blog 18: The Journey of Growth and Connection Through Creature Comforts

4creaturecomforts
Jul 7
8 min read

Updated: Sep 4

As the year 2002 begins, Geddy and I make a plan for separation, and he returns to Jose Pobre in Panama with Starr. We parted as best friends with a plan for me to visit in February.

I begin the New Year with plans to get two miniature horses as companions for Lady, but mostly for my dad. I mentioned this to my friend Priscilla while watching a Harry Potter movie, and she said she wanted one too! The minis in question lived down the road from my property on Foul Weather Bluff with another friend, Laurie, named Keely and Trouble. Priscilla got Trouble, a dun, and I got Keely, a bay. Lady had always been the lead horse in a herd, but when Keely arrived, she immediately took over the role. It was amusing to watch Keely buck at Lady and Jesse, creating her new role despite her diminutive size. I think that Lady and Jesse treated her as a young foal instead of as an adult mare. Actually, it was for the best as Lady relaxed when she lost that role, becoming much more fun.

I was hired a few times in January by businesses wanting me to practice Feng Shui. This was an enjoyable aside to the January show schedule. I also started pottery classes. I discovered that I love working in clay, especially formed pieces and raku.

Here we are rafted up with two other yachts.

In early February, I traveled to Panama. Geddy and Starr picked me up in an old, beat-up car. We stayed in the only hotel in Panama City that allowed dogs, a local, bare bones hotel. We took a bus to Sabanitas near Colon, then a taxi past Portobello heading to Jose Pobre, a truly tiny, remote seaside village, 7 miles down a dirt road past cow fields and dense jungle. The typical mode of transportation was horseback, something I could relate to. This was not a tourist destination, but the boat anchorage was protected from storms by an extensive reef system. Here we are rafted up with two other yachts. There was a small village, a dock with a “restaurant” operated by a wild English woman, Valeria, open sometimes! Geddy had told me there was a cat that Starr didn’t like, which surprised me since Starr got along with cats well. When I saw what this “cat” was doing to Starr, I got it! Valeria, had a young abandoned ocelot for a pet that liked to play in the rafters and jump on Starr as she passed by! She was a joy to pet, silky soft...loved to play...and was the best dishwasher! We had to rethink our pancake breakfasts once we saw her kitchen skills. The village children were so gorgeous and genuine.

Geddy was a kid magnet. It was a treat for them to come out to Opportunity now on anchor solo to play around above and below deck.

The villagers kept Hawksbill turtles in a sea enclosure on their dock with a trap door so you could look down at them. Gorgeous creatures.

It was a treat to see leopard rays under our boat as well. And who doesn’t love spotted pigs!

Village life was relaxed but active. There were fewer than 100 residents with a cacique (chief), Jorge, who ran the village with gentle guidance. Although his possessive geese followed him everywhere and protected him fiercely. The village was backed with

mountains full of sloths, cats, howling monkeys, rolling green hills of cows, fields of calla lilies, and birds, birds, birds!

On this Panama map below, Jose Pobre is the tiny nub just NE of Portobello on the North side of the canal. The residents are called Cimarrones, African slave descendants. Cacique is the closest little town on the dirt road to the sea.

Panama City is a lovely city: It is small, on the Gulf of Panama, has a quaint old town, and great restaurants. I wanted to explore local crafts, of course. At a craft collective, we were impressed with the Wounaan Indian baskets. We met Chenier, a rare Wounaan who spoke English and Spanish. Since we were interested in going directly to meet the crafters, he suggested we attend a Wounaan Congresso (the 3rd) coming up soon. He agreed to be our guide as going into the Darien is considered very dangerous. We took a bus from the city to Chepo, a small city to the East, which you can see on the map.

Here we have arrived in Chepo and are waiting to get on the boat that will take us down the Chepo River. This is an overnight trip, and we had no idea that it would be so crowded! If you moved an inch, someone would take it! Starr sat on my lap, which was fine for the first 8 hours, then became torturous! This boat is a Higgins boat with a ramp to exit onto the shore. We then all loaded into dugout canoes for the next 4-hour journey to the location of this conference.

None of these Wounaans were expecting a dog or a giggling blonde! It was surprising that of the 2700 Wounaans, 1200 were in attendance. There was only one other foreigner there: a woman from Harvard studying their extremely unique language. We had arrived at the “Comunidad de Maje, Distrito de Chiman”. The conference goals: 1) production of agriculture and crafts, 2) to improve education, 3) to conserve the environment and protect the land from urgent settlers. The Spanish population of Panama never had an interest in the unsettled jungles of the Darien province, where the Wounaan and other indigenous groups had lived for centuries. But “progress” had been encroaching, and there was concern about “ownership” of their ancestral lands. It was interesting that the conference had many rules to be respected by participants, and if not adhered to, there were consequences: rule breakers were put in stocks in the hot sun for hours determined by the severity of the infraction.

This could be because of wearing a cap with the bill backward or something that disrespected their culture. Chenier translated for us so we knew what was going on for the three days of the conference. We were honored with a room in a cement building, versus sleeping outside as most did. We were so impressed that this tiny village was able to make enough food to feed the attendees… a river fish, veggie, and plantain stew for .25 cents a meal, cooked in giant pots on an open fire. It is traditional to be tattooed with bamboo and ink. They were so pleased that we agreed. We had no idea it took forever to wear off, however. Later, back in Panama City, we were shunned by the Spaniards to our surprise. We had no regrets!

We bought every basket we saw, not wanting to leave anyone out. Yes, there were differences in quality, but they were all amazing. These baskets are one of the few indigenous, crafted baskets in the world that are water-tight. These people live on rivers in stilted houses where carrying water to their upstairs kitchens is essential. They use nature and family designs, unwilling to bend to the whims of others. Most of these baskets take anywhere from 1 to 6 months to make. They collect the leaves from the date palm tree, strip them into tiny pieces, dye them with roots, berries, and bark, then use a needle to create the intricate designs around a core of 4-10 pieces of this chuega, all from their mind.

We decided to return to Panama City in a different way. We joined two others in a small boat leaving on the Maje River. This partially tidal river was low, requiring us to portage the canoe at points of high ground. At one point, when I was in the water standing on crocodiles, I refused to stay in the water! One of the men, a policeman, stripped down to boxers, with his rifle slung over his shoulder, poled us out. He was my Hero!

Later, we reached the wider Chepo River, which led into the wide-open Bay of Panama. It was then a brutal 5-hour ride, 42 miles to Balboa. We ended up huddling under a tarp to escape the sea spray and wind, but not the rough chop. We had our treasure, the baskets, safely protected in heavy plastic bags. All in all, this was quite an adventure. Starr was for sure glad to get back to dry land, as were we.

We received a letter from the Wounaan Congresso Council thanking us for our attendance and asking for our future support in their endeavors. We were happy to add this to our agenda.

I returned to Hansville at the end of March, ready to be welcomed by horses, my dad, and friends. Actually, our friends, Dody and Hugh, came to stay with us for 2 months while they did a remodel on their beach house.

I traveled with my friend Priscilla to San Antonio to visit her mom, Jesselyn. She was an avid collector of the Burmese Spirit Masks that I imported. You can see some on her wall behind her...and she is wearing one of my t-shirt designs, an angel kitty.

Next up was a road trip to El Dorado Hills, CA, to exhibit at a Body, Mind, and Spirit Show as well as set up a trunk show at my niece Sharon’s home. On the way back, I vended at another Body, Mind, and Spirit Show in Portland...a very successful trip.

Priscilla’s mini, whom she renamed Truffle, turned out to be pregnant! This was a huge surprise to everyone. Since she lived with me and I was so involved with my show routine, I told her it was not OK to give birth at midnight on a weekend, which seems to be the norm. I told her Monday afternoon would be perfect. She listened well and did exactly that on May 20th. I found her foal minutes after the birth, called Priscilla, who was about to get on the Bainbridge ferry but turned right around. Second call was to our veterinarian friend Stan, and his pediatrician wife, Diane. She walked me through some tough moments. He was named Hop Along Buckaroo, Hoppy for short, the most darling addition to all our lives ever…. A miniature baby horse!

Geddy returned in the summer for a bit and orchestrated a grand event. Bonnie Raitt was playing at the Gorge in September. Our friends Stan, and his wife, Diane were going through a rough time due to her illness. Geddy got backstage passes for us all, plus two other friends. It was a great concert, with Bonnie dedicating a song to Diane. Even Starr had a great time.

This was the first year I had a booth at Bumbershoot. I was truly glad to have Geddy’s help, this is one show that’s impossible to do solo. What an amazing success! People were lined up most of the time, waiting to make their purchases.

Geddy became a legend this year, selling percussion frogs on a card table in front of the booth. I can’t even imagine how many of those adorable little critters were sold! He was dubbed the frog man and carried that title for years to come.

I was honored with huge sales of my t-shirt designs as well. One Japanese couple bought 24 of my turtle-design shirts to bring back to their relatives in Japan.

Robbi moved to Crete to work as an environmental engineer, leaving me as a steward to her herd of horses. She rented her ranch to a family who didn’t have great skills in horsemanship. Sadly, one of their teen boys caused a severe leg injury riding her appaloosa, Cimarron, in a muddy rainstorm that resulted in having to put him down. This was deeply painful for me to witness, as it could have been avoided. I organized his burial on her property.

What offset this tragedy was the joy brought to all by the little mini foal, Hoppy. He was full of mischief! He delighted in untying everyone’s shoelaces. You could see him grin! My dad adored him.

I started my 4Creature Comforts website in the late fall with my dear friend Rauf, now living in Alabama with his wife Jeannie. This was all-consuming, leading to the future of online sales. At this point in time, however, my focus was to have a place to send people to find my show schedule.

Robbi returned from Crete for a Holiday visit. It was great to see her and give hugs of compassion for the loss of her grand horse.