Tag Archives: kindness

Go Seahawks! Also – TRUTH JUSTICE KINDNESS!

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Go Seahawks! Also yay to TRUTH JUSTICE and KINDNESS.

When I drove by the courthouse just before noon, there was only one sign-holder there. I honked in support, then I parked my car and pulled out my TRUTH JUSTICE KINDNESS sign to join him on the corner. Dylan had started back to his bike by the time I got out of my car, but when he saw me, he turned around and came back to join me on the corner.

Dylan was so fun! I think what had brought him to the courthouse with his sign was the same thing that had brought me today – the murders in Minnesota. But, in spite of the fact that we were drawn there by tragedy, Dylan was one of those people it’s easy to laugh with, too.

I’d worn my Seahawks shirt today, and I found that when people looked grumpy at seeing my TRUTH JUSTICE KINDNESS sign, all I had to do was reveal my Seahawks shirt and yell “Go Seahawks!” and they’d start laughing and give me the thumbs up. Dylan said I should have had “Go Seahawks!” on the other side of my TRUTH JUSTICE KINDNESS sign and then I could just flip it back and forth, depending on our audience. 😃

Not long after Dylan and I joined forces on the corner, another sign-bearer joined us: my FB friend, Tele. Now we were three! I introduced Dylan and Tele to each other and we got a group photo. Dylan had to leave to get to work then, but just about the time Dylan left, we were joined by Teri. And then Kelsey joined us. I introduced myself as the Karen in the group – because every group needs one – and we had fun putting our names together: Tele, Teri, Kelsey, and Karen. I love alliteration.

I’d been parked for an hour by then, in a spot that was limited to an hour, and it was time for me to go. But I so enjoyed connecting with Dylan and the two Ts and the other K.

I drove to Fred’s with the idea of getting a mocha and maybe a pastry. Sitting outside the store was a man, holding a sign for help. I asked him if I could get him a coffee and he said that would be nice. I asked him what kind he’d like and he said a mocha would be good.

The store was full of Seahawks fans – blue and green everywhere. I’m glad I’d worn my Seahawks shirt today.

Just inside the store was a rack of little pies on sale for 50 cents each. I got two of those – one for the man outside, and one for myself – and then ordered two mochas from the baristas.

I brought the man his mocha and asked him if he liked pies – which he did. He thanked me for the pie and mocha, and said, “God bless.” And I wished him well.

And now I’m home, watching the Broncos and Patriots do battle in the snow. Pretty soon the Seahawks will take to the field in Seattle.

Go Seahawks! Also TRUTH JUSTICE KINDNESS!

Rallying for Kindness

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I had such fun today!

I started my to-do list with a trip to the bank. There was a man with a Latino accent next to me at the counter, and we made small talk for a while while the bankers took care of us. We both finished our business at the same time, and exited the bank, smiled and wished each other a good day. And then he put out his arms for a hug! I was so touched by this. We hugged and then I unzipped my fleece jacket and showed him I was wearing my “EVERYONE IS WELCOME HERE” shirt. His face lit up in a big smile and he thanked me.

After the bank, I drove into Mount Vernon and parked near the Red Apple market. I brought out my “TRUTH JUSTICE KINDNESS” sign and brought it with me as I walked, first, to the courthouse – to put my school levy ballot in the courthouse ballot box – and then down to the Co-Op for a breve.

As I walked to the Co-Op with my sign, a couple of people honked and gave me a thumbs up, and one person yelled out her window, “I love your sign!” That made me smile.

I passed a shop window with wedding dresses topped with Seahawks t-shirts, and that made my smile even bigger. 😃

When I got to the Co-Op, I gave my breve order to a cheery cashier named Annabelle. When Annabelle asked for a name to put on my breve, I cringed and said, “Karen. It’s so embarrassing.”

Annabelle started laughing and said, “So you know about that?” And then she said, “But you’re one of the nice Karens.” And then, of course, I had to take her picture because she was so cool.

Annabelle told me my drink was going to take about ten minutes – they were very busy at the Co-Op today – and I let her know that wasn’t a problem.

As I’d been walking to the Co-Op, I’d gotten it into my noggin that I wanted a picture of me holding my sign underneath the painting of my friend, the late great John “Peace Wizard” Bromet, that was hanging in the Co-Op. I trusted I would find the right person to take the picture for me when the time came. And I did! As soon as I started up the stairs to the loft, I spied a man sitting at a table facing me, and I just knew he was the man I needed for this job! I approached him and asked him (I learned his name was Andy) if he could take the photo for me. Andy smiled and said of course he could do that for me.

Then I went back downstairs to see if my breve was ready, and this is when I heard someone calling my name. I looked over to see my old friend, Pat, sitting at a table with a buddy. Pat introduced me to his friend, Nils, as the daughter of Dee Molenaar – Nils is a mountaineer and had heard of Dad. He asked my name and I said, “Karen. Because every place needs a Karen, right?” Nils and Pat laughed and we chatted for a while, then my breve was ready, and I brought it with me back down the street to the courthouse for the noon rally.

I saw the regular noon rally crew there – Marilyn and John and Ginny – but there was a whole host of new people I hadn’t met before, too. Across the street there was a young man dancing to music and holding his rally sign, and I just had to join the “dancing man.” I learned the dancing man’s name is Isaac, and that he’s involved with the Community-to-Community organization. Isaac had picked out the music that was playing over the loudspeakers and it was great! One of my favorites was “A Change is Gonna Come.” How perfect!

Rallying with Canadians at Peace Arch Park

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Such joy! I can’t remember ever having more fun at a rally. The Canadians hosted the gathering at Peace Arch Park today and they always pick the best music: Stand By Me, Bridge Over Troubled Water, We Are the World, You’ve Got a Friend, What a Wonderful World.

There’s something really cool about Americans and Canadians standing shoulder-to-shoulder in unity at our border. The lines into Canada were packed today – I saw license plates from Washington, Oregon, California, Idaho, and British Columbia – cars full of smiling people of every color and race – giving us the thumbs up, cheering, honking, waving. I was so inspired by the positive energy and kindness I witnessed today.

At one point I strolled three yards to the Canadian side of the border marker in the park, just to see how things were going up north. Then I traveled back to the States, where my fellow American, Steve, asked me how my travels to Canada had gone. I told him I’d had a great trip.

I ran into our old Bow neighbors, Carol and Don, who used to own the Rhododendron Cafe. It was so good to see them again! They live not far from Peace Ark Park now, and this isn’t the first Peace Arch rally they’ve attended.

And – get this! – I saw someone who looked very much like my former student, Hector, waving and grinning from one of the cars in the line to the border. I grinned and waved back – but I thought, “Nah. That can’t be Hector. What would he be doing here?” Later, Hector texted me to confirm that it was him!

As I was leaving the rally, holding my TRUTH JUSTICE KINDNESS sign so it faced the lines of cars – cars were still honking at me, and people were waving. The support today was so encouraging!

**

At one of the rallies I participated in last week, a tall young Black man joined us and we exchanged “how are you doing?”s. We both decided to cross the road at the same time. As we crossed, he looked down at me and grinned and said, “I’ll protect you.” I looked up at him and smiled and said, “And I’ll protect you!” It was such a lovely exchange. Just had to share.

“She’s Chatty!”

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My thanks to employee Robby at Fred Meyer’s who stopped what he was doing to come help me get the item I wanted from the toppiest shelf. Robby was very cool.

I took a moment to tell a father with an unhappy child in his cart what a good job he was doing – I saw his patience and calm as he talked his son through a difficult moment. He grinned and thanked me for noticing.

As I was going through the checkout I chatted and connected with my cashier, Patty, who is a former neighbor of mine. Then I turned to the woman sitting in a wheelchair behind me in line, and said, “Hello!” I think I took her by surprise because she got a big grin on her face before giving me a hello back. The man who was with her – her son maybe? – smiled at me, too. The woman said to Patty (referring to me), “She’s chatty.” And Patty laughed and explained that we used to be old neighbors. “We go waaay back,” I said, laughing.

I got to the door to exit, and there was another woman there, preparing to head out into the parking lot. It was dumping rain out there, and the woman and I looked at the rain and then at each other and started spontaneously laughing. “Hoods up!” I said, bringing my hood over my head. She pointed out that she didn’t have a hood. I gave her a quick nod, like we were comrades going into battle, and wished her good luck. She smiled and returned my good wishes.

The Christmas Dog

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Christmas Eve, 1988.  I was in a funk.  I couldn’t see that I was making much progress in my life.  My teaching career seemed to be frozen, and I was beginning to think my husband and I would never own our own home or have children. The world seemed a very bleak and unhappy place to me.  No matter how many batches of fudge I whipped up or how many times I heard Bing Crosby sing “White Christmas,” I couldn’t seem to find the Christmas spirit.

I was washing the breakfast dishes, thinking my unhappy thoughts, when I heard gunshots coming from the pasture behind our house.  I thought it was the neighbor boys shooting at the seagulls again and, all full of teacherly harrumph, decided to take it upon myself to go out and “have a word with them.”

But after I’d marched outside I realized that it wasn’t the neighbor boys at all.  John, the dairy farmer who lived on the adjoining property, was walking away with a rifle, and an animal (a calf, I thought) was struggling to get up in the field behind our house.  Every time it would push up on its legs it would immediately collapse back to the ground.

I wondered if maybe John had made a mistake and accidentally shot the animal, so I ran out to investigate and found that the animal was a dog.  It had foam and blood around its muzzle.  She was vulnerable and helpless – had just been shot, after all – but instead of lashing out at me or growling as I’d expect an injured animal to do, she was looking up at me with an expression of trust and seemed to be expecting me to take care of her.

“John!”  I yelled, running after the farmer.  He turned around, surprised to see me.  “John, what happened?” I asked, pointing back towards the dog.

A look of remorse came into his eyes.  “Oh, I’m sorry you saw that, Karen. The dog is a stray and it’s been chasing my cows.  I had to kill it.”

“But John, it’s not dead yet.”

John looked back at the dog and grimaced.  “Oh man,” he said.  “I’m really sorry. I’ll go finish the job.  Put it out of its misery.”

By this time another dog had joined the dog that had been shot.  It was running around its friend, barking encouragement, trying to get its buddy to rise up and escape.  The sight of the one dog trying to help his comrade broke my heart.  I made a quick decision. “Let me and my husband take care of it.”

“Are you sure?”

I nodded and he agreed to let me do what I could for the animal.

Unbeknownst to me, as soon as I ran out of the house my husband, knowing that something was wrong, had gotten out his binoculars and was watching my progress in the field.  He saw the look on my face as I ran back.  By the time I reached our house he was ready to do whatever he needed to do to help me.  I explained the situation to him, we put together a box full of towels, and he called the vet.

As we drove his truck around to where the dog lay in the field, I noticed that, while the dog’s canine companion had finally left the scene (never to be seen again), John had gone to the dog and was kneeling down next to her.  He was petting her, using soothing words to comfort her, and the dog was looking up at John with that look of trust she’d given me.  John helped my husband load her in the back of the truck and we began our drive to the vet’s.

I rode in the back of the truck with the dog as my husband drove, and sang hymns to her.  As I sang words from one of my favorite hymns from the Christian Science Hymnal– “Everlasting arms of Love are beneathe, around, above” – the dog leaned against my shoulder and looked up at me with an expression of pure love in her blue eyes.

Once we reached the animal clinic, the veterinarian came out to take a look at her.  After checking her over he told us that apparently a bullet had gone through her head, that he’d take care of her over the holiday weekend – keep her warm and hydrated – but that he wasn’t going to give her any medical treatment.  I got the distinct impression that he didn’t think the dog was going to make it.

My husband and I went to my parents’ home for the Christmas weekend, both of us praying that the dog would still be alive when we returned.  For me, praying for her really meant trying to see the dog as God sees her.  I tried to realize the wholeness and completeness of her as an expression of God, an idea of God.  I reasoned that all the dog could experience was the goodness of God – all she could feel is what Love feels, all she could know is what Truth knows, all she could be is the perfect reflection of God.  I tried to recognize the reality of these things for me, too, and for all of God’s creation.

She made it through the weekend, but when we went to pick her up the vet told us that she wasn’t “out of the woods, yet.”    He told us that if she couldn’t eat, drink, or walk on her own in the next few days, we’d need to bring her back and he’d need to put her to sleep.

We brought her home and put her in a big box in our living room, with a bowl of water and soft dog food by her side.  I continued to pray.  In the middle of the night I got up and went out to where she lay in her box.  Impulsively, I bent down and scooped some water from the dish into her mouth.  She swallowed it, and then leaned over and drank a little from the bowl.  I was elated!  Inspired by her reaction to the water, I bent over and grabbed a glob of dog food and threw a little onto her tongue.  She smacked her mouth together, swallowed the food, and leaned over to eat a bit more.  Now I was beyond elated!  She’d accomplished two of the three requirements the vet had made for her!

The next day I took her out for a walk.  She’d take a few steps and then lean against me.  Then she’d take a few more steps and lean.  But she was walking!  We would not be taking her back to the veterinarian.

In the next two weeks her progress was amazing.  By the end of that period she was not only walking, but running and jumping and chasing balls.  Her appetite was healthy.  She was having no problems drinking or eating.

But one of the most amazing parts of this whole Christmas blessing was the relationship that developed between this dog and the man who had shot her.  They became good friends.  The dog, in fact, became the neighborhood mascot.  (And she never again chased anyone’s cows.)

What the dog brought to me, who had, if you recall, been in a deep funk when she entered our lives, was a sense of the true spirit of Christmas – the Christly spirit of forgiveness, hope, faith, love.  She brought me the recognition that nothing, absolutely nothing, is impossible to God.

We named our new dog Christmas because that is what she brought us that year.

Within a few years all those things that I had wondered if I would ever have as part of my life came to me – a teaching job, children, and a home of our own.  It is my belief that our Christmas Dog prepared my heart to be ready for all of those things to enter my life.

(The story of our Christmas dog was first published in the Christian Science Sentinel [“Christmas Is Alive and Well“] in December 1999, and retold in Blessings: Adventures of a Madcap Christian Scientist in 2005. It was later included in The Madcap Christian Scientist’s Christmas Book in 2014. It was also included on the Christian Science Sentinel radio program in December 2000.)

My NEXUS Interview and Other Fun Stuff in the Border Town

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I had an appointment at the Blaine Trusted Traveler Enrollment Center this morning, to interview for my NEXUS pass. I’ve known about this appointment for four months, and for four months I’ve stressed about it. Would I remember to bring all the right papers with me? When I was filling out the application, I’d accidentally answered the question about countries I’ve been to in the last five years by clicking on the “Austria” bubble instead of the “Australia” one – would that get me in trouble? Would there be anyone to laugh with me at the office – or would it be a very serious and solemn place?

I’d asked Scott to come with me – I told him I’d buy him breakfast afterwards. I really didn’t want to go there alone.

As soon as we stepped through the door into the office, I was greeted by a friendly man behind the counter named James. I told him I’d gotten there early, and he smiled and said he’d go ahead and take my birth certificate and passport and see if he could get me in sooner than scheduled.

Scott and I took a seat in the waiting area. There was a big-screen tv showing children’s cartoons set up to one side, and that made me smile. How thoughtful!

Soon I was called to be interviewed by an American agent who, I learned, was originally from Puerto Rico. She did a great job talking me through the interview and I told her that she would make a good teacher. She told me she actually had been a teacher in a previous career. I told her about answering the question with “Austria” instead of “Australia” – and told her I’d been a social studies teacher, and I was embarrassed that I’d clicked the wrong country. She smiled and said not to worry, she wouldn’t tell anyone – and she changed the answer for me in her computer.

I took two or three steps to the right, to talk to the Canadian agent now. He was smiling, and told me he’d been terrible at social studies. I told him that later in my career I’d had the opportunity to teach every subject – including trigonometry and geometry. He laughed and said that, because he was Asian, people often assumed he should be good at math – but he’d been terrible at math until he’d gotten the right math teacher in high school, and then math had become his favorite subject. I agreed with him that the right teacher can make all the difference.

And then – just like that – I was done!

It was time to take Scott to breakfast now, and I had in mind a little bakery in Blaine I’d visited last spring. Scott drove us into Blaine, and I pointed past the construction going on there, and told him the place I was thinking of was on the other side of that. So he parked the car, and we walked around the construction fences, past the vape shop, and into the L&L Bakery.

I love that place! There were four or five other pairs of friends there, chatting and drinking coffee at small tables; the walls are covered in colorful art; and the display case at the counter is filled with pastries and cookies, and quiches. It’s one of those places that just wraps you up in a welcoming hug when you walk in.

Lili, the owner, and Megan, were cheery and fun, and let me snap their picture behind the counter. Scott and I ate our quiches (jalapeno for him; vegetarian for me) and drank our coffees and chatted with Lili about the restaurant business, and the value of the community meeting place she and her mom (the other owner) are providing for Blaine.

After we left the bakery, Scott and I wandered through town, soaking up the Blaine vibes. There are Christmas decorations up in parts of the town; and cool murals on the walls; several “parklets” scattered along the main road; and a wide range of restaurants – Hawaiian, Mexican, Thai, a steakhouse, and a couple diners. It’s a really cool little town.

So this day that I’ve been anticipating for four months – this day that I was so stressed about – ended up bringing Scott and I new friends and good food, and a nice walk through autumn leaves.

Trust, Karen. Kindness is everywhere.

Heaven Everywhere

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I admit I was nervous about traveling to LAX this week. I was flying with Alaska Airlines, and they’d had a spot of trouble last week. Also I was concerned there might be a dearth of air traffic controllers – seeing as how these heroic folks haven’t been paid for the last week I wouldn’t have blamed any of them for leaving to find work that would provide them with income. So it was with some trepidation – and a lot of prayer – that I I started my journey to Los Angeles on Tuesday morning.

There had been moments before my trip when I’d had this sense of certainty that Love was with me, preparing my way for me, leading me. I was motivated by Love to travel to California to see my son, daughter-in-law, and grandbaby, and I knew this was a right desire, and could only lead to Good. At those moments, I determined that my mission was to shine love on everyone I encountered on my trip. But, every now and then, a news headline would hit my newsfeed that had me doubting again. There was a battle going on in my thoughts between fear and happy anticipation to see my loved ones again.

My husband drove me the hour and a half to Sea-Tac (bless him!) and dropped me off at the departures door. Now it was just me and Love. It took practically no time to find the security line – and I was, like, the second person in line! I got through the whole security line in probably three minutes!

Once I was on the other side, I went in search of a restroom. There was a flight attendant in the restroom, standing by the sinks, cleaning out her bag – apparently she’d spilled something in it. I asked her if she was going to LAX, and she said she was – I told her we were going to be on the same plane then. Her job, I said, was one of the hardest jobs in the world – flight attendants have to serve and take care of everyone else first, but they’re dealing with the same difficulties as everyone else on the flight. She smiled and nodded and said that yup, we’re all in the same boat together. I asked her if she’d had any problems last week while Alaska Airlines’ technology wasn’t working, and she said she and her crew had been grounded 12 hours someplace. Yikes! But here she was – ready to get on another plane and serve her passengers. Another hero. She indicated – pointing to her bag – she was feeling a little frazzled at the moment, but I told her (and this was true) she totally looked put together, and I felt reassured knowing she was going to be on the plane with me.

An hour later, when I boarded my flight, I saw Sheryl there, greeting people at the door, smiling. I said, “We made it!” and she started laughing.

The flight to Los Angeles was incredibly quick and smooth – I think we landed early. And when I got there, my beautiful daughter-in-law and precious granddaughter were there to pick me up. My daughter-in-law set my little granddaughter down about ten yards away from me and let her race to me, a big grin on her face. I scooped her up and held her close and felt myself in heaven.

I was only in LA for three days – but it was chock full of joy and hope and good people. It was chock full of love. And it was so good to be with my son, daughter-in-law, and grandbaby again.

We went to the neighborhood playground and I climbed the equipment with my grandbaby and enjoyed watching her work her way around the big toys; We stopped at Shawn’s Pumpkin Patch https://shawnspumpkinpatch.com/ , where we met Whitney and Dennis, and I had fun volunteering to take family photos for the other tourists; We strolled down the Santa Monica Pier, and stepped into the photo booth for some pics; We went to the Cafe Gratitude for dinner and met sweet Kiara pup standing in line with her human there; The next day we went to the The Butcher’s Daughter for lunch – that day I was proudly wearing my Mariners shirt and I asked one of the servers if he was a Dodger’s fan – he said no, but I found out he was a Yankees fan, and I had fun talking baseball with him for a quick minute; I bought fresh-squeezed lemonades from Mike at Hot Dog on a Stick in Santa Monica – and I really wanted to give Mike a tip for his genuine kindness to me, but he wouldn’t take one – he graciously allowed me to snap his photo, though, and laughed when I introduced myself as a Boomer named Karen – passing my Karen test; Then my daughter-in-law, grandbaby, and I sat and listened to Ian Bradley and his drummer make music next to the Hot Dog on a Stick restaurant while we sipped our lemonades. I dropped a donation in their box and got thanked and twirled for my humble gift.

The morning of my last day there, my daughter-in-law brought me to a music-in-the-park event for toddlers hosted by the musician, Ryoji. And oh! Once again, I felt I was in heaven. The music, the youngsters, the parents and grandparents and nannies – of every color, race, and ethnicty – enjoying music and dancing together and showing love to one another – isn’t this heaven?!

In the afternoon my son drove me to LAX for my trip back to Sea-Tac. We gave each other big hugs goodbye, reminded each other we’d see each other again soon at Christmas, and I headed for the security line.

I got in line behind a woman who just radiated good will and kindness. I told her I’m always a little nervous about going through security – afraid I’ve accidentally committed some security transgression (this time I accidentally wore my cellphone into the full body scan, but – thank goodness! – the TSA official clocked the cellphone before he scanned me – he said cellphones are 99% of the reason the scanner alarms go off – yikes!). My new friend, Alia, laughed and yawned and said she was too tired to be nervous about that today. We got to talking then, and learned we were both on the same flight to Seattle! How cosmic! I followed Alia through the security line and then we both went separate directions in search of food. But we met up again in the waiting area before we boarded the plane, and got to talking about our families, the goodness of people, and kindness. Heaven again!

I met so many wonderful new friends on my trip! And every place I went I found heaven.

Go Out There and Work Your Magic!

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My dear Humoristian hooligans –

Today may your confidence in the power of kindness bring assurance to the lonely and scared. May your unassailable joie de vivre transform the bitter, the bossy, and the bullying. May the stodgy, stuffy, and stingy be transformed by your irrepressible good humor. May you bring laughter to those in sorry need of a good guffaw. May those who mistake meanness for strength be edified by your example of unwavering good will and courage.

Go out there and work your magic, my friends!

Karen

Bountiful Blessings: I Asked Love to Show Me She Existed Today

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Ask, and ye shall receive. BIG time!

I asked Love to show me She existed today – after reading the stories coming through my feed this morning, I was in sorry need of reassurance. And Love said “Okay,” and then dumped such a deluge of blessings upon me – one after an incredible ‘nother – that I’m sitting here, still trying to process all the magic She poured over me today. I think Love has a sense of humor.

When I left the house, I was feeling sort of closed-up and tentative about the world. Cautious. I thought I would just walk and observe and keep myself to myself today. But, of course that didn’t happen.

Because. Connections. A Seahawks shirt. A WSU cap. Animal-lovers. A mountaineering father. I have found I don’t need to dig too deep to find a connection with pretty much every person I meet.

The first thing that happened was I saw my old friend, Baker pup, wagging his way down the boardwalk, greeting every human who came his way. So, of course I had to stop to talk to Baker’s human and thank him for bringing Baker to the boardwalk for all of us. Not long after I gave Baker a scratch behind the ears, I came upon another one of my favorite pups, Ari. Ari’s human let me give Ari a treat so that I could become his “hero forever.” And, if I’d just met Baker and Ari, that would have been enough. But no, Love wasn’t done with me, yet.

Just before I got to the coffee shop in Boulevard Park, I saw a little pup stylin’ a purple mohawk, and I was instantly charmed. Her human, Wendy, told me that she dyes Lucy’s hair herself – using masking tape to keep the dye inside a little rectangle on top of Lucy’s head. She said Lucy loves to go shopping with her at thrift stores, and enjoys her spa days when Wendy dyes her hair and gives her doggy massages. The idea of a spa day for Lucy totally tickled me. Wendy graciously agreed to let me take little Lucy’s picture.

I walked into the Wood’s in Boulevard Park to get myself a mocha. The barista fed me my line: “And what’s a good name for that drink?”

To which I answered my usual, “Well, I’m not sure it’s a good name, but my name is ‘Karen.'”

To which he answered, “I love that name! My mom is named Karen!”

To which, I gave him the highest tip.

As I stood off to the side, waiting for my drink, I saw a young man wearing a WSU cap. “Go Cougs!” I said, and he started grinning. I told him the year I’d graduated from WSU – long, long ago – and learned he’d just graduated in June. I learned that his friend also graduated from WSU, and is going to Tennessee soon, to get her law degree. My new friends introduced themselves as Emma and Austin, and cheerfully agreed to let me snap their photo.

I finished my mocha outside at a picnic table, people-watching and listening to the breeze gently rustle the autumn leaves above me. I felt such peace there.

A couple of women passed by, and one of them stopped and started frantically patting down her pockets. Uh oh. “Did you lose something?” I asked, concerned for her. She smiled and said she thought she’d lost her phone, but she found it. Whew!

When I felt it was time, I moved on down the boardwalk. I’d just gotten to the end of the first boardwalk section, when I saw a little group of people pointing and looking into one of the pine trees there. I was curious, and asked them what they saw. They told me there was an animal in a nest in the branches, and they helped me find it. I tried to get a picture, but the nest was hidden in the shadows of the tree, and it was hard to get a clear shot. For a while we stood together, speculating about what kind of an animal this was – we knew it wasn’t a squirrel because it didn’t have a squirrel tail, but see? There’s its ears and “I think it’s looking at us.” Someone thought it might be a mouse. I suggested it might be a completely new kind of creature – half-bird and half-mammal. And my new friends played along with me.

I loved these people. I asked them if they were from Bellingham, and learned they were visiting from Florida. I welcomed them to my part of the world and thanked them for sharing their discovery with me. And, of course, I asked if I could take their picture. I told them I was collecting magic today, and they were a part of that. So we all introduced ourselves, and I learned my new friends were Lin, Portia, and David.

After Lin, Portia, and David continued on their journey, I stayed a little longer to see if I could get a better view of the creature in the tree. And when Caden and Kylie passed by, I could tell they were people who would enjoy seeing the nest, too. So now *I* got to share the nest-magic with more cool new friends!

Little Fig pup appeared on the path as I was heading for the second section of the boardwalk. She just radiated friendly puppyness and it was impossible to NOT take her photo.

When I got to the ramp above Taylor Dock I found the women who’d passed me while I sat at the picnic bench in Boulevard Park – when I’d thought one of them had lost something. They recognized me and asked me if I’d take their photo for them. I did that for them, and then they posed for me so I could take their photo for myself. Rose and Claire were very fun. I learned that they were visiting Bellingham from Alberta, and I thanked them for coming down from Canada to see us.

But wait! There’s more!

When I got up to Fairhaven, I texted my husband to let him know I was bringing home dinner, and stopped at OVN to order a pizza for us. While I waited outside for my pizza, I noticed a dog at the next table was sticking her snout in between her humans, looking for attention, and I started grinning. More pup magic! I told the family around the table that I was loving their dog, and they started laughing. They said Kodak ignores them when they want to give her attention, but then inserts herself between them when SHE wants attention. “Like a cat,” I said, nodding, and they laughed and agreed.

I came over to their table to get a picture of Kodak, and to give her a pet on the head. Kodak’s family introduced themselves to me then. Cindy was the matriarch, and her children Zoe and Jordan were with her, and their friends, Vaughn, and Lani. I learned, then, that Kodak’s family was up in Bellingham because Zoe was attending WWU this year to study anthropology. And all this got us to talking about state universities. I told them one of my sons had attended WWU, the other one had attended WSU, I had attended WSU, and my father had attended UW. I said my dad and I had enjoyed the Apple Cups together – but, of course, that’s all different now from when he was alive. Cindy said her dad had gone to UW, too, and maybe her dad and mine had known each other! And then one thing led to another – we started talking about our dads – and we discovered they’d both been renowned mountaineers and almost surely had known each other!!! Her father, Jack Kendrick, had been one of Fred Beckey’s climbing partners and had climbed with the Whittaker twins. I told Cindy my pop had climbed Mount Kennedy with the Whittakers, and was probably best known for his participation in the 1953 K2 Expedition.

It was so fun talking to Cindy and hearing again the names of people from Dad’s circle of friends! (Here’s more about Jack Kendrick: https://www.mountaineers.org/…/in-memory-of-jack-kendrick ) (And here’s more about Pop: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dee_Molenaar )

Connections! I love these connections we all have with one another.

But wait! There’s more!

My pizza had been brought out by this time and it was time to go. So I bid my new friends goodbye, grabbed my pizza, and headed up to my car. When I got to the statue of J.J. Harris sitting on the bench at the corner of 11th and Harris, I saw a man in a Seahawks sweatshirt who looked like he might be wanting to sit next to Mr. Harris on the bench. I said, “Go Seahawks!” and asked him if he was thinking of sitting on the bench. He started laughing and said he hadn’t been thinking of that, but he would do that for me if I needed someone in a photo. So he sat on the bench for me. I took a photo of him with his cell and then took a picture of him with mine. I learned that Parry was visiting Bellingham from BC, and I told him I was so happy to see Canadians visiting us.

Parry reassured me that we’re “all one” – and it felt like Love Herself speaking to me.

I Woke Up Angry This Morning

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I woke up angry this morning. Angry at the cruelty, and blatant racism, sexism, misogyny, and deceit playing out in front of us; angry at the people who seem to be fine with all of that; angry at the people who talk about “leftist extremism” while brushing off January 6th as a “rally” and ignoring the violence being done to children and other innocent people because they “look guilty” and happen to live in the wrong parts of towns in blue states; angry at an administration which seems to take delight in inciting violence and hate towards states and people it views as its “enemies”; angry at the federal agents who say “f***” the children and “now go home or you’re next”; angry at bullies; angry at the people who applaud the bullies; angry at the “friends” who have tried to guilt me into silence by calling me a “pot stirrer” when I’ve provided information counter to their political views; and maybe I woke up angry at myself, too, for feeling powerless to make the cruelty stop.

And so that’s how I left our house this morning – angry and grumpy.

We needed to go to Sedro-Woolley to run an errand, and, afterwards, ended up at a coffee shop for drinks and treats. After a while, when we still hadn’t gotten our order, I began to feel impatient and asked the baristas if maybe they’d forgotten us. We got our drinks soon afterwards.

Another customer had come in after us. She waited patiently at another table. She never asked if she’d been forgotten. She never looked agitated or perturbed. She quietly sat at her table, swinging one leg while she waited for her coffee. She had on the coolest rubber boots – she’d rolled them down at the top and there was this cool salmon-pattern revealed on the rolled-down parts. I had to ask her about them.

She told me the pattern was designed by the “Salmon Sisters” in Alaska. She’d lived in Alaska for a while, she said. I learned then that she’d worked for NOAA as a marine biologist, and now worked for the Washington Dept. of Fish and Wildlife. I told her my brother was a marine biologist, too, and had worked for NOAA for a time, and then another government agency, and had ended his career working for the State. We talked about fishing for a while – she told me something I hadn’t known – that if there isn’t enough fishing allowed, the fish population will exceed what the rivers supply in food, and the salmon population will begin to die out. She was interesting. And kind. She was interesting and kind and patient. And, when she finally got her order and was ready to leave, I thanked her for modeling kindness to me this morning. I told her I’d come in to the coffee shop feeling grumpy – which isn’t my usual self – and she’d helped bring me back to myself again. She smiled and thanked ME – which is, of course, what a kind person does.

Meeting my new friend reminded me of one of the most essential lessons life has taught me – that as long as we can love and show kindness to the people we encounter every day, we aren’t powerless – we CAN make a difference. Just like my new friend did for me this morning.

I’m still angry about the cruelty I see in our world. Maybe it’s right to be angry about that. But I don’t feel so powerless, anymore.