2/23/19
RMB Nudged
Dear
Rita Mae Brown,
The
new year has stormed in, literally. What started as a fall full of welcome
rain, has turned into a winter deluge. My heart goes out to those badly affected
by the storms nationwide. My friend the Sun, “Grandfather” to Teddy who follows
Native American traditions, is shining brightly today, a most joyous site.
I
apologize for the lapse in letters. I have no good reason for it, other than
life itself. It seems to fill up days until they become weeks and then months. You
have been on my mind, despite or maybe because of, the lack of letters.
I’ve
read about your happenings in the news, new books, talks, and so forth. I
believe your most recent publication is Whiskers in the Dark. Your ability
to turn out entertaining book after book amazes me.
The
accounting guru at our small publishing company came in with a 2 x 2 square
inch of paper a few weeks ago. Handing me the crossword puzzle of the day, she
said, “I saved this for you”. The answer to one clue was “Rita Mae Brown”.
You
would think that might nudge me to write, but words had not gathered to form a
letter yet. The next day, I was driving
along minding my own business, when the license plate ahead nudged me again, “VIRGINIA”
it said, big and bold.
In
California, license plates from other states are common, although normally not
from so far away. I planned to tell my friend Carol about the second nudge when
we went for our walk in the park that evening. Before I had the chance, we
passed a young man wearing a black sweatshirt with large bright bold white letters
reflecting the evening’s lamplight, “WISH YOU WERE HERE”.
I
explained the license plate and passing the shirt proclaiming the title of your
first book collaboration with Sneaky Pie Brown. She had noticed the shirt too. Okay,
I thought to the Universe, message received.
However,
the Universe wasn’t done playing. Carol accompanied me on a book delivery to
Cabrillo National Monument the next day, where we enjoyed our daily walk during
a rare beak from the rain. On the way to our car afterwards, we passed another
VIRGINIA license plate. We both laughed.
To
cap it off, we as we were driving home, we looked at the license plate on the
car in front of us at the same time and rang out with “VIRGINIA!” simultaneously.
Message
received, letter written, most sincerely,
Loraine
