Beth Ferrier’s Blog

Even though I have been a traveling teacher for more than a dozen years, I have never rented a car. When it comes to handling the hiccups of air travel, I feel pretty confident. But when it came to renting a car I was a big baby.

As is becoming all too common, I arrived just fine in Little Rock, but one of my suitcases did not arrive with me. Knowing that I had a four hour drive ahead of me, I decided to wait for the wayward luggage. It contained my teaching materials for the next day’s class and all of the quilts for the new book. The airline said it would take at least two days for the baggage to find its way to me, unless they decided to hold it for my trip home. Geesh.

Four hours later, with both of my bags packed into my car, I started off towards Mountain Home. Being able to rent a Ford Focus, the car I drive at home, helped me feel a little more comfortable about the trip ahead. The incredible thunderstorm that greeted me right outside of Little Rock put on an awesome show. High on the bridges I wished I was closer to the ground, rushing through standing water in the low spots, had me wishing I was back on the bridges.

But the storm passed. A few miles of fog lifting off the drying pavement gave me something else to worry about, but it too passed before long. The roads were in great shape. The traffic was very light and at last I made it, bedraggled and tired, to Mountain Home.

I must say, the members of the Hill n Hollows Quilt Guild are pretty terrific. As a program chair, Vicki is top notch, well organized, and charming. The students were so open to new ideas, and ready for fun. It was a delight for me as a teacher. I felt that they were playing along with me. It doesn’t get much bettter than that.

Too soon it was time to head home. This time I’d be making the long trip back to Little Rock during the afternoon. The weather was perfect, blue skies all the way. Taking the “scenic” route (although I think most of northern Arkansas would qualify), it was a blast to drive. Banked curves, hair pin turns, and breathtaking views opened before me. Once more, the traffic was really light so if I needed to slow to a crawl I could.

There are teachers out there who go boldly to far away lands, embracing adventure at every opportunity. I am in awe of them. I admit, I am a chicken. I’m sure that disaster awaits me at every turn. But I hang on to this quote by one of my favorite philosophers, Mark Twain who says, “Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear.” I may be shaking in my shoes, but on I go.

What do you fear? Do you let it keep you from following your dreams? What’s the worst that could happen? (Oh, wait, maybe we don’t want to go there.)

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 18th, 2009 at 10:19 am and is filed under On the Road, daily life, general silliness. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.