Introduction

I can give you wine, sex, adventure and bike accidents. I will explore a blossoming romance, great food, painful workouts, more wine and all that is Charleston in my new gal to town stories.  Are you ready for the ride? It could cause a concussion!

 

This whole thing started because of Hootie and the damn Blowfish.  Not even a big fan of the guy but my online music station played a live version of “Let Her Cry.”  At the end of the song just before they cut off Mr. Hootie he makes a toast “to his absolute favorite city, Charleston SC.”  Charleston, hmmm. I was currently unemployed, overweight, depressed and a frozen Popsicle suffocating in my cocoon of goose down in marvelous Jackson, WY.  The plan was to run back to my City of Sin New Orleans, get drunk and stay drunk and have random acts of sex when I could finally afford to leave my frozen tundra that had been my home for five years. Wait just a minute though Charleston was southern too. 

 

I added the song to my soft and loving play list and every time Hootie crooned, Charleston buried itself into my subconscious just a little more. The song came up a lot. Did I mention I was a little sad?  Half a bottle of cheap wine and me drenched in flannel dancing in the middle of the living room, “yep just let me cry dude” for the 5^th time in a row! My black lab Hagan’s deep brown eyes looking up at me saying I will bite you if you try to get me to dance one more time!

 

O the Teton County Library, the mecca to all unemployed and mildly nutty folks of the area.  These were my peeps now. Good ole Dell renting 20 videos everyday, the token homeless black lady muttering to herself while she sloshed her coffee all over the new floors. The cool desk host in his hipster glasses that tried not to judge when I would again rent, Out of Africa.  Robert don’t die this time?  On my daily trek to the library to search for a job I would look up Charleston for the last few minutes allotted me on the public computers.  Charleston had a ton of beaches nice, then next time I saw that the city is a Smithsonian of American history. I mean after all it is Charles Town folks.  A few weeks later I dug deeper. Could my tourism degree be useful here?  Well yes, yes indeed!  “Tourons” of all ages were poured into the city by the cruise ships that shadowed the harbor with their McDonalds super size me massiveness!  Pale and pasty visitors swarm like locusts sweeping through Meeting Street devouring kitschy ticky tackies that were perfect for the cousins Christmas present! Demanding local employees to tell them the best place they could find that authentic low country grit!

 

Better yet could I work in Animal Rescue? I had fallen hard for the beggars pay, air overflowing with progesterone and frizzy hair, rescue fatigue right around the corner life. I had found my calling in making matches with poor puppies and fabulous owners. Well what do you know they had one of the leaders of rescue right in North Charleston. 

 

The next time I was squinting at the computer I looked up the crime rate. In New Orleans I had seen drive by shootings, my car was broken into twice and I stopped a guy from getting pumped full of bullet holes. All the time just shrugging my shoulders over the ridiculously high crime encounters. It was part of the charm of MY city, but wait maybe I could live somewhere where the threat of death could be less? This little city was rough around the edges but for the most part in comparison to the Big Easy it was Disneyland. 

 

I really couldn’t find an excuse to not at least try this place out.  Months went by while I worked my last summer job in Jackson and tearfully left the family I had accumulated and my best friend to move to Oregon. I have not sobbed harder than when I was in a dirty hotel in Boise, ID and realized my living nightmare come to fruition was only a day’s drive away. I was moving in with my mother and grandmother after I had fled the nest at the age of sixteen.  Mother needed some knee surgeries and two months turned into many MONTHS. I zoned out the TV up to a mind splitting level that was just perfect for an 86 year old. I danced around piles of hoarding while I dreamed of my southern bliss.  Charleston was to me what heaven is to a Christian.  If I’m nice to my mom, if I sacrifice another day to clean, organize and cook, yes I will be granted through the gates of Chuck Town!   My friend Maria said there had to be a reason for this sacrifice. My best friend Ellen said maybe there is no reason?  I made a reason for my suffering here in Oregon out of stubbornness if nothing else. Reason #1 improved health.  I had the budget to concentrate on my diet.  Gramm’s coughed up a lung when I cooked what I thought was amazing green curry.  Maybe a little too much serrano Chile for a senior citizen, lesson learned. The whole families calorie count went down and my burned calories tripled as I tackled the rooms full of a hoarders goodie’s.

 

I also fled the house for an hour to go to a gym six days a week. Nothing can get you to a happy place more than a runners high day after day. Now convincing yourself of that while running on that damn treadmill is a different story.  The muscle pain that leaves you crawling up the stairs, the tendonitis flare up that reminds you that you are in your 30’s and the lack of weight loss in the middle weeks is rough. A more svelte you in the mirror after 10, 30, 60 days is nice!! No spanx for me! 

 

 Reason #2 spark my passion. I joined a writers group. The fantastic Write People. Women I am convinced were the whole karmic point for me to be in Oregon. Life changing inspiring ladies that showed me every Tuesday that life could be lived at any age and doesn’t have to result in becoming a zombie in front of a television. A few wine tasting parties helped that along as well. Nothing like bonding over a dozen bottles of wine to tickle you pink!  Old ladies are a total hoot to get buzzed. I recommend trying it out at the earliest opportunity you can make. A reason to wake up every morning, exercise endorphins pumping through my body and the writer inside of me inspired added up to confidence, health and a positive attitude to make my life amazing! 

 

So the adventure began.