After spending the winter serving tea every Tuesday on the Arcata Plaza we had made many new tea sipping friends, and plenty of the old ones were still kicking around as well. We set up at Arts Alive with the MARZ project at the smaller plaza in downtown Eureka. They set up interactive music, art, and projection with blessings from the city.
It was so good to see folks one last time before heading out on a springtime journey. Even with all the old faces, many, many more new ones showed up. Jaqueline of the Poem Store came and wrote poems for people. Even Virginia Bass, the Mayor of Eureka, made it out and signed my guest book! “What a cool way to stimulate conversation and warm the spirits! Thank you for brightening people’s lives!” I was so stoked. I had to keep myself from bringing the guest book down to the shopkeeper that had called the cops on Edna and I for serving tea just months before (blog entry here). I had to remember that it wasn’t about being right in this instance. Bringing down the guest book might just appear to the shopkeeper as a method of antagonizing and I didn’t want that. I just had to keep sending her love and hope she got over whatever personal issues she had.
There were lots of hugs goodbye. Many sad and smiling faces (including mine). It is often easier for me to leave than for the ones I am leaving. I am off onto new places and faces, but for them the role that I fulfilled in their community in has vanished. I guess I always hope that someone else will step up and fill the gap. This should probably be you, if you’re reading this.