Cesar Chavez, Grand Budapest, Driving in the Park, and Breaking Down a 5 day Week…

Posted on May 7, 2014 by Harry Brake

Yes, it is true, a 5 day week, TOUGH.  Yet, much happens to help break up that 5 day week, and for that, I am grateful.  It’s funny, walking the dogs in Parque Rio last week in the early AM, I was well, I really thought I was daydreaming when I saw a car driving around Parque Rio,  um yeah, IN Parque Rio, like IN THE PARK.  The funny thing, the drive kepis trying each side to get out but um, the steep sidewalk and bushes bordering the park as a whole make that kind of impossible. So how the heck did the driver get in? It was too early in the morning to make those kind of earth-shattering conclusions, but the police that came and asked the driver to get out, and seeing this huge dent in the back of the bumper I am sure helped to figure out that being IN the park, IN a vehicle, was not the original plan of the person who laid out the park.  All the same an interesting way to start the AM for sure!

Seeing Diego Luna’s film Cesar Chavez last week was inspiring.  Even more so, how cool is it that ASF here on our campus, one of the the executive directors/producer of the film, Julian Levin, who came yesterday to entertain questions and a general Q & A FOLLOWING a showing of the film ON our campus!  SUPER Cool! What did you think? I would love to see your comments to the film but overall, I felt the uneasiness you might have felt throughout the film based on the tension, was a healthy tension, that made each of the individuals watching, no matter their background realize, we need to realize others in the world in which we live and work to make the world, as a whole, better.  This video, one of many lost interviews, is a testament to his strength and bravery of making a change in the world.  What is even scarier is seeing the pickets  live and the strength Chavez had to keep everyone together, in something he believed in.

I remember often the naive comments of former students, native to Delaware, thinking they had the whole idea of immigration figured out, without every happening to step OUT of Delaware.  Many individuals in my class had parents from Mexico that came and labored crazy hours in the fields picking watermelons, working in the enormous chicken lanes in Delaware, to provide a better way of live.  Even while I was in Delaware I had thought there was another side to the story of immigration than the some Delaware natives thought they knew.  I was right, when I cameo Mexico, I witnessed how hard many work, and wished that everyone that was a critic of immigration issues would first live in another country for one year to see what how immigration issue is internalized from outside the United States.  It intensified many things for me, and seeing Diego Luna’s film did the same for me.

In seeing Grand Budapest Hotel, wow.  I honestly have never seen one of  Wes Anderson’s films but the traits he leaves behind in each of his films (now I have to see them) such as Rushmore and The Royal Tenenbaums, it is interesting to see how Anderson ends films in a similar fashion, as well as the clipping action that seems to run in front of your eyes, yet paints quite a comical scene.  I thought of the child toys I had, called the View-Master, and that is what I thought I was seeing on a larger scale in the theatre with Wes Anderson’s film.

Screen Shot 2014-05-07 at 12.31.07 AMSunday was a make up a adventure day and so we did.  I took Kinah, Wriggley, and Amaya through a planned five park trek all day, myself finishing some aspect of work I needed to do by the end of this trek.  Believe it or not, it worked.  We trekked through Parque Rio, then Parque Luis Cabrera, then onto Parque Mexico, then to the Glorieta and Amsterdam circle/fountain Screen Shot 2014-05-07 at 12.21.34 AM(I love this mini park)

then to Parque Espana, and finally to the Maria Enriqueta Carillo/circle/minipark by Celaya,

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wow SIX!  We did SIX parks!  It was funny seeing the brood actually tired at the end of this walk, (that does not happen) but actually meeting so many new friends in park after park, it was nice to see they were OUT like a light when we came home and for hours, they were literally snoozing like babies, lol.  It was a beautiful sunny day, a perfect Mexican summer day, and full of friends and new friends made throughout the day.  You couldn’t ask for more.  🙂

May is speeding by, and with exciting and relaxing chances to enjoy Mexico, (including ignoring the largely AMERICAN celebration of Cinqo de Mayo, lol) a 5 day weeks speeds by with such opportunities around you!

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Rufus Wainwright, library paths, fresh air, 3 pounds, and Hangover…

Posted on April 26, 2014 by Harry Brake

“What was your favorite part of vacation?” I know I do not get questions like that but I love them.  Why? It makes me think as a person as well, and not take the moments I tend to forget, memorable and remind me why it is the little things that make the big picture so clear.

In looking back on the visit to D.C. and DE, definitely, a few things do stick out…

Rufus Wainwright at NPR, walking in NOMA and exploring neighborhoods of D.C., minutes after finishing the tour of NPR in Washington D.C., and seeing the editing of this session happen was just one of many moments where I found myself so lucky to be part of the NPR single day tour – NPR – it might mean nothing to some but the stories and lives that have been represented through the years since I have started listening to NPR have meant everything to me and only brought this tour alive to me as saw the inner workings of studios, reporters, and more that made NPR, NPR – and I love that it is radio exclusive and only getting more popular every day.

The one thing I am a sucker for, topics that lead you to ore interesting paths and topics.   Some people like riddles, puns, working with numbers, et but I like topics that lead you other places.  Take Rufus Wainwright, there is more behind Rufus than just the amazing voice.  His parents are the famous Kate McGarrigle and Loudon Wainwright III, who I never was aware of yet represented some of the most amazing sounds in folk music.  It is fun for me to find the paths I do not know that branch off from other topics, hence, my love for being a librarian.  All of this of course leads to the show 30-music hour  and npr music.

Perhaps transferring to the second most interesting and favorite place and perhaps the contender for first always, visiting the beach.  IMG_3626I have a preference for Bethany Beach and Mango’s Restaurant and the air never, ever,  is a let down.  That crisp, saltwater air lets you dive into Thrasher fries, ice cream, Candy Kitchen, milkshakes, The Bethany Beach Book Store, and so much more along the boardwalk.  The sand between your feetIMG_3636, the sound of the tide coming in, it doesn’t matter WHAT type of year, it is still reassuring and comforting, and I think that is one of the all time favorites of visiting anywhere – eating a IMG_3618 good meal in Ocean City at Liquid Assets with IMG_3622 family and friends, seeing a wine tasting and information session, enjoying the taste of mussels, cornbread with Jalapeño and so many cheeses, wow that was a GREAT day.  There is something about the air, you take it in and you do it enough all day you are guaranteed a night’s sleep that is unlike any you normally have, and worth every minute of being near the water!

Also, visiting IMG_3569Chapel Branch always is a calm experience, like Yoga, it is amazing to take in the smell of pine, see the developments that add to the area and that continue to enhance nature as a whole  Even though I came across what I thought was an owl, yet  wing span looked like an eagle, which dropped it’s early early morning kill IMG_3521right in front of me from the trees as I came across him on the path!  LOL  (better than on me!)  I found that this was home in so many ways from all the training days, XC meets and just a place where so many of us worshipped, it is always an honor to visit IMG_3523Chapel and take care of the Vince Morris Trail. It makes the whole day better.

 

 

Funny, coming to D.C. I thought I’d have tons of room to bring back items like chai/ hot chocolate/Snapple tea packets for my Keurig machine, clothes, and other items and I barely had room for it all!  So much, than when I weighed my suitcase I was three, THREE pounds overweight and that very three pounds, before boarding United Airways, would have cost me 100 dollar!  Unlike US Airways, I did not have to pay a $45.00 fee for the first checked bag, but, I ended up losing a sweatshirt (one I found) after switching items in my suitcase to be able to board and avoid an extra 100.00 dollars for three pounds – however all made it, the D.C. Macy’s dress shirts I purchased, the beach wood lighthouse Mom gave me, my cousin’s custom-made Steeler blanket, Beach Salt Water Taffy, Keurig packets, the pairs of Dockers I bought, the stack of books for the library, the two pairs of Saucony shoes I purchased, and only leaving behind a small box of Keurig packets and my neon green running shoes until next time – more room coming back, um, no.

Remember the cat Helen Kang and Alejandro used to have when they were in Mexico, his name as Hangover?  Well, he was always the cat I never saw and wow, THAT changed.  I go somewhere, Hangover Photo on 4-26-14 at 4.36 AM #2 is there, attached literally to my elbow most times, as the dogs also change to be more receptive to walks, being in other parts of the apartment and not destroying everything, everyone settles into a relaxed and easy life in back in Mexico.

 

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Rubin Carter, Roda, freedom, and aspiring.

Posted on April 21, 2014 by Harry Brake

IMG_3648Rubin Carter – wow.  After listening to NPR and discovering the amazing story of Rubin Carter – his 20 years prison term that was unfairly unconvicted of – wow, I can barely say much about  story that speaks for itself and one everyone should know.  I realize that listening to stories and the accounts of lives of others, is important to put what we should be thankful in life, more in focus and keep us grounded to the simple things that make life priceless.

Alison Schwinn, former student, Naval student and overall, a treasure in representing what individuals that believe in the promise of a bright future can do, participates in the Boston Marathon today and I feel she is breaking some personal records as she honors that tradition even despite the tragedy to terrorism of the past.  Her willingness to push forward is admirable and I am pushing her forward each half hour I think of her place in the race!

Looking back over this visit from Charlotte, to D.C/Takoma Park, and then to DE and the Eastern shore, I received a much-needed renewal of spirit and energy.  Some specific names stand out in my mind, Chapel Branch, Nanticoke Conservancy, The Betts Family, Linn Duryea, Ms. Bayon, cousins Lois and Roger, Mom, Aunt June and Uncle John, Bethany Beach, Roda Studio, and so much more, containing it inside and bringing it with you, not so easy.  Yet, there are ways to let these moments go forward and make an impact into the future.

My goals for the future – buckle down and get more involved with the environment and world around us, and getting others involved with that same initiative.  Continue to monitor and be more in touch with those that have influenced us so much more.  Also, continue to be a voice for important causes that need out voice to promote change for the better in the world.  These are just some little aspects that ultimately help shape our loves and ourselves to begetter people.

In returning to Delaware, I have to say, eating at Chilis, visiting the bookstore, then also visiting Bethany Beach, taking in the feel of the sand, the saltwater, the amazing restaurant Liquid Assets, as well as just enjoying being in a beautiful sunset and area where fresh is everywhere – it made all the difference. Take all those experiences, and add the excitement of Charlotte, NC and the energy and experiences of all things Takoma Park and Washington D.C., this has been an AMAZING experience, and I love these areas that I am lucky enough to have a tie to!

Regarding technology, I love this study of the consequences of digital media and behavior.    LOVE!   What this says to me is to have a HUGE balance of activities that are outside of the digital world and involve the digital world, with a HEALTHY balance, that makes the two more meaningful.  it is easy to hide behind a desk, and even easier to hide behind a device, but it takes volumes of talent to bring talented individuals into the fold based on their strengths and that involve both non-technological and technological skills.  Kind of ties me to the news of the virus the bug called Heartbleed that went around.  Risks in technology are always around, but, to be a happy individual, at least for me, I need more than just technology, I need the marriage of the two to do things I could only dream of before.

Was it ironic that the town I was staying in provided a chance to drop mail off to someone from Seaford, DE, to a specific studio that was a block away from my cousins, and that friends knew people that close to me?  I like to think no, showing how connected culture, friends, and actions of reaching out are related once we pay attention and look around us.  I loved walking into Roda Studio with a piece of mail that friends in Seaford wanted to send to, and I walked in on an amazing bunch of talent involving drums and it seemed was a therapy of its own, just listening.

I love organizations that also represent the energy of doing something more than just being average – such as the Freedom to Read Foundation, Nanticoke Watershed Conservancy, and National Novel Writing Month – (I love) and there are tons more!

Powdered Alcohol – I think I can;t say anything about this and just gape at this article, lol.

There is so much more to reflect including the tragedy of the Malaysian airflight and the Korean accident  – more to come as I try to digest all the wonderful experiences within one small break!

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Becoming a part of the bigger picture…

Posted on April 17, 2014 by Harry Brake

As I spend my third day in Takoma Park, MD, ready to head to DE tomorrow, I find what is even more exciting is seeing the creative projects around me that make life more enriching and fulfilling.  It would be exciting to see these ideas come to fruition possibly in Mexico and been to spread.  I added some interesting elements to the page, Unique Things that Make Life Unique, and continue to find ways that education can be tied to our community, a powerful tool in the learning process.

Screen Shot 2014-04-17 at 7.54.05 AMI also came across a blog of someone that visited Mexico during the H1N1 scare, and it was rewarding to see how they saw Mexico a few yard ago as well.  I head out today to tour the NPR main office, as well as to explore some more corners of the D.C. area, and while it was a little more cold than I cared for yesterday, I love the vibrant energy of the city all around me!

 

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Peruvian gold, DANCE!, “cool”, Cherry Blossoms, rain, snow?, and Cool ideas…

Posted on April 15, 2014 by Harry Brake

What to do on a day that involved heavy rains but a chance to explore the D.C. area?   First in my mind was…

The National Geographic Museum with a fascination of photography and exploring other areas and then my thought was to check the Smithsonian American Museum since I had participed in a Clarice Smith Institute a few years ago.

After I updated several items on the internet and finished a great book titled Juliet, Naked by Nick Hornby.  Setting out I donned the raincoat and headed to the Takoma station, for Farragut North stop.  I headed to the National Geographic Museum – the entryway was amazing with every single issue of National Geographic represented electronically, way cool!  Then I saw there was a Peruvian exhibit, which was very cool and provided info on the earliest stages of the Inca civilization, with the skills in metal, ceramics, and textile displays.  I was interested in seeing the various levels of civilization that was before the Incas and noticed the tagging on the exhibits indicated which civilization the materials were linked to.  As I walked through this exhibit, I was able to geographically orient myself with the locations of Peru, Ecuador, and Colombia in South America.

I loved seeing the info on IMG_3348Machu Picchu and I recognized this from several people in Mexico heading there!  The was the first grant ended excavation from National Geo which was great.  Then also the information on the Inca’s delved into the Mexican area and it was welcome to see this as part of the exhibit, it’s funny the way I see pieces of information on Mexico now as I reside there now, totally different.  I saw Mexican dominoes, dominoesand specifically looked into maps and detailed topography that dealt more in the Latin American areas as I have been more interested in what is around me from being in that location now!

The many hands-on activities made the museum intriguing without having to be very long.  As I made my way into the bookstore, I was intrigued with the reminder that is is Cherry Blossom season and then also stumbled across the book, true green @ work for Earth Day.  Also, a great book titled, Devoted, made me think of an idea to ask people to provide a story about their pets, that I could feature on this blog.  Stay tuned, I think that would be awesome to do!

Although it was pouring rain, I made my way to the metro and made it to the next stop, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, which as like home from being a student in the Clarice Fellowship a few years back, but wow, some of the exhibits below were AMAZING!

– The whole exhibit on the word “Cool” with portraits that represent American Cool, and I was anxious to see who was represented.  I literally searched and found Paul Newman, to people I was unsure about like Lester Young who represented a high movement in Jazz.  The one person I did not see was James Dean, and I thought, how could that NOT be so and I redid my way through the exhibits, and did indeed see James DEAN – which validated my meaning of cool.  🙂  This reminded me of a course took in college that asked us to take word, and define that word according to several generations.  This was one of the best ways to learn some aspects of linguistics, as well as combining social media  – andI still remember this lesson.   I think a GREAT idea for the Harlem Renaissance unit would be to have students create a theme of “Cool” and have them represent various aspects of the Harlem based on the idea of American cool, it would be amazing and get students to delve into individuals that aren’t always necessary the same individuals that are the same individuals that are always focused on.

– Leading from the exhibit of “cool” titled “Dancing the Dream“,  there was an amazing exhibit on the history of dance, from well-known names like Paula Abdul as a choreographer to those from ballet and way before my time, that opened up the contributions of dance to a HUGE level in information.  ANYONE interested in dance needs to make this a priority to see until July 13, 2014.  I was excited to see a famous choreographer Susan Stroman from Wilmington, Delaware, who was part of this exhibit!

– the Photography exhibit was amazing that featured Morgan Freeman, Hank Aaron, and even famous writers like Hemmingway and Georgia O’Keefe, but whoa!  Cesar Chavez too – an amazing exhibit highlighting key characters through American history.

– Seeing the third floor where HallLincoln had his inaugural ball – amazing, beautiful and full of new and modern styles of art.

– A special exhibition of Martin Luther King, which was vivid, clear, and showed the impact of others around him as well!

It felt good to go through on my own and make decisions at a pace that was my own, and as a result, I saw connections that can be made to the world around us.  That is the exciting thing about education and being a librarian, being able to make connections and see how things synthesize and become more real, hence the shared info below  😉

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Stay tuned for a new part of the blog that looks at unique ideas that appear in various neighborhoods around the world!

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Kelly, George Clinton and Holiday Inn?

Posted on April 14, 2014 by Harry Brake

On my way now waiting for my 11:40 AM flight to IAD, I thought…

How funny and nice it was to have Kelly, the driver for Skyline cabs 704-392 0775 to pick me up and drop me off.  Yes, there were cabs everywhere I could have taken, and yes, his battery credit card machine was not working, yet, the simple fact that he was competing with companies that had company vehicles, and…he played George Clinton and told me about him riding in his cab, and Kelly was animated, the whole way to and from, excited about the music he had a million songs on the cd, telling me a little about what to see in Charlotte, and he was just ALIVE with funny stories and not afraid to share them, (George Washington coming here to share in the discovery of gold that lead to minting money, the discovery of gold as a nugget used as a doorstop, the fact that gold still exists and it is so deep not worth the bother to dig it, the meanness of King George the III with Charlotte, NC and the name given based on the British consort that remained), sticking with him as a local driver – it made all the difference in him or a major anyway everywhere company cab – remember him and remember Skyline- he was AWESOME – he is worth bypassing companies and asking him for the business.

Adding to that, Louisheta (spelling, ugh, I think I was close!) and The Holiday Inn desk attendant were AMAZING.  All the way from the airport to The Holiday Inn, we talked about teachers, how they should be higher on the pay scale, their lack of recognition of being the real heroes behind the future of tomorrow, and she was amazing and wonderful – and very accommodating.  Holiday Inn was better thanks to their help in obtaining a cab as well as offering anything needed – they made the trip and overnight experience better than 100% – thank you so much for putting yourself out not only to pick me up, as she also worked the front desk to check me in, but again, making the name Holiday Inn appear better than the name of Hilton and Sheraton for a night.

Walking after dinner at Whisky River, I was taking pictures and a woman approached me from the center of where I was taking statues and asked if I was gong to eat my dinner (I took a box of hamburger, Quesadilla, and Sweet Potato fries) and realized, after she hugged me two times and thanks me profusely for the food, that I had just given her dinner tonight.  Always the skeptic in us as humans, I know we always wander how true those that asks for money and food are, but in the reality of things,  alot of times your gut tells you what is in fact reality, and in this case, I could not have wished the food to go to anyone else.    It was a good night.

As I wait and have retrieved a IMG_3336blueberry breakfast cake and blueberry bagel from Einstein’s Bagel (Close to Panera bread-like bagels but not quite there, but delicious) I see the little things we do, if we all did them make a HUGE difference.  Case in point, making as little a mess for cleaning staff as possible when they come into clean, collecting shampoo, mouth wash, soap extras from the hotel and possibly creating a company to have those items go to homeless (does anyone do that?) – paying recognition to those that work hard everyday and taking 10 minutes to send comments to corporate to make their day better, is just the tip of what we can do.  I bet if each of us thought about what we can do ONE thing, on a daily basis to improve the lives of another, the world would begin a changing.  This is something we can all do when we are on vacation!  (P.S.  EVERY airport should offer free WIFI like Charlotte, EVERY!)

 

 

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A walk in the park, is NOT just a walk in the park…at least in Mexico…

Posted on April 14, 2014 by Harry Brake

El Niñopan o Niñopa.  Ever hear of it?  Me either until this morning (Sunday morning).  Relishing the ability to sleep in, and yet, getting things done around the house on my time, amid a sunny and beautiful day, I did have time to contemplate how I would get ready to head to the states today – it still seems surreal to me to be able to be in Mexico at one moment, then in a few house across the world, still amazing and I hope that admiration never wears off!

As I headed to Parque Rio for a long walk with Kinah, Wriggley, and Amaya, the unexpected made my day.   A friendly woman named Rocio asked if the three were my dogs once I took them off the leash and they ran and were playing.  I said yes and we found out that Rocio lived in the apartment building where several ASF teachers now are, and where Sue, and then Jake also had an apartment previously.  We know each other through mutual friends, and I explained we had JUST come off a trip to Xochimilco, where the term Ninopan was explained to me.

While having visited the Basilica due to the appearance of the Virgin Mary Guadalupe, it turns out ten years later such an appearance of the child-like image in Xochimilco, is worshipped and one of the oldest images and most visited due this, next to the Basilica, and found in Xochimilco, this is  known as Ninopan.  Explained that this did not appear in a  church, but in actual homes, and is card for in homes and not a parish.  I can’t tell you how amazing it was to hear this, after just going to Xochimilco the day before and meeting this story through  wonderful person, in a park, unknown to me before, named Rocio.

Then were was the man that pulled over his taxi last night, seeing me walk the dogs, just to get my phone number so we could exchange photos of similar dogs, since he had an afghan too.  It was rewarding these genuine conversations occurred, and with individuals that did not know each other, yet do after a conversation.  This is part of the magic of Mexico and people in general that care about the connections that are made.

On the plane and reading the newest book Juliet, Naked by Nick Hornby, a line stood out, “But most of the time, she was happy still to have made it under the barbed wire that surrounded secondary education and out into the world” (55).  I read that over and over and realized the government’s form of eduction does feel just like that, making it over or under barbed wire at the end of the day when emphasis is placed on  test scores, numbers, to statistical information.  When not forgetting the student and pushing that statistical scoring information aside, what I have found is eduction that is deeper than the reports that will be handed out by state governments due to something as demeaning as a test score.  I realized the true heroes when it comes to education, are the educators that wade through the state requirements when it comes to testing and reach deeper into the students themselves.  This makes all the difference.

In reading Nick Hornby’s novel, Juliet Naked, I found myself asking what have I done productive over x many-years and not just looking at accomplishment but looking at experiences that shape and make me grow spiritually and personally. As this novel of individuals that outgrow each other, as they strive to find the real meaning to hem inside their hearts, I realized how important it is for us to capitalize on the talents we do have rather than the ones we might never attain. I like the fact of taking what we have now as individuals and going on to make a difference due to the passion we are capable of possessing.  I challenged myself to continue to grow in areas that I dreamed about at one time – creating a chance to make dreams actualized – a ranch one day of horse riding, horse riding lessons, fields to run in as I was once young, creating alive that I look back on and hopefully see a life that was made up of helping others realize what they are capable of – and in the process – create something you can look back on and see a differences being made – this is what life should be about, making life better as well as inspirational.

Finding myself walking the streets of Charlotte, I loved the fact I could hear crickets while I walked downtown Charlotte at night, and could feel the calmness and see the cleanliness of a city that once played home to the largest gold finding revolution, that eventually gave way to what would become Charlotte based on the information we did receive.

IMG_3294Eating at Dale Earnhardt’s restaurant, seeing a beautiful and different major town, the fact that things that are astounding do happen when you constantly strive for new information and new meaning to you as a person when the opportunity arises, in this case flying into Charlotte.  But on a deeper level, learning so much about or cities from individuals that are willing to share their stories.  Not a bad way to start a Sunday morning!

There are two interesting stories about Whisky River and the taxi driver that got me back and forth from the airport Holiday Inn, and that will be worth the tale tomorrow.  🙂

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:)Off into the Broad blue yonder!

Posted on April 13, 2014 by Harry Brake

IMG_3290It’s everywhere!  Yes that is right, the last two days spent with the SRU students IMG_3287at the Basilica, then the next day at the Frida Kahlo Museum, Coyoacan, and Xochimilco, I love that I am from SRU!  The student teachers – amazing.  🙂   I am ready to pack for my 1:40 flight today to Charlotte, then to D.C. the next DAY.  (I think packing is overrated and tend to pack more gifts from Mexico than clothes for the states!)

I loved visiting Xochimilco with SRU students that appreciated the time there!  From coconut drinks to Mariachi refusing to pay for us saying we were not good looking enough (WHAT?) to Fondue meals, to soaking in the sun outside of an incubating bus – Loved this weekend and look forward to coming to the states!  🙂

More to come, but I will be next posting from Charlotte, N.C. when I arrive. Time to walk the dogs, water the plants, pack, and close up shop for a bit  🙂  Hope all of you are having a GREAT Spring Break!

 

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Retro blogging and smiling

Posted on April 11, 2014 by Harry Brake

As I cleaned off the dining room table of receipts that represented past weeks and months of experiences, sifting through receipts, thank you’s birthday cards and more, I realized, there are are some crucial items that I needed to recognize and I felt incomplete unless I gave the due time to experiences that I fee others need to know about.  So the next few posts over the next week or so will be catching up on this information, updating this blog with restaurants frequented, places and activities for children, as well as highlights of various pieces of information that change peoples’ lives.

One such piece is Pelagic Life.  Ages ago I received stickers that stated, “Yo No Como Cazon    Pelagic Life” and was told that former alumni of ASF helped create this idea.  I went to Pelagic Life’s site and even more, after exploring, enjoyed watching their 2013 fundraiser at the Soumaya Museum.   All the good that I witnessed in the administration and staff of the Baltimore Aquarium when I volunteered there came flooding back and I realized how amazing the world is with the wildlife that surrounds us, and also how easy it is to let this world slip by you without taking time to stop, care about the very things that are easy to miss when we create a schedule for our lives that allow us to miss such miracles as the environment that surrounds us.

I am very impressed with the Pelagic Life site and I think you will be too.  Looking through the link of “What We Do” will help bring Pelagic Life’s purpose closer to you, and I have to say is VERY refreshing to see what Mexico’s involvement is with the environment around us.  It is exciting to also be coming up on Earth Week at ASF when we return from Spring Break on the 22nd and remind ourselves how we can make a difference in the world around us.  I am interested in any of you recognize former alumni from ASF in this collection of individuals that make Pelagic Life tick.

As I begin to plan the trip I will be involved in going home on the 13th, (first Charlotte, then overnight, then to D.C. on the 14th, and then ultimately to Delaware!) I am excited to see the beach, the smell of saltwater, and the areas that become recognizable and what I have learned to call familiar).  Yes, I miss my dogs already (and I have not left yet!) – but it is nice to be among familiar as well.  Seeing my travel buddy Sandra Shannon off back to Bogota, Colombia was sad in a way, but exciting to see her begin a new adventure, and that always is eye opening if you let it be.  I am interested in trying to make the most of a overnight layover in Charlotte and see/do something that will allow me to remember that stop instead of just being a dropping off put delaying my path home!  🙂

Tomorrow, we head to the Basilica with the Slippery Rock student teachers and with it being a half day, tomorrow looks to be a relaxing and good afternoon filled with SRU spirit and photographic memories and yes, around it all is that sense that Spring Break is finally here!  🙂

 

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Street pianos, transparent kindness, dreams.

Posted on April 4, 2014 by Harry Brake

Have you noticed the pianos in Mexico?  No?  Placed in 44 cities around the WORLD, you will see them in Parque Luis Cabrera, Espana, Mexico, and even Parque Rio. I loved seeing the stranger   that walks by and sits down and just begins playing the music inside of them.  Imagine the   hurt I felt when I walked by Thursday morning and saw the piano there turned upside down, and the bench smashed.   Yes.  Waling three dogs, I let Kinah, Wriggley, and Amaya off the leash and took the piano myself and uprighted it.  Three to four people walked by, no effort at helping just staring.  Yet it seemed the right thing to do.

Flashback to April 1, 2014.  My father would have been 77 years old, 11 years ago this year   marking his absence physically, and as I have mentioned before, Dad was smart beyond 66 years.  He left us gifts that never can be bought, manipulated or changed, but only by us.  I think that is the amazing legacy of families, the opportunity they provide to add to our lives, not to just take away the moment, but they add to those moments, be it memories or the very unspoken words that say – you can do things people only dream about.  Dad was like that.  Not blogging on April 1st was easy, I did not have the words to say what he had left us and how it had made me the person I am today.  I felt this today as Dr. Tom Gordon and Jodi Katsafanas celebrated the SRU students here at our very own ASF.  Every single time they have come you feel as they are a part of your own family, the students this year, as well as last, also continue to make you feel as they are a part of your own siblings, and I realized after telling everyone how luck we were to have had Mr. Gordon all this time at ASF and now he is retiring, that our Dad always instilled that in us without ever saying a word.

Dad was very quiet, yet, he instilled ht you do the extra work, you go the extra mile and then some, with never being asked.  You do not question “Why should I do THAT?” and to say, “That is not MY job” in some cases is out of the question.  The ability to provide you with the energy, enthusiasm, and creativity to figure out how to make life better without saying a word but showing others why it was so important to do so – his speciality.  He was a aster of it and I always felt I could learn the meaning of life just by looking over his shoulder during the many times he was carving a snoopy figurine out of soap, creating a do-nothing machine out of of wood, carving Jacob’s ladder, or simply laughing in the belly laugh sort of way.  Leaving food at the doorsteps, providing a ride to someone alone on a street, and taking individuals in that had nowhere to go, common for him.  Yet, his spirt continues to thrive in those that had the amazing opportunity to be around him.

The word TEAM began to mean anyone within reach that was willing to buy into the fact that if you expected nothing, and gave out more, then you win.  Period.  No questions asked.  I always have felt, and feel, despite the scrutiny, criticism, and analysis of why each of us go the extra mile and put our all into some areas we feel we have strengths, that it is our calling to not be happy and content with the minimum, but be only happy with seeing the maximum in order to lift others up.  I always fly we had an obligation from being Dad’s children to uphold that legacy he left behind,never sure where it would take us, never sure what it would mean, but remaining true to what Dad always held in his heart.

April 1st was a quiet day of introspection, but I never felt alone, and I suspect that each of us under his family thread feel we always have an angel on our shoulders. Funny thing.  I have a video tape recorded of when we had all the family over for a get together at my house on Oak Street in Butler, PA, the least time I can remember us all together with Dad.  I never have watched that video as it has remained on the small videocassette format it has always been, it always seemed sacrilegious to open it up and watch.  Yet, for some reason, I want to find a way to convert it now and watch it, an I think that might be goal for the next two to three weeks.

So that piano, and uprighting it this morning?  Other thought enough to pick our neighborhoods to put something beautiful and life changing despite the ugliness that some people have inside, despite the disregard they have for the world, if there is that many more that feel the other way, – life can be a challenge and a palette for creativity – I think we might be on the right track.  Goodness knows Dad considered no alcohol and no smoking to be his mantra, but a deeper message was you owed it to yourself to take care of yourself so you can in turn take care of others.  While that is a HUGE bill to pay, I think it is a valuable one to receive and meet the challenge to every day.

Dream are literally the bread and butter, the salt and vinegar, the Old Bay on crabs, and how lucky am I that I am surrounded by individuals everyday that come up and ask, “I have this idea…”  “I thin we should try…” they dream.  They dream over and over and never take no for an answer, and I never want to be the one that denies what a dream can be, only to envision their vision and see how it can become even better.  I elected the year NOT to tell the Repentino. staff as we trekked to New York this year the story I always share about The Rings Around Us-1, but I figured this would be as good as a place as any, as each of them have a little (and alot) of that dreamer inside of them, and there is no doubt they will go on to be successful – encouragement, confidence, and strength is what they possess, and when I look around, I realize, Dad is always near my, just now in numbers.

 

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