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<DIV>Felipe Sanchez wrote:<BR>> The respect I feel for the experience I
perceived while on the Camino<BR>> prohibits my profanation of the experience
by hyperbole or<BR>> fabrication. Apparently, my attitude and reaction
are unique.<BR><BR>Robert Spenger wrote:<BR>>Just because Miss Maclaine and
Senhor Coelho have used their imagination<BR>>to produce fictional works
based on their camino experiences, I don't<BR>>think you are justified in
insulting most of the members of this group<BR>>by stating that you believe
that you are the only one who has reported<BR>>honestly about a
pilgrimage.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Senor Spenger: </DIV>
<DIV>I find it most curious that you took umbrage with my observation.
Within the context of what I wrote, my comparison was to McClain and
Cohelo. I also qualified my statement by affirming "apparently." Nor
do I remember reporting about a pilgrimage. But now that I know that
you are the spokesman for "most of the members of this group" I shall be
more meticulous and politic in future offerings. As for your accusation
that I was "insulting" I must admit to yet being in a quandary as to how I
accomplished such a heinous act. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Estimado Doctor Romero:</DIV>
<DIV>Thank you for your kind and reasoned response to my comments. I
learned more from your letter than you can imagine. You mentioned an
interest in the motives inherent in our desire to do the Camino. Several
come to mind. Annie had walked all the way from Le Puy, France. She had
endured thirteen operations and admitted to me in fractured English that she
"had gone dead" two times. I took this to mean suicide. Her intent
was to find the miracle of recovery upon entering the Portico de la
Gloria. I chose not to share her disillusionment in Santiago. Joe
from Bermuda had vowed to God that if the Almighty would cure his son of
debilitating melancholy he, Joe, would traverse the entire Camino Frances.
Gerald from England had a cerebral tumor excised a year earlier. He was
celebrating survival. I, on the other hand, had spent a time in the Psych
Ward of Un. of Washington Hospital with severe clinical depression and suicidal
ideation. I was diagnosed with disthymia and PTSD. The analysis and
medications were successful enough that I thought to escape from an oppressive
marriage while testing and demonstrating my return to viability. The mere
thought, today, that I did the Camino provides an endless amount of consolation
and strength for me. And as if nature insisted on an additional blessing,
for the first and last time in more than sixty years, I met a young woman and
fell wondrously in love. And yet the miracle persists as we plan to trek
together the Via de la Plata this year. Not only, then, am I almost
overcome with deja vu each time I enter the plaza of Trujillo but now my being
is intertwined with the very earth of Spain I have so affectionately
trod. Clearly I shall end my days as an expatriate on the Iberian
Peninsula. Some motives run deeper than others and involve each facet of
one's being. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Ed: I thoroughly enjoy your comments. Please don't lose your
edge!</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>
Felipe
Sanchez<BR><BR></DIV></BODY></HTML>