Looking back...and to what's next: Dallas/Ft Worth, Taos, Las Vegas, and LA

There were hundreds of lightening bugs in the darkening Tennessee field two days ago. Fond memories came to mind from childhood of chasing the dancing lights…no cares about my calling or whether the world I hope to see will ever exist…just an eternal moment of wonder! This journey has been a months long dance between my past and my dreams for the future.

Eternal moments of wonder

I’ve stayed with friends and family, some I’ve not seen in decades, all over the eastern USA. I’ve looked into their eyes and glimpsed the dance between mystery and the power of one’s own choices, which leads to wisdom and joy. Eating together on the patio with my friend Missy and her family in Hilton Head, dancing with my mom and daughter at Gabby’s wedding in VA, breakfast with Lance and Ashley in Durham, conversation with my cousin Lee and Tio at his Kausa Restaurant in midtown Manhattan, and eating together at Phil Sandovals Restaurant with Jimmy, my best boyhood friend, and his wife, Lisa, in Alabama…each an eternal moment of wonder!

And I’ve met so many new friends, compassionate people working on big and lovely visions for community: a second breakfast at Silvana Cafe with Justine in Harlem, conversation with Bethena at The Open Studio in Englewood, food and conversation with Andreas at his Columbian Point Restaurant, Jennifer in Sarasota, Ned on Sullivan’s Island and Edie in Charleston, lunch at Umai Restaurant with K in Herndon VA, and dinner at Seven Reasons Restaurant with Keith just off U Street in Washington, DC…each an eternal moment of wonder!

I’ve also spent time alone: wandering city streets on my bike and the wilderness in national and state parks. I’ve befriended bees on a ridge line in the Shenandoah, swam naked in southern lakes, and discovered humor in a wet sleeping bag during a 4am thunderstorm. More eternal moments of wonder.

Go West

I leave Nashville tomorrow for a one night stay at Land Between the Lakes National Park, then a visit with Lisa, Tank, and Jesse in Dallas/Ft Worth next week. My beloved friend and former Open Kitchens Project coworker, Eleanor, invited me to visit her in Taos, NM the following week. I plan to be in Las Vegas late June or early July to visit Anna and we’re discussing offering the first in person Open Kitchens event since early 2020 there. I continue west in July to visit Bob, my first college roommate, and possibly another Open Kitchens event in LA. San Francisco and visits with my best friends Dave G from high school and Dave J post college…and more Open Kitchens events? Perhaps late August in Seattle. And it looks like I may be back in Sarasota in late August for two Open Kitchens events there. Please let me know if you’re in any of those cities and interested to participate in Open Kitchens events.

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