Santa Maria

To keep our connection fresh, Rosie and I decided to meet halfway between our homes. As luck would have it, her Gramma Teri and Papa Dick live in Santa Maria and offered their house to us as our meeting place.

I drove the 3 hours down Hwy 101, realizing that, if it was halfway, it was about the same distance as driving down Hwy 5. Other than the novelty of driving a route that I don’t normally take, There wasn’t much to recommend taking Hwy 5. I have always enjoyed 101. The landmarks fall just about in the right places. King City is about an hour out, San Luis Obispo is about 2 hours out, Santa Barbara always feels do-able from San Luis, and Santa Barbara is way over the hump . . . and just about there.

I made better time than I had anticipated, so I stopped at a team roping event in SLO, thinking that the fellow I board my horses with might be competing there. I watched briefly, took a few photos and after a quick perusal of the horse trailers parked out in the field, I didn’t immediately see anyone I knew, so I figured it was time to get back on the road.

Rosie had given me directions to her Grandmother’s and they worked! I arrived to the welcome of Rosie, and Gramma Teri and Papa Dick, Rosie’s Mom’s father.

Melissa and Cynthia, two of their three other daughters and their families were soon going to be arriving to meet with “Rosie’s Dad”. The first group included Rick, Cynthia’s husband, Kevin and T.J., a couple of young guitar playing relatives. We played for each other and Rosie and I sang a song for them. We played them the latest version of “There’s A Light In You”, from the CD I made for Rosie of the new recording project.

Don and Rosie’s Aunt Melissa arrived and then her Aunt Cynthia. We ate tacos and strawberries and talked.

It was good to meet more of the people who have been a part of Rosie’s story. Gramma Teri is one of a kind. She is intelligent, observant, outspoken and a little used to getting her way, I suspect. Though she probably doesn’t think so. She has been a great asset in this adventure. I am grateful for the support she has offered.

We went for a walk and watched the sun set out towards the ocean we knew was out there. Our conversations have been deep and meaningful. I value them very highly and look forward to many more. She asks me questions and I tell her as much of the truth as I think I know. I’m not too sure what to do about the parts I think I don’t know.

I was hoping to read something to Rosie, because I love to read aloud. We went into room and closets in search of Winnie the Pooh, which would have been my first choice. My mother read them A.A. Milne books to me when I was very young, as did Rosie’s. They hold a dear place in my heart. Reading those lines to my daughter would be intoxicating.

We were not able to come up with any Winnie, but almost simultaneously, came up with an alternative in Mark Twain. The writings of Samuel Clemens have been an important influence in my thinking and writing and I was surprised to hear that Rosie enjoyed him as well.

I read “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County”, noting to Rosie that my Dad’s father, her great-grandfather, Thomas Henry Reid jr, was born in Angels Camp.

I enjoyed reliving the Twain story, it always seems fresh, though I know I’ve heard the words many times. I remember going to the Jumping Frog contest in Angels Camp with some friends sometime in high school. I wasn’t sure if Rosie was able to stick with me. I know that my voice can have a tendency to put people to sleep. Not in a bad way. I’m usually complimented by it. She got through the jumping frog, but we bit off a bit more than we could chew in the “Corruption of Hadleyburg”. By the time I looked to see how many pages we had left, I realized I never would’ve started, had I known. I must admit that now I am going to have to go back and find the story so that I can see how it does end.

We stayed up way too late, as we tend to do.

There’s just never a good time to let sleep intrude on this wonderful dream we are living!