june 2008, grand canyon, south rim - be there

I wasn't going to write about this because I figured it would put a jinx on things but, fuck, when it comes to my love life I feel as though it's pretty well jinxed so writing about it can't hurt.

I was walking with Constance, a woman in her 70s who has long gray hair and who wears the most humongous earrings she can find. Huge. Giant conche shells and hubcaps. She is soft-spoken and ditzy. Her husband, who is 'ten and a half' years older than she, writes erotica. He has written over 500 sex stories. I didn't ask to read one and thank god he didn't push any on me. I had told him I was trying to write a book. "Is there any sex in it?" he asked and I said "Sure. Lots. But I'm stuck; there are only so many times I can write 'hard throbbing member'" and he said "At this age there are only so many times you can use a throbbing member." I thought that was pretty funny until I learned of his obsession with erotica.

Anyway, I was walking with Constance (sheesh, how I get distracted) and she said "I heard you talking about where to go next, the Grand Canyon, New Mexico, and, well, I sometimes get these flashes and, for what it's worth, you should go to the Grand Canyon. You will meet a man there. He will be your age and divorced. He will be your twin flame. Do you know what that is?" When I shook my head no she said "In the spirit form we are both male and female but when we choose to come to earth our two sides split off. We spend most of our lives looking for our twins and we rarely find them. This man will be your twin flame. You will be one of the lucky ones. But you have to be at the Grand Canyon in June."

After doing some twin flame research I learned that a twin flame is not the same as a soul mate, the latter of which we can have many. Soul mates can be people we've known in past lives and may not necessarily be the person we are meant to be with (like the Jailbird), but they certainly are people we have a connection with.

So the question is, would a fairly sane, sort of grounded, semi-responsible woman make her next move based on the predictions of a goofy giant-earringed 70 year old woman? I'm tempted. I mean, I have to go somewhere and I do like the Grand Canyon....

Or I could follow Gretel Ehrlich's advice (author of "Solace of Open Spaces"). Here is what she said in an interview posted on Powell's (City of Books) web site:

I think people find what Edward Hoagland calls "your heart's home." I didn't move there [Wyoming] because I read a book about it; I just ended up there, and I found it suited me.

I think it's good for people to just roam around. Stay where your car breaks down. Get on the damn bus, get off when you have to pee, then move there. That's good.

It's funny, but back in the 1970s that's how a lot of people I know ended up on the Oregon Coast: Their cars broke down. Not that I want that to happen, but when I hit the road, as I head off to the Grand Canyon or New Mexico, I will certainly take notice of the places I stop for lunch, a beer, a bathroom break.