Happiest day, beloved world! I love you! Bless you! I pray you’re doing well.
A seismic shift occurred since we last rode together, both in our country and in our personal lives. I am so thankful for the unshakeable faith I’ve cultivated all my life in the goodness of humanity and the benevolence of the universe toward us.
On Monday I shared that my husband Frank and I were in the hospital where he’d contracted an infection after coming in for minor surgery. All was going well until Tuesday when we got the “nurse” from hell, who deliberately left us untended for SIX HOURS during which Frank did not get his antibiotic meds. Despite the entreaties of the nurse technician, she walked past our room, averting our gaze.
Long story short, I finally had to disobey Frank’s wishes to “not make a fuss” and complained to the leadership. Turns out the lady was a “floater” between hospitals, displaying no allegiance either to hospital or patient. So Tuesday night felt doubly catastrophic.
Wednesday morning I called Lyft to go home and do laundry etc. The first driver was male, and he left without me as the traffic made it hard for us to connect. I called again and a female driver arrived. I got into her car and burst into wracking sobs. She handed me a soft tissue and I poured out the story, hiccupping like a child. And she said to me,
“Honey, you and your husband are so blessed. Now you have a mission. You can use your voice to draw attention to the conditions. A lot of people will not feel like they have a voice, but YOU have a voice.”
WHAT? Did she know me from somewhere? Plus, hadn’t we JUST ACHIEVED OUR 30-year mission to promote the values of in our National Park System?! A preternatural level of calm came over me and I literally felt that I was in the presence of an Angel.
It turned out that she’s going through her own struggle with homelessness, living with her young son in a hotel room. I gave her the $20 bill I had and wished her well.
We did use our voice, and our daughter who’s in the medical field came and met with the nursing leadership. They thanked us and said EXACTLY the same thing our angel said, “Thank you for letting us know, because so many other people might not.”
After the election outcome, I am more determined than ever to greet each person I meet with a smile and a friendly hello. When Frank and I got married 32 years ago and went for morning walks, he observed that I said hello to everyone we met. He said,
“I used to do that, but I stopped because so many people don’t respond.”
I said, “Yes, but that doesn’t matter to me. My responsibility is to be HUMAN, and salute the God in every human I meet. I am not responsible for their response.”
Pretty soon he was doing the same thing, and people we met regularly would start smiling when they saw us coming and greet us cheerily.
Also this week we received a Lifetime Achievement Award for Leadership in Conservation, Education and Justice from the North American Association for Environmental Education. So grateful. Taking us over the top, my number three hero of all time wrote a poem on X, “Audrey’s Anthem: The Wild Belongs to All.” It’s awesome to receive your flowers as you’re going through life trials.
Today we’re going to two parks that are emblematic of the American ideal.
Here we are at the Statue of Liberty on Ellis Island, where more than 12 million immigrants entered the promised land between 1892 and 1954. Though our political position has changed to demonize immigrants, legal and non-legal, each one of us in our sphere of influence can embody and display the values she represents. Check her out here.
Our second stop is at Pikes Peak – America’s Mountain in Colorado that inspired the song, “America The Beautiful.” Standing on the peak and looking over at the “purple mountains,” do you not feel humble and grateful to be part of this incredible country? This is almost exactly how Katherine Lee Bates saw it in 1893.
Beloved Joy Train Rider, fellow human, fellow American, e are one human family on a small blue ball, in a small solar system near the edge of the Milky Way Galaxy, which itself is like a grain of sand on a beach of galaxies. WE MUST BE MORE THAN THE FUSSING, FIGHTING, FINGER POINTING than we’re indulging now.
Our National Park System is here to teach us more about our country and ourselves. Explore, enjoy and help protect it.
One Love!
