The City of Light and La Citta Eterna . . .

Ronan had danced all night long with a gorgeous girl in Paris, then strolled along the Left Bank and sipped espresso from a sidewalk café. He saw the sun rise over the City of Light from the crest of the Sun King’s bridge.

He had been to many great castles and cathedrals and retraced a forefather’s footsteps to look upon his ancestral land from high atop the Acropolis. Another adventuring ancestor had traveled from the north of Italia to halfway around the world to start his family lineage. On Ronan’s return he threw three coins into the Trevi Fountain, revered the Florentine Renaissance, rowed the Canals of Venice, drove along the cliffs of the Almalfi Coast, saw the Colosseum and the glory that was Rome.

Climb Every Mountain . . .

Upon awakening, the old Sage realized how fortunate he had been to have traveled to so many glorious and far away places. He had seen such sights as the Aurora Borealis while flying through the clouds. He saw sunsets on the beaches of both oceans and three seas. He had followed every rainbow over four continents ~ until he found his dream.

A Destiny to Fulfill . . .

As the old Sage lay down in the sand dunes overlooking the Asilomar shore, he faded to sleep and dreamt of the day so long ago when as a young man he had almost died of pneumonia. He saw young Ronan enflamed with fever and laying at the Gates of Delirium.

The old Sage sat beside him and “talked of many things, fools and kings” and of his destiny to fulfill. Only by wish and will would he be able to make it so ~ a quest for life. Young Ronan looked deep within his soul and with a new found determination looked forward to his future. His future wasn’t what it used to be. He had been on the road to fortune and glory but now he would seek the Truth, find Beauty in the world and perhaps Love.

Once In a Lifetime . . .

Time was no longer on his side and tide and “time waits for no one.” Eventually, everyone runs out of time. Time is the ultimate luxury. So never squander it and “make the most out of the time that you are given.”

The Sage reached the end of his road and returned to the Asilomar shore of his youth. He searched the shadows in the ocean mist, alas to no avail. Love was long ago lost in the past. He could get back to the place but not the time. He would never get back what was lost in time because . . .
“once upon a time, comes just once in a lifetime.”

The Long and Winding Road . . .

Sometimes, “some things once lost were never meant to be found.” He had hoped to find a long lost love at the end of his long and winding road. Once brokenhearted, his spirit was strong and his soul survived. Hope had brought him back from the depths of despair. Pride and perseverance would carry him through all the way to the very end.

Many times he had given sage advice to his friends; to always try to be understanding and to overcome obstacles put in their path.

Homeward Bound . . .

They say time heals all wounds but a heart once broken may never mend. Ronan had been on the road too long and now he longed to return to the place he loved as a youth. Ronan at last turned homeward bound.

The journey would take many more years as his odyssey had wandered very far over land and sea. Though he had many friends, he traversed the long road home alone.

Winds of Change . . .

For many years they frolicked by the sea and in the enchanted forest that enveloped their idyllic cottage at the edge of the wild world. Then dark days befell the family. Ronan made a valiant effort to keep the wolves at bay and the dragons in their den. Yet, the cold winds of change still blew the loved ones apart.

After the tempest, Ronan was blown away and so very far from his beloved children and home. Some dreams do not last forever and people may sometimes grow apart. Ronan had fulfilled and live out a dream but it was all over now. That dream belonged to yesterday.

In Halcyon Days . . .

They started seeing each other and naturally fell in love. They were ambitious and both had dreams for their futures. Some people leave you counting the stars in the night while we can only hope for that one special one to last forever. They had a romantic courtship of a couple of years and planned to fulfill their dreams by marrying. Their families treated them as if a princess and the prince of the realm were about to be wed.

In time, they were blessed with four very wonderful and beautiful children. These were the four children he had foreseen in his dream. In halcyon days their lives were full of love, light and laughter.

Serendipity . . .

Misty with golden locks and a golden heart came into his life when he least expected her. They had transferred into the same class on the very same day. Serendipity or some other cosmic force had brought them together.

Their mutual attraction was very apparent as they studied together and became project partners. Their friendship grew and during a walk through the campus she asked him out. Taken by surprise and haunted by his past, he hesitated.

Ronan realized that she was the one he had been looking for and she had found him. He saw her that afternoon and asked for a second chance. He had learned that everyone deserves a second chance. As they walked hand in hand, Ronan realized that he was on the threshold of a dream.

Not All Who Wander Are Lost . . .

Ronan went on a grand tour of the world; gazed upon the ruins of antiquity and the glory that was Rome. He saw masterpieces by the renaissance masters. He visited the Louvre and the Palace of Versailles; galleries and museums in East Berlin, Zurich, Vienna, London; and gothic gargoyled cathedrals in Paris. Ronan walked the same Bay of Cadiz as Columbus before he set sail from Spain and went west to find the East then stumbled upon the New World.

Ronan flew home as his wanderlust was finally satisfied. He had once been an artist when misfortune and fate set him on a different path. His return to a university was not to step back in time but to set up his future. He was studying the arts once again when into his life walked his raison d’être.

He Flew Away Into the Sky . . .

They shared a friendship, pure love and understanding that is almost impossible to find in this world. Roxy and Ronan also had different destinies and roads to travel. Like ships crossing in the night. “She went after the footlights and he flew away into the sky.” They would only see each other once each decade but were forever soul mates.

Ronan was free to continue on the journey he had started so many years before. He traveled to all the great cities and to the far reaches and corners of the world where few friends had ventured before.

One Magic Day . . .

Ronan traveled the whole world over searching
"here, there and everywhere." Moving on and on he kept his pathos hidden away deep in his past. He must have "looked into a thousand faces but not one was aware of the fire that burned in his heart, in his mind and in his soul."

Then one magic day Ronan came uopn a lady in red who also shared the same fire that seared his soul. Roxy was like music that you can't help dancing to and such a force of nature he was overwhelmed by her presence the moment that they met. Like gypsy moths drawn to a flame, they both recognized each other as kindred spirits. She would become a ray of light in dark days yet to come.

A New Path . . .

Not every one is so fortunate to have their dreams come true or their wishes fulfilled ~ but his were to be granted. So be careful what you wish for and who knows “what dreams may come.”

After nearly nine weeks near death, Ronan came alive to survive and thrive. Ronan had been on the road to fortune and glory but he would take a new path to seek the Truth, find Beauty in the world and perhaps Love.

A Delirious Dream . . .

Ronan was knocking at Death’s Door when within a delirious dream a mysterious old Sage came to him and told him that to live he must simply wish for a future worth living.

Science and modern medicine can only do so much and then faith and hope are "what dreams are made of."

So young Ronan dreamt of art to create, of traveling to places he had never seen, of a lady with a golden heart he could trust and love, of four children yet to be born and of his place in the world.

Lost in the Rain . . .

Down and devastated, Ronan took a long walk down a short pier. He stood overlooking his beloved bay ~ tears lost in the rain. Left out in the cold, he caught a chill in the storm. Ronan fell gravely ill with pneumonia. He was found and rushed to the hospital with a fever of over 106 degrees.

Ronan was given last rites but by a miracle he made it through the night. In his delirious mind he imagined the doctors and nurses in white were angels. Racked by such a high fever for so long, Ronan fell into a deep coma for several days.

Too Late A Lesson Learned . . .

Leila was remorseful and regretted what had happened. Ronan would not accept her excuse, explanation and apology. Even though he still loved her, he said that he never wanted to see her again. Feeling betrayed and hurt, he never gave her a second chance. Ronan would come to regret that rash decision for the rest of his days.

Jude could not face Ronan and his own fiancé Jolie soon left him. Four lives were affected for so many years. Ronan set out into the world and would never see Leila ever again.

Too late and many years later, Ronan learned the sad truth. Jude had given her a drug to “ease her pain” and while she was under its influence, that night changed everyone’s lives forever. Ronan and Leila had paid for a crime he never committed.

Dismay . . .

Could any new love live up to a first love? Ronan had tried to give love another chance and was with Leila for four stormy years. Left alone, Leila turned to Jude for comfort, tea and sympathy. Jude took advantage of her when she was sad and during the moment she was most vulnerable.

Their friends were dismayed and told Ronan what had happened. Before he shipped out, he came home on leave to see her and find out the truth. No longer engaged, he hoped she would wait for his return. Ronan had foreseen the tragic turn of events that transpired. Jude had lied and betrayed Ronan.

Just Like Romeo and Juliet . . .

It was not lost on the young lovers that it was Romeo and Juliet all over again. Ronan eventually set Jeanette free so she could have a life again with all her friends and family. Maybe in the future if the stars align or the fates allow but just not for now. There was always the hope that he would find her in the future one day. Was it a blessing or a curse to have been so young and in love? Society was not ready for them and they were not ready to deal with society. It is just a dream to have a first love last forever and if true love really does exist, is it eternal or does it not fade away as time goes by?

The Summer of Love . . .

Everyone and all of his friends loved the lovely Leila. To know her was to love her. They could not help themselves or be faulted for it. Leila was very beautiful with a charming smile and a naturally flirtatious heart.

Ronan’s best friend Jude also liked Leila and told her that she had been betrayed by Ronan before he had left. Jude told Leila that Ronan had seen his first love Jeanette and it was she who his heart really belonged to. High school sweethearts, they never had the chance to be together. Her father sent her away into the country one sad summer that everyone ironically called . . . the “Summer of Love.”

Once Upon A Dream . . .

A long time ago in a faraway land, between the mountains and the deep blue sea, there lived a young man named Ronan who loved a young lady named Leila. They were deeply in love and everyone thought that they would one day marry and have beautiful children.

Oh, what might have been but for misfortune and fate. As fate would have it, his country called him off to war. He answered the call of duty and left Leila and his family. He decided to break off their engagement because he did not want to get a “Dear John” letter in a horrific war zone.

They would be devastated by distrust and disloyalty. Too late he would learn that he made a mistake that lasted a lifetime.

The Sage of Asilomar

In Humanities: Mythology 103 I learned the best stories were used to explain, educate and entertain. For this semester I will use this site to share a story in serial graphic novel form. Instead of illustrations, I will use carefully crafted phrases and words to paint the images in your mind.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ THE SAGE OF ASILOMAR ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

This is a tale of a man who was on the road to fortune and glory until he fell far from grace. He rose up to take the road less traveled and instead through fate found Truth, Beauty, and Love. He had a far richer life than he would have otherwise. He felt fortunate to have his dreams come true and his wishes fulfilled. He was blessed with glorious memories. He lived in a cottage by the bay and people came to call him the Sage of Asilomar. The meaning of Asilomar is Refuge-by-the-Sea.

A Good Remembrance

"I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser gate. All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain."

One day as they wheel me out into the sun they might say, "A smile came across his face today and I even saw a twinkle in his eye. He must have had a good remembrance."