Saturday, August 9.

After 32 days on the road with Quincey, we discovered, listened, waited, met, drove and saw things new and old ... all through summers' variant weather patterns that layer the Midwest, North East and Smokies like thick sweet icing.

Not only learning about my 'roots' but finding love in distant family; loving unknown relatives that jump to give a smile because the key is shared; who want to help with out reproach because the key is shared; who open their doors, their homes because the key is shared; pour out histories and hearts; are eager to find kindred; respond to a stranger with a little bit of paperwork and photos and even less knowledge; who know there is an unspoken and unrealized neighborhood in a phantom bond; now spoken and realized...

To heal the unending wound!

To know the love of life long friends who are my 'other' family, ever so close; to spend calm, weighted time; each one offering their own special uniqueness which makes them 'them' and rich of spirit; the variety of their careers, locations and ages; all a grand display of how the spectrum of friends resemble the spokes of a wheel disguised as a rainbow...

So much gratitude, it's all consuming!

Thank you to the cast of DRT (in order of appearance):

Bruce Fadem - My childhood neighbor in Tulsa, OK who met Susan Hartshorn Saxe at a mineral/gas lease meeting in Tulsa, OK

Jackie and Bill Goetz - My step sister and her husband who live in San Antonio

Brad - My nephew, Jackie's son, who lives in Providence, RI

Hailley - My daughter, 2nd born, who lives in Austin

Susan Hartshorn Saxe and Charles Saxe - Susan is my 1st cousin who was a flower girl at my parents wedding in 1948. She was 7.  Charles, Susan's husband, a retired Veterinarian and sweet as honey suckle.  They live in Houston

Norma Trent - My cousin who was also a flower girl at my parents' wedding in 1948.  She lives in McKinney, TX

Donna - Norma's daughter who also lives in McKinney, TX

Nancy Griggs - A long time friend who I first met in Steamboat Springs, 1987 during the Club Majks era.  She lives in Plano, TX and Claire, her daughter lives in Nova Scotia and Jordan, her son, lives in Cabo San Lucas, MX

Deb Swan - A long time friend from Tulsa, OK.  Friends from Elementary School, Middle School, High School.

Susan Murphy - Jeanne Ruddy's Mom who I've known since 1971.  I look at her as a Mother figure and I feel I'm another one of her daughters.  She lives in Henderson, NC

David Wood - Fellow spirit who I first met while performing at The Lost Colony 1972 (?).  David now is the director of The Lost Colony and has his magnificent theater in Raleigh, NC, Theatre In the Park

Ashely Wood - David's beautiful and gracious wife, mother to Thomas... age 2-ish.

Jeanne Ruddy - My BFF from NCSA.  We've gone through so much life together that we can pick up after years of 'life' getting in the way!  Jeanne went on to be a principal dancer with Martha Graham then created her own dance company, JR Dance in Philadelphia.  An avid dedicator to all things regarding the body, she's able to religiously do a pilates class daily on the deck of her home.  Jeanne shares her time between Philadelphia, Cape May, NJ and NYC.

Victor Keen - Jeanne's husband.  Vic's a semi retired corporate tax lawyer which finds his spare time dedicated to art, museums, art collecting, theater, sponsoring emerging talent, travel and property investment.  A very busy guy who also dedicatedly rides his bike 30 miles/day.  Victor is between Philly, Cape May, NYC and other locations.

Linda and Jay Sussman - OLD friends in the the best sense of 'old'.  I've known Linda since Hailley was a newborn.  This makes it 28 years. She was my neighbor while living on Hudson and Leroy in NYC.  We bonded like sisters while living in Colorado and endured extreme circumstances.  She now lives in Somers, NY and Ft. Lauderdale, FL.  Jay has one of the best laughs in the universe!  Explosive and booming and is freshly retired after selling his last piece of property.

Matt West - Long standing friend who has been a confidant since we were doing the National tour of A Chorus Line.  Matt has the AMAZING skill to just find the right words and the right way to make anything, be it a divorce or the previews of a show, full of humor, light and side side splitting laughter.

Janet Solesky and Ken Ricci - Arts ed pals who've been steadfast through thick and thin.  They've lived together for decades and last year decided to tie the knot.  I'm sure it will last!  They live in NYC.

Karin Kawamoto - A fellow dancer who 'got really, really smart'! I met Karin in a Luigi class in NYC and she hauled my ass off to other classes that are iconic in nature as far as the content as well as the master teachers. I love her continuing passion for dance, even if she did just land VP of Technology for Morgan Stanley!

Bob and Adele Eley - My step brother and his wife who live in Pittsburgh, PA

Diana Lee Bixler - A childhood friend from Tulsa.  Cheerleaders together in middle school and she's now an Intellectual Property Lawyer living between Chicago and Palm Desert, CA

Treyson Ptak - My son, 1st born.  Time well spent healing and showering in love.

Patricia Murman - Trey's girlfriend who's just been accepted for her PhD

Patty Rebohz - A former classmate at NCSA.  We reconnected several years ago and spent valuable experiences in Ecuador

Dawn Nelson - I met Dawn while living in Ecuador.  We went on hikes in the Amazonian jungle as well as time on the coast.  A fellow spirit of life and exploration!  She lives in Lakewood, CO

Kristina Siebert - Kristina is a new friend who lives in Palm Desert during the winter and Colorado Springs in the summer.  She has a great, effervescent energy that's boundless and alive.  Being around her is like being tapped into electricity!

Quincey - My puppy dog of 2 years. I adopted him from Thousand Palms Animal Campus and he's 3.  He did such a great job of being a companion and love magnet!  He's a Service Dog, so he was allowed in restaurants, hotels, beaches, theaters, etc.  Each environment proved his calm, alert manner was worthy of accolades from the gallery.  :)

Now, the task is to write the details and send to... me.

Thanks for reading and taking the journey with us!

One tired puppy and a very happy one to be on Mommy's bed!

xxo