Author: Admin

Famous by Naomi Shihab Nye

The river is famous to the fish.   The loud voice is famous to silence,  which knew it would inherit the earth before anybody said so.   The cat sleeping on the fence is famous to the birds  watching him from the birdhouse.   The tear is famous, briefly, to the cheek.   The idea you carry close to your bosom is famous to your bosom.   The boot is famous to the earth, more famous than the dress shoe,  which is famous only to floors.   The bent photograph is famous to the one who carries it  and not at all famous to the one who is pictured.   I want to be famous to shuffling men who smile while crossing streets,  sticky children in grocery lines,  famous as the one who smiled back.   I want to be famous in the way a pulley is famous,  or a buttonhole, not because it did anything spectacular,  but because it never forgot what it could do.

Naomi Shihab Nye wrote this poem in 1952. A time when ‘the famous’ were in the newspaper, encyclopedias and on radio and television.

By the time I was 8 years old in 1957, I was aware of ‘the famous’ from Walt Disney to George Washington. (Thanks to Shirley Temple or they would have all been males)

Upon reaching my teens, ‘the famous’ for me spread to Fidel Castro, The Beatles and John F. Kennedy.

In my early adult years, ‘the famous’ artists, photographers, writers and film directors took center stage and has remained a constant.

Now, only ten days from turning 70, I can appreciate discovering this poem. Thanks to a daily habit of scanning the New York Times.

I’ve painted, photographed, self-published a memoir and some YouTube videos.

However, this poem helped me ground myself in the smile exchange with passing strangers on my daily walks.

Famous…re-defined….thank you Naomi Shihab Nye

Yesterday was what is called Institutional Flex Day at Santa Monica College. The campus is closed to students because campus administrators, faculty and classified staff spend the day together.

Dr. Jeffery, our college president, spoke on equity and seemed near tears when speaking about hate crimes. Nate Donahue, our academic senate president, spoke on LBGTQ+ issues passionately.

I stood behind our Faculty Association table proudly thinking… I’m connected with both of these campus leaders, AND a multitude of people at SMC. Truly blessed with many as friends and colleagues.

All day long I smiled, waved, shook hands with these fine colleagues….and touched shoulders and hugged affectionately my closest friends.

It’s 5:57am the day after as I write this blog. Fighting back tears as I reflect on an incredible part of my life I never want to take for granted.

I enthusiastically started the new year with the goal of writing everyday. To my credit, I try to blog often but somedays feel a need for privacy so I slip into journalling.

A shout out to my son Chris. On one of our Sunday talks on the phone he said he checked my blog regularly and encouraged me to keep it up. A loving hug from LA to Southgate, MI to you Chris. Thoughts of you as a small boy give my great joy. See you in April:)

Planning to apply for a sabbatical. One the wonderful aspects of being a tenured professor is to be able to take a semester off for a project. If accepted, I’ll be off for the Spring 2020 semester. The project will probably be writing about the emotional rollercoaster ride serving students with disabilities at the community college level. The proposal has to show that the project you plan to accomplish takes up about as much time one would have worked during a typical semester.

Tomorrow evening is the fourth monthly meeting of our UU Church project called, “A Year to Live” that I attend. Think about that…what would you do if you were told you had only a year to live?

Talk about lifestyle changes! Or would you, could you go on pretty much doing what you’re presently doing?

What would you do?

I’ll try writing a bit about my thoughts, feel free to share yours.

Opened Apple News on my IPad this morning, one of 4 news apps I use every day, I was attracted to this article below.

I checked NY and LA Times, not headlines but I could find coverage.

Ok, if I could predict the future, I’d prefer to use it to win the lottery, BUT here’s a prediction related to this article.

Trump meets North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un on March 2nd in Vietnam for nuclear weapons talk. Next, the article about North Korea rebuilding long-range rocket site.

Wait for it… photos confirming surface for next few days…Trump will escalate the situation with bravado tweets and speeches….the public will be led to believe we are in extreme danger of the threat to our security….Trump will save the day by going to Kim Jong-un and bullying him to stop this rebuilding!

I guess we’ll have to wait a week or so to see how well this prediction goes…

Meanwhile, I checked the Fox News thinking long-range rockets would be all over their news site. No… apparently other news networks were doing just fine.

Fox was too busy vilifying these two Congress members.

Sorry, this blog is getting off track…I promise to return to my lifestyle change theme soon.

Let me quickly mention, I have continued to remain martini-free for 5 months now…and…feel GREAT!

If you can’t happily change a routine…. your routines win and you make yourself unnecessarily anxious.

In past posts I’ve displayed my love of slow deliberate morning rituals. Reading the news, making meals for the day, exercise and leisurely walk to work. (Changed to showering before bed)

Today, a couple of modifications but remained a pleasant morning. First, our Faculty union is feeding us lunch. So I made the breakfast you see below to eat at my desk.

Second, Ellie and I started walking together to school/college. We chat all the way to 20th st where we part ways and she heads up another quarter mile to school.

We do this every other day so I still listen to my latest Audible book on days in between.

A wonderful modification if I do say so myself:)

With retirement just 5 years away, discussions about a change in where and how we live often arise.

Ellie will be going to college. JoAn and I will be able to move almost anywhere.

We think the tiny house movement is interesting…BUT…JoAn and I love being together with the ever present option of separating for periods of time.

I’m convinced couples thrust together with no place to retreat is troublesome if not disastrous.

So, note to self… make sure the new dwelling has amble room to be together & separate.

CNN headlines like “Ex-Trump aide: Hard to defend something stupid”, Fox News “Texas dad spins gun with finger at daughter’s birthday, accidentally shoots self in stomach”, Slate News “My Boyfriend Is, Uh, Huge, How can I make this work … physically?”, or the LA Times “These grandparents sold gay porn for decades and almost went to prison. Now, they are calling it quits”.

I’m not making these up. The first news I scan every morning comes from Apple News since I’m using an iPad.

Seriously, plenty of tragic stories, boring stories, stupid stories BUT a wonderful source of laughs and ideas.

Today’s idea comes from an article in the LA Times (my second choice for news, then comes the NY Times, followed by Fox News-think broad scope:)

The headline read, “At L.A.’s only cookbook shop, a former fine-dining chef draws chefs, home cooks and crowds”.

Now, keep this quiet please, the idea I type out on my phone…Look into renting space in Santa Monica after arranging partnership with Amazon Books and Starbucks! Brilliant, right?

Amazon and Starbucks have been leaving mom & pop enterprises and small business trampled in the wake of their disruptive business models. Amazon has changed forever how we shop and Starbucks has rented every other corner establishment in every popular city.

Anyways, a typical morning for me. Reading online for fun and ideas. Next up for the morning, exercise and cooking my breakfast and lunch to take to work:) Cheers!

Our leased Chrysler Pacifica ended up in the shop for an extended period of time (three weeks) and the loaner is a Jeep Renegade…with SiriusXM

I’m happy to report I still drive very little but since I discovered Channel 32 – The Bridge, I’ve been revisiting my past in a surreal musical…trance!

It’s been 30 years since I heard “Madman Across the Water” by Sir Elton, “Dreamweaver” by Gary Wright, tunes by Bread, America, Steely Dan…waves of memories are going to cause me a friggin accident!!!

Music is so powerful and my memories….well….emotional…turning my present days upside down/inside out. I peak one moment and dive the next.

Can’t wait to get my quiet minivan back…

Santa Monicans for Renter’s Rights (SMRR) formed in the 1970’s and on April 10, 1979 won passage of the strongest rent control law in the country and elected two persons to the Santa Monica City Council. I’ve been a member for over 10 years.

A lifestyle change I made a few years ago was to cut back drastically on civil engagement and basically thumbed my nose to countless meetings from various entities.

The wife of a former mayor and veteran city council member said to me afterward, “reculer pour mieux sauter” with a smile. It was explained that in french that phrase means you take a step backward in order to leap farther forward. After mulling that over for a long time, I realize the ‘gift’ that statement was to me.

I slowly started to attend a meeting here and there. Yesterday I attended their monthly steering committee meeting. (I once ran for a position on this committee and lost by one vote).

My attendance in the past had been to sit on the outer circle of chairs reserved for interested SMRR members and commented during the Santa Monica College report. Since I was the political director of the Faculty Association, I often challenged their opinions and statements which didn’t sit well with some of the leaders present.

In an effort to try to prove my overall committment to this powerful, yet polarizing organization, I volunteered on their hotline for about 5 years (a moving experience too complicated to write about here). But I quit when I ‘reculer pour mieux sauter‘.

Though I once looked around the room at these meetings and bit my tough and couldn’t wait for the end (sometimes 4 hours long on a Saturday morning). Yesterday I looked around the room and realized I was in the presence of some of the smartest people in Santa Monica (and the bar is high folks).

Reculer pour mieux sauter, go figure…

Met with a student and his mother yesterday for an intake evaluation. Students with disabilities at SMC first visit with specialized counselors, if an accommodation may be required of a technical nature, the students are sent to the High Tech Training Center. I’m a full-time faculty member assigned to help students. When a student is accompanied by a parent, it’s often due to communication issues. In this meeting it was obvious the student felt forced to be there and was disrespectful to his mother.

I tried to engage with the student but couldn’t even establish eye contact. A depressed young man/child with a supportive and disrespected mother.

I was able to accommodate the student with software to hear his books and due to economic issues, loaned the student a surface pro. The only time the student came close to me was to sign the loan contract.

I was left feeling helpless…

Depression, autism, mental illness…part of life that at least I’ve evolved enough to engage and not look away. But, engagement and a feeling of helplessness often go hand in hand.

I hope to blog soon describing a similar scenario…where I feel helpful.