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Still, I was afraid that while my parents thought my decision not to ride in motorized vehicles was merely eccentric, their reaction to my silence might be a little more severe. When I wrote to explain why I wouldn’t be calling for at least a year, my mother explained that my father would be coming to California immediately. They figured that either I had been entrapped by some California religious cult they had read about in Life magazine or I’d been imprisoned for selling drugs.
I suppose there was reason to fear. Synanon, a drug rehab group, had moved to Tomales Bay with shaved heads and talk of establishing the promised land; instead, they harassed local residents and stockpiled assault weapons while threatening anyone who disagreed with their philosophy. In southern California, the Manson family had gone on a killing spree. And then there were a half dozen other groups who promised salvation in one form or another, if only you would sign over all your worldly possessions.
Jean picked up my father at the airport and drove him to Inverness in her old blue VW van. She and my dad had met a few years earlier when I had taken her to Philadelphia. She had gotten sick and stayed in my old bedroom for a few days while I went to New York City to try to get a record contract for the music group I represented. My parents liked Jean, who had compelling stories of being black, white, and Native American, though they were a little concerned about her being 20 years older than I. Jean and Dad found me walking alone along the road that skirts Tomales Bay and the San Andreas Fault. I was trying to get home from Point Reyes Station before they got there. The van stopped, and my father looked at me through the open window. We were both surprised to see each other out of the context of Philadelphia.
Fragrant laurel trees bent their heads in an arch and whispered in the wind above us. I didn’t know how to react. I didn’t have words, naturally. And my father and I no longer had that easy bond we had enjoyed when I was growing up.
Introduction 7
Beginning 11
Before 27
Life in a Journal 39
Father's Visit, 1974 51
Ending and Beginning: The New Year 63
Visions 73
Signs, Dreams, and Visions 81
Walking North 93
Guns and Spirits 105
Shaking the Tress 113
Mr. Death 123
Three Educations 131
School of Reflection: Gathering the Tools 145
Dreaming Boats 155
Studies and Reflections 165
The Invisible Path 175
Study Silence 185
Feathers, Oil, and Silence 199
Thanksgiving: Seven Years and a Day 211
Thank You for Being Here 221
Sign Language 227
I'm a Rose 239
Epilogue: Writing From Silence 249
Acknowledgments 269
ishkebibel
Posted May 7, 2012
Its hard for me to know what to say about this book. The author made two radical changes in his life, both of which depended on a great deal of trust in God, the Universe, or whatever you wish to call It. He did this in youth, when such trust is sometimes assumed more than given.
To his credit, he did not waiver. To the book's credit the reader comes to understand the benefit, responsibility, and integrity of the author's journey.
For most of us muggles it is a totally different head. A head worthy of visiting and considering, if not agreeing.
Anonymous
Posted May 13, 2011
No text was provided for this review.
Anonymous
Posted April 6, 2011
No text was provided for this review.
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