DAY SEVENTEEN

I got up this morning and went downstairs to wait for the airport shuttle. The lady on the phone said it would get
to the airport at 9:45 a.m. She was mistaken. It got to the airport at 8:30 a.m. or so. Consequently I was put
on the 10:30 a.m. van to Sedona instead of the 12 noon. So I got dropped off at the hotel at 12 noon and checked in.

I took the Road Runner [Sedona's free trolley-like bus] into the tourist tra-- I mean downtown. In the first store
I went to, I was accosted by a woman who wanted me to attend some 90 minute presentation of why I should buy a
timeshare "there." She wanted me to "put down" a twenty dollar deposit which I would get back after the presentation. I didn't feel like doing that.

I found a store called Three Dog Bakery with a friendly man behind the counter who was wrapping up a birthday cake
for "Dougie" who had just turned two years old. I got some hats there and a floating duck that quacks for the dog.
There were also tee shirts, cards, and freshly baked doggie cookies. Some of the cookies in the glass display case
featured carob [dogs can't have chocolate because it lowers the seizure threshold in canines so carob is a reasonable
substitute.

I got a tarot reading at another shop. The woman there used angel cards. She was quite good and her foreign accent
was intriguing. She mentioned one ascended master in her reading and spoke of "them." Finally I told her she could
use the word "angels" instead of referring to "them." She advised a gradual return to work, part-time for the first
three months. She told me that water was very important to my healing. I did have to explain how healing works in
traumatic brain injury-- some "wires" not finding others to "connect up with" causes the central nervous system
tremor I am stuck with, and others that do find connection are like "dirt roads instead of freeways." [It was an
explanation that I would be giving several times to various folks during the course of my stay.] After information
was given about the true nature of "the brain rewiring itself," she shrugged and said, "Well more healing will be
found maybe in another country for you..." I understood that her intentions were good. Talking about healing is
fine until one is confronted with someone with no arm. When an arm magically appears after the waving of wands and
chanting of magical words, I will give more credence to healing of the new agers. I've had to work for every bit
of progress, healing, and compensatory skills that I got.
The other stuff in that store was a variety of witch books, psychic books, other books, cards, rocks, jewelry, and
stuff. There was the appeal to the younger audience a la "you want to be a witch" and "you can be a young psychic
person and here's how" sort of books mixed in with the "spells to improve your life" variety of books for the older
witch wannabes.

A young fellow named Shaun at the Happy Bead store offered me some strong vile wine vinegar. There I found fiery
opals-- looks like pale to dark red rock chunks with glassy red material showing on several of the faces. Also a
few hand carved froggies, a c.d. called "Return to Sedona" and an excellent flute player trying out the flutes. At
Cactus Carlos, I found another young man who admitted that visiting Sedona is "better than living here." I got me
a pink sweatshirt that says "Arizona" on it because the weather had grown a bit chilly with the passing of the tail
end of a storm and the accompanying rain sprinkles. Also some coffee mug coasters with Kokopelli that I like and I
thought would make for cheap-- I mean frugal-- gifting.

I ate at the Oaxaca. I had cactus with this reddish sauce with a white marshmellow looking streak. I like cactus.
I also ate a sampler for one [generous portions of red beans and rice, guacamole, sour cream, flutas, tacos, and
burritos. I could not finish it. Very good and very filling. The fresh stuff was all fresh-- tomatoes and lettuce.
Nothing to spoil it at all. Additionally, there were wonderfl views of the red rocks from the windows. The Mexican
cowboy music added to the ambiance.

I got me an aura reading with 14 page printout at an upstairs shop called Sedona Crystal Vortex. I thought that
a camera was used for the aura picture but not anymore. A computer software program called Aura Video Station
Digital 5.1 out of Venice California [and a black box with metal tack buttons to spread the left hand fingers and
thumb out on takes care of it all. A 22 page printout with a fairly good picture of me surrounded by mostly strains
of blues was the result, along with a generic outline of a body with the seven chakras illustrated was the result.
I am considered to be predominantly blue-green with a "blue personality" to match.
Verdict: interesting perhaps, but do not base any major life decisions on such things.
The woman at the shop was lovely and very serene, even after her stressed-out younger boss showed up. Remarkable.
I found some stones with gold flecks which were fairly unusual and pretty so I bought them.

Walking past a movie museum [Movies filmed in Sedona; courtesy of Sedona Pines Resort-- another place looking for
single women with incomes of over 50K annually] on my way to the hotel [Road Runner stops about 5:30] a woman said
"hi" to me. She ascertained that I am married [another 90 minute tour promo-- the area is ridden with them I tell
ya] and promptly confessed to being a healer. Sedona is like that. We talked for awhile about men and hot sex and
life. Her boss showed up so I shoved off. She was hopeful for lunch and gave me her cell number. I like Michelle
and I will indeed try to set up lunch on Thursday.

I walked back to the hotel. A work crew was there, [8 p.m. to 6 a.m.] at the Y intersection between 179 and 89. I
will have to get back earlier for the next two days for my own safety. I took some time to pulsate in whirlpool
located in a red rock colored pavilion next to the pool before retiring.

sapphoq n friends