To Whom it may Concern

I did not remember Robert Louise Stevenson as such a vivid storyteller. I do remember liking Treasure Island - in fact I am going to reread it now - but I was more of a Swiss Family Robinson fan... even today I cannot walk by a tree without checking it out with an eye to where I would put the tree house.

On the 'undiscovered Scotland' website they say that 'Edinburgh: Picturesque Notes' was one of his most personal and vivid books.

http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/usebooks/steveson-edinburgh/index.html

I once slept in my car beside a lighthouse in some remote spot on the coast of Maine. Man, being lulled to sleep by the fog horn and woken by the sound of the gulls squabbling over breakfast was such a high!!! Yeah, I love the sound of seagulls myself... and in fact another one of my favorite Incredible String Band songs (the bard Robin Williamson's early band) is called 'Seagull'. I can't think why you would be interested but here are the lyrics to that song anyway:

Cold morning sun to show me where I spent the night
Sun can you find through porthole on the anchored sea me?
Then I'm walking on the prom deck asking the sky
Oh someone won't you hear my cry
Come and stop my questioning, stop my lie
And maybe give me a sign to show me it's alright

Seagull come fly me your song your high song

It's very true there's nothing to complain of here
You know I've tried and not found an enemy to fear here
There's safety in the warm thoughts all around me
Adventure in the strange port quay
But still a questioning in the quiet of me
Why do I need a sign to show me it's alright

Seagull come fly me your song your high song
All right, out on the rolling, rolling sea
Now.

I have never been a fan of orchestral renditions of 'pop' songs. On the other hand, I have never been much of a fan of pop songs period. But I am interested in living in the same hills that the Boston Symphony calls their summer home! I consider those hills the foothills of the Catskill Mountains... the same mountains that Rip Van Winkle visited, and that my mother refers to as 'the most mysterious mountains she's ever been in'. And granted, I may have to drive for a while before I get to feel the sea breeze on my face and in my hair, and to hear seagulls in the air, but still...

And thank you for your good wishes, but I no longer think in terms of passing time but rather in terms of the eternal Now. I have a great day every day, and if I am not having such a great day, then I deliberately look for a way to make it better. Thus, a whole slew of great days put together make a great month or a great year or a great life... whatever your perspective! And as I've said elsewhere here on MyLot... I wish for you those things that you wish for yourself, and I wish this every day, not just on one particular day. And I know that is true for you too, I am just harassing you. And all I can say with regard to the approaching year 2010... where are the flying cars and colonies on Mars?!?!

I kinda figured "Merry Christmas" would have little or no relevance to you zig, but what the hey! Regardless of whether these events are acknowledged of not, it IS Chrostmas so it may as well be merry! lol. Happy New Year too.

Funnily enough I do appreciate the seagull words and my favourite book of all time is "Jonathan Livingston Seagull" by Richard Bach. If you have not reas this short story, I strongly urge you to do so. It is very uplifting and I think you would like it.

It is the winter solstice. It is the point when the hemisphere that you stand on is once again oriented towards the sun. That is great cause for celebration, and has been celebrated in some form or another probably since time immemorial.

Calling it 'Christmas' implies that it has something to do with 'Christ', his bday or something, and that is just not true. You can pretend if you want to and celebrate that all you want if you wish, it really makes no matter since words are only words and any excuse for celebration is a good excuse.

I am a big fan of Richard Bach.

Hah! Funny that you mention Scott (well, not so funny considering he too is a Scot, it just doesn't sound as good to say "How logical that you would mention Scott", hehehehe), but I just found a title of his that I am inspired to check out, called 'The Heart of Midlothian'. I think I will investigate his 'Lady of the Lake' as well.

That website - the one I posted a link to in the above reply - says that 'Edinburgh: Picturesque Notes' was among Stevenson's most personal and vivid books. I am a little partial to Robin's speaking it, with his musical Scottish brogue and the little bits of harpsong periodically applied, but still, the text itself is a wonderful read!

Speaking of 'niggling suspicions' I have an idea that we have this interest in 'all things British' in common. (Hehehe, reminds me of the movie 'Room with a View' where they - the British represented in the film - shared in common an interest in 'all things Italian', something like that anyway.)

And if that is the case then I think you would LOVE Robin Williamson's reading of parts of this book on the album that I mentioned in my original post. I am transported listening to his melodious Scottish brogue speaking the (sometimes harsh) poetry that is Scotland. The track 'Where I spent my Aprils' is in fact a reading of the last 3 paragraphs of chapter VI: New Town - Town & Country from that book. When Robin reads it is like he is speaking it from his own experience, and he is a genius storyteller and musician.

He tells a story called 'Five Denials on Merlin's Grave' that I bet you would like too. That is on his 'Glint at the Kindling/Five Bardic Mysteries CD... the Poacher's song is also on there, which I LOVE!

If I had the unlimited supply of cash that I am wanting available to me right now I would buy a copy of everything Robin Williamson has ever done, but alas, I have been penniless for so long it has become all too familiar, hehehe, and I myself have pirated most of the stuff I have... although my original intention was just to replace my vinyl collection with mp3s for 'ease of transport' nevertheless, when I saw titles such as these that I mentioned pop up in front of my eyes, I ask you; how could I resist pressing 'download'????!?!

And yeah, I totally agree with you... American architecture sure leaves a LOT to be desired!!! In fact, I have to say, it pretty much sucks!

...Sucks....yeah, that's definitely the word... Now, Zig, I was trying to be nice because I haven't seen much of the old woman. But I'd love to transport some of those quaint English cottages to the old, lumbering U.S. just to add a bit of spice...on second thought...I'd also like a few British castles, the high cliffs of Dover, the River Exe....(sorry, responder has zoned out)

Seen much of what old woman??

The United States. America is sometimes referred to in the feminine.

Ahh, and her sign is Cancer... no wonder I get along with America the way I do... my mother is also a Cancerian tyrant! Hehehe, now that I have got that jab in, I will say that since we only see what we expect to see, and since what we expect to see is really just a matter of conditioning, then I am deliberately conditioning myself to look for the positive aspects of things. So here are a few things about America that I love:

Well, I think I'm going to have to go for the broader picture right now. Zooming in like that brought up too much detail and thus too many of the negative aspects I have been focusing on along with it. Therefore, what I love about this planet is the variety, the sensuality, the weather, the huge sky, high speed internet access, and shopping. I'm sure I could come up with some more but that will suffice for now.

Can you think of anything to add to this comprehensive list?

Okay, like... my mother is a Cancer too. She's a nice lady, but I'm having trouble with certain aspects of her...eh... imperfectness.

Were those planetary loves in order of high to low enjoyment? Some folks would probably put shopping first then the internet...snicker.... Out of the ones you named, I'd have to pick the beautiful sky as my favorite like The assorted nuts feature is a definite feature of interest--though I'd like to throw back a few hazelnuts... HATE the weather in my region--the cold and snow is depressing--glad to see other states getting a taste of what New Jersey and New York have been suffering through for decades--but on the other hand snow beats tornadoes and hurricanes hands down... Thank God I don't live in Alaska or Rochester, NY, the snow capital...

I'd have to add to your list of loves...Entertainment: music, movies, books, comedians and the like. Also, the high level of freedom to say what we want--things like President Bush is an Evil Christian. I like that in America we can push the envelope and express ourselves in many ways that people in other countries can't yet dream of...mainly I'm referring to women. May their God give them strength to overcome. I love that despite our hardship and despite that people from other countries don't like our moral standards and political decisions, we keep our heads raised high as a nation--individually, however, the sidewalks are littered with fallen faces...

Unfortunately, there are a few things I deplore about America.

I hate that American presidents preach to other countries about racial equality when it has not been fully realized and practiced here. Blatant and subtle racism still festers in many communities. Some of us long to embrace the uniqueness of others...but many refuse to change and gorge themselves with hate

I hate that American presidents send troops to other countries to fight terrorists, but do nothing about the home grown terrorists like hate groups, drug dealers, gangs, street criminals, wife and child beaters, pedophiles, and a generous array of other sickopaths.

And blah, blah, blah.... Gee, hope that answered your question(s)...Penny


graphic by pennyparker2.com/

Wow... sorry I missed this great 'comment' for so long! It's really weird, I get a notification when someone first posts to my discussions, but then I do not get any notifiers when they make an additional comment, so I have to remember to keep checking back... as you can see, I have forgotten for a few days.

What is your sign? I wonder if it reflects some kind of significant that you are having trouble with certain aspects of your mother's imperfection and I am having trouble with certain aspects of my mother's insanity.

Hahaha, assorted nuts, yeah, except rather than throwing a few hazelnuts back I'd rather sit on a high stone wall and throw walnuts at a few of those hazelnuts, hear the 'clunk' as it contacts the target.

Yeah, where to live has become my biggest question. I do not like the snow. Sure it is beautiful to look at, and the air is so quiet with the earth covered with all that sparkly white, but I could do without it nevertheless. The only way I want to live in a place where it has snowy winters would be if I had solar-powered radiant heat, a wood burning stove, preferably with glass doors, a chainsaw and a gas-powered wood splitter.

But I would prefer to live somewhere that had a more temperate climate. I like warm days and cool nights. No scalding hot weather and no freezing cold. Maybe warm enough to require a fan, or cool enough to warrant a fire, but that's it.

You have added a wealth of items to the list! Entertainment, of course! One of the top requirements for my ideal place to live is to have excellent live entertainment in outdoor venues. I love live music and cafes with outdoor patios, and other fine dining establishments. A few good taverns. A spectacular library. Camping, canoeing... I having a blast just thinking about it!

And I sure do love to laugh! It's the requirement in this household! We used to go to the Improv and the Comedy Store regularly! And comedies are my favorite genre of movies.

Bush is an Evil Christian.... Hahahahahahaha! Did you see the video of that fundamentalist Christian school where they were worshiping a cardboard cutout of him?!?! Amazing. Watching those kids being indoctrinated in that video, both towards a political figure and a friggin' weird belief system, was pretty depressing, I normally stay away from stuff like that... man, it was frightening!

I also have a few things I deplore... political correctness is one of them.

"Political Correctness is a doctrine fostered by a delusional minority and by the mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a turd by the clean end."

I don't much go in for coddling humanity and removing everything from the world that this person or that person or some other person might find offensive. People who want to make laws against this and send task forces out against that, are really only ensuring that more of that is going to be there for them to fight against.

They do that because the don't understand the Law of Attraction. What you FEEL passionately and BELIEVE strongly is reflected back to you in your reality. When you keep your attention on a thing, thinking about it everyday, observing things like it every day, reading about it in the newspaper, watching it on the news, being afraid of it every day... you are basically keeping it activated in your vibration and are in fact attracting more things like it into your experience. Just thought I'd mention that.

I do everything I can to alleviate worry and negative imaging in my mind. I believe PASSIONATELY in following my Bliss!

I often listen to music that transports me to India too, where I have an enchanting time! Hehehe.

I may have been to a lot of places but I have never been to Manhattan. My mother of course would like to have a penthouse there. Myself, I can't even muster up the energy to visit New York at all. I've driven by it a few times and the huge dirty buildings and the crammed quarters just make me cringe... I have wanted to scrunch my eyes closed as I was passing to avoid even having to look at it except I was doing the driving!

Surely you've heard of Treasure Island??? 15 men on a dead mans chest yo ho ho and a bottle of rum??

Mountains are very mystical places and that's a fact.