Canvas

This blog has been a place of storytelling. Sometimes I forget how powerful an act that is. Last blog, I wrote of wildfires. On the heels of posting, I found myself evacuating my home as a wall of smoke devoured it. Luckily, only smoke but the fire had been a block away. The winds are fierce in this area. Truly, an ideal location for the commercial windmills that continue to appear on the horizon.

So the winds serve as fuel but they also serve to fuel the stealth embers that pop up anywhere from an irrigation motor in a wheat field to the spark that flies between a Santa Fe freight wheel and the old train track. Needless to say, I prayed and engaged in a great deal of meditation while distracting the children. The act of praying involves more of a request for shifting winds as praying for the calming of them I liken to the parting of the Red Sea. But there are those that act like Moses. And I wonder who's faith is stronger: Me praying in a safe space or the man covered in soot with his water hose and Bud Light hitting hot spots as they fly into his backyard. Most would question his sanity. I'll say he's a man of faith -- the fire took out his backyard but he saved his home which sits a block behind mine so I will say he saved mine, too -- giving me the privilege of only questioning his choice of beverage (but if he wants a case of it, he's got it).

Not aware of his heroic act, I pulled away from the house completely at peace knowing all that was important in my world was snapping their seat belts into place. But, we were missing one cat. I had spent a few seconds looking for him. Later, after having secured a hotel room, I thought of him and it dawned on me that he probably wasn't even in the house. So, I created him as our keeper of the gate and when we returned he was ecstatic to see us...and a little freaked out.

Even as I write, a fire rages outside of town. It's several miles away but the sky, that meets the flat lands here, serves as a canvas which is filling with hues so stark in contrast to billowy white clouds and light lapis found in between that it could be mistaken for a severe thunderstorm -- prompting me to pray for rain. So, that is the story I'm telling and it ends with a nice little rhyme:

White round clouds
in a silver frame.
Leaves dancing
to the ground.
Soft winds sing
through a window screen
of rains soon tumbling down.

So, a beautiful thing happened recently in my (to create accuracy allow me to be redundant) tiny little village, a full fledged coffee shop opened. Now, for those not familiar with my Mayberry R.F.D, this is a huge event for the likes of these here parts. It's become the social hub. The very first LIVE music performance is schedule for tonight. Can I wait? Barely! I'm clueless who the guy is but the company will be so lovingly familiar that I'm in. And it's for a good cause.

Naturally, this cafe has thrown the Wanna-Be-Coffee-Shop-But-We're-Really-A-Special-Occasion-Card & Floral Store into a bit of a frenzy. But such is the nature of contrast. The BCSBWRASOC&FS now has WiFi, comfy sofas and a rather large television hanging from the wall. I needed to buy a Birthday card and, thus, became privy. These changes were suggestions offered up all along by patrons and they said they'd try but it took a little dropping in business to do. They'll be fine. Though it's not 5th Ave (well, actually it is but not the NYC kind) they do have prime real estate when it comes to a commercial location. There is always someone within walking distance during lunch to grab a cup or two. And everyone needs flowers.

I've just returned from another tiny little village outside of Austin. A picturesque place full of coffee shops, art dealers & cultural venues. Insulated by Hwy 35, with all its ebb and flow of people passing through, Salado has an influx of influence. In my hometown, we are insulated by corn fields, cows and dry dead grass that, just three days ago, caught fire at the height of a windstorm. The open skies always give the illusion that the wildfires are closer than they really are putting everyone on edge. On particularly windy days, when the sky takes on a grayish-tan tint and the unmistakable smell of earth burning permeates the nostrils, it's no illusion. The fire is nearing that edge in us.

Last September, Salado suffered a flood wiping out over $2 million in homes and property. It wiped out one of my favorite sculptures, too. A mermaid that sat in a pool of water waiting for me to visit to take pictures of my children as they wade around her each time growing bigger, older. They are rebuilding and I was promised: She will return. Here, a family in our community lost their home to the fire. We will be rebuilding them. There will be no try, we'll just do it. A few blogs back I mentioned a Hip-Hop class my girlfriends wanted me to join. Well, I joined and am now finding myself performing for charity towards that rebuilding. I think there is no better reason in the world to put myself out there -- completely vulnerable -- period. But I'll probably need a strong cup of Bru first.

Toll Free

In the coming week, it's very important that you stay out of other people's hells -- even if they invite you in with a big welcome, and even if you're tempted to join them there in their infernos as a misguided way of proving your love. Be compassionate, Virgo, but don't be manipulated or foolish. The best thing you can do to help others is to cultivate your own mental health with ingenuity, trusting in its radiant power to heal by example. ~ Noted

We first awaken to our freedom within the illusion and then to our freedom from the illusion. ~ Andrea DeBell (@brite2briter)