2221
Miracles tend to happen when you walk with mindfulness. Back in the fall of 2009, renting a P.O. Box for Netwalking correspondence had been on my mind. Then one day while walking my usual circuit around the neighborhood, I came upon the scrap of paper lying on the pavement. This piece of paper turned out to be an unbelievable blessing; it was a P.O. address torn from an envelope, seemingly a sign to take immediate action. I stopped by the East Greenwich Post Office that very day and was assigned the next number of the list – 2221. Ten minutes later, while driving along South County Trail, listening to the radio, the newscaster came on and mentioned that, as of that particular day, the number of troops lost in Then ten minutes later, now continuing south on Route 1, Post Road, past the turnoff towards Then I asked myself, “What are the chances of this number popping up three times in sequence within a twenty minute period?” I calculated this to be at least one out of 10 billion. This is rather funny, because Guns N’ Roses produced the song “One in a Million”. 2221. Numbers can be significant to a story, like the pattern of three that appears in fairytales. Upon sharing my 2221 story with a friend, I was told that 2 + 2 + 2 + 1 =7, and 7 is the divine number. Another friend mentioned prime numbers, and doing some calculations, I determined that 2221 was in fact a prime number - only divisible by the whole numbers of 1 and itself. With one thought leading to another, I got to thinking about the significance of prime, and decided to look it up in the dictionary... Prime. The word “prime” means “to make ready or prepare,” “to provide beforehand with information.” It can mean “to prepare a gun for firing,” as well as “to prune,” as in rose bushes, which we do to prepare the shrubs for the winter season. My thoughts circled back to guns and gardens... Guns and gardens are about self-sufficiency. We use guns for hunting game and for defense, and we plant gardens for food and medicine. These are two activities that serve a practical purpose. Then I let the thought go. Over six months after the 2221 coincidence, I had a similarly unusual post office experience. My friend Dana came over for tea, and I asked her for some advice about a pallet of gift boxes we had been holding in a warehouse for five years, something we needed to clear out. My husband and I had created some unique gift boxes, one with a Sitting and sorting through our mail at the dining room table after Dana left, I picked up a solicitation letter from the USO. Wondering if the USO might be interested in a donation of boxes useful for sending gifts overseas, I pulled out pen and paper and wrote a letter to the USO President. While standing on line at the post office to mail the package, I noticed a copy of the Annual Year Book of stamps, propped up on an easel stand upon the counter and available for sale. I walked over, picked it up, and randomly opened it... and there was a full-spread about Bob Hope. Wow! When my turn came up at the counter I bought three of the Hope stamps to affix to the envelope. “ In the center of the box lid, a Rhode Island Red weathervane is perched on a rooftop, looking out to sea. At the time I drew this graphic, I was imaging the lighthouse standing ready to guide vessels into the safety of Newport Harbor, the present home of the U.S. Naval War College. The last symbolic reference of the box design is the carefully crafted net that covers the entire outer surface. If you follow the line of each individual piece of rope, you will find that it is its own complete loop, with no beginning and no end. When whole beings - independent individuals - engage one-on-one in a manner of mutual respect, and then bind one to the other, they craft a unifying network of tremendous integrity. They unify as a reliable regiment of soldiers or a cooperative of farmers or a vibrant town community. The collective effort creates a civic net, providing for safety and allowing for the gathering of abundance. In other words, our true Hope lies in God AND in helping one another. As you consider the many challenges we face together in this world, what gift can you offer of real value to others? A gifted and successful entertainer, Bob Hope gave back a thousand-fold by delivering laughter, joy, and hope to our hardworking defenders of liberty overseas and at home. He was “one in a million” ... and probably loved every minute of it. 
WAY OUTSIDE THE BOX
* * * * * * *
While writing the letter, I thought of the wonderful comic entertainer Bob Hope, who once traveled around the world putting on performances at military bases for the USO. A childhood memory came to mind, the vision of seven bodies piled upon my parents’ king-size bed on a Sunday evening to watch the Bob Hope Show on TV. I also recalled attending Bob Hope’s performance when he visited my Alma Mater back in the late 70’s. I shared these three memories in my letter, signed it, and sealed it into an envelope with two box samples – the nautical design and a rose design.
What makes this event even more unusual is this: The box design (shown above) includes an anchor, the word “HOPE” written across it - Rhode Island's state motto and state symbol. The box graphics are rich with symbolic significance.
- A barometer signals the winds of change.
- A compass indicates the directional guidance.
- A steering wheel suggests taking control.
- And, a portal framing the image of our state’s beloved ship
Providence
American Revolution and captured or defeated 40 British ships
while defending the coast line, before being scuttled by her crew.
As I write this, it is February 14, 2011, Valentine's Day, and I'm thinking about St. Valentine, the priest who defied Roman authority by performing secret marriage ceremonies for soldiers. The ruler of the time felt that single men made better soldiers, but what he did not understand is that worthy soldiers fight for love, while single mercenaries are likely swayed by money. Love motivates great armies. Love promotes strength and wisdom, and loving letters from home are worth more than gold. Hence, guns and roses.
Put your petal to the Medal.
MORE ABOUT PRIME NUMBERS - Prime numbers are the building bocks of natural numbers. Every number can be factored into prime numbers. For example: 30 = 2 x 3 x 5. Twin primes are two prime numbers that are only two numbers apart, such as 11 and 13. You can identify twin primes by adding 1 and subtracting 1 from a multiplication of prime numbers. For example 2 x 3 x 5 -1 = 29 and 2 x 3 x 5 +1 = 31. If you'd like to see something really cool, check out Ulam's Rose - the prime number spiral.
Symbolically, numbers carry great significance. At this point of the path, you can go left to read three other stories about this significant number, 2221, in the defending of freedom, or you can go right and travel the Tobacco Trail back into history.
Wendy
Rhode Island Netwalking
P.O. Box 2221
East Greenwich, RI 02818
wendy@netwalkri.com
Click here to learn more about Wendy.
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