![\"GMDG-300\"](\"https:\/\/peelbooks.com\/susanjoycejourneys\/wp-content\/uploads\/GMDG-300.jpg\")
<\/p>\nMy new book will be released as soon as I receive feedback on nautical terms and lingo from my beta reading sailor friends. Needless to say, I’m anxiously awaiting their feedback.<\/p>\n
Thought you might enjoy an excerpt from Chapter Two, while we wait. Hope it
\nresonates with you.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
I glanced at Charles. He was sleeping.
\nMy eyes closed and I returned to remembering the first big travel adventure.
\nFrom JFK Airport we flew to London, and boarded another flight to Tel Aviv. A driver, holding a sign with our family name on it, greeted us at the Lod Airport in Tel Aviv, and showed us to a sherut (a shared taxi) which took us (along with other new emigrants) from Tel Aviv, through the Negev desert, to the village of Arad, where we studied Hebrew.
\n\u201cAmazing adventure,\u201d I said.
\nCharles patted my knee. \u201cWere you dreaming?\u201d
\n\u201cRemembering; same thing,\u201d I said, smiling. \u201cAnd now we’re up and away again; seven years later. Another adventure. It’s exciting\u201d
\n\u201cChicken Marsala or Beef Stroganoff?\u201d the hostess asked.
\nI put my seat forward in an upright position and lowered the food tray.
\n\u201cChicken for me, please,\u201d I answered. \u201cAnd Chardonnay.\u201d
\nCharles chose the Beef Stroganoff and red wine.
\n\u201cYou look like Dr Ben Casey,\u201d the airline hostess told Charles. \u201cI love his show.\u201d
\n\u201cSo, I’m told often,\u201d Charles said smiling. \u201cIn fact, I’ve never seen the show.\u201d
\n\u201cYou haven’t?\u201d she asked. \u201cIt’s a great medical drama. A neurosurgeon at County General Hospital. Anyway, enjoy your meal.\u201d She moved on down the aisle.
\nI uncovered a steaming dish of chicken smothered in mushrooms with pasta. \u201cIt’s true,\u201d I told Charles. \u201cYou do look like Dr Casey.\u201d I took a bite. \u201cThis is delicious. I hope the food is as good on Air India.\u201d
\n\u201cMaybe better,\u201d Charles said.
\n\u201cCharles?\u201d I asked, touching his arm.
\n\u201cYes?\u201d
\n\u201cWhat will you do, when we return to California?\u201d
\n\u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d
\n\u201cWorkwise? If your company doesn’t have a new assignment for you?\u201d
\n\u201cI’m sure they will by then.\u201d
\n\u201cAnd if not?\u201d
\n\u201cSomething will turn up. Why do you ask?\u201d
\n\u201cWe’ve been in limbo a long time. When we lived in Virginia Beach, The Little Theatre there advertised a play by Samuel Beckett.\u201d
\n\u201cAnd?\u201d he asked, giving me a strange look.
\n\u201cI wanted to see it, but arrived too late one evening to get in.\u201d
\n\u201cWhat was it about?\u201d
\n\u201cTwo people waiting for someone named Godot\u2014wanting someone else to move them forward; prove their existence.\u201d
\n\u201cSounds ridiculous.\u201d Charles grimaced.
\n\u201cOf course Godot never shows.\u201d
\n\u201cWhy on earth would you want to see that? Sounds ridiculous.\u201d
\n\u201cIt reminded me of our situation. Waiting on your firm to tell us where to go next. Like we have no free will. \u201c
\nCharles didn’t answer. He finished his lunch and went back to reading.
\nI went back to remembering.
\nFollowing the upheaval of the Cyprus War in July 1974, we were homeless and confused about where we’d live. After our evacuation to England, Charles awaited news daily from his employer, a Swiss firm, on where they planned to send him. He had worked for them for years, both in Europe and in the Middle East, and they hoped to place him somewhere. So we waited, and waited some more. I read lots of books, took long walks in the English countryside, and wished for a place to call home.
\nAfter weeks of waiting, Charles received a telephone call one day telling us to book flights to Virginia Beach, Virginia, where Charles would work out of the company office near Langley.
\nUpon our arrival, we found a beautiful, fully furnished home for rent on the 10th hole of the golf course, near the beach; bicycles included.
\nI stared out the plane window and watched billowing clouds float past. The flight attendant stopped to ask if we’d like more coffee or tea.
\n\u201cCoffee please,\u201d I replied.
\n\u201cCream, sugar?\u201d she asked.
\n\u201cNo thanks. Black please,\u201d I answered. \u201cSmells fresh.\u201d
\nCharles said no thanks and continued reading.
\nShe smiled and moved on.
\nI took a sip of coffee.
\n\u201cSince when do you drink black coffee?\u201d Charles asked.
\n\u201cSince Virginia Beach and visiting the Edgar Cayce Library.\u201d I answered.
\n\u201cThe Cayce Library?\u201d he questioned.
\n\u201cYes, while you were busy visiting military bases, I spent my days riding the bike along the boardwalk to the public library; researching the Cyprus War. One afternoon, by accident \u2026 \u201d I hesitated. \u201cThere are no accidents,\u201d I added.
\nCharles nodded.
\n\u201cI rode past the Edgar Cayce Foundation Library. People laden with boxes were busy moving books. A volunteer worker explained hundreds of books were being moved from the old Cayce Hospital Library to their new home. She invited me to go on in, have a look around, and make myself comfortable.\u201d
\n\u201cAnd you did,\u201d Charles said.
\n\u201cYes. Entering the library, I felt as if I had discovered a secret chamber of knowledge; a vault filled with mysterious truths. My head tingled with excitement, so I knew I was in the right place.\u201d
\n\u201cWhat does this have to do with black coffee?\u201d Charles asked.
\nI told Charles all about Edgar Cayce, \u201cThe Sleeping Prophet\u201d and how he had the ability to put himself into a relaxed sleep state and connect his mind with all information in time and space. From this state he could respond to any question asked: from practical to trivial, to secrets of the universe. His psychic insights became know as \u201creadings\u201d and were recorded by a stenographer. People from all over the world sent letters requesting information on someone or something. All Cayce needed to know was the name of the person requesting the information and their location before he went into a trance and collected information.
\nI thought Charles would go back to reading his book, instead he seemed to be listening to me.
\n\u201cThe library was divided into several sections,\u201d I continued. \u201cI found myself drawn to one about discovering your mission in life and another section with books and articles about exploring ancient mysteries. Although I had always felt there was more to life than this life, the Cayce Library was my introduction to the idea of the existence of souls, and how they live on and on after physical death. I felt certain I had experienced past lives \u2026 and been lucky in all of them.\u201d
\n\u201cYou were lucky in Cyprus,\u201d Charles said. \u201cWe were lucky to get out alive.\u201d
\nI nodded and continued. \u201cI was soon lost in a sea of information on Edgar Cayce and his thousands of readings.\u201d
\n\u201cWhat does this have to do with black coffee?\u201d Charles asked.
\n\u201cOh,\u201d I answered. \u201cCayce talked about diet and the importance of balancing alkaline-producing foods with acid-producing foods and eating locally grown, seasonal foods. And he gave a list of things to avoid like not eating large quantities of meat or cheese with starchy foods.\u201d
\n\u201cSuch as?\u201d Charles questioned.
\n\u201cEnchiladas, for example.\u201d
\nCharles laughed.
\n\u201cMilk, cereal, coffee with milk or cream,\u201d I added, sipping my black coffee.
\n\u201cTo each his own,\u201d Charles said. \u201cNo one can convince me Mexican food isn’t healthy.\u201d
\n\u201cI love it too. I stopped eating cereal after the discovery though.\u201d
\nCharles opened his book and continued reading.
\nI removed my travel journal from the seat back pocket in front of me and scribbled images of the jagged clouds and noted some random thoughts about the uncertainty of being in limbo.
\nUncertain? Unclear. Unsettled. Unknown.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
My new book will be released as soon as I receive feedback on nautical terms and lingo from my beta reading sailor friends. Needless to say, I’m anxiously awaiting their feedback. Thought you might enjoy an excerpt from Chapter Two, while we wait. Hope it resonates with you. I glanced at Charles. He was sleeping. … <\/p>\n