Thanksgiving 2011

It is easy to get caught up in the issues of our time and forget to be thankful for what is right in front of me!

"Red in the morning..."

I am thankful for this beautiful world – for the natural cycles of wind and rain, the jet streams, sun dogs, and rainbows, for the sound of wind in the cottonwood trees, and grand vistas from a mountain top... I am thankful for good cold water when I am thirsty, and a warm fire when its cold. They are good.

Local Rainbow

I am thankful for ecosystems and ecological succession, for the carbon cycle, for rain, for the earth worms and hover flies in my garden that are equally miracles as are the great whales in the sea. They are good.

Head of a fly - up close and personal...

The drifting green and brown seaweeds amaze me, as do the giant redwoods deep in the forest, also the hillsides covered with chaparral, and the wind blown prairies of grasses. I am thankful for wild flowers that can store all the instructions for life, and weather the storms of winter - all inside a seed smaller than a grain of salt. They are good.

Mountain streamlet - 11000 ft. (this is uncovered from snow 4 months of the year )

I am thankful for the gentle turning of the seasons that bring fresh perspectives to us humans, a season for resting and a season for new birth, a time for exuberance, and a season to return to the soil. They are good.

Two of our dogs - Rusty and Roxy

I am thankful for the people in my lives – for those dear ones with whom I share heritage and history and plans for the future. I am thankful for love and trust and hope. I am thankful for laughter, for shared problem solving. They are good.

Our son Peter and his wife Marila

For colleagues, friends in my community, ex students... they all add to the tapestry of my life... for them I give thanks. In the memory of my mind I remember the many faces and voices who have been part of my life, touched me, made me laugh, made me see new ideas, made me who I am. They are good.

Our other son Andrew, his wife Amye, and Judy

I remember those of other cultures and the people I met only briefly. They are still part of me…They changed me - they added to me... For them I am thankful.

Our friend David, Arusha Tanzania

I can remember 3-minute conversations with strangers that had a more lasting impact on me than long contacts with others. The people in my life are cause for great thanks. They are good.

Nick's relatives, Methone Greece

I am thankful for the mysteries of the human mind - for memory and "seeing things" with the mind. I am thankful for creative insight - that sudden instaneous bursting forth imagining a new way of doing things...a new paradigm... I am thankful for sharing things together.

Judy and I crossing Saddlebag Lake

I am thankful for the incredible number of people that I can identify by sight, the memory of voices, music, cricket sounds. I am thankful for the sense to be afraid of some things, and courage to take on new challenges. They are good.

I am thankful for social institutions – for living in a country “of the people – by the people – for the people”. Where it is part of our agreed upon constitution to protect freedoms. I am thankful for the freedom to challenge the existing system if I see injustice or inequalities.

Wall Mural - Tenderloin District San Francisco - "The City in Harmony"

I am thankful for education, for the opportunities to learn and grow intellectually. I am thankful for the opportunities to teach young teachers - to give to others. I am thankful for my church and the opportunity to ask challenging questions and to find strength for the personal and social ills of our times. I am thankful for those who support me when I feel like I dont have all the answers or when I need to feel understood. They are good.

Child's Painting

The older I become the more content I am to live with the mysteries that I am not able to explain. Human understanding is so limited by time and scale, I would be foolish to think that I can conceive the whole. From what I can see, I know that I am part of a wondrous creation and for this I am thankful. The only prayer that is needed is the prayer of thankfulness.

Communion elements

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OK - I couldn't resist it: My one recommended reading blog to read and pass on:

5 Myths to be debunked!

http://front.moveon.org/top%2D5%2Dfox%2Dmyths%2Dto%2Ddebunk%2Dthis%2Dthanksgiving/?id=33199-4581315-jhKsQGx

If you liked my blog this week - please pass it on... http://johnzlatnik.blogspot.com/

Food to Remember!

I have a challenge for you – think back over your life and identify specific meals that have remained memorable. No generic meals like “Sunday dinner when I was a kid” or “this ‘great Italian restaurant’ in San Francisco” … Can you recall specific meals that have stuck with you – If you do, you may learn some important things about yourself… I will limit myself to a few:

1. My roommate in college had an Italian fisherman aunt and uncle that lived in South San Francisco. One week we were invited for Sunday dinner - The small house had the furniture pushed back and one long table, covered with a checkered red and white oilskin tablecloth, had been set up extending into the living room and dining room.

This is the style if not the exact house...

You have to imagine a small house with many guests all speaking in rather loud voices using their hands for emphasis. There was a lot of laughter and joking – jugs of red wine - and long loaves of white Italian style bread - antipasto – pasta – salad - cooked chicken and fish – desert – and then grappa and coffee… It was so much more than the food – it was the people and the laughing.

Helen and Nick - The Berkeley Years

2. When I was in college, I lived on a very tight budget… and many Sundays I had dinner with my sister Helen and my brother in law Nick. Nick was attending the Univ. Cal. and Helen was teaching in Berkeley… One particular Sunday sticks in my mind – Helen had baked the most wonderful Greek style chicken (chicken, potato and carrot slicks, baked with oregano and tomato sauce) that and a long Baguette of French bread and Greek style salad, Red wine, and ice cream for desert. This particular time we ate then drove down to Telegraph street to explore the book stores (Cody's, Moe's, Shakespeare and Co. ) and finally coffee at the Mediterranean Café. The day was personal and happy!

Greek farmers traveling to their field in the morning

3. Years later I was hitch hiking in the early morning along a deserted country road in Europe. I passed a small stone hut near the road and a family of Greek farmers was just sitting down to breakfast – when they saw me, the young men came out and took my arm – and invited me to the table. I was served a plate of good fried eggs with the most yellow yolks, cooked in wonderful strong flavored olive oil. We ate large Greek home produced Greek style olives, thick slabs of country bread, and glasses of pine flavored retsina wine (for breakfast!) … We had a fine time “communicating”– them with no English and me with no Greek. We laughed a lot and shared hand shakes and hugs when I left. They hoped some day to be able to buy a tractor (they showed me the picture)

I didn't take a photo of my cafe in Syria - but these are shops I saw in Turkey

4. I had been hitch hiking all day in the country of Syria – not much traffic and long waits… Finally I made it into a small town, where I made the sad discovery that there was no room for me neither at the Youth Hostel nor in the town hotel. So I went to a tea house to find someone who spoke English who might help me – There I found the head of the local youth association. ( like scouts...) He said that he could lock me inside the youth building and he would come and let me out in the morning… There was a cot… and since I had nothing better I happily agree. Before “locking me up” he and his friends insisted on taking me to a café and sharing a meal with me… this was my first introduction to “hummus” and “falafel”… and every time I eat them since I remember my Syrian friends and my night of being locked up. I remember vividly the sights and sounds of that café,the making of the hummus using a large mortar and pestle and my friendly hosts!

5. When Judy and I were married it was in the middle of my year long study grant at the University of Hawaii. My grant was small - we were poor but happy!

Camping in the county parks in Kauai

Spring vacation we flew to Kauai and camped with our army surplus tent in county parks. Mostly it was local folks and surfers who were our neighbors. The first evening, as we were setting up our tent, in the next camp site over a large family party of local Hawaiians was in progress. A young man came over to our camp with two large plates of hot food and two opened bottles of Primo beer. He said: "I see you folks just got here - we thought your might like something to eat." That night we feasted on Teriyaki Pork right off the grill, Hawaiian potato salad, Poi, and Chinese style transparent noodles. And later we went over and enjoyed meeting our generous neighbors!

Alpine Terraine - similar to Moose Lake

6. Judy and I had a memorable back packing trip into Moose Lake in Sequoia Park… It was late August - time for uncertain weather at that elevation. We were camping at over 11000 ft and there was not any wood to burn but we had a small white gasoline stove -a “Svea” - as it cooked it roared like a jet engine! On this particular trip we had brought along a freeze-dried meal in a packet – ‘Mexican casserole’ –only 'add water and heat for 20 minutes' the directions said. I’m sure those instructions were well intended– but they were not for 11000 and a Svea. (Water boils at about 190F not 212F at this elevation. ) We boiled the stew until the water boiled away, then added more water, and boiled it some more – but it never did get soft enough to eat properly – We finally had to crunch our way through half cooked beans. Still, Judy and I were newly married and very much in love and it was all one big joke!

Vladimir's family with the Zlatnik's

7. We visited Czechoslovakia for the first time when it was still under Communist control. Walking is the streets felt oppressive, people kept their eyes down, and there was no unnecessary talking to strangers. The buildings and streets Prague were gray and brown. We had exchanged letters with a young Czech, Vladimir, and he had invited us to stay with his family in the family apartment – we had no ideas what we were getting into with our two sons – we walked down the street – found the apartment house – climbed the stairs and found a note on the door: “Family Zlatnik – please come in!” Vladimir and his family were not yet home from work – so we entered and found a comfortable home – out first contact with the real Czech people. In years since we have had other very memorable Czech meals with other friends but I remember so well this first encounter with Czech culture and the meal that Vladimir’s mother prepared for us – Herb scented vegetable soup, meat cooked with thick gravy and ‘Knidliky’ dumplings, beet salad, and sweet fruit dumplings for desert… Oh my goodness it was so delicious! And most fascinating was how warm and friendly our new friends were to have visiting Americans in their home. We had fascinating long conversations as we learned about each other. All these years later we count Vladimir as a good friend!

Austria

8. Our son Andrew spent a semester abroad in the town of Mieders in the Tyrolean Alps of Austria. The following summer we went to visit his Austrian home. I went a week early because Judy, had work here that she couldn’t escape. The Austrian family said that on warm summer nights with a full moon they liked to do moon-light mountain climbing…Andrew and I are capable mountain climbers so we was ready to go. We were awakened at 1 AM and our group hiked through the trees – through the brush – through the fallen rocks at the base of the cliffs – then climbing with our hands we climbed the face of the rock – higher and higher through the night in the light of the moon... it was ethereal! Finally we reached the top just as the sun was rising over the mountaintops – rays of golden sun steaming onto our mountaintop perch… Breakfast came out of the backpacks – cracker bread – cheese, sausage, dark chocolate, and plum schnapps… it was joyous! It was exhilarating… and now I was sure that our hosts would return to the valley and to sleep – but no – we hiked the rest of the day – and into the afternoon we found a thick green meadow and all lay down and slept in the warmth of the sun.

Cooking

9. Judy and I were in Oaxaca attending language school. We became friends with the owner of the small neighborhood cafe where we usually ate breakfast. One day she asked us if we would like to go with her to a Zapotec birthday party - a goat roast. We jumped at the chance. We joined our friend in the evening, and drove with her to the location on the edge of the city. Here a large tent with red and white stripes had been set up. Inside were tables and chairs for about 80 guests. The goats had been cooked in the ground with hot coals, and there were several women forming tortillas directly from "masa".

The grandmothers at the party

A small band was playing music and many people were chatting in loud voices. In Mexico it is the custom to be seated and to be served - and so large plates of food were placed before us - the goat was tender and delicious! We also had black beans and a bit of lettuce and radish salad. Waiters were circulating with bottles of "Mescal" repeatedly filling our small glasses. When we looked around we realized that we were the only non Indian people there - but no matter everyone was very friendly and anxious to share with us.

Two clowns

The program involved a clown couple - and even with our imperfect Spanish we laughed a lot!- Of course when they needed a volunteer, and they pulled me up on stage and gave me a funny red nose to wear and I had todo something silly... all part of the fun...we left that evening with a smile on our faces.

Lamb BBQ

10. Our eldest son Peter is married to Marila, a young woman from Northern California. Her family has a large ranch – and in past years, held annual lamb barbecues. They are a major undertaking and I think we got to attend the very last one held several years ago. The events were held out in an oak grove away from all the ranch buildings. Two yearling lambs are prepared into chops, and for stew. Large oak fires are burned down to hot coals and then grills are set up. The stew lamb is cooked in large Dutch ovens with the special flavoring of allspice and red wine. The pots are filled and then surrounded with hot coals to slowly cook. A large extended serving table is made long rows of straw bales piled 3 high… on which all the guests place their pot luck contributions. Finally the time comes to roast the lamb on the grills, with many hands helping the work goes quickly – and the product was the most succulent lamb imaginable. People lingered all afternoon chatting and laughing – many are neighbors but some friends travel long distances to attend. In addition all the good country cooking is memorable

Three Zlatnik Men

So what conclusions can I reach from these 10 examples? For me the really memorable meals that I remember are not the grandest and most extravagant, but those that allowed me to connect with others. Food is sharing and talking – laughing and listening… being in relationship. Too often I don't take time to slow down and relish my food and use the time to relate with others. I am grateful to the many individuals that have practiced such acts of generosity to me – I can never pay them back directly – so the best I can do is to remember to return acts of generosity to others. In the great pool of life I hope it all comes out even...

Two Recommended Links of the week:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/12/opinion/blow-friend-with-benefits.html?_r=1&hp

http://www.pissedonpolitics.com/?p=4177

Notes: November 11, 2011

1. It was a good week! The asteroid that came closer to us than the moon's orbit missed up -Whew what a relief!!

Read all about it here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-15572634

"Near Miss" Asteroid

2. November 8- the first frost of the season… Not enough to take out my tomatoes… but it is a warning… My "Early Girl" tomatoes took a little break for a few weeks in August and September and have now come back into production… I can usually count on them until Thanksgiving. I don’t see any frost damage yet – but the roofs in my neighborhood were frosted with white crystals this morning.

Vegetables growing in raised bed: Kale, Chives

3. On our last visit to Portland I fell in love with the raised garden beds that many gardeners use there. So promptly I came home and built one for winter salads and greens… We have frost in the winter but there are varieties of winter garden plants that can tolerate our conditions.

Vegetables growing in raised bed

My beds are 2 boards high – each board 10 inches. The first bed is about 6 ft long and 5 ft. wide… and I filled it with alternate layers of soil and compost. My daughter-in-law Marila introduced me to the idea of a battery operated electrical timer that guarantees a daily allocation of water.

Varieties of Kale ( Asian and European) and Collards

I use a drip hose and run it for 40 minutes a day. In the bed I grow Manoa lettuce – the finest leaf lettuce I have ever seen, and 3 different varieties of Kale ( Asian and European )…+ chives, and one lone potato plant that is a kind of experiment. Every few days I go out and cut the lettuce plants leaving about 2 inches of growth ( which promptly grows back ) for our salads.

An ancient medieval lettuce: "Forellenschluss"

Never have I been able to grow such wonderful loose leaf salads! The greens are also spactacular – my favorites are Collards, and Italian Kale. Our biggest problem is keeping up with them...

Well the first bed was such a hit I decided to make a second one – even bigger … I had run out of compost by now so I went to a small horse ranch near our house and asked for horse manure to add to my soil. ( I brought home 4 very large bins full ).

Red lettuce

Aged horse manure is a fine compost1 It has a moderate amount of Nitrogen so it can be used without risk of the plants being burned by exposure to excess Nitrogen. In this bed I am experimenting with other varieties of lettuce, Kale and spinach, beets, radishes, onions, and strawberries (for next summer). This is all one big experiment to see what can survive the frost… I’ll report back to you later…

"Manoa" lettuce - our favorite

Does anyone recognize this plant ( below)? It has come up in one of my beds - and I dont know if it is something I planted or not - Does it look familiar to you: I tried eating a small leaf and it is pretty bitter:

Mystery -do you know what this is? is it eatable?

4. I'm pleased to report that there is a new short video put out by " The Story of Stuff" - Take seven minutes out of your life to watch - it will give you perspective to understand what is going on in our nation and world... Plus it will give you hope for where we can go from here....

http://www.storyofstuff.org/movies-all/story-of-broke/

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Mural photos from the walls of James Logan High School, Union City Ca.

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5. The True Price of A Plastic Water Bottle:

Judy and I have travelled in countries where we don't dare use tap-water to brush our teeth, let alone drink the water. Taking a shower we have to keep our mouths tightly shut! Here in America we are blessed with tap-water free of contaminants and disease organisms. Even the water we use to flush our toilets has been purified.. Our safe water is thanks to the enforcement of tax supported public health standards in the US.

Dexter Holland

And yet one of the greatest scams of our time is due to the power of advertising and "image making" to convince us that bottled water is somehow "better". The bottled water industry in America is making over $11.7 billion/year.

Carlos Santana

The National Resources Defense Council concluded a four year study on bottled water concluded that bottled water is no safer than tap water, sometimes far from it. More specifically,one third of all 103 water bottles tested, including big-name brands such as Alhambra and Dannon, tested for excessive bacterial and chemical contamination. In the past 18 years, over 100 bottled water recalls have been recorded, due to contamination with benzene, mold, styrene, fecal coliforms, chlorine, and more.

Take Charge of your Life

Bottled water companies are NOT required to test local tap water for Cryptosporidium, Giardia, E. coli, phthalates, arsenic, synthetic organic chemicals, and other contaminants and bacteria.

FDA regulations do not prevent bottling companies from drawing water next to industrial sites or dumps. Several popular brands use filtered tap water for their product! ( read the labels )

Dont be Afraid of a Little Challenge

The plastic bottles themselves are also a danger to our health; the (petroleum-based) chemicals used to make the plastic can leach into the water contained by the bottle. BPA chemicals ( known carcinogens and mutegins ) are frequently found in the water stored in plastic bottles.

Jimi Hendrix

The Pacific Institute reports that producing the bottles for American consumption in 2007 required the equivalent of more than 17 million barrels of oil, not including the energy for transportation. The bottled water industry produced more than 2.5 million tons of carbon dioxide.

John Rzeznik

Next time you see a bottle of water - visualize that an amount of petroleum oil equal to about 1/4 the volume of that bottle is required to produce the bottle, process the water, and deliver it to your store.

Take Advantage of Your Strengths and Put Them to Use

Finally, 90% of the 30 billion plastic water bottles that are discarded every year is not recycled. These bottles end up in landfills, backyards and into our open oceans, feeding the garbage patches that threaten our aquatic ecosystems while polluting them with human-made contaminants

Bottled water is about 1000x more expensive than good healthy tap water. (If there is a hint of chemical "flavor" in your tap water - simply use a countertop gravity fed filter...)

For more information go to : http://www.nrdc.org/default_t2.asp

Dare to Dream Big

Notes - 11/4/11

1. "Mama Lucy", was not able to find quality education for her children in Northern Tanzania - and had to send them to a boarding school is neighboring Kenya . She decided that she didn't want any other Tanzanian mother to have to send their children away to school.

Mama Lucy and my wife Judy

The public education system in Tanzania was over burdened and underfunded and did not prepare students for the transition from instruction in Swahili to English that occurred as students went on to secondary school. When she was able to collect enough financial support to start her school in Arusha, she was recognized as an model grass roots organization leader, and she came to the attention of a young American couple ( Stacy and Sanjay ) who specialize in providing marketing support.

Classroom in Mama Lucy's school

With their internet skills they have been able to establish a wide reaching fund-raising campaign - and Mama Lucy's school has been able to expand - adding classrooms for grades 1-6 education, a school library building, a dormitory and kitchen.

Students gathered together in school courtyard

Now she is expanding to provide high school education as well - building a high school one grade at a time each year as funds become available. Mama is currently in the US on a fund raising venture. We became friends with her while we were in Arusha, summer of 2010. We had taken suit cases filled with books for her library.

School garden which grows vegetables for the school lunch program

This last week, we were able to have dinner with Mama Lucy, Stacy, Sanjay, and two visiting Tanzanian students. It was so interesting to learn of the progress she has made and the plans for the future. She is truly a remarkable person!

School Library - Mama Lucy's school

Mama Lucy thinks of her school as an ongoing miracle as she sees each new phase emerge. It has made life changing opportunities available for her students - and it has all come about because of small contributions from many people around the world.

Students learn computer skills in Mama Lucy's school

2. Seeing Mama Lucy made me think how marvelous we human being are - imagine how many faces each of us can recognize on sight. Stored within the neurons of our brains we can store image recognition - (How do you store image recognition in the electrochemical activity of neurons?!)

Face 1: My sister in law "Susan"

Have you ever had the experience of being in a distant location,seeing a face, and instantly recognizing this person even if you met them for only a short time years ago, then quickly reconstructing name,relationship, and details about this person...How many people do you suppose you recognize on sight - Several thousands? Perhaps more...

Face 2 and 3: My Son and Daughter in Law: "Peter and Marila"

To test the concept - go to a high school reunion - where you haven't seen the people for 30 - 40 - 50 years...

Face 5: My nephew : "CAB" - "Conroe"

Astonishing that memory of faces have been lurking in our neurons all these years without any conscious recollection of these folks...and yet one glance and you say "Jim" "Alice" ... "good to see you".

Faces 6 and 7: My nephews wife "Brenna" and my niece "Tracy"

I have heard it said that one reason older people sometimes have trouble remembering faces - is that we have so many faces to keep straight - its like a computer that has many files to examine.

Faces 8 and 9 ; My wife "Judy" and son "Andrew"

Besides, how many people named Mike or Mary do you know? It takes a lot of neural processing to come up with the correct name... But then again this might be a "cop out" for just plain forgetting. One thing for sure memory can be a "slippery fish" - one minute you can not recall - and then when you are no longer trying, the memory will come back completely. Go figure...

Something is badly out of kilter here

3. It's very difficult to estimate large crowds - Some say "a few thousands", some say over 10,000 people gathered Wednesday in a central Oakland California plaza to express frustration. Each person came for their own reason. Each person there had to first struggle with him or herself to make the decision to put their body in that crowd. Some came to express frustration with banks that were unresponsive to foreclosures of their homes. Some were outraged with insurance companies that were more bent on collecting money than in providing necessary medical care.

San Francisco Financial District

Some were college graduates starting life with massive debts that would require many years to repay. There were men and women, young and seniors, all the different ethics groups of the SF Bay area, their were teachers outraged at the lack of funding for California schools, Longshoremen and dock workers concerned for “big business” policies that would block union organizing, their were seniors who had lost their savings during the Wall street fiasco after they were told investments were safe when the companies knew otherwise.

San Francisco Water Front District

There were a few bent on promoting their personal agenda and some who just wanted to sew the seeds of disruption. A prime focus of the "Occupy" movement is to ensure that the rallies remain peaceful - large crowds of protesters were chanting “ Peaceful demonstration” “ This is a peaceful demonstration”. I feel frustrated when I see the press tar the demonstrators all with the same brush – the motivation of the individuals was way to complex to do that. It is an insult to the serious Americans involved who were there because they care deeply! They were exercising their right to peaceful assembly and redress of grievance against a system that has failed to be responsive to their legitimate concerns. I am concerned when I see a general strike harm small businesses that have no part in causing the problem - I think this is misdirected action. I still prefer taking more direct action like moving your money out of a big bank and placing it in a local credit union. That is specific and sends a real message.

I did not attend the march – but I have talked to several who were there (students, teachers, friends)… through the day they listened to speeches, had street theater presentations, heard music, and gathered at various points in the Oakland financial area… Everything proceeded in an orderly manner until late in the evening, when a small group of trouble makers unrelated to the "Occupy Movement" started damaging property –and when the police responded they fought back against the police… and arrests were justifiably made. The next day groups of the Occupy movement were back on the street to paint over graffiti, to aid in the clean up, and to help repair damage caused by the trouble makers. They didn't pay small businesses that had their business stopped for the day or pay for broken windows...

San Francisco residential area

4. I imagine you have heard the story that Whirlpool is the latest American company ready to move their operation off shore. About 1000 jobs will be lost. It is true! Giving large corporations tax cuts does not support job creation here. In past years, Whirlpool has paid a lower tax rate than average citizens and the profits of their company have gone to shareholders rather than to create jobs. Now they take their profits and establish an offshore factory! Their products will be shipped back to the US for us to buy and produce more profit for their pockets. For more on cooperate taxes and big businesses dont miss this article:

"Thirty major US corporations paid no federal income taxes between 2008 and 2010"http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1111/67509.html

"Thirty large and profitable Fortune 500 corporations paid no federal income taxes between 2008 and 2010, according to a new study Thursday on corporate loopholes. In fact, the 30 companies enjoyed a negative effective income tax rate over the three-year period, even as they earned pre-tax profits of $160 billion, according to two think tanks, Citizens for Tax Justice and the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. A negative tax rate represents a tax benefit like a credit, not necessarily direct funds from the government."
And the Republicans want to reward these folks with lower taxes still?