June 21 – Written in Stone

by Martha Meacham

Like the lid on a boiling pot, the azure sky held the morning heat close to the gritty ground. Eager to hike solo for the first time, and just as enthusiastic to get away from the field house of nearly 20 people, I slipped silently away from Deep Creek Ranch.

I loved my work as a member of a survey team searching in the Mogollon Mountains for Pueblo ruins. From sunrise to early afternoon we wandered through the Gila Wilderness Area in New Mexico making maps and notes of locations of archeological remains for future research. But this Saturday I had my heart set on an adventure to Sunflower Mesa by myself.

Beneath my feet, the southwestern sand accompanied my pace with a steady shah-shuh, shah-shuh tempo.This cadence was interrupted when I reached a boulder-strewn ravine and chose a path that would lead me higher. I felt at ease as I picked my way around the rocks, cradled amidst stubby junipers that filled the crevice. In contrast to the luminous light, in this barranca, mottled mosaics of dappled darkness danced upon the soil from light reflecting through branches.

A movement in my periphery caught my attention. I felt fear surface as a primordial instinct. I startled to see a ghostly, ashen figure stalk by. My distress manifested in the back of my throat, as I tasted terror.

A wolf? I smelled the dryness of the dead air, now as I drew in my breath. I faced a coyote no more than 12 ft away as he turned his head back to stare straight at me. Relieved that he was much smaller as he made his way up the side of the wash, I made my escape into the dim sanctuaries of shade. Conveniently located a short distance away, underneath a juniper was a low-lying rock for my seat.

Refreshed with water and rest, once again, I felt the grace that nature’s cathedrals bestow. What first seemed like a life and death encounter now appeared as a once-in-a-lifetime gift of a close encounter with one of God’s wild creatures.

As I relaxed in the shelter of the vegetation, my eyes settled on the ground at my feet. A perfectly shaped arrowhead floated on the surface of the sand. I picked it up as carefully as if it were Waterford crystal. My fingers caressed the surfaces of this speckled, silvery stone, a finely worked point of cryptocrystalline quartzite or chalcedony. In each tiny concavity where human hands flaked off flecks to form the point, the hues of this mineral ranged from a creamy color to rusty buff. I imagined the ancient hands that crafted this projectile point so many years before.
Along with a grateful heart for such an unexpected occurrence with nature, the memory of this day has remained dear to me all these years.

Unforgettable is the coyote that crossed my path in an intimate chance encounter, so close, that such an event has not been repeated since.

Martha works as an instructional designer with faculty to develop multimedia learning materials.
While earning a Master’s in Anthropology at the University of Texas at Austin, she was crew chief at the WS Ranch archeological site in Alma, New Mexico and also did reconnaissance survey in the Gila Wilderness.

June 19 – Looking Back One Year Later

by Cathy Scibelli

It’s hard to believe that one year ago I had never heard of Story Circle Network. I was surfing the Internet on a whim, seeing if there were any women’s writing groups that sounded interesting. I came across the Story Circle Network website and as I looked over the site something told me that this was a distinctly different kind of group.

I decided to give it a try. The first thing that told me that my instinct was right was a phone call I received shortly after joining from Barbara Miller who had read my profile and wanted to reach out to me as a fellow breast cancer survivor. I was really touched by her kindness and that inspired me to contact other members to introduce myself. I soon found myself in Sr. Mary Sullivan’s writing circle and will always regret I didn’t have the privilege of knowing her longer before her passing.

As the months have gone by, my life has truly been enriched by my membership. My Facebook friends list has grown, with new friends spread across the country–and one as close as the next town. Having several of my essay submissions accepted for Story Circle publications gave me the impetus to finally start the blog I’d been thinking about writing. That has been a real blessing in my life, deepening old relationships, strengthening new ones and opening up new publishing opportunities.

I don’t know where the road will lead in the year ahead, but one thing I do know is that I want to keep journeying with the Story Circle Network as my companions!

Cathy Scibelli’s writing has been featured in a variety of publications including A Book of Miracles, New York Newsday, Fate magazine, Teddy Bear Review and best of all, Story Circle Journal!

June 5 – Double Milestone

by Sharon Lippincott

I woke filled with eager anticipation on June 5, 1962 recognizing it as a milestone day. I hurriedly pulled curlers from my hair and took extra care teasing and spraying my bouffant hairdo, then dressed quickly in a simple dress and high heels. I wanted to look my best as I began my first full-time job a week after high school graduation. True, it was only a summer job, but I wanted to make a good first impression on the staff of the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory technical library. I’d been hired sight-unseen based on my written application.

After breakfast, I slid into the car next to my father as I would do each morning for the rest of the summer. He dropped me off in front of the administration building on his way to work at a site further out the mesa and picked me up each afternoon.

Full of anticipation mixed with a tinge of uncertainty, I followed dozens of classmates and strangers into the Ad Building auditorium for security indoctrination. “Don’t ever tell strangers you work at the Lab,” we were cautioned. “Even if you don’t have access to classified information, they may not believe you. You could be tortured….” My heart froze at a mental image of fingernails slowly ripped loose.
Half an hour later, I was greeted by Barbara Hendrie, Director of Circulation Services. She introduced me to Vera and Bertha who showed me the procedural ropes and immersed me in office gossip.

The day passed in a blur as I eagerly drank in procedures and reveled in my new status as a wage-earning adult in a real office. At noon I found my way to the cafeteria and was thrilled at a beckoning invitation to sit at a table filled with male grad students working on various Lab projects for the summer. My heart beat faster as I wondered if I might find a summer romance among them. Romance was my next goal.

On the way home I could hardly wait to head to the Recreation Hall for folk dancing, my customary Tuesday evening pastime. Most of my friends had also begun summer jobs at the lab that day, and older friends would be home from college. Tonight dancing would be secondary to conversational buzz.

About twenty minutes after I arrived, I noticed a cluster of male strangers saunter through in. I instantly recognized grad students and sped off to greet them, beating the pack of other eligible gals by seconds.

One tall, skinny guy gazed at me with a shy smile that warmed my heart and lit a fire of imagined possibilities. We danced and talked. He offered me a ride home, but I had driven myself. I found my summer romance that night. We were married a year later.

That job was a milestone, but a small one compared to meeting that tall skinny guy who has been part of my life for fifty years today.

Sharon Lippincott lives to write about life and lead others down the life writing path. She is collaborating with the Allegheny County Library Association to start life story writing groups for all county library patrons and is thrilled to see this project spreading rapidly across the country and beyond.