A Texas gal sees the redwoods, for the first time
by Sue Mayfield Geiger
I remember that trip to the redwoods
When you had just 24 hours before your next audition
Your Texas mom, needing a facelift, agreed
To go up the California coast to see
the massive beauties that had captured your soul
“You have to see these!” you said
Off we went with no agenda, little money
But you were persistent even though you knew
You could be called back at any time from
Your agent, telling you to show up for another
Audition, drop ’em dead, get the part, this
Could be it; or not; or maybe; who knows
Life is always about taking a chance,
Honing your craft, giving it your all
But right now, we were on a mission
Taking your below sea level mother
To the higher points of your state where
Trees dominated the sky, defying aging
Getting called back to L.A. numerous times
We’d take off again. You, not an unnerved bone
In your body.
Countless trips back and forth gave us a window
When two weary-eyed souls finally stopped
At a Starbucks and spent $40 on overpriced pastries
And expensive coffee before we fainted from exhaustion
Until we reached our destination and by God!
You were right.
It was worth it!
PHOTO: Old-growth forest, California, by Welcomia, used by permission.
PHOTO: The author’s son, Adam Mayfield, in a grove of redwoods near Leggett, California, by Sue Mayfield Geiger (2013).
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Sue Mayfield Geiger is a freelance magazine writer, now in her seventh decade. She does not tweet or have a Facebook page. She got an English degree at age 57; sang professionally by the age of 20 (worked with Kenny Rogers); did a tandem parachute jump when she turned 50; has interviewed several celebrities, most memorable was Willie Nelson at his ranch near Austin; became a runway fashion model after the birth of her second son when she was in her early thirties; sang at that same son’s wedding reception in Guadalajara in 2016; soaked in the hot springs of Esalen at Big Sur, California at two a.m. with millions of stars above the night sky. She has traveled to Scotland, England, France, Italy, Bahamas, Mexico, and several states in the U.S., but her favorite adventure of all was tent camping at Inks Lake State Park, Texas, while growing up. The smell of bacon frying on a Coleman camp stove always finds its way into her meditation.