July 18, 2012
After pausing the traveling portion of my journey for six weeks, it was time again to hit the road. Since a magical windfall hadn’t arrived, I decided to spend what little money I had to head for the California coastline. I woke up around 8:00 AM and spent the next couple of hours preparing my van for the next segment of my adventure. By 10:00 AM, I was well on my way. I spent the next seven hours traveling across the 33rd Parallel to Laguna Beach, California.
Aside from being located on the 33rd Parallel, Laguna Beach held an extraordinary place in my heart. I had never really spent any time there, only driving through the area once in 1986. It was during the autumn of 1984 that I met my first lover. An Italian originally from Monroe, Michigan, who had lived in Laguna Beach for several years before relocating to Greensboro, North Carolina, where we first met. He reminded me of a young Tony Curtis.
For me, it was love at first sight, and that spark inspired the first chapter of my story. That story, in turn, brought me to my current journey. So, with all of that in mind, I owed him the respect of at least making him a part of my 72 Days of Angels adventure.
After a very long day of driving, I finally reached the California coast. Once I arrived in South Laguna Beach, I parked my van on the highway, located public access to the beach, and went down to the shoreline.
After descending two hundred and eighteen steps, I walked out onto South Laguna Beach. The first thing that caught my eye was a pelican.
Pelican offered the following wisdom:
- drifting through emotions,
- returning from the edge,
- using resources correctly,
- ego control.
I stood there momentarily, taking several deep breaths and enjoying the smell of the ocean and the sound of waves. I looked around and noticed several people playing on the beach, instantly making me think of one of my nieces in North Carolina. I called her to let her know I was thinking of her.
This section of South Laguna Beach is positioned on the 33°29’52.8″ Parallel.
I kept thinking how beautiful it was to be here. After soaking in all of my surroundings, I sat down in the middle of the beach and invoked “The Big Picture,” 72 Names of God angel.
I performed this invocation between 5:04 and 5:24 PM. No sooner had I begun my invocation than a very handsome young surfer appeared directly in front of me. Why he chose this spot was beyond me, but I took a moment to watch and observe.
I watched as he patiently waited for incoming waves. When the timing was right, he would run towards the ocean, throw down his board, and then surf the wave he had carefully chosen. For me, this was a metaphor because I had done the same thing throughout my entire life.
Watching, waiting, and throwing down the board took a tremendous amount of time and patience, while the happiness experienced surfing out the wave was short, sweet, and very gratifying. I experienced a lot of joy in merely watching this young man surf.
The more I watched him, the more I realized he resembled my first lover. The resemblance was truly uncanny.
I looked up after completing my medication and noticed that the surfer was no longer on the beach. It appeared as though he had vanished into thin air. I watched the sunset…
Then, I made my way back up the steps…
before finally leaving South Laguna Beach.
Before entering my van, I took a moment to photograph the following bumper stickers that I had placed on it before I left Phoenix. Collectively, the stickers read, “Not Of This World, Astro, Light Being.” Since I was officially a member of the Brotherhood of Light, I thought this was entirely appropriate.
I spent the rest of the evening enjoying the new moon in Laguna Niguel. I went for a brief workout at my gym and then went to bed several hours later in the back of my van in a Walmart parking lot.