FLEEING THE FLEA MARKET

 FLEEING THE FLEA MARKET

IN Pasadena California, on the second Sunday of every month, on the grounds of the infamous Rose Bowl stadium, over 2500 vendors set up to sell off their unwanted and unusual goods. Thousands of people show up to wander the grounds to peruse the tables, racks and boxes just to find a deal or specific item or just to be there — after all it is dubbed to be “The Greatest Flea Market on Earth.”

My host friend, Joan, set up this outing specifically for me to experience something so extremely different and for her to find a porcelain gravy boat to replace one she accidentally broke at a family member’s special dinner. 

Due to the enormity of the “sale”, we went our separate ways and agreed to meet up an hour later. I managed to walk up and down two very long aisles in the blazing sun, and felt overwhelmed by the numerous used clothing vendors, rusty junk tables and large pieces of furniture, some of which was labeled antique. I just had to flee.

Off I went to the fast food and beverage area near our planned meeting place. I stood in line for a fresh strawberry banana smoothie. As I got closer to the front, I heard the proprietor say she doesn’t accept cash. I groaned and mumbled some words of disappointment. As a foreign traveller I hesitate to use my credit card and travel with foreign currency only. The patron ahead of me heard me and simply said, “don’t worry about it, I will pay for you.” I offered her cash but she simply would not accept any. We engaged in pleasantries as we waited for the order to be filled. We went our separate ways after wishing each other wonderful afternoons.

I stood there stunned and realized this had never before happened to me ever. I turned to see if she might be following me or if someone else was set up to follow me. It was just so strange, yet delightful at the same time. A $12 drink had never tasted so good!

Joan arrived at our meeting place on time looking exhausted and empty handed. She had been in the antiques section but saw no gravy boats. There was still one hopeful area to check so we reconnected a half hour later. No luck. At that point, we had had enough of the heat, the smells, the crowds and the overwhelming ambiance of the set up and decided to head home.

Let’s just say it was an experience I will long remember, but never do again!

RONALD REAGAN PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY

The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library is located at the north side of Los Angeles, California in the Simi Valley region. It is perched on a mountain top overlooking fabulous views of mountains, valleys and the Pacific Ocean. Every President gets one of these beautiful places after they leave office and it houses tons of photos, videos and memorabilia relating to the President and the presidency during their time. The bodies of Ronald and Nancy Reagan are buried on the sacred grounds.

Although I am not big on spending vacation time at historic sites and nor am I overly interested in USA history, the three hours we spent at this intriguing and beautiful site were truly the most interesting and informative of all museums or libraries I have visited. 

As luck would have it, upon arrival I spotted a docent leading a group of well dressed teenaged students on a tour. His voice was confident and from his tone I knew that he would be much more appealing to listen to than the seven dollar audio device given to us at check in. The guy truly knew his stuff and had selected the key aspects of the Reagan presidency in each of the many rooms through which visitors walk. 

I tried to be discrete and after the third presentation he came to me and thanked me for joining in! I, in turn, complimented him on the fine job he was doing. 

After that grand and definitely “grand” tour, I walked backwards through the building to the beginning to review things, and to take in some of the others things along the way such as touching a piece of the Berlin Wall and viewing the collection of gowns Nancy wore to various events. There were at least three photos of our former Prime Minister Mulroney and his wife Mila being a part of some state events during their time in office. The exhibit includes many videos including one of Prime Minister Mulroney speaking at the Reagan state funeral in 2004.

Typically sites like this do not appeal to me because there is just too much to take in and sometimes the presentations lack variety in terms of audio, visual, hands on or on the spot question and answer experiences. That was definitely not the case here — especially when I was also invited to walk through the actual Air Force One (the size of a passenger plane) and Marine One (helicopter) that President Reagan used throughout his mandate. (See photos) Yes, the building was so big it easily housed both and the experience of climbing up the steps to view the life of a true VIP, was mindboggling.

This building and this tour definitely does the 40th President of the USA proud. I could feel his spirit and that of Nancy hovering around, and feel confident that the designers and caretakers have created a most impressive story of respect, admiration and love for everyone to enjoy.

DESERT STARGAZING

 DESERT STARGAZING

Tulip was wandering around the grounds of a high-end gated residential community in Palm Desert, California, when she came across a strategically placed red ballooned lawn sign announcing a Monday night stargazing event. It would be hosted by the local branch of the Astronomical Society of the Desert, featuring the expertise and expensive equipment of three learned astronomers.

That evening, after a lovely dinner of Chinese food leftovers, she walked over to the viewing site with her host friend, arriving early as usual. An Elton John tune was playing from the guettoblaster: Benny and The Jets. 

The volunteer greeters and program coordinator had just finished setting up. They gave each person a sticker with a planetary image, a star shaped chocolate, and matching cookie. They directed them to walk up the hill to the large green space on the country golf course, to secure a spot for ideal sightings, help themselves to free coffee, hot chocolate, hot cider, cookies and chips, and engage with the astronomers who had already set up a very large and powerful binocular and two very large telescopes, next to a box filled with high magnification lenses. (100-350X)

At this point Tulip pinches herself to be sure this is not a dream. She is sitting on the greens of a swank private golf course, in the desert. She’s in the company of actual passionate astronomers who have come to share their knowledge and pride in the profession with a bunch of neophytes with various degrees of little to no astronomy knowledge. It was surreal.

All three astronomers calmly and proudly gave everyone an explanation of what was about to happen. They told the group of curious guests about how they set up their instruments and how observers should stand to look into the lens without touching the devices.

The sightings started with the most obvious — the quarter moon. Through the lens of the high powered binoculars, the inside of the crescent looked like a bunch of frizzy strands of hair unnoticeable by the human eye alone. Next the telescope was set up to view Jupiter and its three moons, or three of its moons, one of which is known to be actively and regularly volcanic.  After a short break for questions and explanations, the third telescope was ready to show us the constellation called Orion. The astronomer used a laser beam to direct eyes to its location in the darkened sky, identifying each of its stars, before giving each guest a chance to view that spot of the earth’s galaxy through various heavily magnified telescopic lenses. The experience was incredible, intriguing and quite simply — awesome.  The passionate astronomers know a great deal about earth’s galaxy but they, too, admit there is still so much more to discover and understand.

At this point, Tulip stepped back from the cluster of thirty enlightened stargazers. In the pitch dark, she found her way to the Adirondack chair holding her snacks, folding chair and towel, sat back with her head looking up at the heavens, realizing there is still so much to learn about the world, and about life for that matter. In the background she could hear the sounds of “Ground control to Major Tom” coming from the depths of her imagination. 

As the desert temperature dropped to 55F, it felt like a good time to pack up to go home to reflect. This wonderful evening made Tulip discover that there really is a lot of mystery and wonder in all aspects of life: the world and the universe; the forests; the trees; the oceans, lakes and rivers; and humanity —still so much to discover and understand. It’s up to each person to open up their curious minds and realize there is more relevance to life, people and things than what meets the eye. 

THINKING TWICE

 

LOOKING TWICE

Who goes on a respite vacation to Palm Desert, California and registers for a symposium focused on leadership in the workplace? Tulip does.

As she sits in the conference room awaiting the beginnings of the keynote address, she looks around curiously at hundreds of other attendees who are likely there for reasons unlike hers.

The presenter is from Arizona and comes with a wealth of experience in behavioural management specific to helping  members of boards deal with different types of personalities and attitudes. She uses specific examples of generational relationships, organizational skills, and establishing a vision and a mission statement, but also realizing, recognizing and accepting different people have different values and approaches to reaching goals. 

At this point Tulip realizes that everything that has been said can apply to everyday relationships with family members, friends and colleagues:

• *all humans evolve over time
• *all humans make mistakes
• *all humans have challenges
• *all humans have boundaries
• *all humans have core values

Some of the challenges in all types of relationships start with:

• *wanting control or dominance
• *misunderstanding or not wanting to understand    individual differences or values or boundaries
• *insecurities about evolving or changing trends
• *anger management issues
• *unable to recognize and respect diversity
• *unable to let go of past wrongs, missteps or attitudes

Tulip further fuses the presenter’s business-focused narrative with a more personal perspective. One of the key approaches to forming a strong and long term relationship is to understand the base and basis of each other’s personalities. That conclusion does not happen instantly, it develops over time — sometimes a short time and sometimes a long time. Sometimes it works out to be a worthwhile effort, and other times it is obviously a waste of time. 

There are anomalies in every colony:

• Be okay with examining a comment and asking questions
• Be okay with answering questions openly and honestly
• Realise there is not just one way of looking at things and often there is not just one right way to move forward
• Respect differences of opinions; agree to disagree but then move on without firing back
• Embrace democratic principles and civility in all discussions
• Blend in the “new, unique and special” contributions 
• Be willing to adjust opinions, attitudes and behaviours

At the end of the keynote address, Tulip sits back smiling. Everything that was said has far extending power. She wonders if anyone else in the room felt the same and made the same correlation between the presented business model and their own personal lives. She hopes they do as it may well be a new 21st Century model for healthy, fruitful relationships of any kind in the increasingly complex, ever-evolving, compartmentalizing, competitive, challenging and changing world.

 

 

HEART STRONG

For me,

Everyday is a  ❤️ day

For it’s love that shows me the way

to feel, to heal, to listen and talk

To embrace the good and

to take stock.

For me,

On this ❤️ day

I celebrate the good in me

and the good around me,

I stand tall and proud

of the gardens I sow and of

the people who sow with me.

To those incredible people

I happily say

“I wish the same for you,

Today and every day.”

Happy ❤️ Day

Let’s keep sowing!

HERALDING HAMMOND

HERALDING HAMMOND

It was a balmy Saturday morning when I cycled to the Hammond Community Centre in the community of Hammond, also known as a hamlet within the City of Maple Ridge. It has a significant history, has preserved a lot of its historic character and quaint neighbourhoods, and is home to around twelve thousand proud long term and short term residents.

The rhythm of the heartbeat of the people of Hammond hasn’t been beating like a happy drum lately; many would say the homelike feeling of the community is under threat and the anticipated redevelopment plans of a large parcel of land are making people feel uneasy, sad and worried. 

The Saturday morning and afternoon Open House session, gave everyone a chance to learn more, voice their concerns and give constructive feedback to consultants, recreation project and program staff, as well as the mayor and counselors.

Although I do not live in Hammond, I am an active aquafit enthusiast and the new development proposal currently does not include an outdoor pool. I know the argument about the viability of an outdoor pool and accept that building it to serve the aqua-community for two or three months a year sounds preposterous, and it is. 

But when logical thinking heads sit at a discussion table to work out a way to use the space year round, ideas such as a hard, flat cover over the pool in the off season makes so much sense. The seasonal pool facility then becomes multi-purpose for other outdoor activities such as shuffleboard, horseshoes, ring toss, square ball, hopscotch, badminton, poetry reading, games tables and any number of other cross-generational and cross cultural options. 

I said my piece to the project facilitators, city staff and politicians; I now need to believe my efforts were not in vain and that their note-taking, smiles and head nodding were not just to placate me. After all — politicians know that every vote matters and preserving the significance of Hammond as a unique community, and its outdoor pool as a legacy of their pride, is key when debating the aqua-component of the project.

As I strolled around the story boards and watched the video presentation, I noted a lot of negative comments on sticky notes about the larger project in general, but I also saw some constructive feedback. 

I understand nobody wants a monstrosity of a recreational facility in their backyard, but communities need recreational and cultural facilities to help keep residents of all ages active and healthy, and to give them physical, social and cultural experiences close to home. 

Sometimes it is hard to see change as progress, but the similar examples in the community, province, country and world, show that projects that involved community input, weighed pros and cons, and kept close to within budget, resulted in happy user groups and a surrounding population whose outstanding legitimate concerns turned out to be less profound than anticipated. 

I do believe architects and recreational design experts are sensitive to the impact of anything new, including parking, noise, safety and security, as are elected officials who will ultimately give final approval to such a project. In that light, I carry the flag of optimism and look forward to a similar result in the proud community of Hammond.