Happy New Year Everyone

Imagine all the people

Living life in peace

A Year of Mystery

One of my favorite stories this year is about the day I discovered a small cross in the middle of the front seat of my car.  It somehow arrived in my locked car while I was shopping at Whole Foods.  I was on my way to my heart doctor who told me during my appointment that I had recovered from my heart attack.
I loved telling this story and listening to my friends search for logical explanations.  I was up for believing anything, including the unexplainable.

The other night I was searching for my red gloves which were not where they were supposed to be.  So I was going through every pocket of every coat in my closet looking for them.  From one pocket I pulled out a small white box.  I did not recognize it at all.  When I opened the box there was a tiny gold Hindu figurine inside.  Forgive me for not remembering who gave me this gift.

So now I have the cross and the little buddha.  I figure I'm in good shape for 2014.

Happy New Year.

From here to Nebraska

Oh, those many times I've sat on my couch and dreamed of winning the lottery.  I even have my favorite numbers picked out with their secret significance giving them special powers to prevail.  I'd accept my winnings graciously and give most of it away to people and causes that I yearn to support.  And yes, spreading some cash around at the end could certainly help to heal a lifetime of missed accomplishments   Of course, none of this has been enough to actually take me next door to buy a ticket.   Just dreamin'.

So, with the movie Nebraska, the idea of an oldster's odyssey to cash in his winnings was an appealing plot line.  And, much of this film tackles difficult themes so well.  It dances with balance on the thin line between finding humor in people being themselves and making fun of others.   For us city dwellers, it exposes the composition and culture born of those bare roads and fields that we call "fly over country."

There's a keen eye working here so I was ultimately disappointed that the ending gave way to unwarranted sentimentality.  Too bad.

As the credits rolled, I turned to my friend Margaret and said: "I feel so lucky to have been born into a family interested in knowledge, culture, and beauty." And that thought has stayed with me.

I'm a winner in the lotto of life.

50th Anniversary

With the media remembering the Kennedy assassination, I am re-posting my memories of the weekend we will never forget.

One of the things we loved to do as a young family was go to the Starved Rock Lodge and state park near LaSalle, Illinois.  The lodge was one of the marvelous structures built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930's.  This is what we did as a country back then -- use the energy and intelligence of our unemployed to improve our public lands.

We loved to hike on the trails, many overlooking the Illinois River.  Even though there were stairs and bridges plus plenty of signs to help us get around, it was as close as this city dweller came to "wilderness."

Starved Rock is where we were on the weekend that Kennedy got shot, and Ruby shot Oswald.  Word came to us on that Friday morning, but we already had our reservations and decided to go, even though we were as traumatized as everyone else.

We stopped at Marshall Field's to buy some sturdy shoes.  I felt so guilty to be shopping.  Management must have felt the same way because they announced they were closing the store just as we were leaving.

It was a beautiful weekend as the weather was perfect.  The kids didn't know to be shocked, so we stuck with that.  I don't remember whether there was a TV on in the lodge, but if there was, we didn't give in to watching it.

All of my friends told me how they were glued to the TV the whole weekend.  Looking back, I'm glad we were away from it all hiking the trails.  Since then, we've had a lifetime to remember the death and ponder the consequences.

Flexitarian

Recently, I had lunch with my friend Michele who is a "foodie" and is studying to become a "health coach."  As I added those two new words to my vocabulary, she mentioned another word which is now my favorite: flexitarian.  Michele explained that this describes people who eat from all food sources, but do so armed with information and care.

Wow.  I love this word!  And, I am going to keep it continually in mind.   Flexibility is such a desired stance in all circumstances.  And, if you think of Darwin, our existance depends on it.

I am a confirmed flexitarian.

Gravity

Gravity is one force that physics has yet to explain.  Until we do, Einstein's "unified theory" awaits our understanding.  Gravity is the mystery that allows us to live.   I think and I hope that was on the filmmaker's mind when he chose "Gravity" for the title of this wondrous film.

The visuals are so arresting that I went back to looking at the real images captured by the Hubbel space telescope.  The film puts humans onto that tiny stage occupied by astronauts, space stations and modules.  And, it lets us spend a moment with what it means to be human in the vastness.

What makes us human?  Knowing from the start that we will die and what that knowledge provokes.  The film embraces this emotional space.  It embraces death as sudden and random.  With death as a deliberate act to save another.  With the choice of sweet surrender.  With patience, intelligence and determination to eek out a little more time to live.

Don't miss Gravity.  And let me know what you think.

There's a Price on my Head

I am now leading "the ninety-nine thousand dollar life."  That is the price tag attached to treating my heart attack.  This expensive life was fought for by FDR and his "New Deal" and by all of the legislators who followed Lyndon Johnson's lead to vote for Medicare.  I take this history very personally.

And I'm taking this current fight over health care very personally.  That $99,000?  I'm no more deserving of those dollars than the next guy.

So, in the meantime,  since I am one of the lucky ones, I'm going to pay attention to leading a "valuable" life.   A better friend?  Better family member?  Better citizen?

I'm working on it.