Off on An Adventure and Home Again

Below is a picture of me, warming my hands on a pot of tea in the Wildwood Cafe in McMinnville, on the way to the Portland Airport. Why, you may ask, were we one the way to the Portland Airport? I was flying to California for a week's stay.




As you can see, the ceiling is covered in whisks and egg-beaters and potato-mashers. It's the cutest danged place, with the best breakfast, best hometown atmosphere and friendliest waitresses. So, rather than take the flatlands route of I-5, we like to meander up Hwy 99 W (west of the Willamette River) and stop at the Wildwood Cafe for a good time.




Now, back to the story of why we were heading to the airport. Sometime in January my dear friend Margot told me about a Rosen Movement Intensive she and her husband Allen would be taking in February. What, you may ask, is Rosen Movement? Good question. (But first I'll say: you know how, when you hear about something and it's absolutely the thing for you, you know it in your bones right then? Well, that's how I felt when Margot told me about the Intensive. I knew I should go...and I did.)

Rosen Movement was developed by Marion Rosen, an internationally-known 90+ years-old woman, who is still traveling the world and teaching her method of movement plus hands-on healing bodywork. She worked as a physical therapist for many years before she decided to create a program of exercises that anyone could practice in order to keep them loose and limber, prevent deterioration and breakdown, and therefore never need the help of a physical therapist. In an hour-long session, you move every joint, and so every muscle, in a fun, easy, relaxed way, to great music. Don't really have to break a sweat, but over time, the change is profound. At least it was for Margot, and then she turned me on to it and it was for me too.

So.......I flew to CA, stayed with Margot and Allen, participated in the Rosen Intensive (which was a stunning experience), had wonderful (but brief) times with my buddies Helen, Pamela and Caren. Kerry and I went to Santa Cruz one day and met up with Valorie, who drove down from Sonoma County. Helen had a grand dinner for me at her house, with friends from the peace community. And there were friends I didn't get to see. It was a bit of a whirlwind trip, because the Intensive was such a big part of it. But oh so worth it. I look forward to the next one. It's definitely on my path. Everyone could use the benefits of it, so it's a wonderful thing to share, but also I need it personally for my health and well-being.

While at Margot and Allen's house I read an interesting article in the February 11th issue of Time Magazine. In it they referred to a poll taken of 18 to 29-year-olds. What percentage in that age group were paying attention to the presidential campaigns in 2000? 13%. In 2004? 42%. In 2008? 74%. When asked how interested they were in the current campaigns, 71% said interested, 27% said bored. When asked what they worried about "a great deal" the answers were, in this order: affordable healthcare, the war in Iraq, finding a stable and well-paying job, future terrorist attacks in the US, legality of abortion, and illegal immigrants.

Among the many things I read while in California were hopeful pieces about Barak Obama. They made me think how enormously it could repair our tarnished image around the work if the US citizenry elected a black man with a Muslim name to be our next president. But then the fear and reality sets in when I remember that there is only one white man running for president now, and there are still more than enough Americans that would vote for nothing else. Hmmm...I think I'll drop this subject before it gets any bleaker, and finish with a high note.





The crocus are blooming! There is hope! Spring is on its way!






Let's stop while we're ahead,

Valori