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My Roots

APRIL 17, 2007

This past Sunday morning,
on the spur of the moment,
I took a road-trip with my father...
Along the way,
dad pulled over so I could take some pictures
of hundred year-old grape vines,
new in leaf...

My dad and I were on a quest...
to the resting place
of my great, great, great grandparents
in the Pleasant Grove Cemetery
just North-East of Sacramento...

It was a bit eerie, but so special to find their graves
in the Goode Family plot...

I wonder what their lives were like...
and... I wonder what California was like,
this gorgeous land, back in 1848,
when my great, great, great grandfather
brought his first of two wagon trains to this area...

So here is where one of the many threads
that weaves the DNA
of my genes lie,
with my shadow looking over...

My great, great, great Grandmother~Minerva Goode...

and her husband and my great, great, great grandfather
Daniel Boone Goode...

My g,g,g grandfather's parents were good friends
with the Daniel Boone, his father, a comrade and companion
on explorations with his son's namesake...

My dad's brother, my uncle Lee (who I am quite fond of,
and named after!!!) has been putting together
our family history, gathering photos, dates,
sleuthing out our history... he sent me these photos last year...

Here is Minerva...

and here is Daniel Boone Goode...

Also deep within the earth,
were the family of one of DB and Minerva's four children...
some with full lives, one who left this earth
at a very young age...
Perry A. Goode... 6 years old...

The inscription on his marker reads
this beautiful and touching verse...
_Fold him Oh Father in thy arms._
_And let him hence forth be_
_a messenger of love between_
_our human hearts and thee~_
How grateful I am to these people
for their courage and fortitude
and for living life so I could be here...
My dad and I further explored the surrounding countryside,
taking in majestic oaks, stately mansions and ranches,
and perusing up and down the old streets of Woodland,
full of beautiful homes and ancient California Sycamores...
On the way home,
we went through the town of Davis,
where my dad and mom lived while my father
attended UCDavis in the 50s.
He showed me the apartment where they lived.

This is where I entered the picture,
not far from where my great, great, great grandparents
traveled to, 150 years ago...
setting down their roots,
so I could find my own...

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By Lea Goode-Harris • 15 Mar, 2024

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The Retiring of a Labyrinth

By Lea Goode-Harris • 05 Aug, 2023

Labyrinths provide us with a path to practice change. Some labyrinths have withstood the passage of time for thousands of years. Others are here for just an afternoon, drawn in the sand at the edge of the ocean. Many modern labyrinths were meant to last for years, but because of unforeseen circumstances their time is shorter than intended. And they once again help us to practice letting go and giving thanks for the time they are with us. The Labyrinth of Life at the Sebastopol, California Teen Center reached such place of letting go and is at the end of one chapter and the beginning of another chapter that is yet unknown.

Making A Three Circuit Labyrinth

By Lea Goode-Harris • 05 Aug, 2023

Sometimes... a labyrinth can take years to become a physical reality. In 2018 I met with my friend Deb, to discuss her desire to have a labyrinth on the beautiful land she lives on. Despite our plans and several meetings, listening to the land and finding the right spot, the labyrinth did not come to fruition. Fast-forward five years and in the blink of an eye... it happened!