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Author
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Topic: The Adventures of FishKitten
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FishKitten
Knowflake Posts: 1033
From: on the trail of the Old Ones
Registered: Aug 2003
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posted August 18, 2004 08:10 PM
 
But here I am, tears coursing down my cheeks. I can’t help it. He never smoked a day in his life. He is one of the most physically fit people I ever saw. I can walk most people under the table, both men and women, but I had to haul to keep up with Hayduke on a hike. I talked to his wife, since I came back, but I haven’t spoken with Hayduke yet. They spent a few years at the cabin. It is their home. She and I agreed that he needs to go home. She is planning to take him back to the cabin when September comes. The days are golden then and the nights are getting longer and cooler, so he will rest more than he would than now when it is still light for so long. I have the feeling she should take him soon. I’d like to go there to see him and walk the path of the old ones with him one last time before he goes to meet them in person.Hayduke, you old swashbuckler, you have to beat everyone to the next adventure. May it be as wonderful as this one has been. Save me a seat in the Suburban, my friend. IP: Logged |
trillian
Knowflake Posts: 4050
From: The Boundless
Registered: Mar 2003
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posted August 18, 2004 08:20 PM
I've been reading along as you write tonight, FK. My love and heart go out to you and your friend Hayduke.  If there is anything I can do, just ask. And please reconsider writing a book. Your adventures should be documented and shared...as A. said, publishing might be what makes you famous. And there are others who might be inspired by your memories and experiences. And...it is a way to immortalize the works of Hayduke. Even if others have also written of him, your views have great value. Everything you write, I can smell and taste and see and feel.
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FishKitten
Knowflake Posts: 1033
From: on the trail of the Old Ones
Registered: Aug 2003
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posted August 18, 2004 11:02 PM
Dear Trillian..I can't tell you how much your words warm my heart. It is always the goal of a writer to take the reader into the story. Who knows what will come? I'll have this story written out by the time I get through telling it to my friends here in Lindaland. Perhaps I'll look around for someone interested in publishing it. Frankly, I've always thought I have a better chance with my documentaries and my fiction (since they keep paying me for that stuff), but I may be overlooking the obvious. Linda Goodman has been a huge influence on my life and she managed to find an audience for her esoteric writings. Not that I think for a minute that I can compare to Linda. I just mean she set a wonderful example of how you can touch some people's hearts.IP: Logged |
FishKitten
Knowflake Posts: 1033
From: on the trail of the Old Ones
Registered: Aug 2003
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posted August 19, 2004 12:01 AM
Aselzion...what is going on with you? I get the feeling of change, but maybe that is just a reflection of myself.IP: Logged |
Aphrodite
Knowflake Posts: 4992
From:
Registered: Feb 2002
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posted August 19, 2004 10:28 AM
You're my hero too, FishKitten. Love, Aphrodite IP: Logged |
FishKitten
Knowflake Posts: 1033
From: on the trail of the Old Ones
Registered: Aug 2003
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posted August 19, 2004 11:50 AM
Thank you Aphrodite. That is very sweet. All this hero stuff makes me blush, though. I'm really just a regular person doing things that anyone could do.IP: Logged |
juniperb
Knowflake Posts: 6830
From: Blue Star Kachina
Registered: Mar 2002
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posted August 19, 2004 12:04 PM
FishKitten, I have impatiently waited for some serious free time to begin your adventure and I`m glad I did So much to feel and ponder. I am only about 1/2 way thru as I wish to contemplate what I`m been gifted so far. Thank you gor gifting us with this and I`m eager to read the rest You are a light among the stars FishKitten  ------------------
If having a soul means being able to feel love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals are better off than a lot of humans. ~James Herriot IP: Logged |
Aselzion
Moderator Posts: 1422
From: North Andover, MA
Registered: Nov 2002
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posted August 19, 2004 12:39 PM
Greetings...Fishkitten... Well yes change I guess on several levels. Physically I am trying to get over my sugar/carbohydrate addiction. I have been overweight for a great portion of my life, and and am now trying to get "serious" about my health. Additionally a new friend of mine (a witch High Priest) has taken an interest in helping me to attain my health goals. We've started to do some weightlifting and also are talking about bicycle riding... something I haven't done since I was old enough to drive a car!  Spiritually I am taking up the study of the Witchcraft perspective, but I am not sure how far along that path I will go. However, it has opened up several interesting possibilities for me, and I'm wondering if that is not where I am meant to be?! (if that makes any sense) I am still working for a nursing agency and do not have a regular full time job (with benefits) but am looking for a place to settle as it were. I actually like what I am doing now, home health nursing... It's a bit more autonomous and it allows you to focus on one patient for whatever amount of time you need, without the distractions of the hospital routine. Still toying with several ideas for books.. but interestingly, my Witchcraft connection, who is a well known figure in the Witch community, may be able to help me open some doors in that respect as well. And she has asked me to teach some classes and workshops for her academy, so that is very intriguing to me, as I have long felt that I was "called" to be a Teacher. So yes, changes abound. Am most interested in hearing your thoughts... you do seem to have a knack! Interesting that I knew and worked with Linda, and now am learning from and working with Laurie... seems that the Universe takes a perverse delight in connecting me to fairly celebrated female writers/Teachers. Blessings in the Light...
A  ------------------
"The ALL is MIND; the Universe is Mental." *** The Kybalion IP: Logged |
trillian
Knowflake Posts: 4050
From: The Boundless
Registered: Mar 2003
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posted August 19, 2004 01:19 PM
Hello Azelsion,
Many well wishes to you. I have struggled with the same lifelong physical battle as you, up and down, down and up. I wish you peace and success. And...you are working with the Laurie?
How wonderful for you...I do hope a book is in the works, or at least a thread here at LL about your adventures, observations, etc. That you have spent your life with such strong, important women leads me to believe that you have much to offer and share. Namaste. IP: Logged |
FishKitten
Knowflake Posts: 1033
From: on the trail of the Old Ones
Registered: Aug 2003
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posted August 19, 2004 01:40 PM
Aselzion...Please do give Ms. Cabot my best. We've never met, but I hope someday to run into her. I'm not Wicca...more of a simple kitchen witch...never could find a way to be comfortable with the whole Gardnerian line of thought. Herbal healing, though, I think comes naturally to anyone willing to give it a whirl. For some reason, I get the idea that you are on the right path there. It may not lead to "a full time job" in the sense that you go to some building for 40 hours a week, but I'd bet my favourite purple hat it leads to some kind of satisfaction and personal financial freedom for you.All the best with the weight issues. I know so many people struggle with it for much of their lives. It sounds like you are approaching it in a rational and well-thought-out way. Exercise is really the key (and of course, losing the sugar). I don't know if you have ever tried any yoga, but I highly recommend it. I also have two 8 lb. hand weights that I use all the time. Anytime I'm watching TV or just hanging around talking, I do a variety of things with the weights. I also include them in some of my yoga workouts. You'd be amazed the difference they make in the way you look and feel. I have a friend who came to visit and got a trifle depressed because she had gained so much weight. She started working out with me while she was here to get a handle on my routine, then bought a couple of weights and kept it up when she got home. She lost 43 pounds in 5 months. Anyway...good luck with it. I'm sure you can do it! IP: Logged |
Aselzion
Moderator Posts: 1422
From: North Andover, MA
Registered: Nov 2002
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posted August 19, 2004 11:19 PM
Greetings...Trillian and FishKitten, I thank you for your good wishes. I actually had someone tell me today that I look like I am losing weight, so from your mouth(s) to God's ears!!! I have been considering Hospice work if I cannot manage to maeuver my way into an OR position, as that would allow me a great deal of autonomy, time and the ability to work with dying patients both medically and spiritually. A friend of mine just left the hospital setting to work in hospice (home care hospice) and she LOVES it! Yes I am working with the Laurie. I actually just spent the day with 'herself' (sic)and my friend Mike, who is very close to her. She's a wonderful, generous and wise woman... much as Linda was. In terms of Gardnerian covens... all I can say is from what I have heard, I wouldn't be able to deal with it all that well meself. Laurie's tradition is very simple, and quite powerful from my short period of observation. She and I have a similar thought in regard to Gardnerian's approach to doing ritual "skyclad" as it were. Our opinion is: Keep America Beautiful!! Attend ritual in your robes! Mike has given me some exciting news. He and his wife Robin were going to teach a Witchcraft 101 for a few of us locally... they do the traditional year and a day process. Laurie, upon hearing who the pupils would be, asked them if we could do the class in her home, and if she could participate in the teaching! I have to say, from what I have come to understand, Laurie has seldom taken on students in this fashion. So, needless to say, I am quite honored. Have you ever read her book Power of the Witch? It's a good introduction to witchcraft, she doesn't use the term wicca. Wicca is a Celtic term that means male witch. Wicce (wick-ay) is a female witch. Her tradition stresses Witchcraft as a Science and as a religion, and she prefers the term witch to describe both males and females. It is an interesting road ahead I think... please feel free to share any more insights you may have, I appreciate the input. That having been said, I look forward to hearing more of your story!! If anyone wants to ask me direct questions about my path so far, please feel free. Or I can open a new thread in the Through the Looking Glass forum. Blessings...
A P.S. I apologize for taking up FishKitten's space with this brief "witch related" interlude. ------------------
"The ALL is MIND; the Universe is Mental." *** The Kybalion IP: Logged |
trillian
Knowflake Posts: 4050
From: The Boundless
Registered: Mar 2003
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posted August 20, 2004 08:47 AM
A.,Thank you for sharing...I get such a glow from you and the path on which you are walking. I won't shanghai FK's string too much... ...though I do think these strings take on a powerful life of their own, and even when it appears we stray from the subject at hand, there is a reason that enhances the original intent. Synergy. I wanted to ask you,(and perhaps I should ask in your own forum, but here goes)--as a student, friend and employee of Linda's, who has battled a weight problem, have you tried her Color program, and if so, did you find it didn't work for you? I'm afraid I abandoned it all three times, as I felt my jeans getting too tight...although I wanted very badly to believe in it. Sorry FK, I hope you didn't mind. I love reading of your adventures and await your next chapter(s). IP: Logged |
FishKitten
Knowflake Posts: 1033
From: on the trail of the Old Ones
Registered: Aug 2003
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posted August 20, 2004 11:46 AM
No worries Trillian and Aselzion! These threads are meant to encourage conversation and spiraling ideas. One never knows where things will lead. (and isn't that great?)I'll have time for more of the story later today. It should go easier and faster now that I have made my way through the part about Hayduke. It did help to write it out, though.
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pixelpixie
Knowflake Posts: 5301
From: Ontario Canada
Registered: Jun 2005
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posted August 20, 2004 01:11 PM
I too, have been anticipating your story, but waiting until it felt right to read it.
I am somewhat speechless.
I really encourage you to continue writing this. It is incredible. You are quite gifted at capturing the 'feeling' yourself.
Look forward to more!IP: Logged |
Aselzion
Moderator Posts: 1422
From: North Andover, MA
Registered: Nov 2002
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posted August 20, 2004 03:55 PM
Greetings...Trillian... well, when I went to live and work with Linda I think I lost some weight just by virtue of the fact that the sidewalks in Cripple Creek rolled up at about 4:30pm!  No, I have never tried the color diet, for a few reasons. Chief of which is that a good friend/Teacher of mine warned me of the dangers of bombarding the Aura with certain colors which may or may not harmonize with the colors in your particular Aura. Additionally, each color is best suited to particular chakras and is indicated for particular ailments. The old walnut about a little knowledge being a dangerous thing comes to mind. I have weight induced hypertenion... adding red to the Aura might as easily raise my pressure as my metabolism. So having been warned, I chose to avoid it. Now, another person may have a different set of beliefs and or experiences, but I think the Choice must be guided by one's Higher Self. If I were to try a color bath, it would only be in the hands of a person whom I trusted, and who had a wealth of experience in the field. As an Astrologer... I may know Astrology, that does not necessarily mean that I am qualified to treat myself or anyone else with color therapy. That is its own field! I say, leave these things to the experts, or become an expert for yourself! But, reading one book, does not rank me as an expert... at least not in my opinion. Know what I mean? Hope that helps a bit... In the Light...
A P.S. FishKitten; I am glad that writing about your friend has helped you... it can be very cathartic. Remember, you have a right to mourn your loss. Often times, death can be a blessed release, and though we may be saddened by our loss, the "other" truly is going to a better place where age and illness cease to retain the power they hold on the Physical realm. Thank you for sharing your story and your pain with us. I bid you Peace and Light...
A
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"The ALL is MIND; the Universe is Mental." *** The Kybalion IP: Logged |
proxieme
unregistered
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posted August 20, 2004 04:10 PM
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trillian
Knowflake Posts: 4050
From: The Boundless
Registered: Mar 2003
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posted August 20, 2004 04:29 PM
Back atcha, Prox. And I feel the same...I love you people. FK, will you be able to visit Hayduke at the cabin this autumn? A lovely time to take a walk and reflect on the blessings of life, because every day has blessings if you look for them. Please tell him that your stories have brought him a new crop of fans, who send him love and peace.
IP: Logged |
pixelpixie
Knowflake Posts: 5301
From: Ontario Canada
Registered: Jun 2005
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posted August 20, 2004 04:31 PM
Yes.IP: Logged |
trillian
Knowflake Posts: 4050
From: The Boundless
Registered: Mar 2003
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posted August 20, 2004 04:32 PM
Azelsion, yes, I understand exactly what you mean. You are a tactful man. Thank you. I hadn't considered some of those angles before. IP: Logged |
FishKitten
Knowflake Posts: 1033
From: on the trail of the Old Ones
Registered: Aug 2003
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posted August 20, 2004 10:12 PM
Yes,Oh Yes...I will visit Hayduke at his cabin. Nothing could stop me. If he makes it back there, we will walk in the mountains again, in the golden autumn. I just had an idea today... I think I am going to try to get the whole Dream Team from his last dig to show up and camp in his field. Maybe a few of his other old friends could join us. Of course there would be a certain amount of sadness, but I know we would all erupt into spontaneous bouts of joy. Such is always the way of it when family reunites. I'll have to check with his wife before mentioning it to anyone else, naturally.On with the tale... IP: Logged |
FishKitten
Knowflake Posts: 1033
From: on the trail of the Old Ones
Registered: Aug 2003
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posted August 20, 2004 10:15 PM
My two meter by two meter unit was marked off. I stepped into it like walking into a house I had lived in many years ago. I knew it somehow, but things had changed. I felt an ancient kinship with those who once dwelled here.Please understand that I knew for sure that I was inside, or near the inside, of an ancient dwelling. I could see it, as could any archaeologist trained as I have been. To the average untrained observer, it would only look like a rain forest, with a few hills and a few flat spots among a canopy of huge towering trees. To me, I could see the city.
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FishKitten
Knowflake Posts: 1033
From: on the trail of the Old Ones
Registered: Aug 2003
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posted August 20, 2004 10:17 PM
About 400 people once lived along this ancient shore-line, now buried about three hundred yards into the forest. I think I mentioned before (or at least I meant to) that the beach, as it stands today, is a fairly new beach. The whole area around First Island is an active seismic zone. It is very near where two tectonic plates meet in a subduction zone. Beaches in this area rise and fall in a way that is currently unknown to Atlantic coast beaches. Then there is sea level change and isotonic rebound to consider. All this means that the perimeter of the island has been continuously changing. Since the ancient mariners who lived among these islands almost always built their houses and villages adjacent to the beach, the location of the ancient shorelines has become a subject of great interest to Northwest coast Archaeologists. I could see the prehistoric shore.I grabbed my Marshalltown trowel and dug in. As soon as I dug past the top layers of forest duff, I began to find artifacts. The first morning (I dig pretty fast), I found exactly the sort of thing we were looking for…the vertebral column of a young adult porpoise, perfectly articulated, beside a chunk of solid charcoal. That might not sound like much to those expecting to hear that we found the King’s Chamber in a pyramid, but actually, it was a very similar discovery. IP: Logged |
FishKitten
Knowflake Posts: 1033
From: on the trail of the Old Ones
Registered: Aug 2003
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posted August 20, 2004 10:19 PM
The long house I was excavating measured about 35 feet wide by 50 feet long when it was build hundreds of years ago. Long cedar planks wove between carved posts to form walls and roof. This was an early site, so the floors were dirt with fire pits dug right into the packed earth. Thirty or so people lived in the house, with nuclear families congregating in small areas. Certain spots were set aside as cooking and work areas. The Chief and his mate and children had a large, well-placed location. Then there was the Shaman’s niche.Soft light peeked through the slats of the longhouses, bringing bits of illumination into the dim interior during the day. Salmon and other meats dried and hung in the rafters, which, along with the ever-present small fires, gave a distinctly smoky smell to the house. Daylight hours were usually spent outside, even on rainy days, but in the long, dark winter, when the rains fall and fall as if the sky has melted, the people spent many happy times inside the relative comfort of the longhouse. Even a far north as these islands were, the ocean kept the snows that paralized the interior lands at bay. The grocery store that was the beach was always only steps away in all seasons. The Shaman’s corner was in a quiet, out-of-the-way location. He would be near the Chief’s spot, but further back in the shadows. Although many, if not most, of his spells and ecstatic experiences would take place outside or in a special lodge, he needed a sacred spot to which to retreat at all times. That is where the porpoise vertebrae comes in. IP: Logged |
FishKitten
Knowflake Posts: 1033
From: on the trail of the Old Ones
Registered: Aug 2003
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posted August 20, 2004 10:22 PM
There are many animals considered sacred by the nations of the northwest. The porpoise and dolphin are included in that list. That doesn’t mean they were never eaten…quite the opposite…they just were not eaten casually or profanely. There had to be a reason. Plus, just think about the logistics of it all. Slow moving seals, stationary shellfish, and salmon so plentiful that you can almost walk ashore on their backs present a much more lucrative target for hunters interested in feeding their communities on a daily basis than swift moving, deep diving porpoises that leap up to look into the hunters eyes with the intelligent gleam of a kindred soul. Like the raven and the eagle, they were rarely killed, and when they were, it usually had to do with some ceremony. The upshot of the whole thing being, this was no casual fisherman’s fire I had found. It said high status all over it and it was associated with a piece of charcoal that we could radiocarbon date. Good stuff, scientifically.IP: Logged |
FishKitten
Knowflake Posts: 1033
From: on the trail of the Old Ones
Registered: Aug 2003
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posted August 20, 2004 10:26 PM
After the charcoal was safely collected, I took off my glove and rested my fingertips on the backbone of the porpoise as it still lay in its place of burial. The Feeling shot through me as sharply as a bolt of lightening. I saw the canoe chasing the porpoise through the crashing waves. I saw the shaman urging the oarsmen onward. I smelled the salt spray mixed with rolling sweat, felt their fear and confusion. They needed this kill. They thought their lives depended on it.“Lunch!” someone yelled. What? Lunch? I came back to the excavation. “Let’s get some lunch,” Al said, appearing next to Two Eyes’ unit. “There is no way in hEll you are getting me out of this pit, food or no food,” I replied, look up at them with a decided air of determination. “I just want to be alone with my porpoise for a while.” They looked at each other and then back at me. Our faces dissolved into laughter. “God, we are all such total geeks,” Two Eyes chortled. After a while, Al and I mopped our faces and subsided into snickers. “I’m still not leaving,” I said as the moment came back to normal. Al waved one hand in the air above his head. “By all means, spend some quality time with your porpoise!” he offered as he walked off through the woods smiling. “Geeks unite.”
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