In the back of my mind I had doubts. Not doubts about wanting to visit, but doubts because of the fires. The term, “Santa Anna Winds” came as an intimidating factor that overshadowed the additional 300+ miles to an already 1000+ mile, four day trip. The L.A. traffic did not intimidate me compared to the news about the raging fires, ravaging the lands, south and west of L.A.
As I sat in the L.A. traffic, four hours of contemplation fueled my determination to visit one of thoughts.com’s most prolific, talented, wise and generous, souls. At that point, even the dull grey flakes of ash, resting on the metallic paint of my car, could not deter my path.
StilKickin called my cell phone about 30 mins prior to my planned arrival. After finding out where I was sitting in traffic, he informed me that I still had better than 90 mins of driving left. Driving with out traffic. But patience and determination won out and 60 mins later than I expected, I walked into the restaurant that we were to meet at.
I had never seen a picture of Circe. I had however, saw a picture of her husband, Stillkickin; he shows himself as his own avatar on thoughts. His crisp white beard and crop of white, curly hair are distinguishable. It was this that kept me from asking around blindly for Circe. But when I saw her, I knew it was her. Before her husband even came into view to confirm what I already knew, she was there, sitting shyly, looking up at me with timid eyes.
Circe is not what I had expected, at first. Her battle in the past few months has caused her to question her appearance, but I assure you that she is a beautiful person; almost as beautiful on the outside as she is on the inside. I pictured Circe as a frail, older lady, with much confidence, a piercing stare and an all knowing smile. My first few seconds in her presence caused me pause. Circe barely kept eye contact with me, she did not speak directly to me, but more at her husband, who immediately took up the conversation and drove it forward, throwing the focus on me and less on the two PERFECT people sitting in front of me. However it only took a matter of minutes until my expectations of Circe came to the fore. She began talking to me, conversing, she pulled out a book of pictures, and her entire focus became her, children, her husband, and their past.
She spun the tales of Stillkickin and the buildings, houses, and lives he built. She showed me pictures of her children, their homes, their animals. She showed me pictures of paintings she painted long ago, before fire consumed them all. The entire time, when she was not looking at the pictures, her eyes were piercing, looking directly at me, the confidence exuded during her dictation was enthralling, and her smiles were genuine, proud, and not in the least timid. When she raised the corner of the blond hair piece she wore, to expose the grey hair hid beneath, it showed me the woman that I had seen in my mind, as I thought of her. She is exactly the person that she portrays when she writes for the lucky ones on thoughts.com.
Her gift to me was a tin of cookies, complete with recipe and chocolate chips, included was a crate of avocados, limes, lemons, and a grapefruit, all of which grew from the trees in front of her home. (Except the cookies!) O,o
As our time wore to an end, I found myself longing to spend more time in the presence of both of these fine people. As I buckled myself into my car and shot out on the highway toward my home, almost 1100 miles away, I knew that I had just spent 90 minutes in the presence of greatness. I assure you that people of this caliber do not exist everywhere in the world today and I consider my self one of the lucky few to have had the experience of a life time….
All my love…
E
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