Oh Where, Oh Where Are My Sticks?

Oh Where.. are my sticks? Oh Where.. are my sticks? Oh Where, Oh Where, Oh Where, Oh Where, Oh Where……are my sticks? Any veggie tail cartoon fans out there? One of my favorite songs is the cucumber Larry singing “Oh where is my hairbrush”. If you haven’t seen it YouTube it. It’s great.

Our sticks are a pretty important piece to this journey. Each morning or whenever we stop for a rest, there is this mental checklist that takes place: Joey pack with passport, glasses, phone, flat Mark and flat Vicki, and credentials, check. Backpack, check. Hat, check. Sticks, STICKS!!! Where did I leave my sticks!! More than once one of us have left our sticks somewhere and have to go back for them.

Apparently my sticks are ergonomically correct since they are labeled L and R. Or subconsciously I was thinking about my dyslexia the day I bought them. Some days it’s a good thing I have a wedding ring on so I know my left from my right. Jay’s sticks do not have this feature.

A couple of women we have met on the trail, Kathryn and Karen, are from Roseville, California. Small world, right? At home they are golfing buddies, this month walking buddies. I can’t remember what golf course they belong to except it is a reciprocal course to Rancho Murieta. So they are familiar with our courses. We kind of wore matching shirts that day.

One of our long walking days they had to wait to leave. One of them had left their sticks at the Farmacia (pharmacy) the night before. Since most shops don’t open until 10:00am that’s when they were able to leave. And, we had this climb that day. They were not going to hit their destination until 6:00 or so since they had to wait, that’s a long day.

You have to go back for your sticks! Fortunately, between the two us we haven’t gotten too far when one of us has had to go back. Your sticks are your buddy. They help you get up mountains.

When you are walking the mestas (plateaus), they become your entertainment, such as how long can I balance one?

Or, can I twirl them like a baton.

Find a rock, use it as a golf ball, then your sticks become irons. I think that’s about a seven iron.

They’re great to use as pointers as well. No, we haven’t rode in a taxi, however we have thought about it once or twice.

Or when you need to rest for a minute and there’s no benches in sight.

Lost? I’m sure you are wondering, have we taken any wrong turns? The answer is yes, yes we have a few times. Fortunately, other than one time, another pilgrim has whistled or yelled, “THIS WAY!”. (We’ve also done the same to other pilgrims headed toward the wrong path) Only once, so far, have we taken the wrong road (when someone wasn’t there to help). It was on our way to Santo Domingo when we came to a fork in the road that wasn’t marked. Jay likes to quote Yogi Berra “when you come to a fork in the road, take it” We guessed wrong and should have gone right instead of left. We were supposed to head toward Azofra. Instead we ended up in Alesanco, the wrong town. Fortunately, the two towns were only a few kilometers apart. And as of this posting we have walked 543 kilometers. So, a few extra kilometers isn’t too bad, I think.

Just before Leon, we hit the half way point from St Jean Pied-De Port to Santiago. It was such a surprise and had no idea we would be receiving a certification. It was obvious everyone we spoke with didn’t know either. That was the highlight of probably our most difficult day on the trail, so far. Our notes said 19 kilometers. We did figure out that was a typo prior to leaving that morning. We knew it was 29 kilometers which we’ve done before. However, according to Jay’s pedometer on his phone, we traveled 36 kilometers. Ugh!!!!

The painted pilgrim in that picture reminded us of the grim reaper because of how we were feeling that day. Whew!

We have seen some spectacular cathedrals that have been amazing in the eyes of one general contractor, Jay Harris.

One of them took 500 years to build. That’s a few building committees and building campaigns, wouldn’t you say!?

Another one in Leon took ONLY 50 years to build however almost suffered a catastrophic failure. The architect and builder made a few errors in their calculations and also used some inferior stone, and the ceilings were crumbling when they finally hired a new architect who built temporary scaffolding to hold it up while basically rebuilding it. They had to take the stained glass windows apart and store them while the rebuild was occurring, then piece them back together. I would have hated to be that architect, wouldn’t you?

These grandeos cathedrals can take your breath away when you walk in. First initial thoughts are, how in the world did they do this in the 10th -15th centuries? However, we have seen smaller versions of these grandeos buildings that melt your heart.

One in particular was in a smaller town called Rabe De Las Calzados. As we were walking the trail this sweet angelic music just pulled us into the town. The next thing you know we were standing in this small cathedral with this precious woman praying a blessing over each of us personally and placing a small gold necklace over our heads.

The blessing was the following using the symbols on the necklace: “May the Miraculous Medal be your shield and strength in the Way. Amen. May the sunrays flood our prayers with their graces. Amen. May the 12 star crown guide you in the footsteps of the Apostles. Amen. May the M intertwined on the Cross, fortify our lives in the difficulty. Amen. May we find peace in our lives as we approach the foot of the Altar. Amen. May the heart of Jesus help us to love the weakest. Amen. May His foot on the serpent, and Mary’s, representing the first Eve, stimulate us to walk in truth and justice. Amen. May this medal serve as a reminder who protects us and accompanies us on the Way. Amen.”

Wow, what just happened? This little woman comes out of nowhere, just like an angel appearing. I had to walk outside, stand and think about what just happened. How about you? Have you ever had a moment when you least expected and you had to just stop and contemplate what just occurred? I loved those moments. May we never be too busy to stop and absorb the complete aspect of those moments.

And how about those things, like poles, or our loved ones we depend on and can’t take another step or leave the farmacia without them?

What ever those experiences, people, and/or things in the journey you’re experiencing, may your chosen path be blessed. Whichever route you take, may every step be a prayer for peace and an extension of loving kindness. May we learn some lessons along the way. May you find your strength and shield in the One who has his foot on the serpent in your life. May you love well and know that you are well loved.

Blessings and Buen Camino. Jay and Kelly