Sunday 9/9/18

Passing through each time zone going east has made the trip interesting, as I keep getting to each town an hour later by local time. Friday evening I arrived at Charlie Odorizzi’s beautiful store, the Next Millennium, in Omaha just in time for my scheduled book-signing at 6:00. Customers bought up all the books that Charlie had stocked, and the two-hour talk that followed was packed. Afterwards Charlie took me to the Sheraton, where he’d booked me a nice room.

Saturday morning (yesterday) I took Morning Glory’s little burgundy Prius, Garnet, into the Grease Monkey shop in Omaha for a needed oil change and maintenance check. Charlie had recommended them, and they were fast and inexpensive.

Friday 9/7/18

I got into Cheyenne last night, had a nice dinner at the Country Kitchen a few miles East of the city, and stayed at a Rodeway Inn. Today I have another 8-hour drive to Omaha, where I’ll be doing a book-signing and talk at Next Millennium from 6:00-9:00. The talk will be on “Cycles & Seasons of Pagan Emergence.” All this driving is becoming quite a challenge; I just hope Morning Glory’s little red Prius can hold out!

Tomorrow I have an easier 3-hour drive to Kansas City, and then on to Oak Spirit Sanctuary in Boonville, MO, on Sunday. Monday the 10th I’ll be driving on to St. Louis, where I’ll be doing a book-signing at Pathways Books, founded by my first teacher of the Craft, Deborah Bourbon, who died of cancer a few years ago.

I wanted to mention that last Friday was Maureen’s 66th birthday! In congratulations and tribute, I’d like to say a few words about her. She has been my loyal and stalwart supporter, personal manager, bookkeeper, website designer and manager, and all-around Gal Friday for the past five years or so—since before Morning Glory died. I can’t imagine how I’d manage without her, and I hope I never have to find out. A Reiki Master and  CAW Minister, she is on the Boards of Directors of the Church of All Worlds, the Grey School of Wizardry, and the Academy of Arcana (now closed) and is the Administrator of CAW, as well as the Chief Technomage of GSW. While she has spent a great deal of time in California with me over the past few years, her family and home are in Marietta, Georgia, where their family auto dealership business is based. Thank you, Mama Maureen, for all that you do, and all that you are!

Thursday 9/6/18

I’d hoped to be able to keep up my journaling every day or two, but I’ve been on the road continually, driving up to 8 hours a day, and then arriving at each destination barely in time for dinner. Evenings are filled with socializing, and by the time I can get to bed, it’s too late to write. But I want you all to know that my Walkabout is going splendidly! I need to design a road trip T-shirt like bands have… I’m having wonderful adventures, and meeting wonderful people all along the way.

To catch up a bit since my last entry, I picked up Maureen/Judith Saturday morning, 9/1, at her hotel in SF, and we went over to the Beat Museum (http://www.kerouac.com/), which is run by her old friend Jerry Cimino. We spent a while touring all the exhibits on two floors, and took pictures with the 1941 Hudson featured in the 2012 movie of Jack Kerouac’s famous beatnik novel, “On the Road.” Then we drove 248 miles up to Weed, just north of Mt. Shasta. On the way, we had to stop for gas right in the middle of the smoke from the huge Hirz fire, and my voice was harsh for days afterwards… We were put up in a lovely B&B, and had long visits with Rasa and Marlis.

The handfasting was beautiful, with friends and family coming in from Germany, New Zealand, France, Georgia and SoCal. Here’s what my friend Rasa posted on Facebook about the ceremony on Sunday:

Richard Rasa is with Judith Maxine Barnett and 4 others.

September 4 at 10:05 PM ·

Both old friends of Robert Anton Wilson, Oberon’s officiating at Marlis’ grandson’s marriage was a coincidence that began when they first met in Santa Cruz, July 23rd, RAW Day 2017. I think Bob would have loved knowing he had a hand in that serendipitous connection.

Oberon and Judith conjured magic for Demian and Leslie’s handfasting this past Sunday. Grandson of my dearest friend Marlis, Demian has led something of a magical life – born in Berlin, now living in New Zealand with Leslie (pretty magical in her own right). Guests from NZ, Germany, France, Spain, as well as Leslie’s family from California traveled along smokey Interstate 5 to arrive at Mt. Shasta. We have had weeks of fires burning around us and many days where you couldn’t be outside for more than five minutes without a mask. On Saturday Oberon and Judith arrived. They drove just past the Hirz fire only some 40 miles south of us, but arrived in Mt. Shasta just after the winds died down, gently blowing down from the North. The Hirz fire could be seen in the distance with giant plumes of smoke rising, but none of it coming our way. Saturday and Sunday were perfectly clear with clean air. I could certainly feel the magic all around us on Sunday, but I have no idea if Oberon’s familiarity with the appropriate gods had any effect on the weather.

I replied: “You’re welcome.” (1st Rule of Wizardry: Always take credit)

Monday Maureen and I drove back down to Oakland, where we visited with Morning Glory’s daughter Gail, her husband Joe, and vivacious 12-year-old daughter Alessandra. We stayed in their downstairs B&B, and I soaked my sore ribs (from getting knocked off that horse a month ago in Guatemala) in their new hot tub. We stayed up ‘til 2:00am working on the class rings ordering form for the Grey School.

Tuesday Maureen took an Uber south to Santa Cruz to deal with her stuff in storage there, and I hit the road for Reno. Stacia recommended the buffet dinner at Harrah’s, but I arrived there just after 8:00 to discover that the buffet closed at 8. Instead I got rather unimpressive fish and chips with no chips at another restaurant downstairs. This was, however, the only glitch in timing so far on my journey, so I think I’m doing alright!

After eating, I went over to the local Pagan community center, Sacred Heart Sanctuary in Sparks, and had a lovely evening hanging out with Rune Emerson and Andre. Andre is around 7 feet tall, and his mother, who loved “The Princess Bride,” actually did name him for Andre the Giant. Stacia showed up after work, around 11:30, and took me back to her place for the night.

I hit the road for Salt Lake City early Wednesday morning, the 5th. It’s an 8-hour drive, through a change in time zone from Pacific to Mountain time, and I was pretty beat by the time I rolled up to Crone’s Hollow at 6:30. TaMara and crew all went out to dinner, and we got back just in time for my scheduled “Moot” at 8:00. It was very well-attended—at least 30 people showed up—and we had a good time talking about the early founding years of the Pagan movement. Afterwards they took me to the Ramada Inn, which is where I am now as I write this.

Today I have a 7-hour drive to Cheyenne. I don’t have a gig there, or anyone to visit, and I look forward to a quiet night in a motel before going on to Omaha on Friday, where I’ll be doing a book-signing and talk on “Cycles and Seasons of Pagan Emergence” at the Next Millennium bookstore.

Saturday 9/1/18

Rabbit, rabbit, rabbit! (Google it…)

I got into San Francisco yesterday afternoon, staying with Wynter and Morgan, and their adorable 4-1/2-year old, Lexi. Wynter is working on the Samhain ritual for Annwfn this year, when the King of the May must die… This will be Wynter’s big ritual to qualify for her long-awaited ordination as a Priestess of CAW!

Shortly I’ll be picking up Maureen at her hotel, and driving north to Weed to conduct a handfasting tomorrow. I’ll be back at Wynter’s Monday evening, and then beginning my long cross-country drive Tuesday morning—first leg, to Reno. Stay tuned…

Thursday 8/30/18

I’m now in Vegas with Samina, getting ready to head off to Bakersfield in my car later today.

I flew into Vegas Tuesday night, on Frontier, which I’ve never flown before. Absolutely the worst airline I’ve ever flown on, though Samina says Spirit is just as bad. The gate was in a construction area at the far end of the airport, and the boarding bridge seemed to go on forever. The 3-hour flight was delayed an hour and a half for reasons that were never explained. When I did the online check-in the day before, they wanted me to pay another $17 for seat selection, which I declined. But I couldn’t avoid the $80 charge for my two check-in bags. The seats were cheap plastic, unupholstered, and they didn’t recline. The tray tables were so tiny as to be useless, and there was very little leg room. Before we took off, the flight attendants came back to recruit five people to move from the back of the plane to the front—to balance the weight? When they came around in-flight to offer sodas and snacks, they wanted me to pay extra for those—which I also declined.

George and Jessica picked me up at baggage claim in Vegas, and we got back to Samina’s about 11:30, just as she arrived home from work.

Yesterday Samina and I went grocery shopping at Sprouts, then to Sam’s Town for a spectacular luncheon buffet. After that we caught the movie, “Ant-Man and the Wasp,” which came out just as I was moving out of The Keep in June, and which I’d really wanted to see. Totally delightful! After the movie we went to the Venetian, where Samina works as a singing gondolier on the Grand Canal. We entered The Void to experience the “hyper-reality” VR experience: “Ghostbusters”—which was as amazing as the “Star Wars” experience we’d done there back in early July. After busting ghosts, we went over to Wasabi Jane’s for sushi burritos.

This morning we’ll clean up my car, and pack for the next leg of my journey—back to California to conduct a handfasting on Labor Day weekend with Maureen as Priestess.

Tuesday 8/28/18

Today is my last day in Austin with Dona. Tearful farewell until next we get together. My plane to Vegas leaves tonight at 8:49.

Watching the bizarre and rather compelling saga that continues to unfold on the national scene like a slow-motion train wreck, I’ve had a Dream…

Among the close associates of the POTUS who have been bailing lately, trying to leap off the train before their car goes over the edge, is one David Pecker (yes, that’s his real name), Publisher of the sleazy supermarket tabloid, “The National Enquirer.” A close friend and associate of The Donald, Pecker used his scandal rag as a propaganda tool during the 2016 presidential campaign to blast every supermarket check-out line each week with a succession of lurid front pages alleging all kinds of salacious and bogus allegations about Hillary Clinton. Since Rump supporters seem to get their political views and perspectives from Alex Jones, Faux News and “The National Enquirer,” the impact of these prominent ads on influencing the election cannot be overestimated. And Pecker has already admitted that was the intention.

But now Pecker has “flipped,” turning against his Presidential co-conspirator, and he has been granted immunity from prosecution in return for his complete cooperation with the Mueller investigation into high crimes and treason on the part of the Prez. Moreover, Pecker has all the goods on Rump in his private safe. He not only knows where the bodies are buried; he has photos, tapes and souvenirs! And freedom of the press allows him free rein to publish anything he wants—as he did with Hillary. So here’s what I’m thinking…

Visualize this:

Every week, in every supermarket check-out lane in the US, a succession of lurid front pages on “The National Enquirer” reveal piece-by-grimy piece all the dirt Pecker has amassed on Rump. A sample headline would be: “POTUS PUTIN PUPPET!” And this goes on week after week…just as Pecker did with Hillary. This will directly reach Rump’s supporters, and will do more to bring down this treasonous and criminal regime than all the court cases and legal investigations.

Just like magick… Make It So!

Friday 8/24/18

Today has been intense. This morning Dona received a call that her ex-husband Ken had been found dead last night. They’d met at Thanksgiving of 1964 when she was a hippy coffee-house waitress in Sacramento, and he was a charismatic traveling folk-singer. After 18 years of marriage (most of it estranged), they divorced in 1984, but had remained business partners ever since, and he’d been living all this time on their jointly-owned property in Kyle, TX, in several trailers, buses and RVs. His mental and physical condition had been deteriorating for years, and in June of 2016 he’d evicted her with threats, accusations and name-calling. He’d also driven away the grown children of his first marriage, and had become an angry demented recluse with no friends or family except a few dozen cats. Electricity and water had been turned off, and the temperatures have been over 100°F for months.

So we drove the 25 miles to the property to check things out. The place was a complete shambles, with trash and garbage strewn everywhere, as if a cyclone had gone through the property and units. A neighbor named Kathy showed up, quite distraught, and told us that she was the one who’d found the body. As she described this, it seemed clearly to have been a brutal murder, with the assailants then ransacking the units looking for valuables. Moreover, there was a broken-down truck camper blocking the driveway, which Kathy said had been towed there recently by a couple of guys who’d promised to trim trees, cut bush and mow grass. But they’d threatened Kathy and Ken a week before, and then she hadn’t seen Ken for the past four days, and came looking for him. Found him, she did, and it wasn’t pretty.

But now Dona has learned that the autopsy performed today indicated that Ken had died of a heart attack, and had not been murdered after all. As to the ransacking of the place—was that by the guys with the camper, or just the way Ken was living? In any case, there’ll be a lot to handle, arrangements to be made, cleaning up to do. And Dona has a lot of her belongings stored out there in bins and barrels, and she’ll need to deal with all that. I’m glad I’m able to be here for her for this ordeal, but I’m leaving next Tuesday for California…

Thursday 8/23/18

Dona and I got back to Austin Monday evening, after an uneventful flight from Guatemala City. We’re kicking back for a week before I go on to Vegas and California–Watching a few movies and catching up with current events via Rachel Maddow. Whoo-ee! What a show! Like watching in slow motion a train crossing a bridge spanning a canyon, where the span has been blown up, and the cars are plunging to their doom, one by one, dragging the others inevitably along. At the edge of the cliff, passengers are crowding each other to jump off before their own car goes over. And in the back of the caboose is the last one–will he jump? Or will he go over? Stay tuned!

Monday 8/20/18

“All good things…”

Friday afternoon Carolina and Maia picked us up for the long drive to Antigua, where we stayed for two nights at the lovely home of Carolina’s mother, Lucrecia García Granados.

Lucrecia’s great-great grandfather was Miguel García Granados (1809-1878), leader and “Philosopher” of the 1871 Revolution to overthrow the corrupt Presidente, General Vicente Cerna. After the liberation of Guatemala City, he became the 7th President of Guatemala, 1871-1873. During his presidency García Granados initiated and supported many liberal reforms, including education and the arts. In 1872, he invaded Honduras, where he decreed freedom of the press, established separation of church and state, and expelled the Jesuits.

García Granados designed the Guatemalan flag which remains almost identical to his original version, produced in 1871. Like George Washington on our American $1 bill, García Granados’ portrait appears today on the Guatemalan 10-quetzales bill.

Continuing her illustrious family tradition, Lucrecia has established a project fostering the education of girls. Her program is called Associacion de Supracion Educativa (see Facebook page). This is a mentorship program to improve the lives of Guatemalan girls, and give them tools to build their way through education. Lucrecia is looking for godmothers to sponsor these girls, who are eager to improve their lives, but do not have the means for adequate education. Lucrecia says, “With your generosity, you give a helping hand to one of our girls, and with effort she will be able to climb as high as she wishes.”

Saturday we celebrated Lucrecia’s 73rd birthday, starting with cake in the morning. In the afternoon we all went up in the hills to a beautiful park, Cerro de Santo Domingo, with its several fine museums and a spectacular overview of Antigua. A number of craftspeople were selling their wares, and Dona bought a beautiful shawl from the woman who wove it.

In the evening we went to Osteria, an outdoor Italian restaurant owned by Lucrecia’s friend Francesca, where we were joined for dinner by her dear friend, Patricia, who is also Italian, and a real hoot. We feasted royally, managing to go through three bottles of prosecco [an Italian champagne analog]. Conversation was an animated gesticulating mix of Spanish, Italian and English, with Carolina translating some of the Spanish for us. I haven’t laughed so much since Dona and I were in Mexico last Jan. with Jiva and Diego. Eventually Maia crawled up onto the table and fell asleep. The best line of the evening was her sleepy voice, “Why am I on this table?”

[Answer: “Dang! We were just about to start the autopsy!”]

It was 11:00 and they were putting the chairs on the tables when we finally departed.

Monday we went for lunch at another outdoor restaurant, Amos, where Carolina’s niece Monica’s boyfriend Sebas was playing guitar. Afterwards we said our tearful farewells to Carolina and Maia, who headed back to Santiago. Lucrecia drove Dona and me on to Guatemala City, putting us up in the guest quarters of her private apartment in her grand eco-hotel, Terra Esperanza. We watched nightfall from the hot tub and swimming pool on the 10th floor, with its all-around panoramic view of the city and distant volcanoes. Unfortunately, the actual sunset was occluded by storm clouds and lightning. Lucrecia joined us for dinner in her restaurant, Kardamomuss. Afterwards Dona and I caught up with episodes of the Rachel Maddox show before bed.

This morning I woke up in considerable pain from the horse incident on Sat. 8/11. Lucrecia arranged for a massage for me in the hotel gym, which really helped! I had a FB phone chat with my Grey School apprentice Nicholas Kingsley, who informed me that, once again, rumors were circulating of my demise—this time from being knocked off the horse. I told him to let people know that rumors of my death were greatly exaggerated, as Mark Twain once said.

Tonight we watched a beautiful sunset over the mountains beyond Guatemala City from the hot tub and pool. Lightning flashes in the south heralded a light rain that soon followed. A poignant farewell to a beautiful country and beautiful people! We are so blessed!

Tomorrow morning a taxi will be here for us at 4:45 am, to take us to the airport for our 7:00 flight back to Austin.