I'm baaaaaaaack!

Spent the past two days camped out in the back yard...waiting to see a "sign". (Man, those Cairo "skeeters" are tough at night this time of year! Sure could have used Rachel's netting...) Not one damn hawk dropped in to visit! As my resolve faded and my hopes diminished, my eyes DID wander to the two "yard owls"...DO something...anything. Closest I got to a sign was when I went to crank up my new gas grill...some low flying (non-hawk) bird 'bout parted my hair. (Okay, I hear the snickers..."Now THAT would have been a sign...parting the hair of the hair-impaired? Be right up there with Moses parting the Red Sea!" Whatever...)

Okay...I lied...didn't camp out...didn't watch the yard owls for movement. Oh, I DID go out back and read...and actually watched/hoped for a hawk to land...what a great story that would have been...and a helluva sign. Had already contemplated the believability factor...was going to call my next door neighbor..."Can I get a witness?". BUT...I didn't REALLY expect it to happen...ain't THAT far gone yet! (By the way, the low-flying bird "parting my hair" WAS true. Hmmmm...it happened so fast...wonder if it COULD have been a baby hawk???!!!)

Back to reality...

Woke up early this morning...no news there. While waiting for it to get light...and a more reasonable hour before going out to wash the bird droppings and dust from preliminary street work off the cars...I surfed the net looking for articles to post on CAT Tracks. (Bird droppings... Ya know, from the size of those droppings...maybe I should have staked out the front yard instead of the back!)

Oh, guess I digressed...

Enough "intro"...let's get down to the nitty gritty. The "rest of the story" can be told by two articles that have already been written. I referenced Rachel's blog entry "....And The Eyeballs' Red Glare...." in my "Owls" posting...which led to my parting comment about "hawk watching".

Due to "circumstances beyond my control", I now reprint Rachel's entry in its entirety (in case you missed it)...followed by an e-mail I sent her this morning.

Friday, July 4, 2008

".....And The Eyeballs' Red Glare...."

Okay, there were three reasons why I woke up this morning with fiery red eyes. First, my allergies are kickin', which means for the past few days my peepers were crusted shut with ocular snot. Believe you me, I acknowledge that it's almost as disgusting to read about as it was to actually experience it.

Second, last night I polished off the rest of the bottle of champagne I'd bought on Tuesday to toast my new digs at 46 Rhapta Road. Let's just say a snootful of the bubbly goes directly to my head, does not pass Go, does not collect $200.

That explains why, thirdly, I had a bit of a crying jag last night. I wanted my big sister; I can't explain it, but I missed her so desperately. Besides that, I wanted somebody to hold me all night and tell me I'm not completely insane for uprooting myself once again and plopping down in another African country, away from everybody who gives even the faintest damn about what happens to me.

So I boo hooed a while. A good long while. And after seeing myself in the mirror this morning, I just knew the folks at the Nation would think I'd caught a beatdown from somebody. Still, I couldn't call in sick on my second day, so I drained half a bottle of Genteal, slapped on some make-up, and headed downtown.

Two things that happened today make me believe Julie must have heard my sobs and managed to find a way to show me everything will be okay. First, during my lunch break, as I was threading through the throngs of people on Kimathi Street, I turned a corner and saw a big yellow sign, with red letters bearing the words,

"WINKY TRADERS." Winky was my sister's nickname.

A few hours later, I went up to the Watatu Gallery, around the corner from the Sarova Hotel. My friend Debbie had purchased some fabulous artwork from Watatu last fall, when she was in Nairobi as part of a medical mission. She encouraged me to meet the owner, Morris, and see some his client's paintings.

Well, I absolutely plotzed over three incredibly vivid, textured oil paintings by a young Ugandan artist named Anwar. They're startling yet somehow dream-like at the same time. I wanted them so badly, I was almost drooling. One in particular stood out, of a woman with an asymmetrical coif and traditional jewelry. Though I wanted all three, I knew I had to be fiscally prudent, so I focused on just the one. After talking Morris down to my price, he told me the painting's name....

"You Are Not Alone."

I won't be crying tonight. There's no need to. Big Sis has my back. So, have a happy Fourth of July, y'all. Mine will definitely be a lot happier than I expected it to be.

Posted by Princess Rachella at 5:54 AM

My e-mail...

Subject: "Signed", Sealed, and Delivered

Rachel:

Sitting at the computer...where else?

Been in a DEEP funk the past few days...don't really know why. Did make the mistake of reading a book that I bought a while back. Didn't know it at the time of purchase, but the hero turns out to be a cop returning to active duty after taking time to recover from his previous case and the loss of his wife to swift-acting pancreatic cancer. Oh, well...oh, hell. Should have stopped right there, but I never do...finish what you start. Adding to the "atmosphere" were three rape survivors...lamenting their losses...loss of a sister, loss of a husband's love, the general loss of a way of life...forever. All-and-all, very uplifting! Cried through the whole damn book.

Anyway, swore off books for the time being...catch my breath...try to climb out of the pit.

Needed some kind of change of pace...

Decided to finally listen to a new CD I bought a few weeks ago...finally loaded it on iTunes a few days ago.

As I'm focusing on finding another topic for CAT Tracks, one phrase leaped out at me from the song playing on the computer...a phrase that YOU will immediately recognize...

YOU ARE NOT ALONE

Your sign from Winky through art work was delivered to me through musical art. (Well, it WOULD have to be in a different form...Ronnie don't do art work!) (Incidentally, your blog was written on Independence Day...the above phrase leaped out at me just as I posted a story that I entitled "Independence Day"...about special needs kids getting "independence" when they got their driver's licenses after years of failed attempts.)

And how was it delivered...what would be truly impressive? An owl? My long-awaited hawk?

Nope, but close enough...by an EAGLE...a whole damn flock of them!

Yeah, the song "You Are Not Alone" is on the Eagles' new 20-song album.

The lyrics are as follows...

"You Are Not Alone"

Say goodbye to all your pain and sorrow
Say goodbye to all those lonely nights
Say goodbye to all your blue tomorrows
Now you're standing in the light

I know sometimes you feel so helpless
Sometimes you feel like you can't win
Sometimes you feel so isolated
You'll never have to feel that way again

You are not alone
You're not alone

Never thought I'd find the road to freedom
Never thought I'd see you smile again
Never thought I'd have the chance to tell you
That I will always be your friend

You are not alone
You're not alone

Damn! Julie don't mince her words! (Don't know if you caught my "Love For Dummies" post...Julie took no chances that I would miss the message!!!)

Guess I can end the "hawk watch".

Take care...BUT, have no fear! As you say...as WE know...Winky's got our backs!

Ron

FOOTNOTE:

Goes to show...you can go looking for signs, but the signs will find you...when it's time.

Goes back to one of my previous "signs" - which happened TWICE. The literal "sign" on two separate churches..."Patience is trusting in God's timing." (Speaking of "timing"...I cranked up the Eagles album as I sat down to type this entry. Just now the Eagles played "our song".)