Recovery: When Everything Goes Topsy Turvey on an Oregon Road Trip!

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What do you do with a drunken sailor? What do you do with a drunken sailor? What do you do with a drunken sailor, early in the morning?

Especially, when you are in the land of Goonies, loonies, seafood, and seamen? Poetry and comedy helps. The fact that April is national poetry and comedy month is a great reminder of what to focus on while learning to navigate in life while in recovery from alcoholism and relationships gone wrong.

I met a new friend from New York who is nice, fun-loving, and independent. She’s new to my area and asked me if I’d like to go on a road trip to Astoria, Oregon. Although I’ve lived my entire life in Oregon, I’d only been Astoria once before and thought it might be fun to visit again. The fact that “The Goonies” was filmed in Astoria only adds to the intrigue of the place. Besides, I grew up in the coastal town of Florence, Oregon so getting back near the ocean, fish, fish tales, whales, fishermen, Barnacle Bill and Old Stormy is something that helps me feel connected to my roots. My dad was a Marine and a hardworking lumberjack who taught his kids how to fish, hunt, and forage.

My Californian husband encouraged me to go. He often encourages me to make new friends, take a few risks, and he knows how important it is to take breaks from the mundane pressures of everyday life to enjoy a different environment.

So, I looked forward to a time of refreshing my spirit, refreshing my soul with a relaxing experience full of plenty of rest and relaxation.

The best way I can describe this trip is to chalk it up to one of those “lessons learned” types of adventures into the land of the Seven Deadly Sins not to be repeated anytime soon. It was one of those “fun” times that left me needing another vacation in order to recover from the adventure:

  1. My new friend smokes. I do not. Breathing second-hand smoke was not “refreshing” for me and it did not enhance my ability to enjoy the car ride, the motel balcony, or my efforts to be as toxin free as possible. However, I know how hard nicotine can be to quit; it is a legal drug in the United States, even if it is a nasty habit that will eventually cause detrimental outcomes to those who engage in smoking nicotine. My mother died from strokes and health complications due to “legal” addictions to nicotine and the willful ignorance of her society and time period. So, this trip was “smokin’ hot” in more ways than I can count without cracking jokes about butts and ash-holes. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust…I pray for protection because I must!

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Oregon born, Bardass Poet, Bat-Shit Crazy Stand-Up Comedian, Entertaining Social Activist, Mamadadaist Artist of 8 kids, Weirdo Wonder Woman, Narc Researcher

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Lorrance Herring

Oregon born, Bardass Poet, Bat-Shit Crazy Stand-Up Comedian, Entertaining Social Activist, Mamadadaist Artist of 8 kids, Weirdo Wonder Woman, Narc Researcher