Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Imagine a 1965 Scrapbook


Packing to move is a trip down memory lane every minute. I discovered my scrapbook from 1965. I was in the 8th or 9th grade and apparently I loved The Beatles. (Yeah, I just gave away my age. I'm older than you probably guessed, and, no, I don't dye my hair - not yet anyway). In the scrapbook I glued some Beatles cards with signatures so very long ago. Wonder if they are actual signatures and wonder if they are valuable? I keep hoping for the most valuable Antiques Roadshow find of the century. Of course they're valuable to me and they definitely bring back wonderful memories. I guess I was making scrapbooks long before they were popular like scrapbooks are today. (Was I ahead of my time?) As I was looking at the photos and cards of the Beatles, I started thinking of John Lennon and the song Imagine, one of my all time favorite songs.



The song Imagine has always symbolized hope and dreams to me: hope for peace, hope people will get along, hope people can respect others viewpoints, but also hope and dreams for the future. As you may know we are selling our home and we hope to find a better future for ourselves. There's a certain amount of risk involved. With risk there is danger and possible loss, but with risk there is also the possibility of improvement in the long run. Without hope and dreams I'm not sure anyone would attempt anything risky and without risk taking I'm not sure there would be any change or success.

You may say that I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will live as one


I don't know if you can see it on my scrapbook page, but in the upper left hand side there is a pink elephant and I drew some musical notes coming out of his trunk. I think Gary Rith would appreciate my musical pink elephant. In about a month we, my husband, another Gary, and I, will head out into the world driving our motor home to see what we might find. We are looking for a new home, a new community, a new place to put down roots. I don't know what I will do without clay along the way, but I have a few ideas, like visiting museums and some ceramic artist's studios. I really wish I could visit my friend Cindy Shake in Alaska, but I am afraid we wouldn't make it to Alaska traveling in winter in a motor home. We plan to head South and East from here and some of the states we'll pass through or visit along the way are Arizona, possibly Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, Arkansas, Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, maybe more, maybe less. I think my blog will soon become my 2009/2010 traveling scrapbook.


It will be difficult to travel with three cats, so we may have to board them, which will be hard for them (and us). Know of any good places for pets which don't cost an arm and a leg? Then there's health insurance we will need to purchase on the open market. What do you recommend for almost retirement age people, inexpensive would be good. I know that's an impossibility, but I can dream. Oh and computer access, we need a laptop or some way of staying in touch so we can post to this blog and keep you informed about our progress along the way. I know next to nothing about having Internet access while traveling, so chime in with any and all advice on this topic. Would I have the service through a cell phone?


How does it feel
To be on your own
With no direction home
Like a complete unknown
Like a rolling stone?

Have you ever just packed up and moved with no destination in mind? If so, please tell me about it and give me any tips or advice. Let me know what you think about our upcoming adventure. I leave you with another clip from my scrapbook, a photo of Bob Dylan, another favorite of mine then and now. I'm sure there will be a few bumps along the way, but we can travel, like a rolling stone, imagine and hope for a better future.

7 comments:

  1. pink elephant! (and yellow submarines.....)

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  2. Hi Linda,
    Lovely Post. I've no idea if the signed John Lennon would be valuable (I take it that you didn't rush the stage in front of 25000 people and get him to sign!?) Nice to have though. I've been having a look at some of the rock bands on YouTube that I wish I had taken notice of when I was at the "right" age (I was brought up in a household with Classical music). I've just discovered The Who! They're great musicians and marvelous entertainers on stage too! I think it is about time I took up bass guitar and joined a band. Maybe the Stones might be looking for someone by the time they start needing wheel chairs!

    You left a comment on my site regarding new posts not updating after they had been sent out into the ether. I've put a reply there for you, but I really don't know the answer. The Good news is that they do update... eventually!

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  3. I think you guys are very brave and very adventurous. Let me know when you are heading for Seagrove and I'll come down, I'm guessing that is one of your destinations? You should visit Penland and all the folks up there too! As far as internet, Gerry uses the McDonalds parking lots a lot when he has to send pictures in a hurry. You can get a wireless card for a laptop and there are many places that have wireless, like Starbucks. places like that. Best of luck, cannot wait to see what lies ahead for you. Gerry and I will be doing the same thing in about ten years, I'll learn from you!

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  4. Awe what a CUTIE he was! An amazing music! Nice post!

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  5. Yes, if you get a starbucks card for free... load $ on it, register it, and then you can have free wireless access at starbucks. It works well. Of course, to use it, one needs to purchase something at starbucks. Happy packing. I'm unpacking... and it's all quite exhausting!

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  6. hi linda, in the back of my mind, i'm envious. i think a fantasy for most people in a job they don't like (not my current job) is to just pick up and leave with no direction. you should read or reread "on the road" or "dharma bums". not sure about insurance because i think it's different in each state but if you're relatively healthy and have the max deductible you might be able to get something for 100 - 150/ month. doesn't sound that inexpensive to me but i guess it is when compared to what people pay. when i quit my last job, i took my nephew, then 17, cross country in a rented car for 3 weeks, no hotels but i did kind of plan the route to be able to stay at all the friends' house that we did. it was a great trip and there is a real liberating feeling to be out on the road. went to the grand canyon (my second time) and it blew my away again. i was big into the beatles too, i had every album by time i was 16 or so. strange now, but i don't listen to them much anymore. good luck.

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  7. Hi Jim, if you heard about our life for the past 25 years you'd be doubly envious, but the price was high in other ways, but that's another story. If I can get the insurance for what you say, I'd be happy, since we are moving I'll see if I can get the insurance from another state which is less expensive. What you are saying is way less than what Gary is paying for me through his employer; we're quickly going broke with that, maybe we can recoup a little of all we have lost over the last 5 years. Gary loves the Grand Canyon and when we moved to Arkansas for 4 years in 1994 he saw it for the first time and was in awe like you. I saw it many times when I was a kid and so I was used to seeing it in my mind's eye. It truly is liberating to be out on the road that's for sure. What a trip you had with your nephew. When I was a kid I traveled with my parent's in summer and we would just stop along the road and camp out under the stars, I'm not sure that is safe any more. Here in California, you can't even park overnight in a motorhome along the coast, you have to stay in a park and those aren't cheap - about the cost of what a motel room used to be 25 years ago. On the road or dharma bums, hey I better check my library, get in the mood again. I don't listen to the Beatles any longer either, but when I hear a song from the old days like "Strawberry Fields Forever" it does take me back, I can listen to Bob Dylan every once in while, though mostly for the lyrics.

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