smoky mountain sojourn

in five days time i will flee scotland's rather grim weather and head for the good old US of A. it's been a while and this time around i am not heading for new york but for new jersey. a quick stopover and then into the car and off ...
look out smoky mountains here i come!

i do sometimes wonder about little old me, born in estcourt in the foothills of the drakensberg. how the hell did i get where i am today?
life is strange, life is wonderful and for those of us willing to fly a little close to the sun ...
well, life loves to surprise us.

this time of the year is always somewhat sad for me. too many memories of love and loss. come september i find myself feeling down, wonder why and then remember why. it is my time of the sad. at first my conscious mind is unaware, it has been a long time - nine years. but the ache still waits, locked deep inside, almost forgotten until memory stirs and i find that i can still forget to breath.

the invite to visit my 'angel of the morning' came at just the right time. she is a wonderfully charming and intelligent women, most capable of offering the distraction and interaction necessary to lift my spirits.

the last time i visited with angel she was dead set on encouraging me 'not to smoke'. her solution - every time i fancied a cigarette i would first have to eat three cranberries (as in cranberry au naturelle), straight from the bush or wherever it is that cranberries grow. angel sounded (dare i say it) almost gleeful when she mentioned buying a barrel of cranberries to assist me in overcoming my addiction. not a chance! i fly with a suitcase filled with nicotine patches!

no need to wonder if i am somewhat silent over the next month. the reef will be sans internet, happily wandering mountain trails, scaring the bears and listening for the sound of wolves howling for the moon.