JOSE AIID LENA STEVENS^77satisfied with their sojourn at Playa Escondido, the beach
paradise over the mountains from Oxaca, Mexico. We'll
be home in two days, Pat thought with some regret as
they eased into the airport parking area.
The airport was dark. Something was very wrong.
"Sorry, airport closed. No planes until Monday," offered
the lounging guard. A quick look through the airline
tickets revealed the awful truth. Unbelieving, Pat read the
date. The Mexican travel agent had written April 21, not
today, March 21. Their tickets were for next month.
Back at the hotel Pat and Louie reviewed their situa-
tion. This couldn't be happening. Suddenly she hated
paradise.
That night, as she walked on the beach, Pat suddenly
thought of the pelicans she had seen throughout their
stay there. The Pelican had been appearing in her
dreams since childhood (helping her out of trouble of this
sort and that) and, growing up in a coastal town, it was a
familiar sight to her. Knowing something about shamanic
techniques, she squatted down on the sand like a fat peli-
can and began waving her arms in flapping motions,
croaking from her throat. She closed her eyes and asked
the spirit of Pelican for advice. In her vision Pat saw a
pelican shoot up directly into the air and zoom away.
When Pat opened her eyes, she was suddenly positive
there was a solution. Early the next morning, she insisted
they go to the airport. Louie resisted, but finally, reluc-
tantly agreed. "It's Saturday and there's nothing flying out
of here until Monday."
Pat remained silent. When they got to the airport, it
was deserted except for a clerk and a couple of pilots of
private planes. Suddenly the silence was torn by a dull
thup thup thup coming in over the building. A modem
French helicopter settled down for a landing not fifty
yards away. The Mexican pilot got out and stretched be-
fore dumping out a satchel of mail and parcels. Pat yelled
out to him, "Oxaca?" "Sf" was the reply.
Pat watched the shadow of the helicopter race along
the trees as they glided over the mountains. Mexico
never looked more beautiful she thought as she sprawled
over the mail sacks and Louie. "Thank you, Pelican," she
said silently.Exercise #3: Meeting the Power Animals
You have probably wondered how one goes about getting
a power animal. Here is a simple journey method, commonly