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Current mood:  blessed
Happy New Year to all of you!! While in Virginia on this last trip, many of you told me that you miss the updates that I used to send out... well, here you go! I do have a blog if you'd like to read previous entries, but I will try to be better about sending you a message when I post new blogs! This one in particular is quite lengthy, but if you make it to the end, I hope you'll be blessed by this true story.
All my best -
. Kari .
Blog – www.karismithmusic.blogspot.com
Website - www.karismithmusic.com
Press Kit - www.sonicbids.com/karismith
Add me on Facebook! www.facebook.com/pages/Kari-Smith/14521598293
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Thursday, January 1, 2009
Velvet and Sita
I was pulling out of a rest area near Knoxville on a Monday, the second day of my drive back to Nashville from Richmond, VA for the Christmas holidays. It had been a good break - about 20 minutes sitting under the trees, writing down the song that had been forming in my head during the drive. It was a cold but beautiful day – and that brisk air has a way of opening your eyes! As I walked Sierra back to the car, we were inspired by a father and son playing Frisbee, so I retrieved Sierra's from the car, and we showed them how a Frisbee team really works – much to their amusement!
As I began to pull away, I was struck by how many people were traveling with their dogs. The first was a little Jack Russell that gleefully chased his owner on a skateboard down a conveniently downhill sidewalk. The second was a huge Saint Bernard being walked by little girl tinier than it was, along with Mom. The third dog I noticed was still in a car, waiting patiently for her escape. THAT, I knew, was Sita.
How I knew that dog was "Sita" is beyond peculiar - so peculiar that I pulled over to the side of the rest area exit. I recognized the station wagon, and the Vermont license plates. Then I saw the lady standing at the back of the car – in her 60s with kind eyes, hair in a ball cap, and dressed for days of driving. I recognized her, but I did not know her, or even her name. But I knew Sita's name, and she knew Sierra's.
On Sunday, the day before, I stopped in a rest area near Roanoke, VA. That rest area was not quite as accommodating as today's, and I had to keep Sierra on a short leash while maneuvering through people and other dogs. While walking her, I noticed a beautiful retriever with a striking copper color. I called up to her owner to tell her how beautiful her dog was, and she invited me to bring Sierra up to play. We stood there talking while Sierra and Sita played for a few minutes, and she told me that she was on her way to Arizona to a large gem / jewelry convention, where she would buy stock that she resells to retailers during the year. I told her that I was a musician, and that I was returning to Nashville that night after spending the holidays and playing some shows in Virginia. We talked for a few moments about the weather – and how she was ready to escape the cold in Vermont, and I wished her luck with that! We then parted ways, and I saw her pass me on the interstate a few moments after we both pulled out of the rest area.
I really thought nothing of it, as I continued my drive. But the further down the road I got, the more I realized I would probably not make it back to Nashville that night. The sinus pressure was one thing – but what was really getting me was missing the last 3 days' doses of my low blood pressure medicine. I somehow only took 1 week's supply on my 10-day trip to Virginia, and when I don't take it, I fall asleep – or pass out – very easily. Fortunately, I had a friend near Knoxville that put me up for the night.
I woke up Monday, refreshed and ready for the second part of my trip. I decided that since I only had about 3 ½ more hours to go, I would really take my time and enjoy the day. So I drove leisurely, taking in the beautiful mountains in East Tennessee. A song had been buzzing around in my head, and when the batteries in my hand-held recorder had died, I had to stop. Since I was stopping, I decided to go ahead and write down the words that I had already, then play Frisbee with Sierra for a while. It was then that I got back in the car, pulled away, and saw Sita.
When I first saw Sita, the Vermont license plate, and the lady from yesterday - I have to be honest – the first thought that flashed through my mind was, "is this lady following me?" I pulled my car over to the side of the rest area exit. I walked up to her, and the look on her face indicated that she was probably wondering the same thing that I instinctively had! I greeted her, and she must have moved quickly past any apprehension she may have had, because she reached out to hug me. We talked for a moment about how uncanny it was to run into each other – on two different days! I mean, it's possible that 2 travelers run into each other on the same day in 2 rest areas, but for both travelers to stop in completely different places – I had gone 20 miles off the interstate to where I stayed – was just plain odd. She invited Sierra to come play with Sita, but I told her that we had been there for a while, and were just leaving. I gave her one of my new CDs, and told her that now she would have something to listen to on her long trip to Arizona! She looked at the album "Gypsy of Love" and chuckled, saying that she had been called a gypsy a time or two!
I pulled away from this second rest area, shaking my head in disbelief. I didn't know why or how this connection had happened, but I felt that it must have happened for a reason! As I drove down I-40, I realized that I didn't even know her name. It really didn't matter, I just couldn't stop thinking about how random the situation had been. I sent a text to a friend, saying "you are NOT going to believe what just happened!" Then, of course, I spent the next 20 minutes on the phone telling the story.
Since I was taking my time, I made a stop at Starbucks for some coffee, and one at Chick-Fil-A for lunch. I had finally gotten back up to speed when I realized that my gas light was on, and I wondered why I hadn't seen that when I was off the highway getting food and coffee? Regardless, I began looking for the next exit with a gas station. I bypassed one exit, because it didn't have the type of station I was looking for. I noticed a Shell at the next exit, so I pulled off the highway, and into the gas station. I filled up, then as I was hanging the nozzle back on the pump, time stood still for a moment as I watched that station wagon with Vermont plates pull into the Shell station.
She didn't even see me – just pulled up to a pump, got out, and headed for the door. I started walking towards her, and as I did, I called to her, "this is just getting a little uncanny!" She stopped still, turned, and looked at me with disbelief in her eyes. And it WAS uncanny… to run into a total stranger 3 times in a row, over 2 different days, when we both obviously had our own agenda was beyond uncanny… We let Sierra and Sita play in the huge field beside the gas station, and we talked for about 20 minutes. I finally learned her name – her mother named her Velvet, after the girl in the horse movie National Velvet. We talked about what seemed most important at the time – our beliefs in things spiritual and things "meant to be". We both tried to look for the purpose, although the "purpose" in things like this is not always evident. Her initial observation was that the connection could be music, since she knows many songwriters and musicians. OR, she said that more likely, Someone was looking out for her on this long road trip. At 63, she shared, the yearly buying trips were seeming longer and harder to drive.
Whatever the purpose – we know there was one, and that's all that really matters. Velvet and Sita followed me back to Nashville, treated me to a wonderful dinner, and we shared stories and sang songs like we were old friends. She and Sita stayed in my guest bedroom that night, and sneaked out in the morning without even waking me (bless her heart… ; )
Today is Thursday – January 1, 2009 – a new day in a new year, and so I've had a couple of days to reflect on this situation. Was there any great lesson to be learned in any of this? Any earth-shattering revelation? That's for each one of us to decide, but for me, the lesson was a refresher course in having faith – not fear - in people. In opening your eyes and seeing what is right in front of you. In being available to be used by God to help someone in need – or even just offering a hand in hospitality or friendship.
On this day, I resolve to keep my eyes open – not because it's a New Year – but because it is a wonderful, exciting life with SO very much to offer!
My best to you, and all the love, happiness and blessings to you and yours in 2009!
Posted by kari at 2:35 PM
12:50 AM
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