ahimsaland

Democracy with a Vengeance

2011-10-10T09:00:00.000-07:00

A few years ago I was traveling by bicycle through Yugoslavia.

There was some commotion going on. Riots, shootings, confusion and my friends in Italy had warned me not to travel through at that time, but I wanted to get to Greece and that was the best way to do it.

Since I had lost my maps as usual-- early one morning I found myself in the town where the most intense troubles had been--and were still happening.

My bike had broken down and I needed a repair shop and found one in the center of the town where the riots had been held the day before.

I arrived before the shop opened (it never did open that day) and some neighborhood kids demonstrated for me the events of the previous evening with sound effects and action. Must have been pretty exciting for kids.

When someone who knew about bicycles had arrived he invited me to his garage to fix my bike and I went along. He soon had a small group of friends collected and someone who spoke English arrived.

Of course they thought I was an American spy and so they told me that they were VERY interested in democracy.

"We want to have a democracy like you have in America!" Their spokesman said.

"It seems to work for us." I said.

"Yes. We of the (whatever it was) race and religion are the majority of the residents in this town and so after this revolution (or whatever it was) we are going to have a democratic government and the first thing we are going to do is have an election. We will vote about who lives in this town and since we are the majority we will decide that the minority must leave town. And if they don't we will kill them."

Democracy with a vengeance.

...

2011-07-10T07:36:00.000-07:00

Here's something different:

Some of you readers of this blog live very far away and I thought it would be interesting to make a four-panel decorative drawing available to you--a cooperatively-made poster for your apartment wall perhaps. Something you could print out for yourself in color.

Part of this idea is just to see if it could--or would--be done by someone--anyone--since this blog is not seen or read by vast numbers of people!

To make it a little bit mysterious and to build a bit of suspense, I thought it would be fun to send the four-panel picture one quarter at a time on four consecutive Fridays--starting today with the top left panel and continuing next Friday with the top right panel and so forth.

I have drawn the panels on standard 8 and a half by 11 inch copy paper with color pencils.

YOU could print them out on your color copier on the same size paper, and voila--we would have an instantly mass produced wall decoration!

Here is today's installment:

Let me know how it goes.

Best wishes, Tomasito.

Hi.

If you scroll back to my post on June 17, number 24 of this current series you will read that I plan to transmit by Internet a four-part poster--that is, ONE poster with FOUR sections.

Last Friday I posted the top left-hand section. Today I will post the top right-hand section.

In the next two Fridays, I will post the bottom two sections. YOU print 'em out in glorious color and we will have cooperatively posted and printed a cool "work of art". Right?

Got it?

Here is this week's installment:

I wonder how this is going to look? Don't you?

Tomasito

Cooperative Poster-- Bottom Left Quarter.

Hello.

Here is the next installment of our "cooperative poster".

Only one more to go! See you next week.

Tomas

...

2011-07-10T07:35:00.001-07:00

Hi.

If you scroll back to my post on June 17, number 24 of this current series you will read that I plan to transmit by Internet a four-part poster--that is, ONE poster with FOUR sections.

Last Friday I posted the top left-hand section. Today I will post the top right-hand section.

In the next two Fridays, I will post the bottom two sections. YOU print 'em out in glorious color and we will have cooperatively posted and printed a cool "work of art". Right?

Got it?

Here is this week's installment:

I wonder how this is going to look? Don't you?

Tomasito

July 4, 2011

2011-07-05T17:07:00.000-07:00

Redding, CA. (Tomasito photo)

Happy Birthday, USA!

I wonder about this country on this Fourth of July.

We bought a cheap package of hot dogs and some squishy soft buns which I like to eat with brown mustard. We are mostly vegetarians now but the taste of hot dogs is a once-a-year treat which I really enjoy--they taste just like I remember and all the kid memories come flooding back--and wasn't it all fun?!

Now, I wonder about this country.

Happy?

I guess I don't know much about my fellow Americans any more.

I even dreamed I was back in the navy last night--riding in a bus with a bunch of young sailors in work dungarees--just like in the days of my youth--but I wasn't young any more. I was just back in the navy from some administrative fluke. We were stationed somewhere in California guarding some mothballed ships.

One of the men in my dream, a tall, husky chap with teen-age zits, was talking about "War Number Two"--which I realized was not the big one of my childhood--but the one in Afghanistan, "I guess that is how they talk about it now." I thought in my dream. "I better pay attention since I should know how to talk war with my fellow Americans now I am in the navy again."

The odd part of this dream is that I was NOT a war-time sailor. I was a navy man in the few short years when this country was NOT at war--the breathing space between Korea and Viet Nam.

Ever since then this country--my country--has been at war constantly. Americans have spent so much money on war we don't even know how to spend it on peace anymore. It seems Americans are not interested even slightly in peace. Everything about America is war and violence.

And greed--don't want to forget THAT magic word.

For all of us American "Human Resources", like coal or wheat--used, burned up and discarded--working for faceless bureaucracies for pitiful wages--commuting hours in dangerous frustrating traffic so we can pay exorbitant rent and ever higher prices for everything--or the out-of-work hopeless citizen--the on-the-run illegal alien--this "land of the free and home of the brave" is only a stupid joke in poor taste.

1776-2011.

That's quite a life. Now I wonder how many more years it will take for America to grow up.

. .

Pliny

2011-06-10T10:40:00.000-07:00

Ghost. (Tanya photo)

" I think they are lucky whom the gods have given the gift of either doing something worth writing about or writing something worth reading, but those who have done both are the most blessed of all."

(Pliny the Younger writing of his uncle Pliny the Elder in a letter to Tacitus, c 93 CE.

Ashen Sky--the Letters of Pliny the Younger on the Eruption of Vesuvius illustrated by Barry Moser

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Doctors and Medicinemen

2011-05-26T11:19:00.000-07:00

Rocks and Yucca. (Tomasito photo)

"Doctors study what man has learned, I pray to understand what man has forgotten."

Vernon Cooper, quoted in Wisdomkeepers, by Steve Wall and Harvy Arden.

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Minor Liberation

2011-05-15T12:26:00.000-07:00

Brother Joe--the retired Lutheran minister and missionary-- recently sent me a book: "Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time", by Marcus J. Borg.

Mr. Borg is a professor and historian of the Christian tradition. Brother Joe calls him "a really outstanding Bible scholar".

Borg makes a very good case for some de-mythification of Christianity.

From his historic and linguistic research it is clear that many of the iconic details of the old Jesus story may be simply borrowings from other mythologies current in the first century Mediterranean locale of the story.

There were really no wise men following stars, no angelic choirs, no virgin birth-- in fact not much of anything that many people think of as God's Word Truth. It was all made up by well-intentioned writers to make the Gospel story more interesting.

Borg suggests that Jesus was probably a "spirit person" similar to native American sages like Black Elk and Crazy Horse or maybe Edgar Casey. Jesus was a human person concerned with spirit, compassion and sincerity and breaking down some of the class barriers of his day. Jesus probably did not see himself as a Son of God born of a virgin, etc.

I know there are a LOT of knee-jerk "Christians" who will be totally appalled and furious about the ideas so coolly laid out in this little book since it strikes at the roots of the Santa Clausy Jesus mythology so beloved by the merchants of Christmastime and the churchianity and the bibilotry so prevalent in the One Way protestant groups--not to mention the bone-conservative Catholic and Orthodox folks.

No fear though. I have a strong hunch that the Christianity Juggernaut will keep on a-rolling for some time to come--the Borgs and so forth will not cause even a miniscule bumpitty-bump of it's mindlessly squashing wheels.

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Flagstaff Revisited

2011-05-09T12:54:00.000-07:00

Old Town Alley, Flagstaff, Arizona. (Tomas photo)

Yes, we visited Flagstaff, Arizona on our recent "Journey to the East".

For some unknown reason Flagstaff figures fairly prominently in my life journey and I don't know why, but I can't seem to get far enough away.

I somehow always manage to return for a look-see every few years.

Many, many years ago I even studented myself in this northern Arizona town for a two dose period--long enough to get a "master's" degree in English. At the time I didn't see the joke of getting an advanced degree in English in this out-of-the-way place so very far from England.

Flagstaff was a lot smaller then and Northern Arizona University--which is now a pretty big deal--was then very small potatoes.

To make ends meet, I had a job as a night clerk at a motel out of town to the east. The motel was called The Crown and it was fairly new. Oddly enough it still exists but is very much changed as is the entire scene. The motel has a different name and they have added a restaurant (called the Crown Restaurant) and they have paved the parking lot--but the old cowboy-style Museum Club is still in business next door--still serving the town's drunks as it did in those long-ago days--though I suppose they are a new crop of drunks.

We found "Old Main"--the old main building of the university -- still standing.

I used to pick up my mail there and the NAU administrative offices there as I suppose some still are--but the important new buildings of the university are now being built further and further away from what used to be the Flagstaff town center on old Route 66. In fact to reach the newest buildings is quite a hike for the few pedestrians who might still walk from town as we did.

If you are the grasping type--hoping to re-experience something good from the past--all it takes is a short trip to some well-remembered site which you have not visited for years-- to realize very clearly that nothing--but nothing--stays the same and that "this exists only because of that" as the Buddhists say.

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Authentic Change

2011-04-30T09:43:00.000-07:00

"Authentic change always means stepping into the unknown."

"The Evolution of Consciousness" Swami Rama, Rudolph Ballentine, MD, Swami Ajaya

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Truth is

2011-04-05T21:21:00.000-07:00

"...you should long for the perfection of yourself. The deity is within you not in ideas and books. Truth is lived, not taught."

Hermann Hesse, The Glass Bead Game

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Musical Thought

2011-04-03T09:29:00.000-07:00

Musical Thought. (Tomasito photo)

"Therefore the music of a well-ordered age is calm and cheerful, and so is its government. The music of a restive age is excited and fierce, and its government is perverted. The music of a decaying state is sentimental and sad, and its government is imperiled."

Hermann Hesse, The Glass Bead Game

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Good Words 4

2011-04-02T08:23:00.000-07:00

Good Words Four. (Tomasito photo)

"Hatred is never appeased by hatred in this world; it is appeased by love. This is an eternal law."

The Buddha

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Japan Tsunami

2011-03-27T10:29:00.000-07:00

A few days ago the people of Japan experienced a terrible earthquake and tsunami.

Since the disaster occurred in broad daylight and since so many Japanese carry cell-phone cameras amazing movies were made of the mass of moving water carrying houses, ships, cars and literally everything before it.

Some 18,000 people were killed and an atomic power plant was damaged so badly that leaking radiation has caused grave concern.

My cartoon above expresses the grief of the survivors who gathered to bury the dead.

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Bear

2010-09-01T16:18:00.001-07:00

T&T & Bear. (Museum Volunteer photo 2010)

There is a BIG stuffed grizzly bear in the community museum at the public library of Valley Center California and it is a custom to be photographed standing in front of it: so here we are.

Valley Center is an interesting micro-community because it seems to have no center but is spread out over a big, wide valley.

There have been some interesting people living here though from the old days of Hollywood and California of the 1940's.

Now it is more hidden than "Escondido".

See you here sometime soon. No kidding.

~:~

Good Words 3.

2010-08-18T17:24:00.000-07:00

La Mano Poderosa. (Tomasito photo, 2010)

The third in this series of "Good Words" comes from the same good book: "Mission" by Roger G. Kennedy.

~~~

Be thou praised, my Lord, with all Thy creatures,
Above all Brother Sun, who gives the day brightens us therewith...

Be Thou praised, my Lord, of Sister Moon and the stars;
in the heavens Thou hast formed them, clear and precious and comely.

Be Thou praised, my Lord, of Brother Wind,
and of the sir, and the clouds, and of fair and all weather, by which Thou givest to thy creatures sustenance.

Be Thou praised, my Lord of Sister Water.
which is much useful and humble and precious and pure.

Be Thou praised, my Lord, of Brother Fire,
by which Thou hast lightened the night,
and he is beautiful and joyful and robust and strong.

Be Thou praised, my Lord, of Sister Earth,
which sustains and hath us in rule,
and produces divers fruits with colored flowers and herbs.

(A few stanzas from the "most famous prayer of Saint Francis", 13th century CE.)

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Good Words 2.

2010-08-17T13:05:00.001-07:00

Tanya in Blue. (Tomasito photo, 2010)

The Shield of Saint Patrick

For my shield this day I call:
Heaven's might,
Sun's brightness,
Moon's whiteness,
Fire's glory,
Lightning's swiftness,
Wind's wildness,
Ocean's depth,
Earth's solidity,
Rock's immobility.

(This stanza from an old Irish prayer reprinted in Roger G. Kennedy's book, Mission--details in my last [posting.)

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Good Words 1.

2010-08-14T14:56:00.000-07:00

KFC View, Escondido, CA. (Tomasito photo 2010)

New Construction Northeast Escondido, CA August, 2010. (Tomasito photo)

I would like to post some words meaningful to me.

I found them in the book: "Mission" by Roger G. Kennedy and published by Houghton Mifflin, 1993.

There is a copy in the Escondido, CA Public Library collection--thanks!

~~~~

"Now our words we direct to our Mother Earth, who supports all life...we include all plant life, the woodlands, all the waters of Earth, the fishes, the animal life, and the Four Winds. As one mind our acknowledgment, respect, and thanksgiving move upward to the Sky World; the Grandmother Moon, who has a direct relationship to the females of all species of living things, the sun and the stars and our Spiritual Beings of the Sky World..."

(Audrey Shenandoah, Onandaga at the Global Forum on Environment and Development for Survival in Moscow, Russia, January, 1990.)

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Lucas' Big Bro

2010-08-07T11:44:00.000-07:00

Lucas' Big Bro. (Tomasito photo 2010)

A couple of days ago I posted the photo of baby Lucas' tiny feet and his mother's hand.

This photo is of Baby Lucas' big brother.

A big Teenager, still in school, he faces troubling times--recession at home, gangs at school, population explosion, global warming and constant foreign wars.

And he is fast approaching the age of military duty--the armed forces are about the only ones hiring just now.

We can only hope for the best for him--Lucas' big brother.

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Avatar Review Part 2

2010-07-21T19:05:00.000-07:00

Avatar Movie Review Part Two

WHAT is a review of a popular SF movie doing in THIS ahimsa-themed blog?

Well, the last hour of the melodrama glorifies Hollywood mayhem WAR with the before-noted stunning special effects. Thrilling if you are a little boy with not much experience or an adolescent with the aggression juices freely flowing.

Satisfactorily, by the end, the good guys are bruised and bleeding but the bad guys are vanquished complete.

The biggest baddie is rightfully dead (he deserved to die!) and some of his surviving minions are ignominiously shipped back to their self-wasted and selfish planet

The thing is--there is a hint of things in real-time current events in the movie.

Things which are widely known but hardly mentioned in polite society.

Some earthling ex-Marines--now mercenaries--are going to win the hearts and minds of some aliens so the sky people (earthlings) can mine the alien's planet of some fantastically valuable mineral desired by huge, faceless earth corporations. If the local residents don't like this, the earthlings are going to destroy the alien's tree-village and kill as many of them as necessary.

Substitute "oil" for valuable mineral and Iraq/Afghanistan for alien, far-away planet and the usual huge, faceless corporations manufacturing war-materials and so forth--the Blackwater cowboys and other soldiers-for-hire and you have a rather bold anti-war statement--especially since the aliens who must be eliminated to get the valuable mineral are portrayed as more-or-less noble and sexy high-principled savages heroically fighting to preserve their homeland and way of life from unprincipled intruders.

This very popular movie shows a change perhaps in American's patriotic knee-jerk support of all these endless foreign wars.

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Lucas Arrives

2010-07-16T12:45:00.000-07:00

Mom and Lucas. (Tomas Photo, 2010)

Lucas arrived eight days ago--he just missed being a Yankee Doodle Dandy "born the Fourth of July" by four hours.

Wouldn't it be nice if eighteen years or so from now he would not be off somewhere defending our corporations?

Peace. It's wonderful.

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Avatar Review Part 1

2010-07-14T13:55:00.000-07:00

Avatar, the movie. We finally saw it.

We were prepared not to like it because so much Hollywood hype usually means an inferior product.

I agree with almost everyone that the special effects were exceptional. Avatar is as far out in this department--well, almost--as the first Star Wars movie was when it burst on the movie scene lo these many years ago.

We saw Avatar because it was an offering in the Blockbuster Dollar-a-Day video machine at the Dollar Store.

We could afford it.

(To be continued next blog.)

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No More War

2010-07-11T11:29:00.000-07:00

Neighborhood Dummy (Literally!) This dummy never moves. It is a kind of scarecrow to frighten erstwhile bandits or neighborhood kids away. The same house has a gang of bulldog watchdogs patrolling the inner fenced garden. (Tomas Photo, 2010)

Here's an old song, but still, it touches you:

"Gonna lay down my heavy burden
Down by the riverside,
Down by the riverside,
Down by the riverside.
Ain't gonna study war no more."

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T on a Tree

2010-07-10T15:19:00.000-07:00

T on a Tree. (Tomas photo, 2010)

Afternoon in Felicita Park.

It is definitely easier to be non-violent in this environment or maybe a Himalayan cave than it is out in traffic!

Well, we do what we can.

You Too!

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The idea of Non-violence

2010-07-02T13:43:00.000-07:00

Boulder Loop Trail, Daley Ranch Park. (Tomasito photo, 2010)

Well, that's what ahimsa means, isn't it?

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Sadhu Tom

2010-07-01T13:37:00.001-07:00

Sadhu Tom. (Tanya photo, 2010)

Yes, it's me.

Sadhu Tom snapped in our apartment in a moment of clownitude.

(Would you buy a used car from this man?)

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Tanya's Hands

2010-06-27T15:06:00.000-07:00

Tanya's Macrame. (Tomasito photo, 2010)

Macrame is a peaceful craft--tie a whole lot of knots in pretty cords and you have something creative and special.

You don't see a lot of macrame done these days, but when you do--it is refreshing and beautiful!

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Pig and Cat

2010-06-26T12:56:00.000-07:00

Pig and Cat (Tanya photo, 2010)

We were out for a little stroll of our neighborhood the other evening and managed to snap this surprise photo.

Yes it IS a pig and a cat--and this is NOT a farming community but a fairly urban part of our town.

We've seen a few CATS during our ramblings, but this is the very first PIG! This was just a few blocks from our apartment and we don't know WHERE the PIG came from, but guess it is one of the "pot-bellied" race which are sometimes kept as pets.

UP, URBAN CRITTERS!

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Time Out

2010-05-10T17:03:00.000-07:00

Tomasito (Tanya photo)

Dear Readers,

I am going to take a few weeks off from blogging--a short vacation is due.

(In Arnold Schwartznegger voice.) I'll be back!

Catch ya' later!

Tomasito

asd

Paradise

2010-05-05T10:59:00.000-07:00

Waving Tanya.

Our Escondido one-bedroom apartment from down below: running hot and cold, new carpet and floor tile, electricity, garbage pick-up and landscaping, sparkling pool--fairly quiet, safe neighborhood, covered parking for one car and like that--not exactly cottage small with picket-fence and rambling rose, but just as good for us.

Paradise is where you are.

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Garden Variety Warning

2010-05-03T15:36:00.000-07:00

Daley Ranch Rock. (Tomasito photo)

There is a beautiful book in our public library which I have read recently: "Japanese Gardens" by Gunter Nitschke.

The book has excellent photos of some of Japan's finest gardens and interesting commentary regarding the historical development of those very typical Japanese art forms.

I was kind of surprised to see that the gardens of our present era have dropped the living component completely--no more plants or trees or even raked sand--the modern "Japanese Garden" is a construction of concrete, steel, plastic and other man-made products.

But in summary Mr Nitschke says: " With our present knowledge of the catastrophic environmental disasters ahead it is tempting to speculate upon the possible shape of a future garden prototype..." (My italics.) And he suggests some sort of jungle environment might be suitable.

He also suggests that without some profound change in consciousness there will be no future Japanese Gardens and he recommends meditation as the only possible way to avoid annihilation.

A pretty scary note from a Japanese garden specialist!

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Old Green Road

2010-04-28T10:47:00.000-07:00

The Old Green Road. (Tomasito photo, 2010)

We have had some very good spring rain this year here in Southern California--and up north, our friend in Redding reports that the huge lake behind the Shasta Dam on the Sacramento River is up to the brim--and this us the first time is YEARS that that has happened.

The old road in the photo above is in the Daley Ranch Park--one of the nicest walks in Escondido. (It is NOT always THIS green!)

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New and Old

2010-04-09T16:52:00.001-07:00

New and Old

Perhaps we are born with some talents, hopes and dreams--and we have a bit of time to develop these attributes using our physical body's senses and mental qualities.

With luck and enough time perhaps we make a little progress in a lifetime--probably a very little bit in even a very long lifetime--or maybe none at all and maybe even lose what we had in the beginning--but there is plenty of time--eons and ages of it--you might say an eternity of time.

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Integrity

2010-04-03T15:57:00.003-07:00

Long Beach View. (Tomasito photo)

I have been reading about the old Maya people.

Most of the ancient civilization was thoroughly wiped out, but there are some bits and pieces coming to light due to the concentrated effort of some linguistic scholars--and there are some Maya people persisting in their old homeland of central America.

There is a practice among them which I think is admirable and can be summed up in in this notion--that "it is not good to trade integrity for money. "

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The Door

2010-03-20T14:27:00.000-07:00

The Door.

This is the door you may have been looking for.

Walk right through--they are waiting for you there and are ready, willing and able to answer ALL your questions!

But of course the door you are looking at here on this non-existent page of non-existent images does not really exist! It's just a dance of imaginary electrons.

You just think it does, but:

It is ALL in your mind!

That's where it ALL is!

And THAT may not exist either!

Think about it...

and be happy.

...

McTom

2010-03-18T13:32:00.000-07:00

McTom. (Tanya photo)

It is a little hard to believe, but Ahimsaland is right here too--just like it is wherever you are!

You don't have to go along with the main program.

(You sure can't avoid it either, of course!)

But it doesn't have to ruffle your feathers!

Ahhhhimsaland!

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Daley Ranch Pond

2010-03-17T13:43:00.000-07:00

Daley Ranch Pond

This pond was SO lavender when we walked by a few days ago that I had to snap this photo.

The "Coast Wild Lilacs" (Ceanothis) are in full bloom all around the pond and on the hillsides which augments the wonderful color. Even the sky seems to be lavender!

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2010-03-08T08:42:00.000-08:00

The Inner Courtyard Garden at San Juan Capistrano Mission

It has been raining every day and all night--just like I remember from my childhood in Hillside Village near Los Angeles.

Such a wonderful, wet and hopeful spring after years of drought.

The emerald green of new grass and young plants make our part of Southern California look a bit like Ireland--and just in time for Saint Patrick's Day!

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ahimsaland

2010-03-01T18:25:00.001-08:00

Mission Garden, San Juan Capistrano.

There are so very, very many beautiful and peaceful places in California.

Stressful and awful places and situations too.

Not so very different, I suppose, from any other place on this tiny blue island in space.

Any place anywhere can truly be Ahimsaland.

Its up to us to make it so.

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Exploring Medieval Village

2010-02-28T18:58:00.001-08:00

Tanya Exploring Medieval Village

It looks like one doesn't it?

This charming and romantic village street scene is actually in the restored ruins of the San Juan Capistrano Mission in California.

Of course, the way to this quiet place is far from quiet--no famous place in Southern California can be reached quietly or peacefully.

Unruly drivers--heavy traffic--and the freeway culture which is so much a part of life in the Golden State--make "getting there" so much less than "half the fun"--as they used to say.

But once there--the old place has some lovely nooks and crannies--especially in the winter after the rain on a week-day.

Peaceful!

We are very lucky to live close to such a beautiful spot: The Mission of San Juan Capistrano.

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Ruins Bring out the Artist

2010-02-27T21:39:00.001-08:00

These colorful plants were hanging out at the San Juan Capistrano Mission grounds.

Such vivid blues in an ice-plant!

And the old arches make everything seem to be of another time.

Lots of tourists, of course--and everybody just like me snapping photos of the famous ruins.

It's OK.

Here everybody can be an artist and everybody can see the beauty!

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Endangered Species

2010-02-20T13:29:00.001-08:00

Threatened Species

The photo above is an endangered ape's eye view of another threatened species at the Wild Animal Park near Escondido.

There are only 300 of the endangered variety of ape presently living in the wild and millions of the above pictured species--but probably individuals of neither species is aware of its nearness to extinction.

Great numbers of living individuals of a species do not guarantee its survival as we have seen from the demise of the passenger pigeon and others--it seems most difficult to stop or turn around a species which no longer fits into the earth environment for any number of reasons.

Also a species which has been successful for the billions of years necessary to evolve into its present form may suddenly not be successful enough to withstand new environmental conditions.

We can only wish good luck and bon voyage to both of these closely related life forms.

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Predator Drone

2010-02-09T16:54:00.000-08:00

Original California Freeway

"Weapon technology does not remain secret for long, and whatever works for one side can be readily adapted for use by the enemy."

Jack weatherford, "Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World"

When Predator drones were first being used by the American military in Afghanistan I would sometimes see a birds eye view of their work on the Internet news: first I would see some tiny buildings perhaps with some miniature people moving about--more like ants really than human beings--then I would see a shadow move with lightning speed across the screen toward the target and everything in the target area would go black. Bulls eye. Enemy gone.

Gradually the news stopped showing the results of Predator drone's activities in Afghanistan but switched to the news that drones were being used to patrol the Canadian/US border watching for drug smugglers or terrorists.

Last summer I read in the daily newspaper that a Predator drone was flying in North Dakota to monitor the flooding Red River--the pilot-less drone being a big advantage over manned aircraft because it could fly for thirty hours straight.

I was wondering how and when the enemy would start using their own version of Predator on us?

Practice Peace. They say it's wonderful.

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Prefer Peace

2010-02-06T16:17:00.000-08:00

Eagle photo by Tanya

Reuters news service included this remark today in an article about Iran's nuclear program:

"Tomas Valasek, director of foreign policy and defense, Center for European Reform, said if the needs of Iran's research reactor were to dictate the process there would be no agreement.

"That's a deal breaker, because of course the whole idea behind the deal is let's get all of the stuff out so that we win more time so that the Israelis don't feel itchy and don't bomb Iran in the next few weeks," he said."

We hope too that the Israelis don't get itchy and bomb Iran--but if the Iranian government does not make some positive moves the Israelis are not such fools as to allow them to strike first.

I assume that the common people in both countries would much prefer peace.

I assume that all "common people", everywhere would much prefer peace.

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Mexican Food B-Day

2010-01-19T17:43:00.001-08:00

Steamy Mexican food Birthday

Happy Birthday!

And MANY MANY MORE!

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2010 Happy New Year

2009-12-30T18:55:00.000-08:00

2010

Happy New Year!

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Preemptive Strike Against Iran

2009-11-26T19:01:00.000-08:00

Tanya Photo, 2008

Preemptive Strike Against Iran?

It seems to me that some sort of preemptive strike against Iran is presently being seriously contemplated.

The American build-up of fairly mobile troops in Afghanistan—nearer to the country of Iran and more easily deployable to that country in case of a military emergency in the area—seems to me to be the most visible part of the possible future strike.

It is a pity that the leadership of Iran continues to more or less ignore the international community's attempt to deny it atomic weapons—as it continues to harass Israel with threats to destroy it completely by first attacking Tel Aviv with missiles—if I understand the rhetoric of the Iranian leadership as reported by the news media.

These dire threats by the leadership of Iran, mere saber-rattling as they may be, set the people of Israel—and the rest of the world's teeth on edge, since an atomic war against Israel would most likely ignite world war three—which, as has been said for years—no one would or could win.

In a very rare show of unified political purpose, Russia and China have joined the USA and other European and Asian nations in asking Iran for restraint.

If the leadership of Iran continues down their present path—I believe the international community will act against them with a preemptive strike.

I do not believe the present leadership of Iran will act in the direction of peace—but will continue in what seems to me to be their present suicidal direction.

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No Oil. No War

2009-11-14T16:17:00.000-08:00

Tomasito photo, 2009

Peak oil?

I have to admit I laughed when I read in the newspaper that one of our generals complained that if there was no more oil--"We couldn't wage war."

I guess that is the up-side of the end of oil!

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Peak Oil

2009-10-20T17:46:00.001-07:00

Highway to Nowhere. (Tomasito photo 2009)

I feel it is a safe prediction to say that the above photo of a bit of defunct highway is just a forerunner of many such images in the near future.

The sea of oil burned daily in commuting and running errands cannot continue forever.

Be as prepared as we can be for the Big Change coming.

Best wishes.

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Right to Work

2009-10-03T16:47:00.000-07:00

Downtown LA. (Thomas photo 2009)

The Right to Work

We live in a country which celebrates several "rights" and "freedoms"--and that is good.

There is another item which I would also like to add to our list of "inalienable" rights: the right to work.

President Roosevelt was in favor of this idea long ago--but it is a notion that has not found a champion in many years.

It seems to me that a good government in the "world of today" would recognize that if a person has no paid work--that person cannot survive.

This is the simplest and most obvious economic fact.

And since there is no other entity to provide this stabilizing cash flow--our political system should make sure that everyone who wants to work could have a job which would pay well enough to live with some comfort.

In my opinion, the Right to Work is more basic to a composed, healthy and honest society than the right to medical care which is being argued today with such heat.

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Job Security

2009-10-01T12:54:00.000-07:00

Cogs in the Big Machine. (Thomas photo 2009)

It seems to me that job security is as important as medical care.

I would like to see it argued with as much enthusiasm as is the current debate on medical care.

I think it should be possible for the government to offer paid work available for all Americans-- some simple, non technological and easy to learn work--with a wage high enough to allow for a comfortable, secure life.

This would take care of the homeless people and much of the stress and crime we experience now.

All solutions are temporary, of course, but the problems are too--and the problem of "no work" is one problem which has been around too long.

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Grand Evening

2009-09-16T10:14:00.001-07:00

Evening on Grand Avenue, Escondido, CA (Tanya photo, 2009)

We were down on Grand Avenue last week to take in the opening of the Art Riot exhibition at the Municipal Gallery.

Though there are many empty storefronts on old Grand Avenue, the area is clean and neat as you can see--the weather now (mid-September) is perfect and the strolling is very fine.

The photo was taken about ten blocks from our hilltop apartment.

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Cousin Joe Departs

2009-08-26T17:50:00.000-07:00

Mount Lassen. (Tanya photo 2008)

Cousin Joe Calvin Clayton Junior made his departure from his body recently.

If I remember the family history right--cousin Joe Calvin Junior, as we called him, was just about my age which is always a thought provoking coincidence--I think.

Our paths hadn't crossed in years, but I remember him vividly as a ten-year old kid living in easy walking distance of the tidal flats of mythical San Diego which, both flats and town, have vanished so very completely that even in my memory's imagination I can hardly recall them.

But ten-year-old Joe is always easy to remember.

He was loaded with charm-- with bushy blond hair and a pug nose and a sort of suntanned ten-year-old athletic build which I admired--and a very California Beach Kid grown up style--for example he called girl's breasts "Knockers" which I thought was VERY fast!

I was just an Albuquerque, New Mexico boy--years behind California Cousin Joe!

We spent some very good times together during summer vacations in those days!

Grandpa Clayton, Mom's dad, with some other adults, took Cousin Joe and my brother Joe and I with him on a great adventure to Northern California--we planned to spend a week at a real gold mine owned by a friend of Grandpa's somewhere in the northern mountains but that turned out to be a pretty dry and dusty place so we went on to Emerald Bay on Lake Tahoe and camped out there for a week.

Kid bliss!

Early one morning Brother Joe said we three kids could probably hike to the snow, which we had seen on the mountaintops as we arrived, and get back to the campground by lunch--so off we went.

There was a sort of a trail part of the way and when it ran out we continued cross country and uphill for a long time. Me, the least heroic of the three musketeers, started complaining that I was hungry and that we had walked quite enough, but brother Joe insisted that the snow couldn't be much further and cousin Joe agreed that it couldn't be much farther--and on and on we hiked.

We came to a beautiful little lake of delicious cold water and from there we could see the snow on a rocky slope on the far side of the lake and on up the mountain.

To go back after seeing the tantalizing snow patch far above us would simply not do--so we scrambled around the lake and struggled up the sharp rocks of the mountainside. Brother Joe (the young naturalist of the group) found some dark stones which contained garnet crystals, he said, which was a big thrill for him--and he explained to us how rare they were and how lucky we were to actually find them!

And we reached the snow--dirty and much the worst for wear late in the summer as it was--but it WAS real frozen snow in the middle of summer!

But it was long past lunch time--in fact evening was drawing on--and even Brother Joe started thinking that we might be missed back at Grandpa's camp--so we began hurrying back down the mountain.

There was a subtle noise in the bushes above us and we suddenly remembered that there were bears in these mountains--and we began to run--first easily and then as fear prodded us--to run for our lives!

When we came panting and gasping back into camp, Grandpa and the adults of our party were so happy to see us that they didn't scold us much--but just told us to "always tell them first where we were going before we started out".

And besides, a park ranger had told the adults that just the week before, a fisherman HAD been attacked by a bear in the same area where we took our hike.

The next morning, Grandpa had us lead him back to the little alpine lake-- where he tried his luck with the trout--and I think I even remember him catching one or two--at least that's the way I would like the story to end...

...

Well remembered, Cousin Joe!

Oh, so well remembered.

You will be missed--but you will live in our happy memories until we too are dust in the fields.

Cousin Tom

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Training Kills Pigs

2009-08-20T17:45:00.000-07:00

(Tomasito photo. 2009)

There is something happening near here--Escondido, California,where we live-- which I am almost ashamed to write about, but which needs more light, perhaps.

There is a village--just a wide spot in the road really--maybe eight miles northeast of here called "Valley Center".

Nothing much there as I said--a gas station and maybe a bar and a little market and some farm land.

There are a few orchards and in one of them there is a grisly training exercise being conducted on live animals--pigs according to the newspaper--which I feel very bad about.

There is a huge Marine base also near here and the training has to do with them.

Pigs are being tranquilized and grievously wounded amid chaotic sounds of battle so medical personnel will have the opportunity to literally experience the carnage, the spilled blood and guts caused by war and receive hands-on and real training with real blood being spilled and real bodies being counted--though the bodies and the blood are not human.

Nearby farmers have complained about the noise. That's why the information was in the paper.

The people conducting the training have promised to turn the volume down but the slaughter will continue because "they are breaking no county laws".

War is a terrible thing--"no picnic" as they say--and military training is necessary--and the pigs will be slaughtered and eaten anyway, so why not get some more mileage out of their inevitable death?

I don't know, friends, but it doesn't seem right to me.

Life is so... well, what word should I use? Life is all there is. No life, no nothing.

Pigs are NOT humans, but cruelty is cruelty and meanness is meanness and the more we are trained to be thoughtless about the consequences of casual killing the worse for us.

These marines will return to civilian life some day not so far in the future and the line between pigs in an orchard in California and the enemy and us ordinary people might be just a little bit more blurred for them.

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Empire's End

2009-07-31T11:57:00.000-07:00

(Tomasito photo 2008)

Empire's End

"There was nothing left––no churches, no heretics, no books, no pictures, no city. There was only the sun beating down on the mud bricks and broken walls, and all the religion, trade, warfare, art, money, government and civilization had turned to dust."

(Paul Theroux: Riding the Iron Rooster)

"The Endless Round"---It has happened before...

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Walt's Wisdom

2009-07-29T19:10:00.000-07:00

Death Valley, CA. (Tanya Photo 2008)

Walt's Wisdom

"I pass death with the dying and birth with the new-washed babe, and am not contained between my hat and my boots." (Walt Whitman)

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The Circle of Life

2009-07-25T17:37:00.000-07:00

Try this music. It is one of my favorites and a star in the crown of all the artists, musicians and enablers of the Lion King production. The Endless Round indeed.

It's ALIVE

2009-07-18T21:05:00.000-07:00

It's ALIVE!

“The world does not consist of inanimate materials and living things; everything is living and everything can therefore be of help or cause harm”

Ritual of the Wind
Jamake Highwater

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The Word

2009-07-05T18:44:00.000-07:00

Escondido River. (Tomasito photo, 2009)

Remember: "Mother Nature always has the last word."

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US Army

2009-07-03T11:23:00.001-07:00

Illustrator Flagg's Most Famous Poster

There is a recruiter's office in easy walking distance of our apartment and the other day I stopped to chat a bit with the recruiter--a very polite and soft-spoken California man who has been in the army many years--almost retirement age, he said.

He gave me the above recruiting poster--after all these years, still a potent ad!

This recruiter's office is in a small "mallito"-- we call it-- with a grocery store and a beauty salon and a fast-food place and like that.

You may wonder what in the world an enlistment poster is doing in a blog called "ahimsaland"--but everything is part of "ahimsa"--and there is, more than ever, a need for good soldiers.

And besides, in this depressed economy, who else is hiring kids just out of high school?

There will always be a need, I suppose, for police and warriors--there are messy, hard and dangerous duties to perform even in peaceful times--and it is still true that there is a time for all things. Everything in this world comes and goes--peace as well as war.

So I thought it would be appropriate even here in this peaceful ahimsaland blog on the eve of the Fourth of July, to honor the voluntary military caste of The United States of America.

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Motto

2009-06-22T11:25:00.000-07:00

My Redding Workspace 2009 (tomasito photo)

Sheldon Jackson College (Sitka, Alaska) motto:

"Do the best you can with what you have and do it now."

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War Environment

2009-06-20T15:37:00.000-07:00

Cain's children; Saturday June 20, 2009

In the Genesis story, Adam's son, Abel, was murdered young; his brother, Cain, his killer, lived to father children.

Mythically, we are the children of Cain and, "like father, like son", killers born.

Though we also, like gods, may change our inheritance.

(This notion is brought forward in John Steinbeck's story, East of Eden.)

War Environment

"War is an environment that will psychologically debilitate 98% of all who participate in it for any length of time and the 2% who are not driven insane by war appear to have already been insane, aggressive psychopaths before coming to the battle field."

On Killing by Lt. Col. Dave Crossman

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Onion Flower

2009-06-20T10:18:00.001-07:00

Onion Flower, Decorating a Salad Tray in the Deli Dept. Vallarta Market, Escondido, CA. (Tomasito photo, 2009)

When ordinary people are inspired to make even their daily tasks more beautiful--I believe it makes life a little better for all of us.

Muchas gracias gente que trabajan con spiritu bueno!

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All Sorts

2009-06-19T11:57:00.000-07:00

Magic Hands

"...it takes all sorts of creatures to make a world."

Badger (The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Graham)

Tomasito, 2009

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Better Back

2009-06-18T11:10:00.000-07:00

Me Patiently Waiting. (Tanya Photo)

Hello, all you faithful Ahimsaland People!

I am VERY glad to report that my back is MUCH better!

I am now STANDING at the computer which Tanya arranged on an enhanced table so I don't need to sit--since sitting still hurts--and I have learned a LOT about BACK pain!

There is nothing like serious pain to really grab your attention!

Would you like to get a recommendation for a good program for back pain relief?

I thought so.

The book is Banish Back Pain the Pilates Way (By Anna Selby) and it is excellent.

Real good back pain is a terrific motivator!

Man, I'm BREATHING DEEPLY, I'm working on my "Girdle of Strength" muscles, I'm relaxing out of any stress and all like that! (LOVE that yogic CORPSE POSE!)

Another thing I've noticed is that a good, easy bowel movement is better than a feast! (A cup of hot prune juice does it for me!)

And NO DOCTORS!

Ahimsaland Forever!

Tomasito 2009

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Bad Back

2009-06-14T17:45:00.000-07:00

Dear readers:

Shortly after posting my last blog on this site I was felled by very painful spasms in my back and have not been able to walk or even stand--so my work on the blogs I maintain came to a complete halt.

Even crawling around our apartment was almost impossible and without Tanya's help I would have been in serious trouble.

I am presently on my feet standing at the computer pecking the keyboard with my forefingers.

I miss communicating with you and hope to return to my usual schedule very soon.

Other than the back problem I feel just fine and am making good progress with the back (Tanya supplied me with four good books on restoring back strength and I am using the good ideas from them.)

Up and about soon!

Tomasito

Thanks for checking the site.

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Santa Fe

2009-05-29T09:15:00.001-07:00

Tile Mural, Santa Fe Depot, San Diego, CA. (Tomasito photo)

Gentle Reminder: Santa Fe is more than a railroad--more than the old capital town of New Mexico--it is the Spanish for Holy Faith.

Something to do with faith--not faith of our fathers, nor of our grandfathers--but of people from Spain and Mexico a long, long time ago.

These towns--these railroads--were built and named by people of faith.

Even today--though the Age of Faith is long gone--people of faith still maintain them.

Because deep down, faith goes beyond organized religiosity of all stripes--to the very heart of humanity--that is, of you and me.

Brothers and Sisters, in these dark days: Keep the Faith.

Tomasito

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Urban Garden

2009-05-27T18:28:00.000-07:00

City Garden. (Tomasito photo)

We have been in the City of San Diego twice in the last two weeks.

The climate there is so mellow that people love it--millions of people love it--and hundreds more every day--thousands more every year!

Even with this rapid development of the city--the frantic haste of the freeways and the temporary nature of most of the buildings--some lingering thought has been given to the original natural beauty of the place--and unexpected pretty touches like the above tiny fenced area in front of a warehouse become gardens to delight the eye and lift the spirit.

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Wilderness Garden

2009-05-24T15:39:00.001-07:00

(Click on the photo for detail.)

Tanya in the Wilderness Garden

About a half-hour drive to the Northeast of Escondido is another good San Diego County Park: Wilderness Garden.

It is close to the two huge casinos on Indian Reservation land but light-years from that kind of Las Vegasy glitter in its essence.

State Highway 76 passes by high above the deep valley which contains the park so the silence of the wilderness is almost unbroken. We could have been walking in the California of the rancho days a hundred years ago.

We visited on a week-day on Tanya's day off from her new job. It is a very good place to relax and feel at peace. There are the usual good county park picnic tables and rest room facilities and since it was a week-day we were almost the only humans there to enjoy it.

Oh yes--if you get a chance to go there be sure to wear long pants! I know to wear them in the desert--I was born in the New Mexico desert after all--but I was careless, wore shorts, and the horseflies made a picnic on my bare legs which are still itchy!

Well, that's nature too.

Tomasito, 2009

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Turning Back

2009-05-20T19:49:00.001-07:00

San Diego, California Used Car Lot. (Tomasito photo, 2009)
(Click on photo for detail)

Turning Back

We planet eaters are rather proud of the way we have whipped nature--we are conquerors and and are in the habit of looking to the future for more and for better.

However the world we have plundered so mercilessly to suit our real and imagined needs is wearing out.

The trending is toward disaster for no one in particular but for all of us--and finding our way back to the world of the natural will perhaps not be easy because we have no map and we are not in the habit of looking back.

Tomasito

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Got a job

2009-05-09T14:57:00.001-07:00

Our Apartment Window View. (Tomasito photo)
(Click on photo to enjoy view)

We got a job!

Well, Tanya got a job so I guess I can say we got a job--and in the southern California depression job market this rates at least a relieved cheer! ('Cause if you didn't know--nobody's hiring!)

I'm putting this news on my Ahimsaland blog because I am profoundly grateful to chance, fate, luck, karma, Fortune or the Cosmic Scorekeeper and Tanya--whoever or whatever!

It looks like we'll have our computer, our telephone connection for these blogs and our apartment for a while longer--we will not be homeless--and please San Martin Caballero or whoever is in charge of economics--please help end the landlord's greed and help ALL the homeless.

Work with good pay for everybody, please.

Tomasito, 2009

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mustard seed

2009-05-02T16:55:00.001-07:00

Mustard seeds in Tanya's Hand. (Tomasito photo, 2009)

(Click on photo to see seeds relative size to hand more clearly.)

We were out foraging for some wild plants to add to our lunch-time stew today.

The meadow where we usually gather wild mustard leaves has gone to seed now--the leaves are pretty well dried and gone--but the tiny seeds are snug in their pods and each little tan pod seems to have twenty or so minute blackish seeds.

We thought about the familiar quotation about faith as much as a mustard seed again--and how such a tiny bit of faith could move a mountain.

It really doesn't seem to be very much faith for such mighty work does it?

Tomasito, 2009

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Tanya Energy

2009-04-29T06:11:00.001-07:00

Tanya, Center of the Maze.
(Tomasito photo, 2009)

"If there is sincerity in the heart,
There will be beauty in the character.
If there is beauty in the character,
There will be harmony in the home.
If there is harmony in the home,
There will be order in the nation.
If there is order in the nation,
There will be peace in the world."

(Great Learning, Chinese, 3rd century BC)

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Dalai Lama

2009-04-25T11:43:00.000-07:00

The Dalai Lama. (news photo, 2009)

All of us seem to need teachers.

And some teachers are wiser than others--but I think that all of us-- and the teachers too-- are just human beings after all--with the same problems of biology and psychology--all born into some historic time to live as well (and as happily, as the above teacher suggests!) as we can.

All of us are walking this maze of life and we should "rub each other's shoulders" as Herman Melville said instead of quarreling and fighting.

Some will believe this and some will believe that--but maybe even the wisest of us doesn't know much more than the dumbest dumbquot.

If a teacher is truly wise, she or he will certainly know that!

Tomasito, 2009

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Walk the Maze

2009-04-21T09:34:00.000-07:00

The Maze @ Questhaven Retreat, Escondido, CA.
(Tanya photo, 2009)

People, plants and animals emit light and radiation (Corona Discharge, see "Rainbow of Life" by Stanley Krippner, MD.)

Isn't this a very curious fact?

Best wishes to you-all, my fellow mortal maze-walkers!

tomasito, 2009

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Shadow on Stone

2009-04-17T20:35:00.001-07:00

Shadow on Stone

Once I was talking to Pop about "life" and I asked him why he went to church and believed the simple way he did.

He said: "What else IS there?"

Tomasito, 2009

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...

Pop's Differneces

2009-04-16T07:55:00.000-07:00

Desert Grave. (Tomasito photo, 2009)

Pop's Differences

Some years ago my father, Andy (Andrew Staffon) Wold, died of a brain aneurysm in his own little paid-for house on Sky High Drive on a hillside overlooking the Ventura River Valley between Ojai and Ventura, California when I was away on one of my far-flung pilgrimages..

“Pop” was in his early eighties and had lived a simple life as a part-time drummer and an appliance salesman.

He and Mom, Lorene Clayton Wold, had raised us kids, Brother Joe, Brother Jack and myself—the middle son—into adulthood in Los Angeles, Albuquerque, New Mexico and Portland, Oregon.

That's about enough of that background stuff.

What I wanted to put on record is something one of Dad's friends at the Lutheran Church in Ventura said to be about Pop (Andy) when I came back
.
“You know,” he said, “Your Dad was very different in a way--I never heard him say a bad thing about another person."

Odd thing. I had never even noticed this.

An even odder thing was—I had never heard him say anything bad about an other person either—and I had lived with and around him all my life.

Well, once he had said that Reagan should have never been elected president because Ronald was the same age exactly as he was “and that was too old to be president.”

But that was the worst thing I could remember him saying about anybody!

He never swore either—and I never heard him argue with Mom—not even once in all those years!

Now, of course, Pop was human—but by golly he WAS different in those mild and old-fashioned ways.

Tomasito, 2009

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In Memory

2009-04-15T17:12:00.001-07:00

"In Memory" (Tomasito photo, 2009)

It is a beautiful day to enjoy every moment.

A strong, cool breeze from the Pacific all those miles away.

Bright sunlight and a few scattered, puffy clouds.

Isn't it?!

Tomasito, 2009

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Today

2009-04-14T18:29:00.000-07:00

"Today" (Tomasito photo 2009 )
(Please click on this photo to see a real face. TW)

Today

A few years ago I got to talking to a stranger--an old man--about this and that.

He told me of some of his very interesting adventures as a young man so I asked him what day in his life he would like to re-live if he could.

He looked at me brightly and replied: "What's wrong with today?"

Tomasito, 2009

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Cookies, Eggs, Easter

2009-04-13T19:29:00.001-07:00

Cookies, Eggs, Easter! Photo by Tanya, 2009

This is the day after Easter but since we were on our week-end holiday yesterday, we thought this would be an appropriate time to send all of you a virtual Easter present of some traditional colored eggs and some tasty home-baked cookies.

We hope you enjoy them!

Tomasito, 2009

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Saint Petka Church Altar

2009-04-10T17:31:00.000-07:00

Saint Petka Serbian Orthodox Church Interior.
Tanya photo, 2009. (click on photo for more detail)

Good Friday

Today is "Good Friday" in the calendar of most branches of the western Christian tradition so I thought it would be appropriate to present this photo of one of the Orthodox Christian churches ion this area--Saint Petka in San Carlos--an altogether unexpected ornate building in the old tradition in this very humble and unassuming typical southern California town.

Tomasito, 2009

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Deer Park Monastery Altar

2009-04-09T19:32:00.001-07:00

Deer Park Monastery, Escondido, CA, Great Meditation Hall Altar.
(Tanya photo, 2009)

This is the season of rebirth.

We drove out to the Deer Park Buddhist Monastery today to see what new wild plants were blooming and to enjoy the "Sangha", the peace and beauty of this special place.

I wish you could have all been there with us---it was very good.

There is an old resident dog there--quite an old-timer--I showed you a photo a few days ago of the dog with Tanya petting him--and he followed the group of us making a silent "walking meditation" to increase our mindfulness. He got more and more frisky as we walked until, when we were near the top of a big hill, he was racing circles around us and snorting like a young dog!

He was enjoying himself so much we all had to laugh!

Happy Spring, Everybody!

Tomasito, 2009

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Holy Week, USA

2009-04-08T17:47:00.001-07:00

Altar Books and Decorations at Pala Mission, Pala, California.
(Tanya Photo, 2009)

Easter.

There has been a long series of beautiful days here in southern California.

Many of the inhabitants here follow various Christian denominations. For them this is the Easter Season--marking the death and resurrection of their---what shall I call Him? Teacher? God, Inspired Prophet? Lord and Savior?---it is impossible to avoid controversy on the subject.

But everyone, and I do mean everyone, welcomes this beautiful season of nature's rebirth.

There was a good cleansing rain last night--incredibly lovely cloud formations all day--clear air and bright, you could almost say "happy" blue sky.

Welcome, Easter! Welcome Season of rebirth!

Tomasito, 2009

...of

Creative Workshop

2009-04-06T18:55:00.001-07:00

Zak Papier Mache-ing a Birthday Pinata.

(Click ON photo to enlarge it.)

Hello.

I seldom use more than one illustration per day, but I wanted show you some of the creative people involved in my workshop.

We are all doing artistic things--like papier mache, drawing, coloring and painting.

One interesting feature of the workshop is that it takes place in a live-in facility in Escondido, California, for elderly folks and people recovering from serious operations and like that.

The older folks in the photos are residents. I see them almost every day.

The children in the photos are neighbor kids who like art and who are able to spend a couple of hours twice a week helping me as "Assistant Volunteers".

We are all learning a lot and enjoying letting the creative juices flow so to speak.

Hannah Draws a House and a Dog

Helen and Bea coloring.

Al showing His Papier Mache Frame-in-progress.

Tomasito, 2009

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Good Soup

2009-04-03T11:58:00.001-07:00

BEFORE

AFTER
(Tomasito photos, 2009)

This is the quick reaction to Tanya's latest Vegetable Soup.

She is using some new (for us) ingredients such as wild stinging nettle, mustard and curly dock leaves and another new (for us) vegetable: tomatillo.

This soup is delicious and is definitely of the Quick Vanishing variety!

Tomasito, 2009

...

Hannah Here

2009-04-02T17:29:00.001-07:00

Newbie Hannah Joins Al and Bea at Papier Mache/Art Workshop.
(Tomasito photo, 2009)
(Click on photo for detail.)

Hannah King, age seven, joined the usual old timers for drawing, painting and papier mache work for the first time today.

Her brother Zak finished his papier mache mask and a colorful pinata for his baby brother's birthday party this coming Sunday.

Al spent the entire work period on a large papier mache frame for one of Bea's collages and Bea drew an interesting house plan for one of the homes she has lived in.

There was LOTS of learning going on!

Tomasito, 2009

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Serbian Orthodox Chirch

2009-04-02T10:56:00.000-07:00

Saint Petka Serbian Orthodox Church, San Marcos, CA.
(Tanya photo, 2009)

We were searching for a WalMart store the other day and accidentally discovered this very lovely Serbian Orthodox church.

The church was closed and locked on this week-day, but one of the Serbian priests saw us on the grounds and cordially invited us to enter the sanctuary where we took some photographs and absorbed the good vibrations.

It is very interesting, isn't it, how people from all over the world have immigrated to the United States and become citizens and yet have kept some of their ancestral traditions, language, culture and architecture intact.

In this building it struck me again how anyone from an Orthodox Christian background would feel right at home in this church--from the pleasant odor of incense to the decorations and silence--this would be a satisfying touch of the old country for any religious Greek, Russian or Serbian.

Because of my pilgrimage to Greece and my time of residence in Russia, I felt right at home too.

Tomasito, 2009

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Happy Schoolboy

2009-04-01T20:07:00.001-07:00

Pala Boy. (Tanya photo, 2009)

This happy schoolboy decided to get into the picture at the front of the Pala Mission--which is located on the Pala Indian Reservation.

He made the picture!

Tomasito, 2009

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BVM

2009-03-30T17:58:00.001-07:00

Mary Figure in the garden at Pala Asistencia, CA. (Tanya photo, 2009)

There are several meaningful statues in the garden at Pala Asistencia.

This pretty one beautifully celebrates the "Blessed Virgin Mary"--the "Great Earth Mother"--"Mare the Goddess of the Sea" or whatever eternal female symbol your imagination cherishes.

It adds loveliness and mystery to this quiet place.

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Bea Making Collage

2009-03-28T16:22:00.000-07:00

(Click on photo for detail)

Bea Making a Collage (Tomasito photo, 2009)

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Apple Blossoms

2009-03-27T21:55:00.000-07:00

Apple Blossoms at Pala Asistencia, Pala, California. (Tanya photo, 2009)

One of the Stations added to the chain of missions founded by the early Catholic Missionaries in Alta California. The church at Pala is located on the Indian reservation of the Pala tribe--about 50 miles north of San Diego.

The present buildings of the Asistencia include school classrooms, an office, gift shop, small but interesting museum and a very well restored and preserved church--built in a square surrounding a lovely garden.

Tomasito, 2009

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The Way

2009-03-26T18:44:00.000-07:00

On The Way (Tanya photo, 2009)

The Way is not always smooth--but it is always beautiful and worthwhile.

Once found and followed, life becomes better and happier.

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Zaccai and Al

2009-03-25T17:12:00.000-07:00

Click on this photo to enjoy it--Tomasito photo, 2009

Papier Mache and Art Production Class

Al, one of the old-timers in my papier mache and art class, works beside Zaccai, at nine, the youngest (and newest) person in the class. Al, who worked in Hollywood as a Prop Boy at the MGM Studio in the Golden Age of Movies, knew John Wayne, Judy Garland, and many of the great artists of that time--said he thought Zaccai had a lot of artistic talent.

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Swallowtail

2009-03-23T13:15:00.000-07:00

Swallowtail Butterfly (Tomasito photo, 2009)

This miracle was flitting around the wild mustard and radish we were gathering to cook for lunch and posed for this quick portrait.

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Deer Park Monastery 2

2009-03-20T13:40:00.001-07:00

Tanya pats monastic dog at Deer Park Monastery. (Tomasito photo, 2009)

~Click on photo to enlarge~

This smiling old dog is everybody's friend at Deer Park Monastery--just as he should be.

The lovely monastery is lying gently on the landscape--hand made paths and gardens abound--and everywhere plants and birds thrive.

It is hard to believe that just a few minutes drive back down the narrow but paved access road the confusion of present-day California runs amok.

Tomasito, 2009

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Deer Park Monastery

2009-03-19T21:36:00.000-07:00

Man and Monk at Deer Park Monastery. (Tomasito photo 2009)

Deer Park Monastery

Today we drove over to Deer Park Monastery--which is located in a mountain valley just outside of Escondido, California.

A branch of Thich Nhat Hanh's Plum Village in France, Deer Park Monastery is quiet, peaceful and beautiful--just as you would wish it to be.

Mindfulness is the watchword of the order--even the speed bump which slows visitor's cars at the entrance is labeled "Mindful Speed Bump".

It is a very good place to be.

Tomasito, 2009

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Rain Puddles

2009-03-18T14:53:00.000-07:00

Be as Calm as a Rock

A rock in a rain puddle--Michelangelo's David.

Tomasito photo, 2009

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Agave Plant

2009-03-17T20:09:00.000-07:00

Agave plant, Asistencia Santa Ysabel, CA. Tanya photo 2009

My second cousin, Chad, dropped by on his way to work on an island farm in Tennesee last evening. He recently spent some time at Plum Village, the meditation center and farm in France where Vietnamese Buddist teacher Thich Nhat Hanh lives and works.

He was carrying a lap-top with his photos of Plum Village--a nice selection of pictures which made the farm and the international group working there live for us.

It is good to see that a new generation of dedicated people are arriving--and especially good to see them from my own family!

I own one of Thich Nhat Hanh's books in paperback and I like to re-read it now and then. It is simple, direct and helpful. "Being Peace" is the title of the book. It is published by Parallax Press in Berkeley, CA.

Smile, Hanh says--it helps us all.

Tomasito, 2009

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Bea's Hands

2009-03-16T14:38:00.001-07:00

Bea's Hands, Tomasito photo 2009

Doing Good Work.

Being creative.

Learning something new--or renewing old skills.

All these things are always important.

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Stairs

2009-03-14T20:13:00.001-07:00

Lake Dixon Path, Escondido, CA. Tanya photo

Walk this path with me.

Open your eyes, your heart and your mind.

Breathe--take care--all is well.

Tomasito

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Learn from a Stone

2009-03-13T21:11:00.000-07:00

Stones and Oaks, Felicita Park, Escondido CA. Tomasito photo, 2009

There is so much to be learned from nature.

We Children of Technology had better remember who we are and where we are in the general scheme of things while there is still time.

Tomasito, 2009

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