And Now for the REST of the Story…

(With apologies to Paul Harvey)

Kinko’s would have been enough excitement for for many people.Not for me!

Saturday night Sis & I headed out to a secluded horse farm for a night of Mid-East food & Belly Dancing hosted by a Pagan group.Mid-drive Sis noticed that we had–ONCE AGAIN-dressed like a couple of twins in blue jeans & blue tops.We laughed-we do that all the time.We have bought identical watches & clothing while living hundreds of miles apart.We wrote it off as our quirk,never suspecting how that little quirk would affect our evening.

We arrived & were motioned by a wave to park in a BIG field.Right behind the horses & next to the camel.Yes,I said camel.We exited the car & began eyeballing the Pagans.They eyeballed us.They wore dashikis,caftans,flowy skirts,sports bras,bathing suits,belly dancer costumes and/or shorts.Little did we know, they were eyeing our matching outfits with suspicion.After all–any two ‘older’, largish women dressed so “cute” could hardly be expected to understand the Pagan mind.

We were given a tour of the facilities.“There’s the field, there’s the bath house. You can take your clothes off anywhere in the bath house, but only in SOME of the fields.There’s the 2 fire circles.Might want to keep your clothes on that close to the fire.There’s the horses,there’s the camel,there’s the stage for tonight (tarp hung with scarves covering oil stained carpet pieces),there’s the trailer where we cook,there’s the outdoor sink where YOU will wash the dishes.”

Dinner was scheduled for 7.By 8:30 my tummy was a-rumbling!By that time we had managed to hold conversations with most of the folks there and, as it became apparent that our ‘twin’ garb was a source of angst for them, calm them down with assurances that we do NOT do this sort of thing on purpose.

Dinner!Authentic “stuff”.My only comment is that Ginger should be a background spice-not the OVERRIDING flavor in EVERY dish on the menu.I have no idea what any of it tasted like-all I could taste was Ginger.Sis leaned over and whispered “We’ll find a McDonalds on the way home…”

Entertainment!Two lovely women performed several dances.There were pauses between numbers as they switched from elaborate costume to elaborate costume.Between acts we chatted some more with this eclectic group.How eclectic?

The 26 year old college student who was (in no particular order)a lesbian and quite a large woman.She vowed that she was fat because she had Pagan Rings which are (according to her) the layers of fat one accumulates by participating in Pagan ceremonies since there is always food involved.A young man who calmly explained to me that he didn’t need black magic because he was quite skilled at justifying ANYthing.The middle-aged man covered in poorly done tattoos with a bad Billy Ray Cyrus haircut & cane, saying “I want to see the girls dance” over and over and over…The teenager with her nose in a book, pretending none of this was actually going on around her.The camp director who was very airy and pleasant & married to the surly man who was cooking.The owner of the fields who, I am fairly certain, was still on that last really GOOD drug trip he had in the 60s.And a very pleasant woman & her equally pleasant boyfriend who seemed a bit out of place there–but not as out of place as Sis & I.Guess they were bridging the gap.

At nearly midnight Sis & I decided to head for home.No one seemed particularly sorry to see us go.I think we made them uncomfortable, although they were quite sociable & pleasant to talk to–in the way that it’s pleasant to talk your pets.There’s SOME sort of communication going on,but no one is really sure what message is getting through.It was an interesting night and,a fun time.But we don’t think we’ll be hurrying back there next weekend.

Sunday morning Sis & I had vowed to go to Church.Both of us have shed our previous ‘religions’ but were looking for a spot to participate in some group energy & worship that was not confining or narrow minded.We’d heard that the Unity Church just might fit the bill.Again, we nearly became twins.I had on a black & white jumper & Sis wore a black & white shirt with black pants.Apparently this is not a cause for great consternation at the Unity church.It was a lovely service-very inclusive.My FAVORITE part involved the children.The pastor called them forward & delivered a short lesson to them.Then the entire congretation stood,raised their arms with palms facing the children, & blessed them.I don’t remember the words of the blessing, but the last part told them that they were perfect, just the way they are.How incredible is that?!Can you imagine having 200+ people telling you that EVERY week?You could FEEL the energy flowing from the adults up to the kids & you could SEE the kids taking it in…standing taller & smiling wider.Other than that,it was pretty much what you’d expect at a church service but more inclusive & less narrow in defining who/what “God” is.They have a small but pretty cool bookstore as well.

For the finale-a new drum circle on the beach closer to home.When Sis & I got there the circle was already in full swing.It was not nearly as large as the one last weekend.There were, at most,20 drummers and maybe 50-60 watchers.One drummer was a young man from Senegal with a cool assortment of drums which he alternated between.Apparently he drums for a living.There was a Latin man who was a cheerleader-going from drummer to drummer–urging them on and offering hints.Then returning to his own drum for a while.There was a man who was juggling & another man who was doing sufi twirling.There were kites flying & people dancing.One young man in particular caught my eye-he was moving with a combination calypso/tribal shuffle sort of dance & his entire face was illuminated as he danced round & round & round.The energy of this group was quite different, but still wonderful.There was a bit more room to move around since the crowd was smaller.The Sunset was Florida Beach SPECTACULAR.We saw the cool woman & her boyfriend from Saturday’s Pagan Fest & got a lesson about different drums.She’s even going to hook us up with a guy who does workshops where you build your own drum!

Sis 7 i still made it home for a reasonable bedtime. I love both these circles!I think I’m hooked!!!Tomorrow I head to ATL to pick up my daughter-but we’ll be back in time for Sunday drumming on the beach!!