My computer memory recovery process was faster than I could have hoped!!

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 Posada in Pescadero

Pescadero is a small village right on the central coast.  Every year the community holds a celebration of “Los Posadas", a traditional nighttime reenactment of the story of Mary and Joseph seeking shelter. This year my wife, Judy and I came to join in.

Un angelito

The story of Los Posadas has special meaning for “Los immigrantes” the people who have come from Mexico and Central America seeking a better life working with the crops of California.  The story speaks to anyone who has felt like an outsider …anyone who has felt like they don't understand ‘the system’ and they are in need of help.  It also speaks to those of us in a position to offer help, but don’t.  The one we are turning away may be a very special person that we don’t recognize.

The 'Three Kings" waiting for the procession to form

Two angels and a shepherd waiting to 'form up'

The gathered community forms a procession, which symbolically visits homes asking for shelter. Both the Anglo and the Latino communities of Pescadero participate, both the Catholic and the Protestant churches and those in neither, the entire community take part.  The people gather to make up a procession, guitar players lead the way, some people dress to fill the rolls of the key players in the Christmas story, and we stroll down the empty village street singing the traditional Mexican Posadas songs (conveniently printed out for us Anglos). 

Mary and Joseph and an angel

Three singers representing the house that rejects Mary and Joseph

We stop at several prearranged houses and ask for shelter, but we are refused… until finally we arrive at ‘the place of shelter’.  Here the “innkeeper” welcomes us in and makes us comfortable.  This year we started at St. Anthony’s Catholic church and ended at the Pescadero Community Church… where a fine community service had been put together by local people from both church communities.    

Warm and dry inside the church

It was a special twist this year that the event took place in a driving Pacific December rainstorm.  The little “angelitos” held umbrellas, and someone covered the guitar players.  Those without umbrellas crowded in with those who had one – making little clusters of people walking together.  But these Pescadero folks take such weather in stride and it did nothing to slow down the spirit of the event!

The guitar players and music leaders

After the gathering at the Church we progressed on to the village dance hall built as the Portuguese community center…  The hall was festive with light and color, Spanish language music was playing, and Mary and Joseph, the wise men and shepherds all marched to the front stage to hold court for people who wanted to have their picture taken with them.  

Tamales, rice, and Atole for everyone!

At the back of the hall they started handing out plates with tamales, Spanish rice, and plastic cups of Atole, a traditional Mexican hot beverage made from corn… (All offered without charge for everyone – thanks to the generosity of some churches and individuals).  We feasted and talked to people we knew and made new acquaintances.  We especially enjoyed being reunited with friends from the Palo Alto community.

The community gathering to relate and talk

At some point Mary and Joseph and party got to come down and enjoy tamales too … and a bit later who should arrive but Santa himself!  Oh my goodness – there were big eyes everywhere among the children.  

The long line of kids and parents  waiting to see Santa and get their sock of toys

Santa is holding up a sock of toys to give to the girl

He made his way to the stage where he invited kids to come sit on his lap.  He had large felt stockings filled with gifts for each child. (Various churches in the Bay Area have been filling those stockings for weeks…)

At the end a raffle to see what gifts the lucky winners might receive " Why dont you draw my number".

By now the hour was growing late and Judy and I had decided that we did not want to drive the winding Pescadero road at night in the wind and rain – so we had made reservations to stay in a kind of bed and breakfast place a bit out of town.  We have a separate little house about the size of a two-car garage.  It is made of rough sawn planks – but had a pleasant design and a lot of windows all looking out over beautiful expanses of hills and forests.  We slept the night with a steady pouring rain drumming on our roof.  What fine music falling rain makes when you can hear it all night!

You can share this blog with others by sending this url address: http://johnzlatnik.blogspot.com
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Highly recommended links of the week:  http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/12/22/the-nra-flubs-the-facts-about-sandy-hook.html

As of 12/21/12:  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/21/us-shooting-deaths-sandy-hook_n_2348466.html

Computer problems!

My blog this week will be delayed... This week my hard drive (CPU) crashed... and I am in the process of getting my systems back to normal.  Fortunately I had a Remote Hard drive and it will be possible to retrieve all the files -

So stay tuned - I hope to post my next blog mid week next week...

My fond best wishes for a Merry Christmas

John

Stories that tell the truth

“Once upon a time...”  I loved stories when I was a kid! (and still do).    When I heard those words it meant  that “this didn't really happen’ – but I was going to be transported into another time and place where wonderful  and unusual things could happen”.  Some of the stories for children contained a moral or advice.  “Don't go into the forest alone – it can be dangerous.”  “Plan ahead to be prepared for adversity."  Some of the advice seems a little strange in our time –“Its OK to steal from and even kill an evil giant... but you have to outsmart the guy first...”

Once upon a time in a dark forest...

I grew up in among people who were tellers of stories – Some about past adventures, tales about the struggles that came from immigrating to America, enduring through the depression, dealing with severe winter weather, temperamental machinery, indians, the strange and funny things they had experienced in life. There were even stories about the deep mud of springtime.   Stories were common.   Chatting with friends in the barber shop,  family gatherings, by the minister in his sermons.  These stories told me who I was and the way that I should live my life...a kind of imprinting...  I treasure some of these stories to this day.  TV is an incomplete replacement for story telling in the lives of children.

The generation before mine

The formal stories that adults write down into books often contain a truth, a moral, a vision of what could be...  The story of Hamlet gives an accurate picture of greed and remorse... What happens if you leave yourself open to enemies? Did the story happen?  Of course not... Does the story tell a great truth that we can relate to today...?  Most certainly! Consider Moby Dick, the Grapes of Wrath, the Brothers Karamazov... also modern works like 'Lacunae', 'The Hunger games', 'Harry Potter.'..  How do the stories and morals of today's literary works differ from those of earlier times?  The answer tells us how we have changed (or not) as a people.

The great whale is really a metaphor with different meanings for each member of the crew - to  Captain Ahab it represents evil itself!

Humans use myth and parable to tell great truth – never mind that the Tortoise never did outrun the Hare...perseverance still pays off.  Brer Rabbit's encounter with the Tar Baby makes us laugh at our own ego involvement.  Myths and parables are useful vehicles for truth telling ... or sometimes  to tell the version of cherished ideas  that we want others to accept.  The people of North Korea are being told that no one on earth has a higher quality of life than the North Korean people.  The suicide bombers of Afghanistan believe that by carrying out the bombing they will ensure for themselves an immediate place in Heaven.  The stories we tell ourselves and the stories our culture tells us do have significance – they shape our lives.

Mayan deities were thought to have specialized areas of influence: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Maya_gods_and_supernatural_beings

Primitive people used story to explain why things are as they are. They were stories loosely connected to reality.  Why is the crow black?  It stole fire from the gods to carry to man ... the smoke forever darkened its feathers.  The Sun is mounted on the wheel of a chariot drawn across the sky each day.  Such beliefs are often closely related to belief in magic. This Chinese wind god is unpredictable in his actions.  Did "the people" think these explanations  were "true"?  The answer to this question might give is a hint to how different humans regard "truth" and what is important - we tend to see "truth" in a post enlightened sort of way.

Deity of the wind - capricious! (SF Asian Art Museum)

Many scholars conclude that early Greek civilizations sought to understand  subjective “truth”. The method that they developed involved the process of using open-ended observations leading to conclusions.  For the Greeks there was a strong relationship between the philosophy of knowing and the observations of nature that led to new understandings of the natural world.

Pacific Banana Slug http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banana_slug

The questions that a scientist asks of nature are “what and how” questions.  A scientist describes.  He or she doesn't have the tools to answer “why” questions – those are matters for religion.  The story that a scientist has to tell is always open to the results of new evidence.  Scientists don't get to pick and choose which facts to include - all valid observations must be included- all reasonable questions must be considered.

The the time of Galileo all heavenly bodies were thought to be 'perfect' - the flaws on the surface of the moon were troubling to the Church - but with the telescope the existence of craters was discovered and certain...

Sometimes the story that emerges from observations and conclusions makes us uncomfortable – For example some people are uncomfortable with the evidence and conclusions supporting Global climate change, others just dont want to accept the gradual emergence of new species through natural selection... even though evidence continually mounts. A scientist doesnt have the choice of adjusting facts to make someone happy.  Hitler encouraged his scientists to come up with evidence that the German people were a ‘super race’. Honest examination of the evidence makes it clear that this is simply not true. 

Science still has many unanswered questions. it is part of good science to recognize that some work is work in progress.   By sharing results someone else may develop an experiment that goes beyond what we can imagine.

Some people face a crisis when scientific evidence indicates a conclusion that disagrees with what they were taught to be true. For some the conflict is dealing with bias, for some it is religion, for others there are  political or social beliefs that get in the way. It is inconvenient when evidence points in another direction than we want it to. It is the old conflict between faith and evidence... between “how” and ”why”.

In the late 1700s in response to a smallpox epidemic, it was discovered that 'CowPox' vaccinations would prevent SmallPox.  The public was filled with fear and outrage - fearing what the vaccination might do to them...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cowpox

Does the fossil record indicate  that life on Earth has undergone slow gradual change? Definitely!  Have scientists observed bacteria capable of adapting so that they can live in the presence of an antibiotic? Certainly... Change happens... New evidence of evolution continues to develop.   Evolution is not a question of ‘believing in’something.... It happens... The matter of “why” it happens is a matter for religious belief.  The how and the why are different stories.

Each of the structures and features that you see has given this insect a better chance for its species to survive

What is the role of story in your life?  Where did you acquire the stories that give structure and meaning to you?  How do you deal with the “how” and ”why” issues that you encounter?  Please be open to looking at this issues and see what you learn.

The call of the unknown... the unknowable

THE INVISIBLE ONES, THE FORGOTTEN ONES

When I go to the local building supply store I see them – Men standing on the edge of the parking lot hoping for an opportunity for a day’s work- hoping that someone will  hire them to haul broken cement, or clean trash, or dig a drainage ditch.  For this they will receive the minimum wage of $8 an hour for a few hours work.  Only a few will actually get hired on a typical day.  To be unemployed, poor, and desperate makes a person invisible to the rest of us.

Dorthea Lange photo- Migrant Mother

 I feel conflicted when I see men stand at stop signs with a scrap of cardboard saying ; ‘Vet – I am hungry – I need your help”... I am troubled by reports that for many this is a lucrative scam.  But I know that there are many hungry people desperate for the next meal.  I hate to be burned by a con artist... so instead we support our local  homeless centers available to people like this...but sometimes I give money anyway...

Homeless vet asking for help

It is evidently clear that its not just lazy people who end up needing help.  Consider the results of the recession, veterans of our national wars, and the epidemic of foreclosures in recent years. What does a person do when he or she loses their safety net, when they are confronted with PTSD,  when they lose their job or their home?  Many people live one pay check away from disaster.  If you know one person in this situation - you understand the crisis.

Man sleeping on the street in San Francisco - He sleeps on a busy street because it is safer than a quiet location...

It is very troubling to look into the face of hunger.   You can't miss to on the streets in Mexico, in Tanzania, and in Turkey...  The poor can truly starve to death and no one helps. ( In Mexico I make it a point to carry 2 peso coins in my pocket which I give to hungry beggers – this is enough to buy about an inch thick stack of tortillas... but this is only a bandaid for one day.)  Hunger is also real and before our eyes here.  When I am in our  SF  Bay Area cities it is a common sight to see men and women going through the trash after lunch to find bits of food that people left behind in their lunch sacks.  it is shocking but Americans waste 40% of all the food produced in this country and still people go hungry.  Read the CNN report: http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2012/08/22/40-of-u-s-food-wasted-report-says/

Most of us would help a hungry person if it was someone we know. But in many cases we dont even see  the “invisible ones”.  it is easier to not see them - to tune them out and make them disappear from our awareness.

 First: 

A.     Open your eyes to see “the invisble ones” in our midst.  it can be troubling but its the first step...

B.     Find out what they need and find a way to help... strive to do more than band aid help.

Vet sign asking for help

Find an agency that addresses the need: 

1.     The Christmas season is often the time when people feel drawn to give money for special gifts for food or gifts for children... and this is commendable – but what about the other 364 days of the year...

2.     Learn about your local support groups that are active all year long. Give freely to the local homeless center where food and support is available.  Support legislation that benefits homeless vets and all desperate Americans.  Volunteer to give time - meet the “invisible ones” face to face. They are surprisingly just like us.

3.     Hunger knows no national boundaries – We are one human family: One of my favorite international support groups is Heifer Project International: http://www.heifer.org/heifers-christmas-wish-list

Squatter home in a style found in many countries

A true Heifer Project story: Adilah, in the hill country of Tanzania,  took us down the trail behind her house to a shelter made of sticks and cane.  Inside she pointed to her pig and the 8 babies.  The pigsty smelled as all pigstys – but to Adilah this pig represented security and the opportunity to feed her family and to send her 2 children to school.  Everything had been different until last year when her husband died of a lingering disease and she was left to fend for her children by herself. (She herself avoided infection.)   Their 20 acre farm can produce enough corn to feed the family but there is nothing extra to pay for emergencies or for education.   One of her neighbors told her about the “Heifer Project” a program that gifted pregnant female animals and provided them to people life Mary.  She signed up and was selected as a recipient.  First she had to go through training, had to build an adequate shelter for the pig, and show that she could provide adequate food to support the pig.

Young pig

She was able to collect overripe bananas from a nearby market, and food waste from a neighborhood restaurant to feed her pigs, also their were local seed pods from that the pigs would eat.  Finally the great day came when her pregnant young pig was delivered to her.  She grew rapidly and gave birth to 8 piglets.  A provision of the Heifer program was that she must give the first female piglet to another family in the neighborhood after training the new recipient ( after is reached maturity and became pregnant). The regional Heifer agency provided for a visit to a local male pig to impregnate the new young female.  Each baby pig that were born to her mama pig could be sold for the equivalent of 80$ - that meant that Mary now had surplus wealth  for health care and to educate her kids.  The gift of the one pig made her financially secure, and the gift keeps giving because the first born will continue to be passed on to others by each recipient.

This Christmas I am asking for a Heifer pig to be bought in my name to be delivered to someone like Adilah.   But Heifer is the perfect solution for your hard to pick Christmas gifts!  What do you buy for that difficult great aunt? How about a goat?  ... or a swarm of bees?  ... or a flock of chickens. She will take much more pleasure thinking of her goat and its effect on a third world family than she would from another Chia pet!  To discover "Heifer" gift possibilities go to : http://www.heifer.org/heifers-christmas-wish-list

Chia pet - "just plant seeds and water!"

What makes people invisible? – They may be dirty or ragged, they may be socially marginilized – they may have mental illnesses or handicaps.  I wonder if perhaps we are reminded of the vulnerability that we all face as part of the human condition that makes it more pleasant to look away and choose to make them invisible. 

If you found this blog of interest - you can pass it on to a friend by sending this url: http://johnzlatnik.blogspot.com

Notes: the week after Thanksgiving 11/30/12

1.  I am incredibly thankful for modern science, the development of antibiotics, and access to medical care.  This week my wife had a sudden asthma attack (last one twelve years ago).  I took her in to our doctor, and after an x-ray they determined that she also had pneumonia.  She is now receiving meds that would not have been available until recent years.  Today she was still feeling “crummy” but better.  We had virtually no wait time before seeing the doctor, having an in-office treatment, getting the x- ray, and picking up the meds.  The doctors visit and x-ray, and the high tech drugs were provided with only a small co-pay.  I can only think of the large number of Americans that would not have health coverage or access to affordable drugs without “Obamacare”. A medical problem like this would be a real crisis if you are poor and without access to help.

2.  Real prolonged rain!  After our year of drought last year, it seems like it has been a very long time indeed since we have seen a proper storm. Here is the weather map image at the moment and there is more coming after this!  My rain gauge reported 1.25 inches since yesterday.

Add your own zip code to see your weather "loop"http://radar.weather.gov/ridge/radar_lite.php?rid=MUX&product=N0R&loop=yes

3.  Thoughts on fall... I grew up on a farm in northeastern Kansas- Our life as a family was much influenced by the natural cycle of nature – and fall was a season of harvest. My Uncle Joe Zlatnik’s family lived a few miles from us, and they had a stand of black walnut trees down along the pasture below the farm house, right along the creek.  On a crisp November afternoon family and friends would walk down in the afternoon to pick up the black walnut nuts. The thick fallen walnut leaves and husks have such a distinctive sweet smell.  I’m always amazed how memories of certain odors can reach back across a lifetime! As we worked, the juice of the husks staining our hands would last for many days. When we finally had collected enough nuts, we gathered piles of cottonwood branches and built a roaring fire.  As the fire burned down to hot coals we searched for weenie roasting sticks long enough and strong enough but not too thick...then the hot dogs,  buns and mustard emerged from the bags.  Roasting hog dogs sizzle and make the air fragrant!  Oh my goodness – what can taste better than a slightly charred hotdog in a bun on a crisp cool November evening! Then came the marshmallows. Toasting a marshmallow was really an art... brown and puffy – without catching on fire and becoming charred.  We kids tended naturally toward the flaming ones. 

4. Issue of the Week:  Understanding the fiscal cliff:

a.  If a number of laws are not changed by the end of 2012,  changes in the tax code put in place under George W.Bush would disappear.  As a result, taxes for the wealthy would be increased, and there would also be a reduction in the budget deficit due to the additional tax revenue.  The 2011 Congress chose to postpone making a solution by passing spending cuts under the Budget Control Act of 2011. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Budget_Control_Act_of_2011 .  Now the issue has once more come to the fore.

Comparison of deficit or surplus budget plans ( Congressional budget office )

b. Eliminating the Bush tax cuts, would raise enough revenue to reduce the federal deficit for 2013 to  roughly half. Further, over the next ten years, projected increases in the United States public debt would be lowered by as much as $7.1 trillion or about 70%, resulting in a considerably lower ratio of debt relative to the size of the economy.

Top income shares and average income in the US 1981-2010  for income groups (posted on Daily Kos)
...no trickle down here...

c.  Republicans in Congress refused to approve an increase in the ceiling unless there were deep spending cuts in order to come closer to a balanced budget and reduce the amount of national debt that was building up.

d.  Mr. Obama is seeking to end the tax break for the wealthiest Americans.  He is seeking to extend the tax cut for those making less than $250,000 annually.  This would benefit the middle class in America and would generate much needed revenue to reduce the national debt.

Average Incomes US 1961 - 2010 - Posted on Daily Kos
...Also no trickle down...

e.  The great curiosity to me is why the Republicans have such a fixation of reducing taxes.  A modern, safe, well-maintained infrastructure requires money.  Jobs are created when we use tax money to build and maintain our systems.  Good school build our economy.  Health care benefits everyone. Fair and equitable taxes mean a higher standard of living for all. I conclude from their own statements that Republicans are truly against raising taxes on the wealthy but they also make it clear that they are not opposed to raising taxes on the middle and lower wage earners. Just look at the graphs above to see how much the wealthy have to lose is they pay their fair share.  Also see that giving them more money has historically by the numbers not helped the poor. 

f. It has been proven multiple times that Trickle Down economics don’t work – to learn more go to:  http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/07/25/1113576/-The-Lie-of-Trickle-Down-Economics

If you find this blog of interest - you can pass it along to a friend by sending this url: http://johnzlatnik.blogspot.com