Cafe Hitch-hike

2018-12-29

My best foot forward

I went to visit my former colleague Fran from Edgewhere. I made the drive to visit her very humble abode. We talk regularly on the phone, so we didn't need to catch up. We just wanted to spend time together. She had some divination cards and we tried them out. She also made me some tamales, so hell yeah, more reason to make the trip!

The famous milkshake place was nearby, so I dragged her there so I could score a (blissful) guanabana milkshake. The milkshake place is a fruit stand that includes a petting zoo and decommissioned farm equipment that people can climb on and take pictures. They also had shells of single-engine planes, and I was able to get her in them and took pictures (of course, I hopped into them). Two pairs of tortoises were getting it on in the petting zoo, which I didn't notice until I saw kids giggling and Fran pointing them out.

Fran was definitely one of the reasons that place grew on me. Just about all of the people in Edgewhere were kind and warm to me. The area is quite poor and a bit rough around the edges, but the people were great. As I drove through the town of Edgewhere, I recalled the people I knew and what they were like. Their people definitely taught me powerful lessons about friendship, and I hope that never leaves me.

On my way back, I drove to Remy's old house. The people who bought it fixed it up quite nicely and I took a picture. The whole neighborhood looked nicer than I remembered it. The main street off the highway towards his place got new sidewalks, trees, and other beautification projects once the city was finished with replacing their street drainage. The street was under construction while I lived in the area, but it was done. It looked like the residents followed suit and took better care of their abodes. It touched a soft spot in my heart.

I also quietly smiled when I saw the burnt-yellow house of the voudou priest who lived across the street from Remy. The first time we were intimate was was during a dusk, full moon ceremony the priest held in his fenced-in backyard. Remy walked me to my car while the sound of their drums dinned through the neighborhood, and perhaps the sound redirected us back into the house.

As I left, I felt bittersweet. It wasn't that long ago, but it felt like another lifetime. However, I saw some immediate changes. Parts of the highway I drove on were getting additional lanes (it would be 4 or 5 lanes wide in some spots). I was surprised by how much had been built up since the last time I had been through there. I heard the county approved a monstrosity of a shopping mall in one area; it's only a matter of time when a combination of nepotism, greed, and ravenous consumerism put its development on the fast-track. I don't even want to think about what that will do to the area's delicate ecosystem. I don't get a good feeling about this.


Speaking of voudou, I crossed paths with a snakeskin on the sidewalk while I walked the dog. Red, black, and yellow bands? Uh-oh. I took a picture of the skin, and later identified it as belonging to a coral snake. It made my heart jump. I better not let my little Marley root around the shrubs anymore! I don't want her to get bitten by one of the most poisonous of snakes! This past spring, the property managers sent an email warning of coral snakes, but I saw the proof with my own eyes.

What made me jump even higher was-- I found it. I'm sure many others passed it as well, but what could that signify? Eeeeek!!! If I add as a signal with the pairs of copulating tortoises, perhaps they point to themes of reproduction and regeneration. I can only hope!

When I walked by the same spot 2 days later, the snakeskin remained there, so I picked it up with a stick and chucked it into the nearby shrubs. I should had kept it; maybe I could had gotten a few bucks for it from one of the local botanicas (stores for voudou, Santeria, and other Caribbean spiritual practices).


I did a huge cleaning and energy clearing of the place on the day of winter solstice, and I felt quite blah afterward. This has happened before, and it was usually a sign that it was needed. I remember for one particularly aggressive clearing, I felt something not very pleasant drain from my body for a few days. I'm sure I had plenty of unpleasant energy to drain from my unit and perhaps myself, considering it's the end of the year.

I reviewed things I had written earlier this year about work and other matters. Damn, am I getting buyers remorse, or is now not the best time to get a place? I swear I felt love when I saw the unit and also excited afterward! The purchase of the unit fits in with other mid-range plans/wishes/delusions of mine along with a personal goal or two, and that was why I did it. I hope that whatever happens that I'm alert to any signals that come my way about which direction to take with all of this. I hope that whatever happens allows me to keep my investment and gosh, maybe gain something truly better (winning lottery ticket, perhaps? Hee-hee-hee!).

But yes, I cleared my home. With it being the end of the year, I thought it would help me wrap it up in whatever way I can and to move with my best foot forward.

downwind | upstream