Thirty hours
With some kind and gentle prodding, I accepted an invitation to take a little trip. I went to Northampton, MA on Sunday morning and came back last night, for a total of thirty hours.
Western MA in the fall! It doesn't get more beautiful than that. There were walks in the woods and a drive to the summit of Mt. Holyoke. The colors are exploding on all the trees. I got to pick leaves and drink apple cider. We drove by the tobacco farms of the renowned Connecticut Shade cigar wrapper. There was one barn right on the road that was still full of hanging tobacco! The tobacco leaves were huge, soft and a little stretchy.
Dinner was spent in the company of good friends and it was most enjoyable. an_gadhar and zevinboots cracked me up with stories about Guinea hens and train-til-you-barf Aikido workouts at the Tokyo Riot Police Training Academy. Apparently, there are protocols for barfing while still on the mats! Ewwww!
My gracious host, bearsir, took the best care of me. He fed my heart and my soul. He gave me space, encouragement, insight, empathy and thirty-six hours of his precious time and energy. Not in the least were the great conversations. And there was smoke. We smoked cigars, and I also brought a pipe. Perfect for autumn.
I am very lucky to have such wonderful friends in my life.
Western MA in the fall! It doesn't get more beautiful than that. There were walks in the woods and a drive to the summit of Mt. Holyoke. The colors are exploding on all the trees. I got to pick leaves and drink apple cider. We drove by the tobacco farms of the renowned Connecticut Shade cigar wrapper. There was one barn right on the road that was still full of hanging tobacco! The tobacco leaves were huge, soft and a little stretchy.
Dinner was spent in the company of good friends and it was most enjoyable. an_gadhar and zevinboots cracked me up with stories about Guinea hens and train-til-you-barf Aikido workouts at the Tokyo Riot Police Training Academy. Apparently, there are protocols for barfing while still on the mats! Ewwww!
My gracious host, bearsir, took the best care of me. He fed my heart and my soul. He gave me space, encouragement, insight, empathy and thirty-six hours of his precious time and energy. Not in the least were the great conversations. And there was smoke. We smoked cigars, and I also brought a pipe. Perfect for autumn.
I am very lucky to have such wonderful friends in my life.