Horoscopes, roadtrips and pebbles

Leo (7/23-8/22)

You wrote the book on loyalty -- and that applies to anyone you care about, whether they're family, friends, or someone you met on the bus who asked for your advice. You may need to exhibit that quality on the spur of the moment today, and you'll rise to the occasion beautifully. Does this mean that you'll get overly involved? Maybe, but isn't that just how you do business? All or nothing, right?

Though I typically dismiss horoscopes as frivolous bru-ha-ha, I do find this to be quite true. It's a general statement about who I am. Is every Leo this way? I don't have a clue. The other day my horoscope overview was "Reminiscing about the past is a great way to determine where to go in your future."

And I have been doing a lot of that. It's such a glorious thing to be able to share the past with someone who was there. On Sunday I went in search of one photo and ended up finding several I had all but forgotten. I've taken great delight in sharing the photos on Facebook and laughing at the reactions of my friends and acquaintances.

There was a time in my life when I didn't know how to laugh at myself. Through my shortcomings, I am able to take it all in stride. No, it's more than that. I laugh heartily.

Take this picture, for instance:


Ten years ago I might not have been able to exhibit the fact that I had huge pit-stains. Click on it to get the full effect of my sweatiness. Oxford cloth in August? This is also proof that my boobs weren't always ginormous!! Those things are tiny! Manageable! No underwire required. Could my shorts be hiked up any higher? Thank goodness I wore full-0n bloomers back then. What's really sad is that I thought I was fat! HUGE, even. Long time friend Tom took this picture and added the captions. He was the official photographer for our group.

I think the day after this picture was taken, Tommy and I loaded up his green Datsun B-210 wagon and hit the highway. ROADTRIP!! Two teens driving from Illinois to California in a car without a/c in mid-August. Talk about the experience of a lifetime! His car was a stick shift which I had never driven. He taught me how to drive a 5 speed the night before departing. What a hoot!

Tom was moving to attend Brooks Institute in Santa Barbara. His mom wasn't keen on him driving alone. So, I pulled out money I'd saved from working at Monical's Pizza and bought return a ticket from LA to Chicago.

I experienced the flatness of Nebraska; the vast Rockies; glorious rock formations of New Mexico; the relentless heat of Arizona's desert. We arrived just after the '84 Olympic Games came to a close. We watched the closing ceremonies from a low budget motel we ended up staying in when we got off course. We didn't really sleep because Tom feared his belongings would be extracted from his vehicle. So, I snoozed while he kept watch. Early in the morning we hit the road. I probably attempted to drive while he got some shut eye.

When we finally arrived in California and I set first glance on the ocean, I understood why so many people went there with so many dreams ready to be unveiled and baggage of the past neatly tucked away.

Those were such simpler times. Little did we realize the challenges we'd encounter into adulthood. We had the world by the cajones! But ya know, I'm not complaining. Each moment of my life has brought me to this point in time. Every second a pebble in the foundation. To remove one of those pebbles could cause calamity. So, while I look back and walk down the cobblestone of memory lane with my friend, I stand firmly where I am knowing I have done the best I can with what I've been given.

Comments

  1. I'm a LEO, & it's pretty much ---> ALL OR NOTHING with me. I read my horoscope EVERY day & usually find some truth in it. Maybe it's just the ``power of positive thinking`` but lots of that stuff comes true for me.

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