Neil is my mechanic for the vehicle that will power my trip to the redwood forests beginning next week. The 1996 Rialta 21 ft. camper van needed a little work, including a multi-function switch. Too bad Neil can’t install one in my writer’s brain: it’s a challenge to remember all the small packing details as I get ready to spend 2-3 months on the road: laptop, chocolate, books, chocolate, rain gear, chocolate….
I love a mechanic who uses yellow legal pad paper to scribble estimates. I always use the same for my first drafts, notes, planning, musing and conversation with myself as I organize ideas into words. The paper connects me to my dear Uncle Jim, who once handed me a stack of yellow legal pads when we teamed up on a family history project, A Short History of the Delehantys. He passed away several years ago, but the technique lives on.
At the moment, I am reading a wonderful book to support my launch: Rising Strong: the reckoning, the rumble, the revolution, by Brené Brown. Brown believes that anyone who falls can get back up and be stronger for the journey. I guess that goes for ’96 Rialta vans, too, thanks to Neil. My van is a little slow and a little wide, but she’s grounded, firing well and holding steady, which is why I have named her La Tortue – the turtle!
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