THANK YOU LETTER #2
Every time I pass through this small western town my heart fills with the knowledge that at one time both of my great-grandmothers, my grandmother, and my mother (as a small child) have been here. They walked these very streets, looked out upon the eastern front of the towering Rocky Mountains, fought with the belligerent westerly winds, and surely must have experienced the same excitement I do of simply being in this wild, open country.
I will be back at the cabin by tomorrow.
My mind is far from settled. It continues to reel with thoughts from the book tour trail. The long 8-month route which covered 18 states affected me more than I thought it might, I think in part because the book tour truly became a “reunion tour”.
Ninety talks, and at nearly every one someone I’d met from a past ride appeared. Meeting once again with people who helped in one way or another during those incredibly difficult years when no one knew just how hard the journey I’d embarked on was because I’d always covered my face with a thin veil of strength and determination. I don’t think anyone knew how much I needed and appreciated the help offered me.
So the book tour in many ways became an opportunity for me to reach back and say, humbly, sincerely, “Thank you, I could not have done it without your help.” Offering a book in gratitude with hugs, laughter, and smiles upon faces I remembered. I repeated, “Yes I remember, I remember.” I shouted it many times, and it meant more than you can imagine to me. (I have a very good memory.)
The list is long, of those who reached out once again to make the book tour possible. You know who you are… those of you who set up talks, hosted my overnight stays, worked out dinner parties, made arrangements for my horses’ comfort, a mechanic when I needed repairs, or drove me to the talk so I could rest a bit. Assuring and reassuring me as I slowly, and I do mean slowly, drove my old ’69 Ford and two Fjords across the United States.
I sold a lot of books, covered my expenses, and most importantly came back rich with memories as I reached back once again to say, “To each and everyone whose path I crossed I send a hearty “Thank You, I could not have done it without your help.”
Happy Trials, Your Lady Long Rider,
Bernice Ende
