Deborah Guy:  

Life update (as of June 16, 2024) Greetings! Presently I am living in Columbus, OH, with my adult son, Nicholas, and our current cat, Gracie. Little Gracie joined the family after our dear Gypsy crossed the rainbow bridge in December 2020 at age 17. On August 26, 1995, I survived a major hemorrhagic stroke. Despite the physical deficits it left me with, the stroke did not prevent me from returning to a full and even more vibrant life than before. In August 2012, following six months of ongoing of medical crises, I retired on disability. At the time I left government service I was just days away from completing 26 years. I also had nearly 10 years in guest services experience at Nationwide Arena and at Germain Amphitheater prior to its 2007 closing. The medical issues obliged me to give up my volunteer ushering for CAPA ands Wexner Center. However, I continue to participate in several writing and creative arts groups. I am also active in stroke support and disabilities advocacy groups. In November of 2014, I started a travel blog, Ubiquitous Gypsy Spice, on Tumblr. Mostly it has been dormant--too busy traveling to write about it. Although I have many connections to and fond memories of Columbus, I intend to relocate to a milder climate as soon as I can manage it financially. My health issues demand it. (Wrote that circa 2014). While it appears less likely I will ever effect a permanent relocation, I have been able to follow the snowbird migration most years to escape the worst of what Ohio winters dump on us. My chief passion in life is traveling to warmer climes to scope them out. In April 2008, I flew to Cancun to celebrate my 50th birthday! The grand fiesta included a day trip to Chichen-Itza, a ferry ride to Isla Mujeres and, best of all, a dolphin swim. More recent birthday celebrations happened in April 2019--Houston Art Car Parade alomg with portions of Highway 61 (LA/MS/TN/AR/MO) and April 2024--Route 66 from Chicago to Barstow, CA. My most memorable snowbird adventure prior to 2020 was a January 2013 Snowbird Pilgrimage through the deep south. Traveling 3,825.8 miles over 15 days, I passed through portions of eight states and hit many cities that figure prominently in the USA's musical heritage. In February 2020, I fulfilled my fondest snowbird travel dream by spending the month traveling between LA, French Polynesia, and Oahu. Less that two weeks after I returned home. we were in lockdown. After the inception of the pandemic and increases in severe weather events, my Snowbird migrations went on a two-year hiatus. That ended in January 2023 but in a scaled back capacity. I had intended to depart for Barbados, where I would have boarded the Rhapsody of the Seas. The ship sailed in mid-January, albeit without me, for a 14-night Southern Caribbean cruise. The cruise would have been book-ended by resort stays pre- and post- at the Hilton Barbados.. Nine ports of call in the islands of the Southern Caribbean, Central America, and South America plus three at sea days were on the itinerary. Sadly that cruise never manifested. (2024 update: Due to oversleeping and missing my flight to Barbados, I spent 10 days in Miami in January 2023 instead. The partial refund I received for the post-cruise Barbados Hilton cancellation was applied to Snowbird Pura Vida 2024--my 10-day stay at Occidental Tamarindo - Costa Rica in January 2024.) 2025's anticipated three week-ish Snowbird Atlantic Flyway Migration is still in the research and brainstormoing stages. The vision is to follow the Southeast US Atlantic coastline along US-17, US-1, and FL-A1A from Wilmington NC to Marathon FL with a mid-trip retreat in Orlando (skipping the theme parks). I continue to do the occasional in-state day trip. Each year I pick a new theme and build a series of road trips around it. Past themes have included literary sites, scenic byways, festivals, ethnic heritage, made in Ohio, and bad-ass girls of the Buckeye State, among o...Expand for more