Veronica Lestagez (the "z" is silent) was my mountain buddy today during the autumnal equinox. The Reiki-certified mother of four (with eight grands) is an operating room nurse that perfectly typifies the Jamaican motto "Out of Many, One People." She was raised in Yallahs, Jamaica, until she was twelve, and is Irish, French Canadian, and Scottish Jamaican. She never lost her Jamaican accent, and I'll never forget being surprised the first time we spoke, hearing a white woman speak with a Jamaican accent. I could listen to her until the seasons change, and tonight I did.