Amy, thank you for this story. It reminds me of one of my favorite memories from a backpacking trip my friend and I did in the Four Corners area. We were driving on a remote road, similar to the ones you described and came upon a large herd of sheep crossing the road and being shepherded by a dog! We never saw a person giving the dogs instructions, only the dog. When we stopped at a market and mentioned this we were told that the dogs are trained to manage the sheep on their own. That scene is etched in my memory - in the the lonely and beautiful solitude of the desert witnessing that one dog dutifully caring for his herd of sheep - it felt a little like a spirtual experience.
Years ago, I was in Four Corners and ran into some tour guides who asked us as we were leaving if we planned to go to "Indian Flea Market?" "just follow the cars out of town (at the single stop light). The next day, we had some time and did in fact go to the Indian Flea Market. We were the only white people there. A Navajo woman who looked to be about 90 years old talked to me (through her son interpreter) about spinning, dying, and weaving wool. I used to do that (before children) and it was fun to talk to someone who had done it, instead of reading about it in books. My husband often suffered from headaches and at an herbal medicine booth, one of the Navajos lit up a hand wrapped smoke of some sort, saying it was good for headaches. My 7 years son was beside himself when he saw this... his grade school had preached mightily against "drugs." We weren't sure what was in it, but pictures of old TV shows and "passing the peace pipe" ran through our minds and my husband accepted the offer. Fortunately, whatever it was that we bought, I remembered to take out of our luggage for the flight home... We still have the unused Kachinna wood that my duck carving husband bought and planned to try making "someday" ---maybe when her retires? I raised my kids on Miyazaki which explains a lot about them. I discovered Dore Pugatory in an antique store in 1980; my husband talked me out of buying it for $90... the lithographs were museum quality. I wish had it now. I learned not to pay any attention to him about this sort of thing early on!! Enjoy New Mexico - it is truly magical. PS. I wouldn't have done the Chaco trip in that kind of weather. I'm glad you came out okay-- I bet you had 4 wheel drive!!
I am one who generally has a very good sense of direction, even when traveling in parts unknown. My husband and I are currently in the midst of a major relocation to a new state and town, after having lived in our current home for 30+ years (with a pack rat husband). Feeling ‘lost’ right now is an understatement. That’s why I LOVED your comment about ‘needing to let the road take me to where it’s going’…..a much needed perspective to take moments to breathe. ❤️
Moving, downsizing, relocation, dislocation -- this is so hard!! I wish you all the very best as you go through this, and I hope this move also brings with it a sense of renewal for you.
No, I haven’t. Even though I don’t agree with this particular reading of Totoro, I think it’s significant that the movie can communicate different things to different viewers. Miyazaki has been very open about wanting Totoro to be a salve for the high octane action animations of the 80s, and his embrace of innocence and tranquility. Still, trying to “unpack” a movie is always a useful exercise.
This seems to be a more extensive comparison of the theory. At any rate, my grandchildren ages 4&6 love this movie so much. I like that it includes a grandma too.
As I was reading, I wondered if you took food/drink with you when you decided to wander. Then I got to the DQ part. Isn’t it fun when you find things in the most unexpected places?
Also, the night chant is mesmerizing and I loved its backstory.
Thanks for listening to that amazing chant. Soooo beautiful and yes -- mesmerizing. Of course I should have taken food/drink with me, but I'm never too far away from my most recent meal, so I figured I'd be OK. I was worried about running out of gas.
Weirdly, the weather here has been very wintery and grayer than I'd expected. At times, gazing out the window onto a full-on snow squall, I've wondered why I left home in the first place.
I share the pain of unruly eyebrows and lost my way in Lincoln in the Bardo. However, I grew up in the Finger Lakes of NYS where the natural infrastructure runs north and south. So if one miscalculates direction, one runs smack into a lake or drumlin. Can't get lost for long, unless you want to, of course. Love your newsletters!
Thanks, Kathy. I know that about the Finger Lakes (that's where I live), and they say the same thing about Chicago but ... what do you know? I still get lost, constantly, most recently taking "the back way" home from the Syracuse airport and ending up in Skaneateles -- an hour away in the wrong direction.
I grew up in Scipio, about a half-hour's drive from Freeville. I'm a fan of your two memoirs, The Mighty Queens of Freeville and People Tend to Tell Me Things. I've published my own memoir of my childhood in the Finger Lakes, Stone House Stories, The Memoir of a Free-Range Kid. www.kathylawtonpurc.com. p.s. Skaneateles is a great place to end up lost. Impeccable taste!
HI Kathy -- I checked out your author page and ... it's so great! I love your old photos. I don't think you mentioned where you are living now, but -- I assume you'll be relieved to know that life in this region continues to tick along pretty much unchanged from when you and I were young.
Hi Amy, After Scipio I lived and worked in the Rochester, NY area. For the last 30 years I've lived 3 hours north of Toronto in the Haliburton Highlands (second marriage). It's a glacially ravaged landscape compared to the more sensual Finger Lakes. Trees, rocks, and beautiful lakes abound.
I do stay in touch with friends and family in the FLX and visit often. It's my true home. Two NY stories prompted me to think I too could write a memoir: Fifty Acres and a Poodle (Jean Marie Laskas), and Too Close to the Falls (Catherine Gildener). Once Stone House Stories was published, I found your The Mighty Queens of Freeville, and Joyce Carol Oates, The Lost Landscape. All wonderful NY stories written by women who's lives were molded by barns, family, neighbors, nature and a tinge of recklessness.
And sometimes taking the unexpected route offers those blessings, as well
i am lost in the laughter of a three year old.
Amy, thank you for this story. It reminds me of one of my favorite memories from a backpacking trip my friend and I did in the Four Corners area. We were driving on a remote road, similar to the ones you described and came upon a large herd of sheep crossing the road and being shepherded by a dog! We never saw a person giving the dogs instructions, only the dog. When we stopped at a market and mentioned this we were told that the dogs are trained to manage the sheep on their own. That scene is etched in my memory - in the the lonely and beautiful solitude of the desert witnessing that one dog dutifully caring for his herd of sheep - it felt a little like a spirtual experience.
Years ago, I was in Four Corners and ran into some tour guides who asked us as we were leaving if we planned to go to "Indian Flea Market?" "just follow the cars out of town (at the single stop light). The next day, we had some time and did in fact go to the Indian Flea Market. We were the only white people there. A Navajo woman who looked to be about 90 years old talked to me (through her son interpreter) about spinning, dying, and weaving wool. I used to do that (before children) and it was fun to talk to someone who had done it, instead of reading about it in books. My husband often suffered from headaches and at an herbal medicine booth, one of the Navajos lit up a hand wrapped smoke of some sort, saying it was good for headaches. My 7 years son was beside himself when he saw this... his grade school had preached mightily against "drugs." We weren't sure what was in it, but pictures of old TV shows and "passing the peace pipe" ran through our minds and my husband accepted the offer. Fortunately, whatever it was that we bought, I remembered to take out of our luggage for the flight home... We still have the unused Kachinna wood that my duck carving husband bought and planned to try making "someday" ---maybe when her retires? I raised my kids on Miyazaki which explains a lot about them. I discovered Dore Pugatory in an antique store in 1980; my husband talked me out of buying it for $90... the lithographs were museum quality. I wish had it now. I learned not to pay any attention to him about this sort of thing early on!! Enjoy New Mexico - it is truly magical. PS. I wouldn't have done the Chaco trip in that kind of weather. I'm glad you came out okay-- I bet you had 4 wheel drive!!
Your experience at the flea market sounds really memorable. I would LOVE to have stumbled across something similar.
I am one who generally has a very good sense of direction, even when traveling in parts unknown. My husband and I are currently in the midst of a major relocation to a new state and town, after having lived in our current home for 30+ years (with a pack rat husband). Feeling ‘lost’ right now is an understatement. That’s why I LOVED your comment about ‘needing to let the road take me to where it’s going’…..a much needed perspective to take moments to breathe. ❤️
Moving, downsizing, relocation, dislocation -- this is so hard!! I wish you all the very best as you go through this, and I hope this move also brings with it a sense of renewal for you.
I get lost in the town I have lived in for 68 years. I have learned to embrace forced wandering😳
Haha me too!
Has Raily Jane heard about this controversial interpretation of Totoro?
https://www.dazeddigital.com/artsandculture/article/32059/1/unraveling-the-fan-theory-behind-ghibli-s-totoro
No, I haven’t. Even though I don’t agree with this particular reading of Totoro, I think it’s significant that the movie can communicate different things to different viewers. Miyazaki has been very open about wanting Totoro to be a salve for the high octane action animations of the 80s, and his embrace of innocence and tranquility. Still, trying to “unpack” a movie is always a useful exercise.
This seems to be a more extensive comparison of the theory. At any rate, my grandchildren ages 4&6 love this movie so much. I like that it includes a grandma too.
As I was reading, I wondered if you took food/drink with you when you decided to wander. Then I got to the DQ part. Isn’t it fun when you find things in the most unexpected places?
Also, the night chant is mesmerizing and I loved its backstory.
Thanks for listening to that amazing chant. Soooo beautiful and yes -- mesmerizing. Of course I should have taken food/drink with me, but I'm never too far away from my most recent meal, so I figured I'd be OK. I was worried about running out of gas.
Thank you for sharing, I do love to read your stories!
Thank you, Susan -- I'm enjoying writing them.
Don't ever ask me for directions. I once sent some poor soul in the complete opposite direction of where he wanted to go. I still feel guilty.
... as long as you can find your way to Freeville now and then...
I usually know where I'm going, i just can't explain to someone else how to get there. Go figure.
Sounds like a nice break from upstate NY winter (used to live there). Enjoy!
Weirdly, the weather here has been very wintery and grayer than I'd expected. At times, gazing out the window onto a full-on snow squall, I've wondered why I left home in the first place.
I share the pain of unruly eyebrows and lost my way in Lincoln in the Bardo. However, I grew up in the Finger Lakes of NYS where the natural infrastructure runs north and south. So if one miscalculates direction, one runs smack into a lake or drumlin. Can't get lost for long, unless you want to, of course. Love your newsletters!
Thanks, Kathy. I know that about the Finger Lakes (that's where I live), and they say the same thing about Chicago but ... what do you know? I still get lost, constantly, most recently taking "the back way" home from the Syracuse airport and ending up in Skaneateles -- an hour away in the wrong direction.
I grew up in Scipio, about a half-hour's drive from Freeville. I'm a fan of your two memoirs, The Mighty Queens of Freeville and People Tend to Tell Me Things. I've published my own memoir of my childhood in the Finger Lakes, Stone House Stories, The Memoir of a Free-Range Kid. www.kathylawtonpurc.com. p.s. Skaneateles is a great place to end up lost. Impeccable taste!
HI Kathy -- I checked out your author page and ... it's so great! I love your old photos. I don't think you mentioned where you are living now, but -- I assume you'll be relieved to know that life in this region continues to tick along pretty much unchanged from when you and I were young.
Hi Amy, After Scipio I lived and worked in the Rochester, NY area. For the last 30 years I've lived 3 hours north of Toronto in the Haliburton Highlands (second marriage). It's a glacially ravaged landscape compared to the more sensual Finger Lakes. Trees, rocks, and beautiful lakes abound.
I do stay in touch with friends and family in the FLX and visit often. It's my true home. Two NY stories prompted me to think I too could write a memoir: Fifty Acres and a Poodle (Jean Marie Laskas), and Too Close to the Falls (Catherine Gildener). Once Stone House Stories was published, I found your The Mighty Queens of Freeville, and Joyce Carol Oates, The Lost Landscape. All wonderful NY stories written by women who's lives were molded by barns, family, neighbors, nature and a tinge of recklessness.
Thanks for your story of wandering on the Navajo Rez. Brings back memories of my own time around my favorite part of the world.
It is entrancing ... and I know I'll be back!
Thank you! Enjoy the journey!
Thank you for reading, and ... I'm doing my best to enjoy the speed bumps.