Hello from the Sacramento Airport,
I have made it across the entire country, and, by the end of the day, back. It has been a bit stressful, but Lydia has amazed me (and others) yet again. I remember last summer, in the span of four days, she had a stroke, a significant seizure, congestive heart failure, and pneumonia. I flew home in a day, and within a couple days, she was being her incomparable-self once again. I am reminded of the picture I found of her in first grade, where she is sitting in her classroom. You can see clearly it is her by the body language. Her sense of knowing who she was and what she expected was probably determined on the womb. I am sure of it. Reminds me of someone else I know.
I am always amazed by the random way my brain seems to process or think of things. As I was driving to the airport I was thinking about assignments for my Bible as Literature class next fall. Unfortunately, the laws regarding cell phones are brutal. I would have liked to have put it into a voice note. While I have some basic idea, some of it already disappeared. I also thought about scheduling, about readings, about the field trip I want to do. Well, I am getting ready to board my first flight, so this will take a bit of a break.
So I am in Atlanta and boarding for AVP and I had completed this posting and for the third time in as many attempts to blog this week. I flew through LAX this morning and, in spite of a pretty extensive travel history over the past 40 years, that is my first time flying through Los Angeles. I felt like a first-grade novice working through that airport. Oh my goodness.
So in my thinking about what it is that makes Cappelli Ranch that makes it so rejuvenating, First, I think it is the geography of the place itself. At about 3,200 feet up in the Sierra Nevada Mountains and it is breath-takingly beautiful. From the first evening Marco invited me to his house the summer of 2007 for a trip up to Grizzly Flats, the place had held a special place in my heart. After that summer and a last night celebration before I headed back to Wisconsin, he has offered me an open door. I have house sat; I have been a guest; I have worked watering, I have been offered quite a gift. However, it is Marco, himself that makes the place special and with Belinda now there, it is a wonderful home-away-from-home. They create such a positive atmosphere together. While they are very different people, together they have a synergy and aura that radiates warmth, positive energy, and goodness. That is felt by anyone who comes to see them, and with Ginetta and Carlito, you can see that same optimism and love. It is such a wonderful place and for me, it is the place I finally relax.
Even this weekend, their graciousness and his limitless care was all about everyone having a good time for the celebration of Belinda’s birthday. He treats me like family and I see him as a little brother, though one so much more amazing than I am. Twice lately I have been offered the gift of being considered “family”. As his new wine label says “Familia Sacra Est.
El Sr. Galán y Marco, es con tal maravilla que me ofrecen un regalo tan precioso. Me siento humilde y honrado de que ustedes dos se atrevería a incluirme como miembro de su familia. Voy a intentar mi mejor esfuerzo para ser siempre dignos de la confianza que ha depositado en mí. Gracias desde el fondo de mi corazón.
Jordan y Melissa, espero que siempre te puedo ofrecer el cuidado de un maestro y un padre sustituto. Soy bendecido que ambos me confía que tú. Gracias; otra vez estoy más humildes de lo que cree.
Thank you for reading,
Miguelito (as Marco was the first to call me.)
thewritingprofessor55 