It's the 11th day of the new year, and I've been back in Houston just over three weeks. Feels like much longer than that. I've had some time to reflect on the Vision Quest, what it meant and what I was meant to learn from it.

Mostly it seems that I was meant to reconnect with people. For so long I've been the solitary type, introverted and introspective to an incredible degree, almost always out on the fringes watching and observing.

The Vision Quest changed all that, at least temporarily. Here are some people who touched my life and reconnected me to the Spirit of Aloha.

Kaitlin on the left, Smokie on the right. I think of them as “my Kids.” Smokie was the one who got my little netbook working again. For those of you who have followed this blog, you'll recall my little netbook had the Virus-From-Hell, and I didn't have a clue as to how to get the little bugger out.

Smokie worked on it and finally was able to install the Ubuntu operating system for netbooks. It's made a world of difference. I was able to get back online and do some things that really needed to be done.

They're also very much into fighting the “New World Order.” In fact, they intentionally moved to Austin so they could be close to Alex Jones, the fella with the radio talk show. They are passionate and committed. Although they are regarded as part of a fringe movement, I place no judgments. I find a lot of what they have to say that makes perfect sense. At the same time, I don't necessarily accept it all. In fact, I don't.

Still...two very special people.


Thanks, Kids.

This is John Voss, the incomparable manager of Lift.  He's probably the first I met there at Lift, and certainly one of Life's Good Guys.

John is mugging for the camera.  If he'd known I was going to upload the photograph, he'd probably have held his mug a little differently.

Uber-handsome guy when he's not in Imp-mode.  Smile.  John...you rock.

Now comes Willie Scott, the owner of Lift Cafe. Willie was a huge manifestation of Aloha, and I count him as a mentor and friend. He was there for me when I needed him, and I hope to be there for him when he needs me.;

(This has been an experiment in learning how to import/export things from my word processor directly to my blog. If this publishes, it will be a success. I just spent half an hour learning how to rotate Willie's picture from horizontal to vertical.)

Peace,

Elijah