like a turtle with its shell
carrying it wherever they go
a sure sign
it’s move-in weekend at the uni.
—
“the sweetest part of leaving home is knowing,
beyond the shadow of a doubt,
that you’ll always carry it with you.”
-homestratosphere
Aug29
Category Archives: Life
Aug26
al fresco.
local alfresco dining
so welcoming, jovial, relaxed, and natural
—
The term al fresco comes from the Italian and loosely means “in the cool air.” We use the term to mean dining outdoors. Interestingly, the Italians don’t use the term for dining outside.
Italians use the expression ‘al fresco’ to mean ‘in the chill’ or ‘in the cool’. For example, when they want to convey keeping things in the right places, they’d say ‘keep the cheese al fresco’. But these words also have another meaning. When tourists in a restaurant are wanting to eat outside, they usually say they want to eat ‘al fresco’. In Italian, the expression, ‘Al fresco’ literally means ‘in prison’. The reason for this may be because in the past, prisons were very cold places with thick walls (‘fresco’ means ‘cold’). So, don’t be angry if, when you say: ‘I’d love to eat al fresco’, the waiter laughs, because you are actually telling him: ‘I want to eat in prison’. Instead what you need to say is: ‘Vorrei mangiare fuori’ or, ‘I’d love to eat outside’. Note it to remember it for your next Italian trip, and let the waiter know that you want to eat in the open air and not in prison.
—
“seating themselves on the greensward, they eat while the corks fly
and there is talk, laughter and merriment, and perfect freedom,
for the universe is their drawing room and the sun their lamp.
besides, they have appetite, nature’s special gift,
which lends to such a meal a vivacity unknown indoors,
however beautiful the surroundings.”
-jean-anthelme brillat-savarin
Aug21
dare to dance.
on this day in 1959, hawaii officially became the 50th state
always wanted to visit
but the closest i’ve come
is when i was young and my dad announced
he wanted to buy a little radio station in kauai
i quickly got ahold of a hawaiian dictionary
forced/encouraged the family to learn the alphabet during dinner
only to discover it was just a fantasy job wish for him
years later, as an adult
i took hula lessons with close friends
we were not good at it
got into the spirit of the dance
did not get asked to perform in hawaii
but we had a a blast
you never know
where and when this skill will come in handy
plus, it’s impressive on a resume
i’ve yet to make it to hawaii
only a matter of time
third time’s the charm
aloha!
—
“dare to dance, leave shame at home.”
(A’a i ka hula, waiho i ka maka’u i ka hale)
-hawaiian saying
—
art credit: vintage hawaiian poster
Aug20
hope is the feeling.
art credit: the hope tree, by ashvin harrison
—
she looked older, tired, worn down, but trying
dark eyeliner, hair an unnatural black, a gold barrette
standing at the register
waiting as i approached
buying paper for an art project
noticing colors and prints on the papers
she pointed at them, saying:
“if you mix this blue with this flowered print, it looks exactly like the inside of the locket that i had when i was a little girl. it was shaped like a heart, my mother gave it to me, it had both of our pictures in it. is was really something. it didn’t make it through the fire though. i think someone came and took it after that happened. they didn’t know how important it was. i’ve had my dreams squashed before, but i still have hope.”
she shared all of that with me, a random stranger, in a 2 minute encounter. something about her was achingly sad, yet i also felt admiration for her refusal to surrender to a life that may have never been easy, still holding out hope for a better day, yet to come. amazing person.
—
“hope is the feeling we have that the feeling we have is not permanent.”
-mignon mclaughlin
Aug19
life with shopping carts.
in talking with my grandson
about the reason shopping carts are found all over
i told him to think about where he sees them and why that might be
i told him to consider the fact that they are often found
where there are people without transportation or without disposable income
who may have to walk a long distance, have a disability, or take public transportation to get home
most with challenging life circumstances
i told him about
when i moved to family housing here for grad school
with no money, but still one of my favorite times of my life
everyone in debt, in grad school, with families, with limited income
most did not have cars and could not afford taxis
i saw that shopping carts were all around us
quickly noticed why.
families used them for everything
to move in and out, to move their children, to move their laundry to the common area
to move things to our monthly swap meets, to carry food, to carry things to their car, and on and on…
my youngest daughter lived with me
for a few months before heading off to her university
before long, we were using them
they had come from the local grocery store
when people would walk home with food for their families
the carts would stay to be used in the community
the grocery store would send a truck once a week
to round them up and take them back to the store
and the next week they would be back
it seemed to be an unwritten understanding
i came to love the custom and used them many times for every imaginable purpose
understanding why they were so helpful and important to the community.
everyone was just trying to find a way to live their life
to get things done that needed doing
while making the best of their circumstances.
“do what you can with what you have, where you are.”
-theodore ‘teddy’ roosevelt – 26th president of the united states
Aug18
go, carts!
Abandoned shopping carts could be a sign of social dysfunction.
The reason some people never return shopping carts, according to science.
On the spectrum of aberrant behavior, leaving a shopping cart in the middle of a parking space doesn’t quite rise to the level of homicide. But poor cart etiquette is nonetheless a breakdown of the social fabric, one in which some consumers express little regard for others by failing to return a cart to its proper place. Why does this happen?
In a piece for Scientific American, Krystal D’Costa examined some plausible reasons why shoppers avoid the cart receptacle. It might be too far from where they parked, they might have a child that makes returning it difficult, the weather might be bad, or they might have physical limitations that make returning it challenging. Alternately, they may simply believe it’s the job of the supermarket or store employee to fetch their used cart.
According to D’Costa, cart returners might be motivated by social pressure—they fear a disapproving glance from others—or precedent. If no other carts have been tossed aside, they don’t want to be first.
People who are goal-driven aren’t necessarily concerned with such factors. Their desire to get home, remain with their child, or stay dry overrides societal guidelines.
Ignoring those norms if a person feels they’re not alone in doing so was examined in a study published in the journal Science in 2008. In the experiment, researchers observed two alleys where bicycles were parked. Both alleys had signs posted prohibiting graffiti. Despite the sign, one of them had markings on the surfaces. Researchers then stuck a flyer to the bicycle handles to see how riders would react. In the alley with graffiti, 69 percent threw it aside or stuck it on another bicycle. In the alley with no graffiti, only 33 percent of the subjects littered. The lesson? People might be more likely to abandon social order if the environment surrounding them is already exhibiting signs of neglect.
In another experiment, researchers performed the flyer trial with a parking lot that had carts organized and carts scattered around at separate times. When carts were everywhere, 58 percent of people left the flyers on the ground compared to 30 percent when the carts were cared for.
Social examples are clearly influential. The more people return carts, the more likely others will do the same. There will, of course, be outliers. Some readers wrote to D’Costa following her first piece to state that they didn’t return carts in order to keep store workers busy and gainfully employed, that the primary function of those staff members is to get the carts back to the store, even though it’s rarely their primary job. Until returning carts becomes universally-accepted behavior, random carts will remain a fixture of parking lots. And Aldi will continue charging a quarter deposit to grab one.
and –
in recent shopping cart returning news:
Meijer employee celebrated for returning millionth cart .
—
“the worst wheel of the cart makes the most noise.”
-benjamin franklin
—
Aug17
“if you see me, cry.”
Hunger Stone :
Recent droughts in Europe once again made visible the “Hunger Stones” in some Czech and German rivers.
These stones were used to mark desperately low river levels that would forecast famines.
This one, in the Elbe river, is from 1616 and says: “If you see me, cry.”
—
“when the well is dry, we will know the worth of water.”
-benjamin franklin
—
credits: history review
Aug12
on maple street.
one of my personal idols
brilliant writer and social activist, rod serling
wrote this story in 1960, as a prescient warning
—
“The tools of conquest do not necessarily come with bombs, and explosions, and fallout. There are weapons that are simply thoughts, attitudes, prejudices, to be found only in the minds of men. For the record, prejudices can kill and suspicion can destroy; and a thoughtless, frightened search for a scapegoat has a fallout all of its own for the children, and the children yet unborn. And the pity of it is, that these things cannot be confined to the Twilight Zone. – Rod Serling, The Twilight Zone episode: The Monsters Are Due On Maple Street-1960
Aug11
news about the cycle of life!
according to turkmenistanian math
i am in the ‘inspirational’ cycle of my life
heading toward ‘wise’
so i had better get on it!
if i was in the wise cycle
i would have
read all the way to the bottom
to see these cycles
only apply to turkmenistanians
so the pressure is off
now i can comfortably return
to my blissfully unaware/immature cycle.
—
“there is a savor of life and immortality in substantial fare. like balloons, we are nothing till filled.”
– herman melville
Aug8
“those who bring sunshine to the lives of others cannot keep it from themselves.”-jmb
a call came from a director
who had worked with my grandson
on an entertainment project
he and his crew were in town
to shoot a pilot for a new show
the idea is to surprise someone
but instead of pranking them
it’s focus is on thanking them
he was looking for locals to help with the show
those who know ‘afternoon delight’
a local breakfast/lunch spot
not fancy, with great food
an unchanged part of this town for many years
the surprise was to be for walter
a local, humble, and very deserving gentleman
who has worked there for 40+ years and refuses to retire
he lives without a phone
(the farmers at the market let him use theirs when he needs one)
he lives without a car
(the local pedi-cab guy gives him rides to work and whenever he needs one)
he’s never been on a plane or boat
he lives alone with his many plants
his family is the restaurant crew and all who pass through the doors
he shows up every single day, works hard, and is unfailingly kind to everyone
but his presence is so much more than that
he has touched so many lives over the years and in so many ways
after keeping walter at home a bit longer than usual
worrying about being needed at work
everything was finally ready
the moment he walked in
he looked teary
saying, “i can’t believe my eyes”
with the sweetest smile
he thanked everyone for coming
and was told
“walter, we are here to thank you!”
for impacting the town and the people
he had a chance to talk to every person
as we each presented him with a plant and our story
he had walked one down the aisle
when she was a waitress there and didn’t have a father
the pedi-cab driver had worked there too
some had worked with him for many years
or had been coming in for many years
and one after another
each person thanked him
multiple generations had eaten there
and he listened and he smiled and he thanked them
for being such an important part of his life
when he sat in the booth that now has his name on it forever
he told his stories
how things had changed over the years but stayed the same
how life had been hard at times but was so thankful for everything
when he first started it was bob dylan and joan baez stopping by after a concert
each era brought new music and new people
along with people who continued to come in over and over
bringing children and grandchildren
while the food is very good
walter is what makes the difference
why people keep coming
as we said our goodbyes
walter climbed into the pedi-cab,
now with bubbles flowing, music playing, for a ride around town
his town
to celebrate his special day
before coming back to his other home
the restaurant
as i walked back to my car
someone saw my t-shirt
stopped his car and asked:
“is that for walter from afternoon delight?”
when i said it was
he told me he owns a nearby deli
whenever he sees walter making his way down the street
he makes walter’s favorite sandwich for him
walter is a treasured family member to everyone lucky enough to meet him.
“there is a light in this world, a healing spirit more powerful than any darkness we may encounter.
we sometimes lose sight of this…
then suddenly the spirit will emerge through the lives of ordinary people,
who hear a call and answer in extraordinary ways.”
-sir richard attenborough
I didn't have my glasses on.... 