanted to get a pack of smokes and he wasn’t in any hurry.

I turned back to the couple in front of me, just as my former dental hygienist (now retired), Misty, walked by with her husband. Her face lit up into a big grin when she saw me, and we waved at each other and blew each other kisses. Magic!

Now the older gentleman in the couple in front of me in line turned around and smiled and mouthed the word “sorry” – I think he was apologizing for his transaction taking so long – and I laughed and told him it was all good.

After I’d paid, I headed for the exit. I saw a woman in the lobby looking at the shopping carts – there were only a few large ones there. My groceries were not so heavy that I couldn’t get them back to my car without a cart, so I asked the woman if she’d like a small cart. She smiled and said she would. So I took my bag of groceries out of my cart and handed it off to her.

It was like my whole shopping experience had been choreographed or scripted or something: Enter stage right with a small shopping cart; exchange smiles with people; run into Matt and Jill; get into conversation with Enrique; get behind the sweet couple at the checkout stand; pass off the cart to the woman in the lobby; exit stage right.

Magic, my friends!

The Things That Are Freely Given to Us

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So there’s this verse in the Bible that I’ve been pondering the last week, and it’s led me to a better understanding of what real wealth is. Here’s the verse: “Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.” (I Corinthians 2)

I’ve come to understand that things like patience, kindness, honesty, compassion, forgiveness, fairness, and joy don’t cost us anything, and are the door that leads to the heaven that Jesus said was “within” us. We can’t find patience or kindness on a shelf at the supermarket. We can’t put a gallon of honesty on our debit or credit cards, or use Venmo to buy a pound of forgiveness. We can only find those things within us. And there’s no limits to those things – you can’t run out of them; everyone has equal access to them; and they’re totally free!

I’ve been really conscious of drawing on the unlimited supply of patience and kindness this week as I’ve navigated my way through the challenges of life. I’ll admit I haven’t always been patient or forgiving this week – but I feel like I’ve made a start to finding my way to heaven. I think the more I practice, the easier it will become.

Power to the People!

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There was a good turnout at the rally in Sedro-Woolley this morning.

Xavier and Eduardo, in the green safety vests, helped organize the event, and acted as crosswalk guards to get us safely from one side of the roundabout to the other. (And see? We even had our own chicken to help us answer the question: Why did the chicken cross the road?)

I ran into some of my old colleagues who taught with me years ago when I was a teacher in Concrete – it was so good to see Mary and Paul, John, and Larry again!

Germaine was there, too! And Chris – who I met at a rally in MV in January, and who is one of my “old friends” now.

I met some new friends, too – Calisa, who talked about the importance of showing up at the rallies in our small hometowns, and Jonathan, who shared his experiences as a soldier deployed to Iraq after 9-11.

Jonathan said that when he’d signed up for the service, the U.S. wasn’t involved in any wars and he hadn’t expected to ever find himself fighting in the middle of one. But when he was in boot camp, 9-11 happened, and everything changed. During his time in Iraq, the command car got blown up and his commanding officer lost a leg, and his First Sergeant lost half her face. Soldiers he served with in Iraq lost their lives. Jon’s experiences in Iraq have informed the way he looks at our current war in Iran, and I am so grateful to him for his willingness to share his thoughts and experiences with me.

I left the rally feeling inspired by the people I met there, and the positive response we got from the cars passing through.

Power to the people!

Nobody Paid Me or Handed Me a Sign

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I know there’s a meme going around that FOX News busted out the “truth” about the NO KINGS rallies – that it was put together by nefarious organizations hell-bent on some diabolical plot to destroy the United States. This is fake news.

I learned about the rallies through my friends, mostly, and through a local chapter of the Indivisible organization. https://indivisible.org/

And no, nobody paid me to protest yesterday, and nobody handed me a sign. I’ve been carrying around my own hand-made TRUTH JUSTICE KINDNESS sign since 2020. You’d think TRUTH JUSTICE KINDNESS would be universal values EVERYone could agree with. But weirdly, some people actually give the thumbs down to TRUTH JUSTICE and KINDNESS. (So I made a flip side that says SEAHAWKS on it – and when I get the thumbs down for TRUTH JUSTICE KINDNESS, I flip it to the SEAHAWKS side and usually get a thumbs up and a grin from those people who just thumbs downed the other side.)

Human beings crack me up.

(Below: Evolution of my sign from 2020 to 2026.)

Dear TSA,

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Dear TSA agents:

I’m not sure I can find the words to express my gratitude to you. You are our nation’s heroes. Unpaid, unappreciated by our nation’s political “leadership,” you resolutely stand on the front lines in our airports, keeping us safe.

On Friday we traveled from SeaTac to LAX, and on Monday we made the return trip. All along the way we were treated with nothing but patience and kindness by the TSA staff. Knowing the incredible stress you must all be under now, your patience and kindness seemed superhuman to me.

SeaTac was collecting gift cards for the TSA staff, and we left a few at the drop-off place, but I know those cards don’t make a dent in what you deserve. Not only should you be receiving your duly-earned paychecks, you should be receiving medals and accolades – you should have statues in your honor. Seriously.

Thank you for your service. May our legislators and president get their act together and – without stipulation – get you the paychecks you’ve earned and deserve. You should never again be used as hostages by our politicians.

Your fan,

Karen

Good Times and Good People in La La Land

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March 22

I met so many outstanding people today.

At the Santa Monica Farmers Market, I met Jordan, who was selling honey and beeswax candles and art; Javier, selling juice and Mexican fruit; Jacob, selling baklava made by his Lebanese mom from an old family recipe; Nicholas, selling cheeses made locally; Natalie, a college student at Middlebury, who left the snow in Vermont to come our here and visit friends and soak in the rays, and who graciously let us join her at her table while she ate her lunch; and Tristan, in his most excellent “problem” cap – “Are you the…?” I asked, and “Yes, I am the problem,” he answered, laughing.

At a playground at Venice Beach I met Octavio, who was the DJ for a three-year-old’s birthday party there – keeping the background beat for the toddlers and the grown-ups alike.

And I met Shawn – who recently moved from the Netherlands with his family, and who was there in the playground with his two little ones while they played in the sand with the playground toys. I was impressed by Shawn’s parenting skills – I saw him set the boundaries for his children, and maintain those boundaries with laughter and consistency. “You like being a dad, don’t you?” I asked him, and he laughed, and nodded his head, and said he did, even in the chaos.

After Venice Beach we went to the aquarium and historic carousel on the Santa Monica Pier. My granddaughter touched a starfish and rode on a magnificent carousel horse, and I took many photos.

March 24

have to share these fine folks with you.

– Alex was the server at the Tacos San Miquel Arcangel Oaxacan restaurant we visited in Mar Vista. When he was serving our food, he noticed our toddler granddaughter had gotten some of the hot sauce into her food, and quickly pointed this out to us. As her eyes started watering up, he went back and fetched a brand new meal for her, without charge. I told him he was a hero.

– Daniel (LA cap) was our shuttle bus driver to LAX from the rental car building. After we settled into the seats behind the driver’s seat, I gathered up my courage, and said, “Okay. This is really embarrassing, but… we want to give you a tip, but all we’ve got are twenties. Can you give me back change for a twenty?” Daniel busted out laughing, and thanked me. He told me he could give me whatever change back I wanted. I asked for ten, and he pulled out a ten dollar bill from his tips and exchanged it for my twenty. Daniel was so cool – and I really appreciated his understanding of our situation.

– Once we got up to our plane’s waiting area, I looked for a seat that had a plug-in for my phone’s charger. I asked a young man in his late teens or early twenties if I could sit in the seat next to him to use his charger. He smiled and said sure. When he saw I was having a hard time figuring out how to plug my phone in, Edyson quietly plugged it in for me. I told Edyson how much I appreciated his kindness. Edyson gives me hope for our future.

– I’m always eager to see who our seatmate will be on the airplaine, and I was so happy when a smiling young man approached and introduced himself as the man in the window seat. Our new seatmate immediately opened the shade on his window. I told him how glad I was that he’d done that because I like looking out the window.

Grady and I started talking then about the landforms we can see from the plane – and I mentioned Mount Rainier. This is when I learned that Grady had climbed Rainier. I told him I’d climbed Rainier, too, decades ago – my dad (and…ahem… I MIGHT have mentioned that my dad is in Wikipedia for mountain climbing) had led me to the summits of Rainier and Baker and Adams and Hood when I was younger. Grady said that he’d climbed Mount Rainier when he worked there as a ranger – and I told Grady I had climbed it when I worked at Rainier, too!

I asked him what he’d majored in to get him in a position as a ranger. Grady said he’d majored in History – and I told him that had been my major, too! He said a lot of folks get into the park service with a degree in science, to do research. I told him my dad had majored in geology, and worked as a ranger and a guide at Rainier for several years.

THEN I learned that Grady now works in the North Cascades and I told him we lived in Skagit County. Whoah. And THEN I learned that his girlfriend works at Rainier now, and lives in Ashford, and he and his girlfriend know our good friends, Rick and Jana Johnson, who own the pottery shop there.

Connections, my friends! I love these connections – the new ones and the ones that connect us to the old ones, too.

So Many Gifts Today!

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So many gifts today!

I drove into Mount Vernon to take the steps I needed to take to donate my Cosmic Connections book to the library there. I was greeted at the counter by the ever-kind and ever-welcoming CJ, librarian extraordinaire. CJ asked me if the application explains that once a book is donated, whether they decide to put it on their shelves or not, they won’t be giving it back to me. I told him that the application mentions that, and that I’m fine with whatever they want to do with my book – I just hope it will bring some joy to whoever ends up with it. We chatted then about what my book is about. I told CJ that Cosmic Connections chronicles the experiences I have meeting cool people and sharing the joy of these connections. I told him a lot of the stories take place in Mount Vernon, and that HE would probably be in my next book, and he started cracking up.

I love people who know how to laugh with me.

After I’d dropped off my book, I walked along the River Walk down to Lions Park, taking photos of the bloated Skagit River as I went. I watched a pair of birds cruising down the river on a log, like it was there own personal yacht. That brought me a grin.

Then I walked down to the Skagit Valley Food Co-Op to get myself a mocha. There was such joy there today. Keely was behind the counter. Her hair brought me joy and I asked if I could take her photo. She grinned and gave me permission.

A young woman named Vanessa was greeted by an old friend she hadn’t seen in a while, and their happiness and excitement at seeing each other again brought me more joy. Before Vanessa left the store, I asked her if I could get her picture – explained she’d brought me joy today. She laughed and graciously agreed to a photo – you feel the irresistible joy from her, too, right?

When I stopped off at the post office, I saw a little frog hopping around in the parking lot. “What are you doing here, buddy?” I asked him. The parking lot did not seem like a good place for him. So I scooped him up and walked him down to a bank next to the slough. He hopped out of my hands and then looked up at me. I’m pretty sure he was smiling. Live long and prosper, my little friend!

And if all that magic wasn’t enough, later, when I went to the bank, I couldn’t help but notice the cool red shoes of the woman in front of me in line. I told her they reminded me of my childhood, and she laughed and nodded. We talked then about playing outside all day when we were youngsters – tag and kick-the-can. Her shoes brought back a lot of happy memories for me.

March Magic!

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Morna and I met through Facebook a while ago, and today we actually met up in the person at our local food co-op.

I love the Skagit Valley Food Co-op! I always find the nicest people there – both customers and employees alike. I appreciate the friendly smiles exchanged, the helpfulness, the humor.

As soon as I walked in the door I saw an old neighbor from forty years ago, standing in line to order coffees for friends and herself. I walked up to Anne and, smiling, presented myself. Her face lit up in recognition and we gave each other a hug. How cool is it that I’ve lived long enough in the same county that I can run into old neighbors, and students, and friends I’ve known for forty years?! As Anne put it, we’re not “the cute young things” we were forty years ago – but I think at this point in our lives, that’s not something we spend a lot of time worrying about. 😀

I’d gotten to the co-op before Morna, and went on up to the counter to order my mocha. The cashier asked if there was a good name for my coffee, and I leaned in and half-whispered, “I’m not sure it’s a GOOD name, but my name is Karen.” She grinned at that, passing my Karen test.

While I waited for my coffee, I found a table for two and set my backpack there to save it for Morna and myself. There was a man sitting at the table next to ours, with a Bible in front of him. He had kind eyes. We got to talking about the March weather – the rain and the dark.

Morna soon showed up, and my coffee arrived, too – and we settled in at our table to have our first real chat together. I learned today that Morna is a hoot! We laughed and talked about our hobbies and backgrounds and the world. We found some things we had in common – we both have two brothers and no sisters; our fathers had both been climbers; we shared the same values. Morna asked if it would be okay to make a sign that had TRUTH JUSTICE KINDNESS on it, like mine. I told her that would be great!

The man sitting at the table – the man with the kind eyes and the Bible – called over to us then. “Excuse me,” he said, “I see how you’re supporting each other. Are you Christians?” Morna nodded to me and told him that I was, but she wasn’t.

I said, “I saw that you had a Bible with you. What are you reading right now?”

He told me he was reading Psalms, and I told him that I found Psalms comforting. “I believe God is Love,” I told him. “And I find Love in Psalms.”

The man, MW, agreed with me that Love is God’s name. We agreed that Love is the most powerful. “Just like that Bob Marley song,” I said. And then I turned to Morna to see if she knew the song I was thinking of. “One Love,” she said, nodding.

When it came time to leave, Morna and I gave each other another hug, and I told MW how glad I was to have met him today. He smiled and said it was good to meet me, and we wished each other a good day.

Since I was already out of the house, I decided to mosey over to west Mount Vernon to check out the local daffodil fields. I ended up at RoozenGaarde gardens, and was not disappointed by the beauty I found there – hyacinths and forsythia and puddles of golden daffodil reflections. To get to the daffodil fields, I needed to walk about a quarter mile through mud and muck and puddles, but it was totally worth it! And it was fun to meet other daffodil-lovers on the other side of the mud and muck and puddles.

I asked a family visiting from Florida if they’d like me to take a picture of all of them together, and they happily handed me a cellphone. Then I asked if I could snap their photo for myself, too, and they graciously posed for me in front of the daffodils. I learned their last name was Nguyen – which gave me a grin, because that is my daughter-in-law and granddaughter’s last name, too! (And, of course, I had to share a picture of my toddler granddaughter with the Nguyen family.)

As I walked through the golden peace of the daffodil fields – the air filled with the scent of spring flowers and birdsong – I found myself thanking Love for bringing me to this place, and these beautiful gifts of spring – for connecting me with Anne and Morna, MW and the Nguyen family.

Magic is everywhere!

Finding Kinship in the Fred Meyer Parking Lot

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So this just happened.

I came out of Fred’s with my groceries to see a young woman with a blond pony tail seated on the sidewalk, leaning against the store. She had a sign indicating she was in need. A tall young man was leaning in, talking to her in a kind voice. I saw him hand her cash, as he talked to her. He held a bouquet of bright flowers – orange and yellow – and he plucked two flowers from the bouquet and handed them to her. She reached up and hugged him.

I’d walked up to them by this point, and asked the woman if she’d like an apple and she said yes. “For the princess,” I said, handing her the apple.

She had tears as her eyes swept from me to the young man. “Thank you,” she said. “Thank you.”

The young man and I walked next to each other as we left her. I asked him if I could shake his hand, and he smiled and agreed to this. We stopped walking and he told me he’d had a rough life, but he didn’t blame anyone for that. The teacher/mom in me came up then and I gave him a hug.

We exchanged names. I learned he is Ron, and “My name is of course, Karen,” I told him. He started laughing. I asked him if the flowers were for his wife, and he said he’d already given her flowers, but these were for his mom. Then I learned he was planning to walk with the groceries and flowers to his mom’s place – and she lived down on West Fairhaven Street. I asked him if I could give him a ride. His face lit up and he thanked me.

When we got to my car, another young man who was parked near my car, greeted Ron – at first I thought they must be old friends, but then I realized they’d never met before – they just reocognized a kinship with each other. As Steven and Ron chatted, Ron learned that Steven had just bought a house that needed some work, and Steven learned that Ron was a carpenter! Steven grinned and spread his arms out wide, like “See? We were meant to meet!” Steven smiled at me and said, “I’m a superstitious person. I believe in these things.” Then he turned around and showed me the back of his jacket, and opened his jacket up to show me his beads and crucifix.

Ron showed Steven his beaded bracelet then, and the two of them let me snap pictures of their beads.

After Ron and Steven had exchanged phone numbers, I cleared out room for Ron in my car and we started our drive to his mom’s place. On the way Ron told me he was looking forward to going to his job that night. I asked him where he worked, and he told me he worked in Bow. I told him I lived in Bow, and his eyes got big in surprise. He said he worked at the Edison Inn in Bow, and told me how much he enjoyed working there. He said it was like a family there. Everyone cared about each other, and treated each other right.

When I dropped him off at his mom’s apartment, Ron said he hoped he’d see me at the Edison sometime. And I told him he probably would. We hugged and wished each other a good day. I told him to hug his mom for me, too. “A hug from the crazy Karen,” I said, and he started laughing.

“You aren’t a crazy Karen,” he said. “You’re a good Karen.”

Celebrating the Friendship Between Canada and the States

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I found such joy today!

I drove up to the Peace Arch Park on the border of Canada and the States, to celebrate the friendship between our two nations.

The weather was interesting on the drive up. I left under blue skies and fluffy white clouds, but when I got near Lake Samish I suddenly found myself driving through snowfall. That lasted about ten minutes, and then I was in the sun again. “March comes in like a lion and out like a lamb,” right? – and I guess when you’re in the middle of March you get all of that on the same day.

Many cosmic and wonderful things happened today.

Before I left for Peace Arch Park, I’d needed to make a stop at an old neighbor’s house. This old neighbor now lived in a neighborhood where an old teaching friend of mine had once lived. I’d asked my old neighbors if Lou still lived there, and they said he’d moved away a while ago.

So guess who I ran into at the rally at Peace Arch Park?!! Lou!! Lou had married another teaching friend of mine, Michelle, and they now lived in Bellingham. It seemed absolutely cosmic that I should run into Lou and Michelle (and their sweet pup, Brody) when I’d just been thinking of them that morning. But I’m starting to realize that cosmic coolness is happening all the time, and we just don’t always notice it.

My friend, Tom, was there today, too. He and another friend, Haidee, were the original creators of the Peace Arch Park get-togethers. Another person I consider an old friend now, Ranger Rick, the beloved Peace Arch Park ranger, came down to the arch to see how we all were doing and if we needed anything. AND I found the sister to my TRUTH JUSTICE KINDNESS sign: TRUTH JUSTICE COMPASSION! How cool is that?!

I met new friends today, too – Cora was there with her “TOGETHER WE ARE AMERICA” sign; Arsh (an American citizen) was at the Peace Arch with his girlfriend, Harleen (a Canadian citizen) and they posed in front of the boundary marker for me as they walked their way down to U.S. Customs; Georgia from Lynden was there, to show her support for our friendship with Canada; and, afterwards, when I sat down at a picnic bench by the water, nibbling on the macaron I’d bought myself at L&L Bakery, I met Nancy who’d come up to Blaine to take pictures of birds. I learned Nancy was a retired school principal and teacher, and an avid birder. I had such fun chatting with Nancy in the sunshine at that picnic table and talking about birds with her. (I told her about that whooping swan I’d seen a couple days ago, and gave her directions to where she might find it – I hope the swans are still there for her tomorrow.) While Nancy and I were talking, a sweet pup named Finnegan wandered off the sidewalk to come say hi and get a pet on the head. He was such a sweetheart!

Pups and old friends and new friends and the inspiration that comes when two neighboring nations come together to celebrate their friendship – today was full of magic, my friends.