The Gila and James Story
18-Oct-2019
THE GILA and JAMES STORY:
28 years ago I graduated from the Florida School of Massage in Gainesville, a small school on the edge of Paynes Prairie. This 21k acre nature preserve is filled with wildlife such as alligators, egrets, wild horses and even a herd of buffalo and served as the backyard to our school.
It was there I met fellow students Gila and James…we became friends, they became a couple. Following graduation, being young and adventurous, they wanted to travel across the country and find a good place to call home. I suggested they visit Brattleboro (where I had lived before school) and gave them contacts of friends. My first massage job took me to Savannah….but after a year and a half, Vermont called me back. To my pleasant surprise, James and Gila had decided to live in the area. Once again our paths had crossed. We gladly traded the warmth of the South for the wholesome goodness that makes Vermont special.
James and I had a gig with the Stratton Arts Festival for several years—a fun, seasonal side job procured by mutual friends (the earlier contacts from school) that had us working with and curating the work of Vermont’s most talented artists and craftspeople.
After several years, the tall blond man from the Nebraska plains and the young New York City native decided to marry. This lively celebration on the Townshend farm where they lived featured a bluegrass band that had everyone dancing barefoot into the night.
In 2000, I moved to the Champlain Valley followed by a relationship, a son, and later a thriving massage practice. Gila and James had two sons of their own. One of them, much later went to college in Burlington which brought his parents to our corner of the State for visits.
Being newly empty-nested with their second son off to college, James and Gila decided to make a new home in Burlington. Both having practised massage therapy all these years, it was a no-brainer. Let’s work together!
I am very pleased to welcome my good friends to the area and to my practice. With the opening of a second treatment room at the Chace Mill, this opens up the schedule and allows clients to book on the fly with these very skilled and experienced therapists. Rick, Shannon and Robin only add to the variety of massage talent offered at RCMT….and I trust you’ll find the quality of service and their professionalism to be exemplary.
“THE GROWTH OF TRUE FRIENDSHIP MAY BE A LIFELONG AFFAIR.“ —Sarah Orne Jewett