A Tribute

This is a tribute to many things in my life. First, this is my 200th post, as a blogger, as a writer, as who I am working to become.

This is a tribute to the people who have stuck by me as I ventured into this new life.  I wanted, no, desperately needed to forget the pain of leaving the old lifestyle. There were those who let me slip away quietly, no longer a part of their daily lives.  There are a select few, who wouldn’t let go of who I was and cheered me on to my next phase.

This week, my friend Barbara came from Texas. We had planned her visit for months to coincide with the foliage. On her “bucket list”, was a trail ride through the woods to see the splendor of the season from the back of a horse.

She has a personal passion to collect an indigenous stone bead from every state she has called home.  A trip to Sunapee Granite Works not only allowed us to wander the back roads, still bathed in glorious color, but to explore the art of stone. Bill and Pam Stocker met us at the stone cutting yard to discuss creating a custom bead from a rare Texas rock. From massive blocks, they cut and polish the stone, producing towering monuments and tiny dazzling gems.

The story of the company’s evolution into jewelry, the American Bead Collection, is fascinating and a tribute to the love and strength of Bill and Pam as she overcame breast cancer and a brain tumor. Each design grew out of the sense that we are all tied to the earth, we are each survivors in our own way.

We then headed to the coast in search of the perfect Lobster Roll for lunch.  I took her to Newburyport, my birthplace.  After stuffing ourselves with lobster and fried clams, we wandered around the square where Barbara found a local pirate to chat with.

I plucked up my courage and visited the Jabberwocky Bookshop to see if the owner would be interested in carrying my memoir.  Sue Little, the owner, took time out from her busy day of running this amazing store to discuss my book.  Local ties won out for me and she agreed it would be a good fit. One step closer in spreading the word.

No matter how rocky the landscape of life appears, there is a tenacious spirit in all of us that blooms and survives.