July 2012, I met Judith. She's the sort of person one is immediately drawn to. She's the sort of person you never forget. She's the sort of person you remember her voice when you read her words. She's the sort of person you remember because she always remembers you with such tender kindness. She's the sort of person you remember because she walks her talk. She's the real deal.

Paul, her husband, ain't too shabby either.

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It's improbable, but I would like to think the universe would've introduced us despite the aforementioned improbability, but in truth it was our mutual friendship with Sue Herrick, my neighbor on Monteagle Mountain where I live, that brought us together forever and ever.

I traveled to Santa Fe two summers ago to attend the International Folk Market. That's when I met Judith. I could write from here to next Sunday about the remarkable over-the-moon-and-back experience of the Folk Market, but I'd rather write about Judith and the truth of her TED Talk and how I embrace her passion for transformative travel. While Judith has treaded nearly every square inch of the globe, I've done a smidgeon of tiptoeing here and there... albeit well chosen here and theres. I will share a little.

Here's Judith's TED Talk:




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As always, Judith speaks from her heart right into mine, and that's what this photo is all about.





This is a photo of a woman I met my last day in Santa Fe. I had a day to myself so I wandered museums and splurged at a fancy-pants restaurant. Afterwards, my ears led me to the town square where lively music from a quintessential town square gazebo invited passersby to pause, sit and listen, and watch as people two-stepped with contagious gladness of spirit. It was a tableau of utter happy-happy.

Was it happenstance or my hat that drew the woman in the photo to sit beside me? This woman whose name I never got was warm and welcoming. I, too, had caught the levitating fever of the afternoon with the welcoming breeze of music and the soft taps of feet dancing across the pavement. After we exchanged happy tidings, she noticed I was having trouble breathing. I told her I'd just discovered I had a serious illness. It was in the anonymity of the moment that I blabbed. I had no one to talk to and suddenly this angel alit beside me. It wasn't a soppy moment. We were too immersed in the gladness of life and the beautiful day and the music and dancing and the fragrance of laughter and smiles and homespun goodness. I deeply swilled the divinity of the moment, but I also told her I was sad because I loved Santa Fe and might never be able to return. She took my hands and spoke with such conviction and knowing... that I would return one day.

Many of you have read this story before, so I thank you for your patience. But after viewing Judith's TED Talk, I was so clearly reminded of the importance that we c-o-n-n-e-c-t with people. Something special happened that day in Santa Fe - a sustaining connection sashayed into my heart and winked at my soul. I boldly presume this shimmer in time, the unlikely intimacy of the moment, was also significant for this wonderful nameless woman.


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Spring of 2010 I went to Morocco. It was an impulsive decision I will always be grateful for. I traveled alone and met up with another group of volunteers. This is a photo taken at the Children's Hospital in Rabat. I was in Morocco for two weeks and volunteered with cancer patients. Though language was a huge barrier with my lack of Arabic, I could occasionally toss a few French words together with a semblance of communication. French is spoken as much as Arabic... remember, it was once French Morocco. Communication was hobbled, but smiles spoke with clarity. The adorable child I'm holding was from Mauritania... the hospital in Rabat was the closest that could treat her cancer. It delighted me to no end that the children had such a great curiosity about me and the United States. My *whiteness* was inconsequential because skin color is inconsequential in Morocco. I loved that discovery. Look at all the shades in this photo!


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This last photo is a bit sad. It's a selfie taken in Nashville's International Airport. I was about to embark to Dulles where I missed my connection to Qatar. I was en route to Kathmandu to connect with two domestic flights to Ghhairo, Nepal. I was to meet up with a group to work on the restoration of a Buddhist monastery built in the 1600s.

It was in Dulles that I suspected something was wrong with my health. It was a few months before my trip to Santa Fe where my diagnosis was confirmed. The trip to Nepal was a dream come true for me. I had a suitcase filled with materials to make Comfort Dolls with the villagers in the mountains where I was going to live for two weeks. Yet... something held me back. I decided not to go. I cancelled. It was upon my return from Santa Fe that my pulmonary specialist told me my journey to the Himalayas could've very likely been fatal.




I love this selfie. It's jammed with goodness and cliched promise and hope. Yet, I'm grateful I listened to an inner voice that told me not to travel the next day.

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In the meantime, I have a date with a woman in Santa Fe. I hope to return someday... and just maybe, just maybe... Judith and Paul will be in town, too.