On A Wish And A Prayer

I spent the last week in upper New York and Manhattan. What a truly wonderful place to be for many reasons! I did so many things, went to countless places and loved every minute of it, but one special experience stands out above all the rest.

I'd walked into the Guggenheim Museum, late afternoon. There is a small fountain in the generic, contemporary shape of a fish, and as I am always wont to do, I stopped there to toss in pennies and make a wish for myself and two people who were not with me in person, but are always with me in spirit. 

As I was standing there, taking my time and giving careful consideration and thought to my purpose, I could feel that I was being watched, and after tossing in the last penny, I looked to my side and there were three lovely young girls of Asian origin; I'd venture an educated guess at Korean, who were watching me very intently. I knew they were trying to ascertain the scene before them, staring in fascination while trying not to be invasive.

I smiled widely at them to let them know they were welcome to communicate, if they wanted to.

One of them stepped forward bravely as the other two watched with wide eyes and shy smiles. She pointed toward the fountain and asked in her soft, broken English,

"What is it?". I knew she meant, 'What are you doing? What is the purpose of this custom?'

I explained, "I'm making a wish. I throw in the penny and make a wish that I would like to see come true." The young ladies stared silently and I knew the word 'wish' did not register with them. There was another way to explain.

"It is a hope, a prayer.  To hope for something; a job, health, love, luck, anything you want. A prayer for these things."  At this explanation of 'prayer', all the light bulbs above their heads flashed on and they became delighted that they understood it finally... a simple and universal concept... a sacrifice for a prayer or hope... pennies for wishes.

They got it.  They were very happy.

I reached into my pocket and pulled out two dimes and a nickel and handed them each a coin and gestured to the fountain. They went through a quick array of emotion; surprise, honor and humbleness, thankfulness, and then it gave way to serious contemplative prayer. Amidst bowing lowly, smiling and thanking me, they lined up shoulder to shoulder, all three folded their hands; coins in palm, prayed earnestly and one by one opened their eyes and tossed their coins into the fountain.

I watched with absolute pleasure. It brings me such happiness to create bonds with people, to teach and learn, to share joys and break down barriers and this was a very special one. The language challenge was gone. The opportunity to share with each other created a memorable experience for all, and it was serenely sweet to watch them all partake in this simple, heartfelt custom that they knew in a different way.

They turned to me, bowing, grinning, giddy with delight and I offered to use their camera to take a photo of them in front of the fountain, but they all three said no, they wanted a photo of me with them and I complied. We got an image of the four of us together, and I had them make one with my camera, and then they all hugged me tightly and went on their way.

What a truly wonderful blessing to be able to trade a few coins for this priceless memory. It was the best part of the trip.

Letters To The North Pole

 Dear Santa,

In an effort to be more ecologically mindful this year, could you please trade out the coal for a renewable energy source; preferably sunshine.

Thank you!

Merry Christmas!
Love, Scarlett

Zombie Apocalypse Plan ~ Centers For Disease Control & Prevention

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has created a Zombie Apocalypse Plan. It's fairly well thought out and presented. It's important to be prepared for just about anything. Zombie Apocalypse preparedness is just another step in ensuring the safety and survival of the living in the event that the Mayans were off on their calendar and the Zombies rise to eat all of our brains.
If nothing else, it is a good laugh, and laughter is the best medicine. Thank you, CDC, for looking out for the well being of all, in many ways.

The Unemployed Philosophers Guild

Viaggiatore and I wandered across a delightful new site and must share it with you; it's that good. I don't like to think of any philosopher being unemployed, but this group has made the most of it, that's certain!

Welcome to The Unemployed Philosophers Guild!

This is where you will find such fantastical fancies as:

Atonemints... for each of your sins - You could ask forgiveness with fresh breath, which won't hurt...  

Relativity of Time Watch  -  The numbers on this watch actually rotate with each passing second, making 3:00 into 9:00 in 30 seconds.

Alice's Enchantmints - Fresh breath for the Curiouser and Curiouser! 

 

Inspired by Leonardo's notebooks, this watch tells time backwards. The numbers are backwards. Everything is backwards. Look at in a mirror and it looks like a normal (but beautiful) watch.

Mug Shots - 6 arresting shotglasses! Includes Al Capone, John Dillinger, Bugsy Siegel, Lucky Luciano, Machine Gun Kelly, and Pretty Boy Floyd.

"Super Strong Manly peppermints. Let the world see and smell you for who you are."

One of their best products, in my humble opinion: 

Freudian Slippers! 

"Now you can really put your foot in it! Walk in the masters footsteps with our Freudian Slippers!"

There are so many clever, fun things to enjoy at this site.  I do love the mugs; most of them have disappearing and reappearing features when a hot beverage is poured into them, some of the best are:

The Cheshire Cat mug... the cat appears and disappears
The Global Warming mug... the continents disappear
The Civil Liberties mug... the civil rights disappear
Dr. Who's disappearing Tardis mug
The Freudian Sips mug
The Dorothy Parker martini glass "...'I like to have a Martini, two at the very most; three, I'm under the table, four I'm under my host!' So quipped Dorothy Parker."

I bought the Shakespearean Love mug, of course, as I am a hopeless romantic and I adore Shakespeare.
If love isn't your thing, there's a Shakespearean Insults mug which is very fun!

The best thing on my SLove mug is a little notation printed on the bottom that states, "For best results, use other side." Such clever mirth!

There are T-shirts, notepads, a large variety of mints, time pieces, finger puppets, energy bars, pill boxes... and so many other fun things for the keen thinker who has everything.

If you like politics, art, history, impressionism, science, philosophers, music, religion, literature or the renaissance, you will find yourself laughing at so much of what these Unemployed Philosophers offer.

Have a fabulous time visiting them.

It's The Great Pumpkin!

Mid October a few years ago, I found myself feeling inspired and crafty and standing in the aisle at the supermarket, paging through a holiday magazine looking at those fancy schmancy pumpkins that are carved into amazing Jack O'Lanterns.

I decided that it didn't look that difficult and that I ought to make one. The timing was good, a couple of weeks before Halloween. It would last, I thought. This couldn't be that difficult, I was certain.

I bought a good size pumpkin, parked myself on a large towel on the garage floor on a sunny afternoon with the garage door open and the radio on and went to work. Cleaned it out, carved the lid, and then prepared to make my image.

I pulled out a Peanuts color book and found a great image of Snoopy that would be perfect on a pumpkin.  Snoopy is requisite Halloween subject matter, considering The Great Pumpkin.  I taped it to the pumpkin, took a toothpick and poked dots all along the lines that needed to be carved out; sort of a 'carve along the dotted line' idea.  Dotting done, I removed the color book page and set to work with my special pumpkin carving knife.

At first, things seemed to be going well and I was fairly pleased with the results... but then I overestimated the carve and tried to fix it with extra toothpicks pushed into the inside side of the pumpkin and superglue.  A word to the wise... superglue does not work on pumpkins.  It does, however, work very well on fingers, paper towels, cloth towels and plastic carving knives.  

In the end, I was relegated to carving my usual simple Jack O'Lantern face into a new pumpkin. 

I'll leave the fancy carving to the pros!
  

Have a Happy Halloween!

 

One for Viaggiatore



 

A Snoopy for me

 



Choose An Identity

I was leaving a comment on a friend's blog yesterday, when I paused for a moment to look at the phrase, 'Choose an identity' under the comment box.  I could use my blog pseudonym, OpenID, a name/url or be annonymous.  Choose an identity.  Decide who it is that I wish to portray myself as to the world at large.  It made me smile and wonder about all the identities I would choose, if given the opportunity to do so.

I would choose to be so many people.

A secret spy with no identity at all; 00Charlie's Angels

A right hand to Martin Luther King Jr., marching alongside him

An adventuring archaeologist (ala Lara Croft)

A nameless member of the Peace Corps serving 3rd world countries

An ingenious inventor in a secret lab, creating brilliant wonders that would change the future of the world for the better (ala Tesla, Einstein, Franklin, Edison, DaVinci)

An elementary school teacher

A professional dancer (ballet/ballroom)

Sherlock Holmes

A student of DaVinci; while he was living

A race car driver

An Air Force fighter pilot

A painter who lives by the sea and sells my art on the docks, and/or in Paris, in Montmartre, selling paintings on the sidewalk

A photojournalist who travels the world and creates images of humanity and culture, printed in Natl Geo, Life and Time, whose photos give the world a reason to change the way we all live

A novelist who has the luxury of writing for a living; while living all over the world

...oh the list could go on for a while. 

Who would you be, if you could choose an identity?

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

Relax~Revitalize~Renew ~101

Viaggiatore and I are ready for the road again.  Nevermind that we just got back from another trip to London; there is a very special trip coming soon... one that we've been looking forward to for a very long time.

This will be the one that truly counts, for the whole year.  This will be the one during which we can relax and let the world go away, revitalize our souls and our bodies, and renew all those things about life that we love, live for, and believe in.  We'll find new things, too, which will only enrich the experience.  Oh the adventures to be had!

Mr. Black has agreed to join us on this excursion as well, so the company will be very good, indeed.  There's much to be said for good company on adventures to be had.  We'll visit friends and family, make new friends along the way, and see so many countless wonderful things and places. 

Here's some preliminary Introspect:

One Night With The King

Maybe it's luck. 

Maybe it's charm, grace, or an Egyptian blessing from the boy king himself.

Tonight will find me photographing the King Tut gala and exhibit opening at the Denver Art Museum.

I am nothing short of ecstatic about this opportunity.

The board presenting this gala have decided to call it "Flappers and Pharaohs Bash" and tie in a roaring twenties theme complete with flappers, gangsters and Tommy guns galore to coincide with Harold Carter's 1922 discovery of King Tut's tomb. 

I can't really see the connection between a rough and tumble dangerous party era and one of the most fascinating and mysterious ancient kings in the history of mankind... but it's going to be a lot of fun!

What do you think... Flappers and Pharaohs? Do these images show any resemblance to each other?

Think Al Capone knew how to walk like an Egyptian?

The chance to photograph King Tutankhamen's artifacts and listen to Dr. Zahi Hawass, Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, speak about him, will be one of those special life experiences that I never forget.  The fact that they're letting me photograph it is one of the great highlights of the night for me.  One night with the King. I can hardly wait!

Let's Do It ~ Let's Fall In Love!

Birds do it, bees do it

Even educated fleas do it

Let's do it, let's fall in love

In Spain, the best upper sets do it

Lithuanians and Letts do it

Let's do it, let's fall in love

 

The Dutch in old Amsterdam do it

Not to mention the Fins

Folks in Siam do it - think of Siamese twins

Some Argentines, without means, do it

People say in Boston even beans do it

Let's do it, let's fall in love

Romantic sponges, they say, do it

Oysters down in oyster bay do it

Let's do it, let's fall in love

Cold Cape Cod clams,
'gainst their wish, do it

Even lazy jellyfish, do it

Let's do it, let's fall in love

The Dragonflies in the reeds do it

Sentimental centipedes do it

Let's do it, let's fall in love

Mosquitos, heaven forbid, do it

So does every katydid do it

Let's do it, let's fall in love

The most refined lady bugs do it,

When a gentleman calls

Moths in your rugs do it

What's the use of moth balls? 

Electric eels I might add do it

Though it shocks em I know

Why ask if shad do it - Waiter bring me "shad roe"

  

In shallow shoals English soles do it

Goldfish in the privacy of bowls do it

Let's do it, let's fall in love

In old Japan, all the Japs do it

Up in Lapland little Laps do it

Let's do it, let's fall in love

The chimpanzees in zoos do it

Some courageous kangaroos do it

Let's do it, let's fall in love

I'm sure giraffes on the sly do it

Even eagles as they fly do it

Let's do it, let's fall in love

The world admits

bears in pits do it

Even Pekingeses at the Ritz do it 

Let's do it, let's fall in love

Let's do it, let's fall in love!

Let's do it... Let's fall in love!