Even though I'm able to access my yahoo
email account on the ship, I don't because it counts against my 30
minutes of “free” Internet time. If I use the semesteratsea
address, it's truly free: janet.bernath.sp13@semesteratsea.org
. I use my 30 minutes of Internet time to upload whatever I've
written for the day and some of the pictures I've taken—yes, it
takes about 30 minutes to upload stuff on the ship!
Today I checked my yahoo email because
I have my travel arrangements in my yahoo email folder. I'm
beginning to think about getting off the boat and on to a plane March
31st. I'm not in a hurry to do that, I just wanted to
review the arrangements I made before I left. I have to pat myself
on the back to say that I did a good job in January! Most of the
students are still figuring out what they will do when they disembark
in Barcelona, but they're young and I'm not!
While I was checking my yahoo email, I
learned of the death of a friend of mine, Lynn Meadows. Lynn and I
met on the corner of South Main and South Street in front of the Post
Office standing in protest to the occupation of Iraq. We both had
houses to sell and ushered together at Hill Auditorium (until I
determined my knee could no longer withstand the 45 degree angle of
the aisle), so we had connections on various levels. Lynn had
several of the “corner” people over to her daughter's house in
January for a delicious soup supper while she was “house sitting”
in Chelsea. The week I was leaving for this trip, I heard she was
staying at her daughter's house because she was too sick to live
alone. What a shock that was, and I'm sorry that I only had time to
call her for a chat. I am forgiving myself on this one, because I
could have said, I'll call her when I get back.
This ocean is flat and calm now and
goes on forever, and it reminds me how wide and deep God's love is.
We cannot wait to see the ocean to know that—we must be the ocean
of compassion for each other. This means showing each other hat we
care for one another—not just those who are like us—we must get
out of our comfort zones—reach out to people who live
differently—and dare to love “the other” who is unknown to us.
As The Arch says, “We are all family.”
I'm guessing that those who gaze back
at our earth have an even more profound sense of God or Divine or
Infinite..
Wow not quite 2 weeks to go...can you believe it. We miss you here in Chelsea! The bulldozers are moving again at the Screw Works...Renee says he is still trying to keep the other buildings...we will see! We will be there to get you so don't worry about that! Hugs, Cathy
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