Writers Block
I
have been in a writer’s slump for awhile….actually for about four months! I came down to Texas for the winter as I
usually do. Some of my time was spent
with my siblings in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area during the holiday season.
I
was lucky enough that my son, Jason and his family, wife Anna and children,
Kaitlen and Shawn came by my cousin’s home to visit for a few hours while they
were in Dallas visiting some friends of theirs.
It was great to see them and introduce them to their cousins and see
their Aunt Hazel. And it was great to see my beautiful little grandchildren again.
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| Shawn, Jason and Grandpa |
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| Nephew Kevin and Cousin Edna |
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| Jason, Anna, Shawn, Kaitlen and me |
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| Edna and Hazel |
Rockport, Texas
After
that visit I went to Rockport on the Gulf Coast of Texas to stay for a few
months because it is warmer there normally. That stay was pretty routine and
boring for me and the weather was not very nice. However a new turn in the road of life
happened while I was there. Here are
some Rockport photos and then I will tell you my story.
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| Rockport Bay |
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| Rockport looking at the Gulf |
Daylight After Darkness
My
story began two years ago while I was in Rockport for the winter where I
met some folks at the RV park we were all staying in that are still my friends. One couple, Don and Margie, became close
friends and actually moved to Oregon and bought a home after many years full
time in their RV on the road. They
originally were from Georgia but love it in Prineville, Oregon now. Anyway, that winter of 2012 was a very low
time in my life as I had just lost my beautiful and wonderful wife of 46
years, Pati, the summer before to inoperable brain tumors. All I could think about was
just trying to get through each day one day at a time, not knowing where or
what I was going to do without her….thus the reason for my blog’s name. It was a very difficult time for me then and
for a long time after.
Margie
kind of took me under her wings and hung out with me and helped me through the
tough times while we were there. She
told me about a friend she had known all her life that lived in Kalispell,
Montana that she thought I should meet. Margie
felt we were meant to meet each other because of our similarities. I had just secured a summer job in East
Glacier Park and she thought we could have some dinners etc together while I
was up there. I told her I would think
about it but probably not going to happen. I did not contact her friend.
The story jumps to this past summer of 2014 when
I was leaving their house in Oregon after a visit for my annual jaunt to
Texas. Margie asked me when I was going
to call her friend, Cathryn. It had been
a few years since she first asked and I told her that if Cathryn wanted to call
or email me now that I would respond as one could never have enough
friends. I just did not have the guts to
make the first move. I did not even know
what this lady looked like. Margie told
me she is a retired educator, high school principal, to be exact, after forty
years. She was close to my age and had
been single for about twenty years.
I
did get an email from Cathryn introducing herself. Cathryn told me Margie has
been after her for two years to contact me and she also hesitated but it felt
right this time she asked so she took the first step. I wrote back and we have been corresponding
daily via email and phone calls since that first contact in October. After grieving so long from losing Pati this
was like a lifeline thrown to me that I was not looking for since I was kind of
drowning in my own self pity. We have very similar interests and wants and
concerns and visions so it has been a joy to talk with her every day like a pen
pal and get to know her.
After
about three months, we decided that she should fly down to Rockport and we
could meet each other in person so we planned that trip for a week the first
part of February. We met, we liked each other in person more that we did on
email and phone, and we could not shut up for the whole week. We cooked together and laughed together and
really bonded. It was a wonderful week
and we both agreed that we will continue our relationship going forward.
So,
without more details, I have a special lady in my life now and I am trying very
hard to move forward with my life, which is getting easier each day with
Cathryn’s help. We plan to meet in Las
Vegas the first part of May and she is going to spend some more time with me,
actually living and traveling with me, in my 5th wheel as we travel
back up to her home in Kalispel, Montana.
From there we will see where the days and the roads take us as we
continue to build on this new relationship.
Cathryn Louise McDevitt
Now, for those that are lucky
enough to read my blogs, I would like to introduce you to my new best friend,
Cathryn McDevitt. I have a feeling you
be hearing a lot more about her in the future.
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| Cathryn |
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| Cathryn during our visit in Rockport. Shrimp before the grilled oysters! |
Moving On
Back
to the present time. I am staying at a corp.
of engineer’s campground on Canyon Lake, just north of San Antonio, Texas. After visiting with old friends around here,
I am heading west next week to Silver City, NM and Casa Grande, AZ then to
Prescott Valley, AZ before getting to Las Vegas and on to Hurricane, Utah where
my brother, Mac, lives and then back to Montana and the west coast. We are actually planning a trip to NY and New England next fall and plan to spend next winter together on the road.
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| Looking out from my camp spot |
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| Right outside my window. Fourteen deer! |
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| Canyon Lake. Very low. |
Happy Trails to you.............until we meet again.
