Turning points - Writer's Post prompt #5

I admit, when I saw this prompt, my immediate reaction was to write a fiction piece... and I may still do that..., but then I thought it might be interesting to see what images came to mind when I thought about turning points in my real life. So here we go...

I've mentioned (to the point where people become narcoleptic) how important The Mists of Avalon was, is and continues to be in my life. The book came to me when I was at a crossroads. I was trying to understand what my faith was, where my steps should head on the belief path. Reading this book became the biggest turning point in my spiritual life. I have read it more times than I remember, worn out multiple copies and learned so much from where the character of Morgaine has led me. One day, in some other place and time, I would like to hug Marion Zimmer Bradley and tell her just how much her book has meant to my life.

Another image which springs to mind is this. That's the lethal injection chamber at San Quentin Prison. I have no desire to start a debate about the rights and wrongs of state sanctioned murder, (but I guess from that comment alone you will understand which side of the fence I come down on!), but this has been a turning point which was a long time comin'. Today I write regularly to prisoners on Death Rows across America. I count these guys as friends, albeit distant ones. Yes, they are all murderers, a couple of them multiple, but they are still human beings with the same emotions, needs and desire for friendship and a little compassion that we all have. I'm proud to say that I finally took the plunge and reached out to these guys after years of being undecided, a little scared, uncertain. It is one of the best moves I ever made because these guys really appreciate the friendship penpals offer them.

This one is a little strange, perhaps, but it sums up another turning point in my life which was definitely the least expected. I've reached that time in my life where a major body shift is heading my way. Peri-menopause, I think they call it. Anyway, I wasn't prepared for any of this, never having had a mother figure who could give me guidance. What I needed was a friend, someone to make me feel like me again, and not this baggy, saggy, brain-dead stranger in the mirror.
My friend came along in a form I couldn't have predicted in a million years. Young, smart and willing to take a chance on our unusual friendship. Watching anime, talking into the wee small hours and watching game after game of this kinda sums up this particular turning point for me. Half the time I didn't have a bloody clue what was going down on the screen, but it was fun to watch and fun to have him talking, listening, explaining and treating me like the human being I was in danger of forgetting how to be.

I think there is one more, perhaps two, but this one is important.  That's a shot of my school, a place of pure boredom for most of my teen years. I know it sounds boastful, and I swear it's not, but the group I hung out with were all seriously clever and way beyond the lessons being given. We basically cut school and learned more together or at the library because we didn't then have to deal with the policy of working to the pace of the slowest learner in the class.
However, there was one class I never cut, English with Mr Roy Agoumbar. That man is solely responsible for my perseverance with writing. I was constantly told it was a waste of time and that I'd never make a career, or any money, out of it. Roy read my work, critiqued me without mercy or reference to my tender age and made me determined to  go on. He is another person I hope to see when the world turns and tell him he was right to make me go on. This blog wouldn't exist if he hadn't been in my life.

Lastly, another teacher. I have always loved books, reading, but my primary school teacher, Mr Lee, encouraged me to read beyond my age range. Thus was I introduced to Tolkien, but the one I really associate with Mr Lee was Call of the Wild. Not only did it appeal to my inner wolf, but it was, to me at aged 10, a seriously adult book which the librarian didn't think I should read. Of course that only made the allure greater! If it hadn't been for Mr Lee, my mousey little pre-teen self would have taken a lot longer to pluck up the courage to read from the adult section and been denied the gems I found there for a few years.

So thank you to everyone and thing that has touched my life and guided my steps at these particular turning points. I do wonder where I'd have been without you. And here's to the adventures yet to come as my feet wander up to the next fork in the road...

Bright Blessings
Mojo