TAKE MY ARM BY JAMES BRIDGES

Take My Arm

By James Bridges If you’ve ever had a spider bite you know the discomfort feeling. It’s somewhere between the itch of a mosquito bite and the deep tingling of an open wound. It’s rather irritating and strange. I discovered such a bite on my arm a couple of weeks ago. Instantly I wanted to scratch it and make it go away. Those that have been there know how difficult it is to resist temptation… However, I was luckily able to conjure up the strength. I looked at the bite/gash (that would probably eat my arm off) and started thinking. I was curious why I wanted it gone so badly. I thought of something unique. At least it helped me silence my desire to scratch. My mind was telling my body that something is out of whack. My animal instincts were begging me to remove whatever was out whack so that I could carry on in comfort. The skin that covers my arm, where the spider “attack” occurred, had been the same smooth formation for years. Now something has come along to change it. “Change” is a mild way of addressing it compared to the thoughts rushing through my head at the time. What had really been flowing were terrifying thoughts of a creature gnawing away at parts of who I was. This creature wanted to attack me in ways that had never been done. Afterall, this was my first spider bite. One could only assume. It wasn’t as if this spider was trying to communicate or let me know why it wanted to “eat” me. I assumed that this spider cared nothing of the soul inside of the skin that it was now devouring. Nibbling just enough to get it’s fill in the middle of the night while I’m silenced by my slumber. I automatically assumed that it would repeatedly return and cowardly eat more and more of my arm. It would ingest my other limbs at some point. Meanwhile I would sleep and scratch and hope that things would get better. I then realized what I needed to do. I realized that this was all in my own head. I only wanted to scratch because there was something different about my arm. It wasn’t all that bad. The thought of a spider biting me terrified me, but it wasn’t bad in reality. So I decided to embrace it. I didn’t take it personally. I knew that the spider needed to bite on something. I also knew that once I accepted and evolved to the change the spider bite would eventually become a part of me. There was no “removing” of it. It wasn’t possible. Instead there was a lesson. One of embracing obstacles and accepting them as part of myself.

The Cover

By Shannon Seitter MoeD ART

Shannon Seitter began a career in art at an early age self teaching to sketch..Shannon was inspired by the junior high art teacher. Shannon watched her paint across canvas and was awestruck by her ability to bring such beauty. Shannon began a venture into painting. While beginning small and then grew through watching and observing other artists’ use of different mediums and techniques. Shannon began to grow a personal method of art. After Shannon’s grandmother passed away, “I buried myself in my art and began to grow and use it not to just help myself through grief but bring beauty to others who also needed it. My art has been my passion.” Shannon has always amazed Herbage Magazine. “It is a beautiful and therapeutic way to express myself and bring additional beauty to the world. I love sharing my art with everyone and enjoy when someone connects to my art as I have. Each piece I create has a personal connection to me.” Shannon’s hope is to bring more art to Oklahoma City and connect with more people who love the process of creation.

“I love working with other artists and bringing something new to life that didn’t exist. I find my inspiration in all things in life but from a new point of view.”

shannonseitter73@gmail.com Facebook @moedartokc Instagram moedartokc

Operations Manager Jasmine Harvey jasmine@herbagemag.com Contest Liason Katie Hazen Katie@herbagemag.com 1ST KNIGHT - JOEOKIE Ad Design Amber Reid Raven Knuckles Design Advertising Manager Tarra Quinn Tarra@herbagemag.com Legal Guide & Wisdom Sarah Lee Gossett Parrish slgparrish@slgparrishlaw.com Cannabis Insurance Expert ALL SMOK Insurance Scott Wallach Scott@allsmokinsurance.com Owner & Publisher James Bridges James@HerbageMag.Com

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PG 3 | TAKE MY ARM BY JAMES BRIDGES PG 5 | SANTA’S MAGIC BY CARISA ROWE PG 9-17| FEMININE DIVINE CANOKIE BUDS BY VERONICA CASTILLO PG 19| THE SEED OF LIFE BY BROOK MILLER PG 23| UNIVERSAL CANNABIS 101 BY JASMINE HARVEY PG 25| THIN GREEN LINE BY CHARLES “UNCLE CHUCK” DUNCAN PG 27| LOTUS LETTERS BY KATHY LONG-BARKER PG 29-33 | PROGRESSIVELY GROWING PROGRESSIVE FARMS BY JAMES BRIDGES PG 37| STRAIN OF THE MONTH GOING BANANAS BY JAMES BRIDGES PG 39-41 | 24 CARAT TRAJECTORY GOLDEN TRENDS BY CONTRACTED AUTHOR PG 43-45 | BIG HOUSES BY ANNA ERVIN PG 46 | 2021 COWBOY CUP WINNERS LIST PROVIDED BY THE COWBOY CUP PG 49 | MY STORY GETS HAPPIER BY ANNA ERVIN PG 51-53 | CURED RESIN - 2021 COWBOY CUP BY CARISA ROWE PG 55-59 | FEMININE DIVINE CANOKIE BUDS BY VERONICA CASTILLO PG 63-65 | THE GAFFNIES BY MICHAEL KINNEY PG 66| NICE TO CATCH UP BY JAMES BRIDGES