Here is a quote from my Camino buddy Angela in Sydney, Australia: “That’s awesome that you have friends doing the camino. I always find it so hard to talk to people about the camino over here because no one really gets it. it feels like such a long time ago!! I hope I get a chance to do it again some day!”

I can relate to that, we all can. But there is another side to the coin. A friend of Annie’s, sorry I don’t have her name close at hand, walked the Camino and recently opened a business called “The Yellow Arrow Cafe”. Yea, isn’t that a thing of beauty. It is right next door to the theater in Breckenridge, CO. Sounds like a great location. They are going to do a fund raiser for “Phil’s Camino” in conjunction with the theater soon.

What am I getting at? Well, I think it is all our duties to blow on the embers of “the Way” and keep it going no matter where we are. Even if it is just in our own hearts without any help around. This is a thing of great significance and beauty that we have touched and that has touched us. Yours, Felipe.

So sorry that I didn’t get a pic of me with Father Tom. Why do ai fail to document? Maybe it is like trying to photograph a whirlwind. I was so busy the whole time that the opportunity slipped away. Maybe Annie has a shot that she would send.

Anyway, it was an occasion, his coming. His fortified my whole Christian faith, made it more robust. Well and confused me at the same time. Confused isn’t the right word but I can’t think of better at the moment. It just seems that there was time before his visit and time after his visit. It was a significant event and things that happened before are fuzzy, are harder to remember. Does that make sense?

So, I am off to st John Vianney’s for Mass in a few moments. After that I walk and then I am planning on working on the corn. Maybe the weather will cooperate. It has been variable with sun alternating with showers. But the sun has been keeping ahead of the moisture so the soil is still workable. Have to purchase the rest of my corn seed this AM and get it soaking. Life here at the ranch.

I liked what Father Tom said about me rekindling his Camino spirit. I guess that is what we are here for at Caminoheads, right? We rekindle, we keep it going. We know how to do that. OK, till later, love you, Felipe.

Fr. Tom here…at SeaTac awaiting my wings back to Cali. What a wonderful time at Casa Volker. Phil and Becca, the consummate hosts. I enjoyed walking Phil’s Camino and re-learned the value of impermeable shoes. My hiking shoes from Burgos are now riddled with holes, from miles of walking the droughted trails of California. Ten meters on Phil’s wet-grassy camino had me sloshing in cold and soaked socks. The Camino was telling me something. So, said shoes are now in the dumpster at SeaTac. Relics of holy times on holy roads that are now simply hole-filled shoes. Buen camino, my dear friends. Thanks for accompanying me oh these many miles!

My time with Phil re-kindled the camino spirit within my soul. Being with him is like re-entering the timelessness of pilgrim life “en camino”. It opened again my eyes to the angels that surround me in city life, but whom I never take time to greet. Life “en camino” has a mystical way of opening my soul to the strangers I meet along the way, impelling me to share freely the things I withhold from those with whom I work daily. What is it about that mystical trail? The lessons we all learn…

From Felipe ~ yes Father Tom.

Comment: oh come on Felipe! you don’t just talk about the fantastic recipe and dangle it out there like that without letting us know what the recipe is. Orange rhubarb sounds wonderful. Let us in on it ok. farmer John is off to start planting corn today. Have you got yours in the ground yet? it is getting that time.

Juan ~ We just Googled Rhubarb Jam and came up with the orange rhubarb jam combo. It’s very simple really, just the addition of orange zest and a little juice. It makes a terrific tasty combo with the standard rhubarb flavor. This is scary, Marines discussing cooking, must be a code.

Comment: Hola Felipe!
Two days of cold rain and wind here, ergo, no corn planted. Not as worried about that as I would have been in days past. A blessing of age no doubt. Very similar weather to what we had two years ago when I was getting ready for the Camino jump-off date 13 May. I was nervous then as I wanted all crops planted before I left. It didn’t work out that way and you know what? It didn’t matter. Isn’t it amazing how the Camino teaches us stuff before we even get on the Camino 😉

Just wanted you to know I’ve got a Fr Tom, too. One of the coolest guys ever. He was the first of all the priests I’ve had in life that we called by his first name. Prior to that, we’d never dream of that kind of intimacy, it was always Fr O’Brien or Fr Morriessy, etc. He even had a personalized license plate FrTom. Like I said, cool guy. He was also a career Army Chaplain and retired a few years ago as a full Colonel. The celebration was in a town about 50 miles from here so I rode my trusty bicycle there wearing my USMC riding jersey since we always jabbed each other about the “premier” service. I knew there were a lot of former military guys/gals in the audience so at the end, I jumped them all to Attention (amazing how ingrained that command is!) and we gave him a Present, Arms! Brought my old buddy to tears. But he wasn’t rattled enough to not return our salute. Love that kind of stuff.
Love your daily stuff too ol’ Jarhead. Keep calm and carry out the Plan of the Day.

SF,
PFJ

Juan ~ I am counting on getting some major work getting done on my corn in the next few days. I am still on the early side but you know how that can disappear. I had a tremendously valuable session with Father Tom. He is retired Navy Chaplain, don’t know if I mentioned that. Not that there is anything retired about him. Nice story about your Army buddy. Yours in corn, Felipe.

Catherine y Dana ~ all good here. Chilling the white for your arrival. Sounds like you are having fun. I went to the town just before Leon. It had a long name like “Marsalas” something. I will have to go back and do the part that I missed. Yes, SJA, is Saint James Again or Saint James Afoot. Either way he is out and active. Love, Felipe.

Yes! He is so out and active! I can’t tell you. Looks like you’re getting ready to walk.

Love to you, Felipe!
Yeah! Chill that wine. Dana.

hello dear brother, Felipe!
Thank you so much for helping us prepare for this adventure of the body and the spirit. Not a day goes by when we do not mention you, think of you, pray with great gratitude for your sudden and timely presence in our lives. It is so sweet to have a photo of you to carry with us. Your story never fails to move those we tell and in some way fuels us as we go. You were right their are small miracles, everyday angels everywhere and we are well held in God’s great hands.
I send my love and biggest gratitudes.
Catherine

We are moving right along!
Hermanillos! Two days to Leon.

So are you getting these emails???? And would you send us a photo of you because we tell everyone your story! You are always with us in spirit. Got a GREAT story. Too long to tap out on the phone 🙂

Big blessings,
Dana

That is Father Tom Hall and myself, talked all day. Wasn’t a problem really. Man and I learned a lot. Maybe Tom learned a few odd facts from me. We covered a lot of ground and there doesn’t seem to be anything we wouldn’t take on. Major fun.

Just woke up after sleeping 12 hours. Apparently Father Tom really worked me over, I was exhausted. But up and at’em here now though. Off to Bible Guys to study Daniel.

Love you guys. Sing a beautiful song today! Yours, Felipe.

When I woke up this morning and looked out the window I had to stare a while to get what was going on. It was a blizzard outside. A fresh wind came in and blew the air full of blossoms at that very moment. What a sight! Just when you think all is normal.

I have been watching a short movie recently,over and over again, and showing it to others. Les, my old Navy Corpsman lent it to me. I just googled it and learned more. It came out in 2002 and was highly awarded. One of the sites called it a romantic mystery, a term that I have never heard before. It can be watched on something called PrimeWire, something else that I have never heard of. Anyway, it’s name is “Jillian’s Vantage” and it has the endorsement of Phil’s Camino.

So, I’m back over to the hospital today but not before picking up Father Tom Hall from Seatac airport. He is coming to walk and talk with me on the backyard Camino and I am deeply honored. He is a friend of Annie’s from California. Most of the good things in the world go through Annie, if you hadn’t noticed already.

We may stop at Sister Joyce’s office to deliver some homemade jam for her peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. My Rebecca and I made orange rhubarb jam that is just super. Rhubarb season right now, a spring tonic.

OK, have to go and wash my truck and get ready to go to the big city. Oh the sun is breaking through the morning clouds. Alperfect, love you, Felipe.

p.s. – then here is a comment from my buddy Steve-0 on Tuesday’s blog post: (He sometimes comes and hangs out with me on Tuesdays at my big treatment.)
Comment: Wish I was sittin with you today– but I’m 30k feet above Miles City on my way to a nice week of work in Fort Wayne.
Details at 11…..
Thinkin of you
S

Hey there! How’s things today? I think that they slipped me some extra steroids yesterday in my chemo cocktail as I’m swooping around acting like I’ve got too much coffee in me and that’s before coffee before coffee. Barely slept and had a dream about fuel, my I was fueling along!

OK, dreams, check out this dream. It was in a friend’s email yesterday and I can give you a rough idea without confidentiality problems. This is the first time I have heard of this specific angle although dreams can be prophetic in a big sense as has happened with the Big Guys like Daniel in the Bible. But my friend had a dream of a particular person before meeting same person the same day. Very specific it was. Hmmm.

I got a hand done map of Phil’s Camino done and have to have it scanned and sent to Todd and Jess for the documentary. It was a fun art project. Hope that they like it. Maybe you will see it on the film which could be soon. And we will keep you posted so you will be able to catch it.

OK, we’ll keep it short today. Things to do and peeps to see but it is always fun to be with you and vital. Only the best for you and yours, love, Felipe.

Yea, Anamaria sent this pic of her out in the boonies on a hike. Guess she got to escape from school. It is fun to keep up with her with her year in Spain. Send us more pix when you get a chance.

Here I am in the comfy chair at Swedish Hospital in Seattle. I’m getting my twice monthly chemo treatment. A little while ago ther was some woman laughing hysterically on the floor here. It wasn’t close by and I couldn’t see her but she got me laughing. I was asking the nurses if there was some new drug around that I could try. “I’ll have what she’s having!” kind of thing.

Yesterday I spent half a day trying to finish up a map of Phil’s Camino that I have been working on. It’s for the documentary. Things are reaching a flaming crescendo with the film. We are less than a month away from finishing I have been told. I am kept away from the nuts and bolts of it all, just a pretty face.

Well, that’s about it for now. Things are good and thinking about you and all the fun we could be have if we were together. Come walk the Camino with me. Let me repeat the hours:
Mon 0900-1000
Wed 1600-1700
Fri 0900-1000
Sun 1000-1100

Later, love, Felipe.