Almost Heaven, West Virginia

That’s right—John Denver’s timeless tune graced the lava path of the volcano I climbed this morning—and it wasn’t the Americans who were singing it. Our twenty-something guide, Mr. J, was the source. And just how did I get to enjoy this lovely moment? It depends on how far back you take the connections, but for this bit I’ll just take them to yoga on Monday morning. It was there that I met Elizabeth (a 5th grade teacher whose been teaching in Saipan for 2 years) and her sister JoLynn (a student at Univ. of Wisconsin). We met again at the Howard Zinn movie—afterwards they mentioned they were going to climb the volcano the next morning.---a serendipitous connection since I had decided the day previous that I’d like to climb the volcano. And so 3 hours later, at 2 am—there I was in a van with them, our driver, and a guy named Jason (he’s from New Zealand and has been traveling the world for over a year). The volcano is the smaller one on Bali---but it was a good jaunt all the same. After 1 ½ hours of steady climbing (in the dark) we arrived at the top and were treated to a vibrant, cloud-wispy, sunrise. Our guide made us banana sandwiches and cooked eggs in the hot volcanic soil. And Liz and I joined in an impromptu singing of Both Sides Now---a song just as fitting as John Denver’s I guess.