I haven't been too good at blogging these past weeks, with lots going on and all. I guess I'll put off my usual philosophizing and mostly post a podcast interview, videos, and pics. I normally don't have much access to pics, but am blessed to have a photographer extraordinaire, Steph, as part of our moneyless tribe.
This is kind of a basic review of the last couple months.
Interview & Videos
Before I get started, here's an interview that
Carrington Schaeffer did with me and Stephanie Summerfield for her podcast program, Honestly, Dear Listener:
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| Carrington Schaeffer & her baby |
Also,
here's the written transcript for my commencement speech at the University of Colorado on May 9th by some unknown person. Thanks, whoever you are. In case you missed it, here's the video of the speech again:
I'll throw in another video of Brandon on piano and me on carpenter saw, playing Amazing Grace at my parent's house:
Fluctuating Moneyless Tribe
Our "moneyless tribe" has been fluctuating with many comings and goings the past few months. Brandon, Cody and Summer came back at the end of March, staying with me in the canyon cave. After a couple weeks, Cody and Summer took off for the northwest, but Brandon stayed. In early May, a new friend, Stephanie, came from Indiana to join our "tribe". And just last week, another new friend, Govinda, believe it or not, came all the way from New South Wales, Australia to join us! We also have a good friend, Freebird,who has been camping right near us, an honorary member of our tribe. Brandon just decided yesterday to leave for a few weeks to visit his family, planning to come back. Besides all that, we've had many comings and goings of friends.
Stephanie has done a thorough and beautiful job of photo-documenting our many adventures of the past weeks on her blog, "
Spreading My Wings". I'm snagging some of her pics to give a bit of review:
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Stephanie
Photographer Extraordinaire | |
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My parents, Laurel & Richard, me, Brandon, Stephanie
Early May |
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This is one of our weekly Potlatch-Potlucks. A guy Monty, from Egypt, and his wife, an American from the northwest, had read the book (TMWQM) and synchronistically happened to find us, as did Stevie and Emily (further below) minutes later after the potluck started disbanding.
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Potluck-Potlatch
Clockwise, left to right:
Francois, Monty, Alex, Pete, Brandon, Freebird, Dan, me |
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| Brandon, new friends Heather & Chelsea, and Cullen & Freebird at the radio station |
More synchronistic convergence of new friends
Various friends have mystically and mysteriously shown up the past few weeks. Freebird came to be our neighbor after I'd been in e contact with him for a couple years. Stevie had read the book and came with Emily and we happened to meet by amazing synchronicity. Stevie, I must say, is a miracle of a human being, like some kind of mystical Shams or Rumi who appeared out of the blue to astound us all. Also, my good friends from Fruita, Colorado (Cullen, Alex, Rudy, and John) came to join us in a several-day-long cave party:
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Me, Brandon, Emily, Stevie, Alex, Freebird
at the "guest cave" |
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| Emily & Stevie |
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| Stevie & me jamming |
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| Brandon, Freebird, Alex |
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| Me cooking elm seed & oat waffles on irons I scored in a dumpster |
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| Alex |
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| Rudy |
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| Our next-cave neighbor Freebird in his abode |
My Commencement Speech
Then, it came time for me to go to Boulder for my commencement speech. Cullen wanted to film it and offered to take me in his van. I and Brandon and Steph decided to not hitch-hike and take up his offer, since he was going anyway. Our mutual friend from Fruita, Ken, joined us. And it so happens that Stevie and Emily were going that way in their car anyway, and I was honored they attended the commencement also. One of my best friends, Tim, who lives near Boulder, also attended (He's the one who filmed the speech on his I-phone for the video):
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| Cullen and Ken on our trip to Boulder |
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| Brandon, Emily, me, Cullen with food I scored at the dumpster during our trip to Boulder |
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| Emily and Stevie at my commencement speech |
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| My commencement speech at the University of Colorado Humanities Dept. |
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| I'd been expecting my speech to be a put-off to parents, but, to my astonishment, parents & even grandparents expressed their pleasure! |
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| Tim, Paul, me, Cullen |
Parents' 65th Wedding Anniversary
A couple weeks later, Brandon, Steph, & I headed back to Fruita to celebrate my parents' 65th wedding anniversary. Yeah, that's not a typo. And they still adore each other.
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| Richard & Laurel Shellabarger |
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| Laurel & Richard Shellabarger | |
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| My nephew Kyle, his daughter, and my mom |
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| My parents, Laurel, Richard, brother Doug, me, Steph, Brandon |
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| My parents Laurel, Richard, my brother Doug, me, my brother Ron, Steph |
While in Fruita, we visited Max at the bike shop he works at. Mas is my friend who talks on my radio show with me now and then.
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| Me, Steph, Brandon, with Max in the back |
Govinda Arrives
Not long after we returned to Moab, I got an email from Govinda, from Australia, saying he wanted to come to the States to possibly join the moneyless tribe. Shortly after that, his mother happened to have a free ticket for him, and he was here in a few days!
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| Govinda |
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| Govinda |
Brandon leaves temporarily
Shortly after that, Brandon left to visit his family for a couple weeks or so, planning to return. Perhaps he will meet back up with us at the national Rainbow Gathering. We're missing him lots already.
Meanwhile, back in Moab, and the adventures continue.
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| Wild edible honey locust beans |
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| Inedible symbol |
