My friends and family were calling me daily in Vancouver, to make sure I was ok. My daughter told me she had made a space in her home for me to stay...and was also giving me names of friends and neighbors who had offered their homes, if I needed.
The Red Cross had already contacted her, and wanted to know if there was anything I would need immediately when I got back. I said Yes...a portable radio/tape player.... which I guess made NO sense to anyone who was trying to help. I do believe that a Mudcatter would've understood that I needed to listen to "my" music...and notjust "any" music. ( I bought one the day after I returned.)

It took one night of trying to sleep in someone else's home...with all the strange noises and activity, for me to know that I needed to be in the woods...in a tent. It was different than just visiting friends or family. I needed a "base" where I could gather myself together a bit and think....and try to figure out what to do and how.

It was awful....everything was black The urge to be in the woods was so strong there was NO way to ignore it... so my friends helped me gather together some camping "gear" and within a day, I had a "home" at a State Park we have here, complete with a bedroom(tent,sleeping bag and mats); kitchen(coleman stove); dining room(picnic table); living room with a fireplace (campfire and two lawnchairs)....and an "entertainment center"(two squirrels who played creative games of tag every day at my campsite.) I didn't have a clue as to why, but it was simply where I needed to be at the time and I stayed calm there.

Months later, after I moved into an apartment and got my computor and Mudcats back,reading the "Thought for the Day" we were doing here had become part of my morning routine. I read one about trees Peter T. had written, (Dec. 2, 1999-"Thought for the Day") and I couldn't stop crying.
He had captured in words why I went to the State Park... and the tears were relief., because his words allowed me to help my friends and myself understand.
I sent him a PM asking for his e-mail, which he gave me. I was so busy with daily survival, I never sent the e-mail, but my intent was to just say ..

THANK YOU PETER T....your words hit home.

and THANK YOU LEJ for that incredible paragraph you wrote up there, it reminded me of Peter's trees.

and part of "Mudcat Magic" to me is things like....at the same time these thoughts were swirling around in my brain, trying to come out....Celtic Soul repeated LEJ's paragraph.