I began the day by sending an email to a person who is one of the busiest people in the world. The email was entitled: I am getting over my blogging addiction. It went like this.” Good morning, This is a good thing, the ridding of the blog addiction. I might make myself but it is going to take a lot of effort. Not so before. I spent the morning in email communication with people – back and forth. Not the solitary confinement of the blog. But task of day? getting more blog cards printed as I keep giving them out. And going back and seeing the women who made me so pretty last visit – I blogged the beautiful me. (hahaha). I am here at the Courtyard Marriott making friends with the staff. Perhaps it is not the Trump but me?”
Now this person, this busy person manages to return each and every email. We have an extremely lively correspondence. We have known each other two months, and three days. I have friends that I have known for fifty years or more and they cannot be bothered to place their fingers upon the keys of their computer or their phones. I am sure many follow my blog, after all where did the 15,000 visitors come from in the first place? But are they actively involved in my life? The answer is no. It seems to me that I give, give, give. Not take, take, take. This is beginning to feel like unrequited love. Many of you, my dear friends are wonderful. You know who you are. To one dear (and actually recent) friend I wrote: “The funeral the most incredible experience of my life. So healing, so sad, so hopeful, so redemptive. I will write about it, not blog it though.”
That is because it was intensely personal. I have made myself into a public figure but I can withdraw into privacy in a heartbeat. I have had the privilege of meeting public figures recently, they cannot retreat for reasons that are largely financial. I do not get paid for doing this.
I flew to Edmonton on Air Canada in steerage, as I call it. It is only an hour and a half flight. Three of us sat on Aisle 22. An older woman (probably younger than me however) and an interesting young woman from Brazil, a student at the University of Alberta. The young girl and I spoke of many things: winters in Edmonton, the quality of the U of A, what it means to uproot your life and what happens to friendships along the way. As we talked I did a cross word puzzle. It was a little frightening at one point. 25 down was “Disqualify from serving in court.” and for the life of me I could not think of the word and I was a lawyer for over twenty years. It did finally come to me. Recuse. I was able to do the cross word puzzle because the older woman lent me her pen. It had the following message on it. “God wants you in heaven. One sin will shut you down out of heaven. Jesus died on the cross for our sins. “ It was from a company called Seed Sowers. Other than the pen this woman’s contribution was showing my seating companion pictures of her grandchildren. What did I take from this experience? My decision not to have children was sound. We got off the plane. The older woman asked me if anyone was meeting me. “No, We were speaking of that, the young girl and I. I said that it was such a relief not to have a husband to tow around, to get off a plane, jump in a taxi and speed toward one’s hotel. I repeated this to the older woman but she probably did not get it. The freedom of it all. The freedom to be me.
I sometimes wonder why I am so popular. I do talk a lot, I do admit. But I also listen and engage with those in my environment. To be around people who do not is intensely boring.
One of the funniest conversations occurred at the Trump International Hotel with Prince Andrew of Trump. He had two older sisters and if there ever was something they didn’t want to do they convinced their brother to do it with the promised payment of five dollars. But they would always say: “I do not have any money right now.” One day after eight years of this he said: “You are never going to pay me, are you?” They said: Shit he figured it out! Ah! But its been a really great run!” The story kills me. I asked him how much money was involved.
Prince: Enough for a down payment on a condo.
Me: In Vancouver?
Prince: In Vancouver,
Me; You are sort of stupid
Prince: Thanks
I awoke this morning on the tenth floor of the Courtyard Marriott. A rather delightful hotel in Edmonton with a patio that affords the best view around. it has been a delight to be here. I looked out the window in the early dawn and saw a man exercising on the roof of a building next door. Delightful, But there are no mountains, no Coal Harbor, no Stanley Park. Not only that I had to push the curtains open. In the Trump all I do is go to the wall and push a couple of buttons and “Open Sesame” So I do like it here but I do need to go “home”, I am determined to go and find out what the pyramid is. I see it, I do not think it a mirage.
The photograph is of the roof of the adjacent building with the man exercising.
