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IN THIS ISSUE: THE QUEEN OF MULTITASKING
WISDOM: "Everything we do should be worthy of our full attention."
Eknath Easwaren
SOUL TRAVEL: USA - A SECRET PLACE AND MORE
THE QUEEN OF MULTITASKING
My friend, Lucy, is the Queen of Multitasking. She is not especially proud of this; it is a habit that has her in its grip. Fortunately, she has a sense of humor because, as a result of this habit, a number of mishaps occur that are a source of mirth to others and about which she can also laugh (after a period of time has passed). Lucy recounted her latest episode and, quite frankly, and unabashedly, I almost died laughing. (Since laughter is food for the soul, I probably owe her mine at this point.)
Lucy, who has a heart of gold, had offered the use of the clubhouse in the complex where she lives, for a friend's family reunion. She was "preparing" it for them by trying to make it homier. With her arms full of stuff, she struggled with a double dead bolt arrangement, and with her one, free hand, could not get the key out of the outside of the door. Darting inside to relieve herself of her load, her mind, as always, focusing on what she had to do next, the door slammed shut behind her. Much to her chagrin, the door locked from the inside and the key was on the outside. She had no way out. No one was around and there was no phone.
Now, Lucy is no spring chicken but she has a very determined nature. She was not about to spend the rest of the day locked inside the clubhouse. Lucy went outside to the enclosed pool area and perused her surroundings for a way to escape. Her eyes were skyward. Suddenly, she found herself airborne. For a frozen second in time, she realized what was happening. Legs splayed apart as though still walking and nowhere to go but down, Lucy landed in the middle of the jacuzzi, fully clothed and in her red, suede shoes. (I am giggling as I am writing this.)
Recovering from that shock, she sees that the only possible exit is climbing on top of the cover of the pool pump, hoisting herself to the top of the six foot wall, and jumping down the other side. They say adrenalin works wonders. Lucy, for whom exercise is a bit of a stretch (note the double-entendre), managed to do this. She landed in a flower bed that had just been watered. Now, she is not only dripping wet, she is also muddy. Ever the optimist, she is feeling fortunate as nothing was broken-except a very large number of petunias. She also reported that her red, suede shoes were cleaner and none the worse for wear.
Then there was the time …..!
Oh, Lucy! You are a dear friend and I do worry about you. Could you just take a breath once in a while AND FOCUS ON ONE THING AT A TIME? Passing on your crown as Queen of the Multitaskers may extend your life span.
A SECRET PLACE AND MORE - USA
The photos are the main attraction this time. Or maybe that is because I feel the commentary on a USA destination may not be as interesting to you as an international one. At any rate, do have a look; I think you will enjoy them.
For those of you who are not photographers, you may not understand the persistence that drove another photographer and me to go through the many hoops we did in order to find this secret place. My friend had seen the photograph on the cover of a coffee table book on Nevada. That narrowed it down somewhat. The Internet was not much help but we did get a clue.
Since we were spending a week in Lake Tahoe, we were determined we would not leave Nevada without finding this spot, which, by the way, was on private land. To make a long story short, after fifteen telephone calls, messages flying back and forth, and a lot of begging, we finally received permission to go. Our final contact, Wally, gave us instructions to pick up the key at Rocky's Bar and Grill, travel north until we came to a green gate with spikes (to deter trespassers, he explained), after the large white house on the right. Wally said he would like to meet us and hoped to get back in time to do so, but he was going to be 100 miles north planting wheat during the afternoon.
The "fly geysers" as they are called were visible from the road. They are smaller than we anticipated but an interesting photo shoot nonetheless. They sit at the edge of a travertine pool and hot water continuously spews from them. They looked man-made to me but, apparently, the water has enough force that the sides of the geysers, colored richly from the minerals in the water, remain smooth and shiny. Wally did make it back to meet us and in answer to my question, assured us they were real and growing and changing constantly. (An old timer, Wally seemed to have stepped out of another time and place, and didn't seem too real himself.) To some extent, the fly geyers were man-made as they resulted from the drilling holes punched in the ground in search of a well. Wally swore us to secrecy. Visitors have been a problem.
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Lake Tahoe was at its summer best. Lots of sunshine and blue sky enhanced the incredible blue of this very deep lake. Aside from the commercial, casino filled South shore, it is a jewel of a place. It is also rather high for us lowlanders. Of course, we hit the ground running and almost wore ourselves out the first day, forgetting we had gone from 2000 ft. to 8000 ft.. But the climb to Eagle Lake (a forever-one mile at this altitude and on the first day and with camera equipment) was worth the effort. I would encourage everyone to make that hike. The trail starts up from Eagle Falls. Eagle Falls is near the highway by Emerald Bay. Eagle Lake is a small lake surrounded by high granite walls and, if the lake is still, the walls make a gorgeous reflection. Just give yourself some time to acclimate to the altitude before making the climb. It really isn't that bad a hike.
About three and one-half hours south of north Tahoe is Mono Lake. It doesn't look like much from the road but this is one of the most photographed spots in the country. Sunrises and sunsets can be spectacular with orange, pink and purple skies reflecting in the water and coloring the mountains and the formations. We had a breathtaking sunrise at the south end of the lake. This is where the best formations are.
Following Lake Tahoe, I spent a few days in Sante Fe, N.M., an artist's paradise, and land of beautiful clouds and Georgia O'Keefe. The mountains were blazing with color and for a desert rat like me, it was sensational to see a real fall. The weather wasn't very cooperative but there was a silver lining. A brilliant late afternoon double rainbow took my breath away. The photo with the outline of a bronze mountain lion that was on the roof of a home and the rainbow was a combination of two slides, thanks to Photoshop. I very seldom manipulate photos but neither slide was much without the other so this just was too good to pass up. The jade head was a sculpture at the foundry in Sante Fe. On Saturday afternoons, you can watch them pour.
 
That's the end of my 2003 travels except Christmas when I will be spending a week in Boulder, Colorado, with my daughter and grandchildren.
JANUARY MUSELETTER - an adventure in Firewalking. I have thought about firewalking from time to time but never done it. My friend, Leah Maka, has walked the coals (1800 degrees) many times and has written a wonderfully thoughtful and introspective piece about firewalking. You won't want to miss it. Firewalking may just make your list of New Year's resolutions. Ok, so that's a stretch.
No February Museletter as I will be wandering around Southern India for a month.
Have a peaceful and joyous holiday!
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I WANT TO THANK THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVE TAKEN THE TIME TO LET ME KNOW HOW MUCH YOU ARE ENJOYING THE MUSELETTER AND THANKS ALSO TO THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVE GIVEN ME E-MAILS OF OTHERS YOU THINK MIGHT ENJOY IT. IT GIVES ME GREAT PLEASURE TO HEAR FROM YOU. YOUR COMMENTS ARE WELCOMED!
I WOULD LIKE TO HAVE A MAILING LIST OF AT LEAST 1000 BY THE END OF THE YEAR SO PLEASE KEEP THE REFERRALS COMING.
EXPLORE MY WEBSITE AND PHOTO GALLERY AT WWW.DANCEWITHEAGLES.COM
EMAIL: allison@dancewitheagles.com
Feel free to forward this on to anyone you believe might enjoy it and encourage them to subscribe for themselves. Comments, submissions and suggestions are welcome. My email is allison@dancewitheagles.com Although this material is subject to copyright, you may reprint this publication in whole or in part or use it in any way you feel it might be of benefit. Please state the following: Reprinted with permission from Allison Quattrocchi of Dance with Eagles, www.dancewitheagles.com All past museletters are posted on my website.
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WINGS Vol. II, No 10, December, 2003
