Inspired by a friend’s post about a sailboat race that circumnavigated the world, I went and looked up my old pal Jack, who attempted that feat.

He never made it around the world of course (that’s his tale, not mine) but he’s kind of my guardian angel. I was “all at sea” with my marriage and kids and our wise counselor recommended I take a weekend by myself – good advice by the way – and I chose Sonoma County where Jack lived for a time and died.

There I visited Jack London State Historical Park on his property in Glen Ellen, California, memorial to this eccentric and storyteller who died too young. I still have the plaque I bought there so many years ago. It sits in my kitchen:
“I would rather be ashes than dust, etc…”. You can find it yourself. There at his simple gravesite I found my reason to plod along.

I can’t explain it, but he gave me the courage to be myself. My kids turned out okay probably because I decided to be who I am – a little outside the box – instead of who I thought I should be and could never be – the perfect mother and wife who always colored inside the lines. Everyone is a “superb meteor” in their own way. For Emily Dickinson it didn’t entail sailing around the world but rather sitting at home writing poetry. For me it entailed dressing up as The Fraulein from Mundelein for the parish Octoberfest promotion among other crazy stunts that probably embarrassed my kids as well as doing crazy things like learned to scuba when I was really too old to succeed in any life changing way.

Anyway, time to get back
to reading Jack. There are several books I haven’t yet read and a few are worth a second read, particularly John Barleycorn. Here’s a little link to the history of The Snark.