Z is for La Zoom Bus!

Over the weekend, Saturday night to be exact, we were in Asheville, North Carolina to celebrate my brother and sister in laws’ birthdays/anniversary. They rented the La Zoom Tour Bus and chose the “Haunted Tour” for this event. There were 38 of us on board and because it was a private party we let loose and had a great time! Ask anyone on the streets that night how loud we were! Every time our "host" (a werewolf) said "Thomas Wolfe" we all howled, which happened every time we passed people on the sidewalks or partaking on the patios of restaurants. I love the idea behind this tour. We were treated to comedy, theatrics, history (sort of) lessons of interest, and a wild ride on an old revamped, artistically painted purple school bus.

If you have a chance to partake of this tour while in Asheville, it will give you a whole other side of that beautiful city than the “Biltmore” visit, which is also awesome in a different more serious way. I found it a wonderful subject to write about for the last day of the A-to-Z Blogging Challenge. What a way to end this amazing and insightful blogging challenge. I thank all of you who have graced my blog with your presence, and those who have chosen to follow me and keep up our relationship. I will keep in touch with those I’ve found, and because I’ve copied the list, will continue to visit all those that participated this year.

Here is the link for you to check out if you’d like.

http://www.lazoomtours.com/

 Photo of bus:

Stickware's Photo Stream

La Zoom Banner:

Asheville Fringe

Yellow

I thought of yellow this morning because today is the day of Y on the “a to z blogging challenge.” There are lots of other words I could have used, but this one came to me because I am a writer.

Historically speaking yellow has a few different meanings: sunny, bright, caution, life-giving; coward. Yellow didn’t always have this particular meaning, but it sometimes does in our day and age. I, as a writer, often dread the thought of being a coward. Why, you ask, would I think of myself as a coward? Because, as I’m sure you can all relate to, I often feel I’m not a “good enough” much less “great” writer.

I ask myself if it is cowardice born of fear that holds me back from my true potential. Wouldn’t it be great if it were so easy to explain away? I’ve read Stephen King’s book "On Writing." Upon finishing felt he’d relegated me sight unseen to the slush pile because I wasn’t born spewing talent from my fingertips. I wish I had been, but regardless of what I wish, I am me and only me. I can only do what I can do.

Fear does hold me back at times; fear of never achieving my goals, fear of being delusional that I can actually accomplish my dreams, fear of not being a good writer. Fear of not laying my soul bare enough. But what does “fear” actually mean and am I a coward for giving in to it?

My husband told me once that the acronym “F.E.A.R” means “False Evidence Appearing Real.” In our ancestors fear was a mechanism to keep one safe. If you feared something you paid attention and could avoid danger and death. In spite of my fear, my cowardice, I still write. I still push on. I deal with this “weakness” every day and keep writing. I think that this must be the true point for me to pay attention to. Perseverance.

I’ve heard it said that a hero is only a person who doesn’t let his fear stop him. I will, therefore, continue with my words and my stories and strive to allow the hidden hero inside me to see the bright, healing sunshine yellow of day. I will continue to believe that it is totally possible for me to achieve my goal and make my living by my words, that I will one day be so very, and incredibly, happy that I didn’t give in and give up; that I didn’t, in the long run, let fear or cowardice prevent me from trying.

Photo: http://www.brickartist.com

thewritingnut.com

X chromosome

 

I went to a ballet tonight called “Birds of War”, a production of the Asheville Contemporary Dance Studio. I watched, listened, and admired the effort that had been put into making this dance so beautiful, politically challenging, and relevant for our times. There were a lot of women involved. Their bodies were lithe, but not stick figures. Their movements full of grace when appropriate and bent to odd angles at other times. At all times their presence was gripping.

We are a strange breed we humans. Tonight I reveled in the beauty of the female body. How different it is from a male’s. How having that X in us makes us capable of carrying a child, creates the difference in our hormones and makes us female. I thought of some of the women who’ve come in and out of my life. How some make me feel nurtured and loved, others I feel their scorn or outright hostility; how with some I can have fun while with other I have to watch my back.

I know this is the human condition but it made me wonder what might happen if we lived in a female dominated society, or even if there were vastly more women than men in any one place or time and if and how that would be a different way of living. I have no answers, just an idea. Maybe I’ll write about that in a story some day. Wonder what kind of tale might come my way from planet X in a galaxy far far away…

 http://www.acdt.org/ACDT_Home/Home.html

 citizen-times.com  Photo of Birds of War

Window

This morning I woke up and looked out the window of my bedroom onto a dream of early morning fog over the dry bed of our lake. I’ve mourned the loss of water in it, the beauty of the reflecting sunrises and sunsets, the birds that come to feed, the wild aspect of life on a lake. And now, later, after I’ve been reading through some of the blogs on this challenge, I find that there really isn’t anything to mourn. Yes, I’d like more water again in the lake. But while there isn’t any water, there is still beauty. Nature is still being nurtured and fed here and so is my soul. My writer’s soul finds peace when I look out this window and behold whatever new change might have occurred since the last time I looked.



I realized while reading different blogs that we are all like the window and the lake. We change with the seasons, with the weather, with life in general and our experiences, and each change brings new perspective. I’m SO glad I’m doing this blog challenge. I am learning something new each and every day.

Valdosta, Georgia, Valle d’Aosta, Italy

 

Two interesting places linked by history and appreciation. In Georgia, the city of Valdosta (and Lowndes County seat) is named after a plantation that was nearby. The plantation was named after the area/city in Italy, which was named after the roman emperor Augustus. What a tangled web we weave…

Valdosta is known for its flowers in the spring, The Crescent, the only half-circle plantation style home of its kind, and Mood Air Force Base. It also sports a huge water/theme park, Wild Adventures that was featured in the move “Zombieland.” Valdosta is situated two hours from a multitude of fun vacation spots on the Georgia/Florida Atlantic coast and two to three hours from various vacation destinations on the Gulf coast, not to mention its close proximity to all sorts of crystal clear springs one can swim in and the five hour drive to reach the Appalachian Mountains. All in all it’s not a bad place to live, if one likes the south!

Valle d’Aosta is located in northern Italy, has beautiful landscapes, mountains, older than sin villages and of course, Italian wine to go with the Italian cuisine! From their website: “A main feature of Valle d'Aosta, besides its geographical position, is that it is one of five Italian regions regulated by a special statute. The statute provides Valle D'Aosta with vast autonomy which is not only administrative, but also legislative. Here, there is the power to legislative in several sectors which are specifically attributed to its competence. The autonomy is based on geographical, economic and linguistic reasons. In fact, Valle d'Aosta is characterized by perfect bilingualism. Here, both the Italian and the French languages have equal dignity and importance in the school system as well as in the institutional and administrative fields.”
I can see why Valdosta was named after the Italian one! I have never been there, but hope to go some day.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valdosta,_Georgia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aosta_Valley

http://www.fromitaly.it/english/region/aosta/intro/index.htm   Quote from their website

 
Photos and maps from:

http://www.bestplaces.net   map of Georgia

http://www.city-data.com       Photo of  VSU

http://.www.wingatevaldosta.com  Photo of Crescent

http://www.big-italy-map.co.uk     map of Valle d’Aosta Italy

http://www.travelplan.it    Map of Italy

http://www.esteri.it       Photo of Valle d’Aosta mountains

http://www.zazzle.com       t shirt for Valle d’Aosta Italy