Wagen West 

In 1994 we cut loose from the Big Apple to explore living in more hospitable environs. Out West. I had family in Arizona. You know, where it's a "dry heat". Cars don't rust. 

Why should I make a point of rust free cars? In looking for a proper rust free AZ camper van I called on an ad in the Phoenix Arizona Republic. Turns out the seller visited AZ but lived in South Dakota. He was selling a 1993 VW Camper van, fully renovated, rust free, ready for a trip. Shiney red with a white top. We put a deposit on it and flew over to finalize the sale. Smooth as clockwork.

So, we spent the next six months toodling around; starting in Yankton, South Dakota [Yankton is a nice little town, but it's downwind of a cattle holding facility. Whew!], ending up in Phoenix. We lived in Scottsdale for 12 years until Michele's family and my profession brought us back to New Jersey in 2006.

The image is a copy of the postcard Michele cooked up to herald our trip to friends and family. Sweet, huh? It just turned up in a cleaning spree. [You know how the quarantine has made house cleaning a thing.]

We enjoyed driving and making home in that van. Even had a guest for Thanksgiving breakfast in a snowy Boulder, Colorado. Because of the cold nights — we did have a little heater in the vehicle though — we adopted the habit of wearing caps to bed. Now, I can't sleep without one. Heat escaping from the top of the head sort of thing.

One thing to make the trip interesting was keeping an eye to hippie type shops to get stickers. We put them on all over the side and back windows. Cool, man.

The van was also a conversation starter. In Cedar Rapids, Iowa we met a Native American family and were invited to spend the night at their home on the Res. In Santa Fe, New Mexico some kids asked if they could catch a ride with us to go to San Francisco for a Dead concert; it was all those Grateful Dead stickers I think. Another kid approached me and asked me if I wanted some "paper". "Paper", as in LSD, is my take on what he was peddling. Those stickers!

BTW who's old enough — and travelled enough — to get the Burma Shave reference? 

Your Body and Gravity

On Earth we have to deal with Gravity. Even so, Gravity is so constant and ever present we don't notice it. Just like the air we breathe. Or how the creatures of the sea relate to their own watery environment.

We also generally don't take notice of how our bodies are relating to it either. All that is taken for granted. But, the human body is just like any other structure. The same rules apply. Ignore at your own peril.

We live our lifetime in the field of Gravity. That's an obvious fact. How we are with it in the makeup of our bodies, that is something that mainly goes unrecognized. Underappreciated in terms of the implications.

It's easy to assume that standing on one's two feet is balance. Well, that's about keeping one's balance. There's another kind of balance, however. Balance in the body; the makeup of the body. Specifically, how the various segments of the body fit relative to one another; and, how they work together. How that all stacks up in respect to the dictates of Gravity.

You don't need to have balance in the body to scoot along on a skateboard, to walk a tightrope, to play golf. All that. But when you're in balance, doing those things and any other physical activity gives you more options. Full range of movement, economy of energy.

Imbalances in the makeup of the body show up as chronic pains, stress, lowered energy, limited performance. Yet, being out of sorts with the action of Gravity is not recognized as such.

We grow up incurring imbalances in the structural makeup of our bodies. This is the result of a combination of factors: accidents and traumas, bad habits, lack of proper instruction, modelling after significant others who may not be adequate examples of healthy structure themselves.

Here's a key point. Although we automatically get bigger and stronger as we mature, structure — that is, how the major segments of the body come to fit and work in relationship to one another — is learned. In this respect we are mainly self taught, trial and error.

Over time such imbalances become imbedded into the fabric of our flesh. We then live below our potentials, putting up with imbalances which largely go unnoticed as such since they developed gradually over time. We must work just to hold things together.

The body is plastic. It is able to adapt. At any age, whatever your life circumstances, you can easily learn to not only reverse imbalances, but also to cultivate a significantly improved arrangement in the makeup of your body. When the tensional forces throughout the body are in exquisite balance, it is called equipoise. Strong, effective, easily upright. Unstressed. Alive!
The definitive and peerless approach to balance the body with the gravitational field of the Earth is called Rolf Structural Integration. Rolf, after the originator, Dr. Ida P. Rolf.

The subject of the human body and its relationship to the pull of Gravity is at the heart of what Structural Integration is about. The major segments of the body are designed to stack up vertically, each segment level and symmetrical. Or, at least it should be.

We're all made of the same parts; yet, why so much variation? There's genetics, to be sure. But, in respect to how all those same parts come to fit together and work ... this is acquired over time. Most arrive at adulthood with a random mix of balance/imbalance attesting to our own personal histories growing up.

Of course, it's not all bad news. The average individual gets along well enough. But, insofar as those unresolved imbalances are concerned, we may not be aware that we live below our potentials and spend energy just to keep things together in a losing battle with the constant pull of Gravity.

Probably our first conscious encounter with how Gravity works was as children when we played at stacking blocks. Sooner or later, by trial and error we recognize that those blocks will line up one on top of the others if they are straight and even. If we graduate to irregular shapes, like stacking stones, then a third factor comes into play. Finding the center of balance. Symmetry, or the lack of it, is another category as well. Mind you, all this is what's known as preverbal learning. You get it simply by observation and doing. Just like we know things about water simply by drinking it, or swimming in it. 

So, let's look at the human body in terms of how it stacks up according to 1) its basic Anatomical design and 2) the laws of Physics.

The normal, healthy design of the human body calls for its major segments to be stacked up vertically, all level and even. Gravity dictates the same thing — "plumb and square" as designers and builders say — at least if you want to live well at the top of your game, without pains and stress.

While it is well known what is normal to the design of our bodies, just look at what is usual. Over time the vicissitudes of life leave their impressions as random imbalances in the makeup of the body. Further complicating this situation, an imbalance in one place automatically gets compensations in others. These inefficient patterns too easily get left unresolved. "That's just the way I am" you might say. Hence, we arrive at adulthood with a random mix of imbalances fixed into the fabric of our flesh. It happens gradually. We don't notice it.

Good news! The body is indeed plastic, it can change. It adapted to the condition you find yourself in right now. You can also learn to find a balanced stance.

The structural makeup of the human body is bound by a continuous three dimensional matrix of interrelationships mitigated by the connective tissue known as Fascia. This Fascial organ is continuous from head to toe, from skin down to bone. It runs through every muscle and organ down to the cellular level. You can imagine it like the intricate pulp element in an Orange and other citrus fruits.

The Fascial system is adaptive. Over time according to how we use — and misuse — our bodies, we show up eventually with a unique pattern of imbalances firmly anchored into our very flesh.

With skilled touch and informed guided movements a Rolf Technician takes an individual from living with a random set of imbalances [think restrictions, holding patterns, hang ups] to a stance which is more in keeping with the inherent Anatomical design and the realities of Physics on that arrangement; specifically, how the whole of it needs to operate under the constant pull of Gravity.

iLatte

Perhaps you remember that great consumer innovation ... iToast. 

It was recently added to the Internet of Things was this App that lets you order up whatever image you might choose to your breakfast toast.

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The Garden Party

Note to our readers: There's plenty of story here, but we need you to help with its continuation. If  you can make it to the cutoff point then you are invited to go to the comments section and add some plot point or narrative thread of your own. Promise we will pick it up and add it to the story. Or, you can just go to the comments and put something in there now. If, that is, you want to be that way!

Muffy and Biff nearly missed it. You know how they like to make such a big — literally — splashy entrance. Their shiny plane with the water pontoons skimming the mirror surface of the lake out back of the house and the roar of the engines as they slowly taxied to the dock.

This year's, as they call it, "shine up" of their trusty vintage air/sea ship threatened to be delayed, putting them past the scheduled party at our weekend place. Said "shine-up" involves stripping last year's clear lacquer finish, buffing the aluminum fuselage to a mirror finish, then reapplying a fresh coat of lacquer. More than once it was mistaken for an alien spaceship when it would catch the sunlight just so and appear like a blazing ball in the blue yonder.

Instead they came in on jet skis. What a game coupla people! Never disappoint. Always a surprise. The real kicker was they came in on those jet skis looking as fresh and turned out as if they just rolled off an ironing board.

We hear tell of their plans for next year's grand entrance. Hope they don't feel we've taken away some of their thunder. But, this is too good to not share:

Well, enough about them. But, they do have a knack for grabbing all the attention.

Daddy was there. Of course. Predictably drinking too much. Saying too much. [He would say the most outrageous things then make you feel bad when you took offense begging off that he was only joking.] Then snoozing off in the library tucked nice and cozy by whichever "lady friend" he brought along to give Mummy yet another little zinger. Daddy always had the eye for the ladies. Mummy is a beauty. They separated rather not amicably when his eye led him astray. More than once. Lots of suspicions. Then, finally found out; enough, she said. They never divorced. Catholic, you know. But, that hasn't stopped the Old Man from playing the field. He's an Ad Biggie on Mad Ave; the selection is ripe.

Mum is not quite the saint either. Just doesn't flaunt it. Well she in fact must've. Given that her current beau is her latest Gynecologist. He had the kind of boyish good looks that guaranteed his waiting room was always standing room only. They make a lovely couple. Saves on doctor bills she would amusingly quip.

Oh, who else?

Uncle Reggie. Rich Reggie we call him. Well, not to his face. It's "Dearest Uncle" in person. He is rich after all. Doesn't hurt to play your cards right. You know?

Rich Uncle Reggie. Might as well be the model for the coinage "Made of Money". Rich rather poorly describes his financial status. Let's just put it this way, he was the 1% of the 1%. And, truth be told, 1% of that!

He wore bling before there was "bling". He was the original Shiznit, before . . . He had his exclusive aftershave custom ordered from Penhaligon's London. He would never say whether in fact it was so, but it is said his aphrodisiacal scent was composed of the essence expressed from crisp new $1,000 USA gold standard notes. Got that? Gold standard! If it is true, then you know the secret of how money attracts money. 

And, the ladies. On the town most evenings Uncle could reliably be seen with at least two top show girls in tow. Or, some newly arrived starlet, or two. Once, again unconfirmed as to its veracity, the story is he escorted the entire cast of the Rockettes to a lavish champagne drenched feast. Breakfast the next morning on his private yacht, circling Manhattan at daybreak. Whether anyone got any sleep; well, that's something we can only wonder about. Reggie was The Man, you know. It wasn't just the moolah, hoolah. He had the kavorka, for sure. All the girls went home with diamonds and minks. It sounds like rather tall a tale; but if you knew Reggie, it wasn't at all something far from the usual.

In the day he was backgammon buddies with Nubar Sarkis Gulbenkian and Prince Ali Solomone Aga Khan. As he said, "Hobnobbing with the Euro Trash keeps me humble." It was quite the scandal when he tried to steal Rita Hayworth away from the Prince. That's just one of many stories; and maybe not even the best one.

We could go on and on about the who's who at our little gatherings.

We won't reveal it, just that his name rhymes with Ralph Low Wren; he can be counted on to show up in his growling vintage Gar Wood speedboat wearing that typical rumpled captain's hat showing all those years of wear, and accompanied by a troupe of young, really good looking Waspy types dressed to the hilt to uber preppiness.

Yo, Ralph! What brings you here? Slumming? We like to kid him. Really razz the guy about how he started low on the fashion totem pole, and all.

Maybe to bring a little leavening to such over the top descriptions, let us mention our Polish friend “Speedy”.  Shown here “at speed” lazily drifting into a hazardous hairpin mountainside turn during the demanding Grand Prix de Monaco of 1956. He drove for the Cyclops factory racing team as their top driver, campaigning for many successful seasons on the glamorous European Circuit.

Off track he was a gambling man. Baccarat was his game, but he was quick (“Speedy”) to place a bet whenever, and wherever, there was some action. He once bet Donald Trump, daring The Donald to go out in public with a squirrel pelt on his head. Speedy lost that bet, but Mr. Trump liked the results so much he made it a trademark look.

He is alive today and living his golden years in the ancestral villa on Lake Como during the winter months, enjoying watching the lovelies cavorting at George Clooney’s place down the hill a bit. Spending his days at backgammon with his entourage of gorgeous live-in “nannies”. Life for our Speedy is an unending flow of champagne, spicy Cuban cheroots, and foot massages. At least that’s what we’ve heard.

But, enough of all that. Yes, the annual summer soiree always is guaranteed to be a big draw. Plenty of celebs and their ahem "indispensable" staffers, posse, and hangers on. Political potentates, icons, and wannabe's. Wall street types with their brightly colored shirts and overly large custom white collars and suspenders sporting outrageous bold graphics. Movers and shakers from all corners of society; well, certainly from the most interesting corners. Even some what most would call unsavory types. But, mind you, big league unsavory types. Well, maybe a few street level operators too.

They don't call us the Nick and Nora Charles of the 21st Century for nothing. [And, yes, that's Ivanka.]

So one might ask, who the heck ARE you people, anyway? Well let's just say in a nutshell the only thing we really have to worry about is the sun bleaching our wicker garden furniture. Money. Oh, that old thing. We never handle it. Or, talk about it. Subject closed. Heck, we have our summer weekend digs on a private lake with a long, long drive to get there from the road. [Maybe that's why Muffy and Biff prefer a water entrance. Cars can be such a bore. And, besides, getting good help these days is a challenge.]

Speaking of cars, we just adore them. Rare vintage types mostly. Take the Jaguar XK120 Fixed Head Coupe with disk wheels and "spats" [rear fender skirts].

Such fun to drive. But, alas, one has to drive that two seater oneself. Can become rather tedious when running errands in town. For such like that we mostly send a car in and staff does the shopping. Here's the go to market car.

My husband could go on forever showing off his stable of shiny collector cars. But, hey, this is about the party after all ...

Just a little addendum. The party — as usual — had been a perfect success. Not much drama or fuss. Unless you want to hear about the caterer — her name rhymes with Martha Stubert — and how she drank a little too much and pretended she was a guest. Help today! 

So here we are, at the previously mentioned cutoff point. Inviting you dear reader to add something to the comments section so we can get a little creative in the process. 

So, now, go and add something of your own. Let's have a laff, ducky. Shall we?

Here's an example of how some very unexpected things can happen at our annual event. What with so many attendees, and from so many backgrounds [and so many egos] once we had someone throw down an outrageous challenge. A Rolfer friend of ours went on enthusiastically about his skill at balancing the body with the gravitational field of the earth.

Something about how since the body is plastic it can change, and it's makeup is a continuous matrix of interrelationships mitigated by the connective tissue known as fascia. This fascial organ is adaptive and over time according to how we use — and misuse — our bodies, we show up eventually with a unique pattern of imbalances firmly anchored in our very flesh. Since said fascia is adaptive, it can change. Remember, the body is plastic. With skilled touch and informed guided movements the Rolfer takes an individual from living with a random set of imbalances [think restrictions, holding patterns, hang ups] to a stance which is more in keeping with inherent Anatomical design and the realities of Physics on that arrangement; specifically, how the whole of it needs to operate under the constant pull of Gravity.

Just to put that in a nutshell, that means everything stacked up nicely, all even and level. You probably will remember this important life fact from when you were a toddler stacking blocks. Or, as architects and those in the building trades know it: plumb and square.

Okay. We could go on all day about all this body balance business. 

Back to the party.

So naturally with such an intelligent crowd that led to a heated debate on the question of "Nature versus Nurture". It's a tough nut to crack. Especially these days with everything seemingly chalked up to that guaranteed conversation stopper, "I was born that way". 

In any event our wise friend Scott [his last name rhymes with "Go Hither"] suggested we get all scientific with this topic of discussion. As he reliably can be expected to have, his van was fully equipped with only the very latest technological wizardry. Long story short, in no time at all he managed to swab each and every partygoer for his state of the art genetic DNA analyzer cum balance assessor. Instantaneous results. Talk about party favors. Thank you, Scott!

Some pretty interesting results. A few surprises. Big ones.

You know how in society at any given time some are up and some are down. But, in terms of background the underpinning of things can be quite the contrary. Who said it, there's no fortune without some criminality. Well that's more of an historical issue, which isn't what all that testing was about anyway. But, it is relevant in terms of how the supposedly best among us may have some dark matter hidden in all our professed superlative illuminated wonderfulness.

The biggest revelation was how one of our illustrious guests [whose name rhymes with Ronald Stromp] turns out he has a good dose of Neanderthal genetics coursing through his veins. Who'd've thought. No wonder he's such an A-type ape. Yet, as it turns out, that's just enough of what a lot of people think is needed. Less talk, and more action, as they say. But with that guy, not only is there action, but a lot of talk as well. As they also say, if you teach a cave man to fish, you never know what he's got up his sleeve. Or, what he'll say. All the more surprising since his dainty hands give no indication of his knuckle dragger underpinnings.

And, there's more doings and goings-on to tell ...

Cherry Blossoms Ink and Paper

Cherry Blossoms Ink and Paper

 

At the Brooklyn Botanic Garden on the Cherry Tree Esplanade each springtime the spectacular cherry trees are blooming, with an extravagant display of double pink blossoms.

During the last week in April every year since 1982 the Japanese Cherry Blossom Festival, “Sakura Matsuri” is celebrated.

When I attended the very first festival there were several Japanese cultural exhibits. At one there was a venerable Buddhist monk executing calligraphy. Impeccably dressed in traditional robes. He worked at ground level with an ink brush over a sheet of paper on his hands and knees. The fine rice paper sheet measured something like 36 X 48 inches. He would ask every person requesting his calligraphy for their name, which he inserted into each unique drawing. A donation was appropriate. I wanted one for myself, but didn't have any cash. So I hurried back home a short walk away in Park Slope and arrived back with my donation.

 
As I waited my place in line, the Monk had dipped his brush in ink and was approaching a blank sheet of paper laid flat on the ground. A big blob of the black ink accidentally dripped from the brush and made a spot on the pristine white paper. That sheet was about to be discarded, but I stepped forward and said that I would take that one, just as it was.

When he heard my request the old monk stood up straight and sang a beautiful song in Japanese. Then I gave my name and this is what he brushed for me. Notice the equipoise, flowing brush strokes and precise alignment.

Keep in mind ... on his hands and knees.

And, that ink spot.

" Seasons change.

Flowers bloom.

People come and go."

After all that a beautiful older woman gently folded the paper, wrapping it loosely in an even finer blank sheet of rice paper. I took it as an invitation of some kind. I never was able to find that monk, or that group of Buddhists. Another lesson in impermanence. And, Zen.

I used that fine blank paper to wrap a wedding gift for friends. It looked pretty casual for gift wrapping, but the richness of it was there. Not everything can be seen with the eyes.

Later on in the park I came across some friends. They asked me what I had there. Still filled with the Zen spirit, I replied, "Just some ink on paper".

Voice from the Future

"Remembering back to the time when people needed conveyances to get around. Horses, horse drawn carriages. Automobiles; the ones you drove, not unlike holding the reins of a team of horses. 

"Then autos that drove you. Wow! That was a time. It took a while to sort that out. Let's just say, a few too many glitches. Of course, there were airplanes, boats, buses, street cars, trolleys and trams.

"Well, thank God that is all behind us now."

I wish I could have more to report. The communication ended right there. No details. It does make you wonder what might be in our future. It might be that in whatever, or however humans will be getting around in the future could not be described in terms we would comprehend in this the early 21st Century. Notice even my speaking betrays a bias for having a conveyance; something to get around "in". 

iLatte

iLatte

It all started innocently enough. A fanciful heart design on the cap of your latte. How charming. Cafe Barista gets an extra kudo. Wondering who was the first to do that!?

But, now ... Yikes!

You name it. And, all in the comfort of your own home!

Your very own iLatte machine makes an image for you, just the way you want it. In whatever design you may fancy. And ... at home.

Choose from hundreds of standard designs, images, and slogans. There's even a plugin which enables you to make your own. If you have the latest Internet Interface Implant — Haven't you heard? With the I.I.I. all's you do is THINK IT and it gets uploaded to the Cloud to link with any number of devices. Aye yi yi,! Huh? Indeed. — your custom cappe is literally a blink away. On that Brave New World subject read the piece on Gatekeeper. Now rebranded as Internet Interface Implant.  

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Especially winning for when you have your hot date up for a night "cap" of — wink, wink — Coffee. All's you gotta do is send the right message. 

When it's on a cap of Cappuccino, it's especially winning. Imbibe responsibly. You could be up all night. 

When you two [or, three] lovers awaken [late ... or, is that latte] here's something that'll be sure to keep them comin' back for more. 

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