I am back in Portland, both excited and shell-shocked by the latest Superhero journey. As Gratidude, I would like to offer thanks to all who gave such heartfelt support and well-wishes in the last few weeks after the ride....especially Echidna, GitchiGummi, Compash, Grasshopper, and Atomic Calm, who all sent the love and lessons that were needed most during a very hard moment.

The "moment" I am referring to was actually a 5-day series of beautiful events masquerading as total and utter catastrophe. My bike was stolen. My car got towed. My windshield got cracked. My bus got canceled. I lost my helmet. And when I finally got home, and I really, really, REALLY needed to use the ONLY bathroom in my house, someone was lounging in the bath.
I was ready to burn the cape, smash the buckets, and curl up in bed. And then, something else happened...

I encountered.....SUPERHEROES! Even after spending two of the last eight months dressed up and being a Superhero, I really didn't know the full effect a superhero can have on the "average citizen in distress." There is a moment when all hope is lost and you are actively hucking your deepest Trust in God out the window, ready to snatch at any random idol that might provide some semblance of security and personal validation.

And then, there, down the road...Is it a hippie?...A vagrant?...
NO! It's a SUPERHERO! Here to help me realize that the current catastrophe is actually a rare opportunity to evolve, and to somehow make an absolutely pooooopy situation become a little party where everybody leaves with their pockets full of party favors, having fallen totally in love with someone.

Examples:

1. Bike gets stolen ----> Citizens of Vancouver B.C. activate some little-known underground phone tree and locate a guy with an amazing story: His cousin died 2 years ago of cancer; he has her bike; he has been holding on to it because selling it for money seems wrong, but because of the sentimental attachment, really wants to give it to just the RIGHT person. Apparently, that would be me.

2. The stolen bike in question was not even my own bike (it was loaned to me by a guy in Portland, who I barely know) ----> Of course, at the moment I realized the bike had been stolen, my heart dropped as I also realized that I was going to have to explain to this guy--a casual acquaintance, at best--that his sweet mountain bike had been stolen. I sat down with him last week to sort it all out, and was amazed by his response:
"Don't worry about it. Of course, I'm bummed, but I know that we'll work it out, and actually, this has been really cool...you see, just listening to the way you guys have touched others on the ride, and hearing you relate the way this experience has changed you, makes me feel better. I have my own journey to be more open and peaceful, and hearing you relate your struggle actually helps me with mine."

3. Bus gets cancelled, so I'm stuck in Mt. Vernon, WA, with 20 miles of unpopulated dark highway between me and where my car is (not anymore, but I don't know that yet). Rural, western Washington. Nighttime. Standing by a road-junction tavern sporting 3-week-old attire and an overgrown beard. Trying to hitchhike, in a state that doesn't really tolerate it. ---> A beat up old red Subaru wagon pulls up. The guys picks me up, and tells me he actually CIRCLED BACK AROUND an extra 2 or 3 miles to pick me up. Then drives me PAST his own destination to my [missing!] car. Waits with me while I call around and find it. Drives me BACK the way we came and another 5 or 6 miles down some dirt road past an oil refinery to the towing yard. Totally watched my back while I deal with the towing guy. And then, I go to give my new friend my last $5 for gas and effort (a paltry offering, I know, but it's what I had on me), and he REFUSES THE MONEY. Not only that, he GIVES ME TWENTY BUCKS and says:
"Hey, take it. I know it's nothing compared to the $700 you just gave that guy, but I want you to know that you're doing the Right Work and that the universe will take care of you."