The best danged trip

I have found the best excuse for going to California twice a year--Rosen Movement Intensives so I can get certified to teach. What a fabulous coincidence that the Rosen Center that I'm getting certified through is in Pacific Grove.

Courtney had already planned to be in Berkeley for Ruby's first birthday, so when the Intensive was scheduled oh so close to her birthday, viola! We had a trip in the making.

For days before take-off we watched the weather forecasts and then finally broke down and bought chains. For a man who loves warm weather and sunshine and fears and loathes the cold and snow, you can imagine how excited Courtney was about driving over mountain passes during a snow storm. But he did it!! Here he is on the first leg of the trip negotiating his way back from the rest stop bathroom through the snow and ice.




We have a great little routine we follow on our trips to California--a certain place we like to stay in Red Bluff, our favorite Thai restaurant, espresso stops at Pete's Coffee. So once we made it through the pouring blinding snow on the passes, and then the pounding rain in Northern California, the rest of the drive was a breeze.

One of my favorite places on the planet, as I have said previously, is the home of our dear buddies Margot and Allen, and by proxy our buddy Kerry.





Staying there is like one big slumber party. Allen's up early making coffee for the gang and reading the paper. Kerry's there for breakfast with us.



Here's the view from the kitchen windows looking out into the backyard....




and a close-up with the bird feeders....




and from the backyard looking toward the kitchen.




One of the big treats of this trip (and there were many) was that Maya and Ben and Maya's partner-in-crime Sarah were in Monterey at the same time as we were. Maya had finished her job at the Hilton Garden Inn (more on that later!) and had vacation time to spend before her new job started (aren't you dying to know what the new job's about?!?).

Sarah had never seen Monterey before and Maya hadn't been there since she was pregnant (3 years ago), so here was another trip destined to be. They loaded up Ben, the dvd player and his favorite movies and headed south just a couple of days ahead of us.

When Maya figured out that they could be on the Monterey Peninsula at the same time as us she asked for a time to get together with old friends of mine who had been in her life since she was Ben's age--Margot and Allen, Kerry, Pamela and Caren. Margot offered their house and everyone brought food and flowers and gifts--and most of all, their love.




It was such a precious time with Maya getting to catch up with my old buddies and share the news of her new life. These are friends that we didn't just know since Maya was a toddler, but that we lived with at times--in their driveway in our old Volvo wagon, in their yards in our school bus. And more recently they helped with Maya and Eder's wedding. Good friends.

Ben was just as happy as a clam--lots of attention and Margot had the best grandchildren toys, plus...




....cute little Annie who was such a sport. Yes, she's been raised around lots of children.




Here's the gang, below, including other significant members in our lives, Helen and David. Courtney was missing, though, because he'd gone south with his brother Steve to see their sister Nancy and her husband Sarge in Arroyo Grande. (Just to make their roadtrip even more special they came back by way of the Big Sur coast.)



A couple weeks before our trip, Helen (on the left) proposed a potluck dinner as a way to see our peace friends while we were in town. She suggested the new Peace Resource Center for the place to gather and we started emailing each other back and forth about the guest list. At some point our emails and phone calls crossed paths as we both proposed that the dinner be turned into a much-needed fundraiser for the Center. Helen dubbed it the Founders Day Dinner and put out the invitation!

When we started the Monterey Peace and Justice Center in 2004, it was housed in a tiny space in Pacific Grove. It was a sweet little upstairs location with a view of the bay and dirt cheap rent. We had a spill-over space next to us that we could rent for events, but the Center itself could only hold about 9 or 10 people at once.

After a couple of years we moved to a new location, in Monterey, in a downstairs space but still tiny and with a tiny rent. It was one step better but still not what we needed. Everyone's desire was to have a large enough Peace Center to have big events in--speakers, films, dinners, teach-ins, productions and fundraisers.

Last year it happened! Janet, on the Board of the Center, found a location in Seaside with storefront windows, a great big space for large gatherings, plus office space. It's fabulous and is being put to very good use. The only downside is the high monthly overhead. Dang!





Not surprisingly, the first thing I did when we got to the Center was cry. All I could think of was the Sonoma County Peace & Justice Center that I had so coveted over the years, and here it was! Just as big and beautiful, and full of people I love!




It was a wonderful wonderful evening, one of those I'll probably always remember. I only wish that I'd had much more time to talk with each person there. (The time flew by and I left wishing for more, but it was great.)

Courtney and I stood up and talked about what our lives are like in Corvallis and what we're involved in now. I made a pitch for people to financially support this precious entity they have in their midst and to constantly nurture it.

Then the director Karen took over and listed one by one the accomplishments of the Center over the last year. (When I was director we had three service learning students each year from CSUMB working with us. This year they have 14. And on and on like that. The Center and its influence has grown exponentially.)





The long and short of it is that we raised $1500 that evening--and had a great time doing it!





If anyone ever wants to make a contribution in my honor, please make it to the Peace Resource Center in Seaside, California. (Is it fair to be soliciting like that in my blog?!?)

Meanwhile, as I was busy learning anatomy and movement each day, Courtney was busy visiting dear friends. Two of them, Rosanna and Tasha, live in Carmel, so that's where he started.




Tasha has a fabulous little house in the Highlands where she spends a good deal of time in her gardens and, as you can see, it certainly pays off.



Courtney used to house-sit for Tasha when she was out of town and I got to stay there once. It's a sweet sweet place...



...and she's a very dear friend.




One significant piece of the trip plans was that Jer, Pamela and Ruby were coming to Carmel for the weekend to celebrate Ruby's birthday with us and Pamela's parents and Jer's mom. At the last minute the plans changed and we decided to go to Berkeley instead. (On Friday, I went to my Intensive class reluctant to ask my teacher Jane if I could skip class the next day to go see Ruby. It just so happened that Jane had just become a grandmother for the first time the night before, so....!)

On our way to Jer and Pamela's we stopped at the Emeryville Marketplace for lunch. If you haven't been you must go!! Ohmygosh, it's an enormous food court with aisles and aisles of vendors selling every kind of food you can imagine--Cajun, Soul Food, Crepes, Lebanese, Afghani, Sushi, Hawaiian, and on and on. We chose yummy Thai food and sat and watched the streams of customers from around the world. We're not in Corvallis any more, Toto.

Next stop was the palace of Ruby Alice. You can tell by this first picture that it takes her a few minutes to eye the situation and determine just how chummy she wants to get. (Also she's been well trained because of Jer's practice of Ruby-a-day photos and holds her pose until the camera clicks.)




But it doesn't take long for her to warm up to us and soon she set to work on the important stuff--a big bag full of colored tissue paper and other fun stuff.





Ruby's quite the independent and organized one-year-old. She pulled out one thing at a time--checked it out thoroughly, played with it, read it, looked it over, and then went in for the next.




I'm sorry that the other pictures from this series were too blurry to use. They showed a world of colored tissues covering the floor with their big black dog Hoyt laying in the middle of it all and Ruby methodically going for more. But this gives you an idea....




One thing we can safely say about Ruby is that not much gets past her. As soon as Pamela fired up the mixer Ruby wanted to see what was up.




Hmmmm? What can this mean?.....





....and an hour later here came the answer.





Don't we all wish we had a mom who would put a piece of warm, moist chocolate cake with chocolate frosting in front of us and just let us at it!?! Ruby was not much interested in eating the cake. Jer and Pamela tried putting little bits in her mouth, but she acted like Hey, you're messing with my art project! The dogs dutifully waited under the highchair for cake to fall their way and caught the pieces in mid-air. Total fun with very little clean-up involved.




An afternoon of playing with Ruby and visiting with Jer and Pamela, coffee with Frank and Margaret, tea with Caren, dinner with Lisa and Jerry, watching the Amgen Tour of California with Kerry and seeing her brand new office in downtown PG, visiting with Linda at Alpha Stationers, traditional dinner with Helen at Turtle Bay Taqueria, Thai dinner with Margot, Allen and Kerry, breakfast with Courtney's extended family in Berkeley--each one of these meetings with dear friends was so precious--and much too brief.

I hope my mind stays intact enough that I can always remember this trip and every detail of it. (Is that too much to ask?!?) It's safe to say it was one of the best times of my life. Kind of a week-long love fest. And then the fun of the road...





On the way down, in the snow storm (remember back then?) we couldn't see Mt Shasta at all, so on the way home I snapped dozens of photos--mostly from the moving car so they didn't turn out all that clear. But here's a few. That's not clouds hovering over the trees in the middle, but Mt Shasta.




And here's our favorite little town, Mt Shasta City, and you can see how close they are to the mountain. It literally looms over the town.



We love to stop there for breakfast at Lilly's and then go next door to Seven Suns for espresso before hitting the road again. Besides the great food, Lilly's gives you the real feeling of being in a small mountain town--big windows looking over the snow, the locals all know each other. And Seven Suns is owned and run by two Middle Eastern couples, best friends, who between them have seven sons.

A few years ago, when they first bought the place, we were passing through and met them while they were learning how to operate the espresso machine. So it was great to see the place full of locals and hopefully thriving. (Sevens Suns is the place I've mentioned before with the sign that says "Unsupervised children will be given an espresso....and a puppy.")




Back on the road again, heading north, and watching Mt Shasta in the rear-view mirror.




This very northern part of California is always fascinating to me and Courtney. It's wide wide open with just a tree here or there, cows here or there, a lonely farmhouse once every great while. Sparse in every way.

But there's also these signs of history and what might have been, like this barn shown below.



There was a movement long ago to secede from California. The people of that area (mostly ranchers and farmers) got nearly no help from Sacramento (and they were too far from Salem) as far as roads and services go. They decided to break away and form the State of Jefferson. They were stopping people on the highway and passing out pamphlets on their proposal. The day before they were supposed to put something into effect legally, the attack on Pearl Harbor happened. They scrapped their plans, declaring that the state of the Union was more important than roads.

So our last stop in California was at a rest stop by the Klamath River and there they had a great little information center, with stories about the State of Jefferson. The woman staffing the Center that day had grown up right in that area and she had great stories to tell. It made for the perfect ending of a fabulous trip.




So we end just as we started out: with Courtney making his way back from the rest stop bathroom, but this time under these enormous trees and without the snow.




Even though the Rosen Intensive was the impetus for this trip, you don't really see what a major component it was by these photos. (That's a whole 'nother story of love and blessings.)

Between the days of Rosen classes were all these precious little moments that I hope to hang onto--early morning coffee with Allen, a walk to Lover's Point with Margot, snuggling on Kerry's sofa to watch the bike race. Everything was a bit of a blur and a rush, to fit so much in to such a short time frame. But I need to be content with all the pleasure I had. (This seems to be a reoccuring theme in my life--I've been given enormous blessings, but"enough time" is not one of them.)

This trip reminded me that no matter how much I love my life in Corvallis--and I truly truly do--I also miss you old friends and organizing buddies in Monterey very much. So many thanks to Jane, my esteemed Rosen teacher, for creating a Rosen Center in Pacific Grove and offering the perfect excuse for another trip to California!

And thanks to everyone who made it all the way through this very long entry. You'll have to tune in again for the next installment--Maya and her new job, and Alison and her two great novels!

With love,

Valori

At any moment, life takes a turn

Life is so precarious. Even Aaron recognizes that at age 13. I picked him up from Eugene the other day and as we were driving to Corvallis we passed an horrible car wreck that had just happened. It shook us both up and we rode in silence for a while. Then Aaron said something about how we take it for granted but life is so fragile and we have no control over how it goes. (Not exactly his words, but essentially his sentiments.)

It immediately brought tears to my eyes. What happened to those youthful feelings of immortality? Of that carefree confidence in life? I think, because Aaron has older parents, he's always been a little worried about how long we were going to stick around. Maybe he's more tuned in to impermanence than other kids because of that. Maybe it's because of the Buddhist influence in his life. Buddhists like to keep in mind this isn't an endless journey.

Anyway, right after Christmas, Aaron's oldest best friend Robert came from Monterey for a week's visit. It was great fun having two boys in the house--they can quibble and jostle endlessly. They went out and about around town when forced to, but were oh so happy just playing on the computer, watching movies, playing board games, listening to ipods while reading--it was days of flopping.

Aaron's buddy Simon from Eugene came over for one night and then it was the Three Musketeers. I pushed them out onto the tough downtown streets of Corvallis and they put up the hoods of their hoodies and cruised. It was a good time. But my mind was split between enjoying the boys and reading online the horrific disaster that was unfolding in Gaza.

At 11am on Saturday, December 27th, the Israeli military attacked Gaza just as children were getting out of school. It was a market day and the streets were full of people. 220 people died that first day. A population taken by surprise, even though they are constantly under attack, and locked in from every direction. I think on everyone's minds who watches that part of the world was the memory of Israel's attack on Southern Lebanon in August of 2006. They only stopped after they'd effectively destroyed the civilian infrastructure and left behind millions of cluster bomblets--which keep on killing even after battles are over.

So, true to form, the Israeli military bombed and destroyed and killed and maimed for 23 days, while the world watched in horror, and the US Congress issued a statement of support and sent back-up shipments of weapons of mass destruction. Never have I been so ashamed and horrified. Or as vocal. Many a congressional staffperson listened politely.

Every day was so frustrating. On the one hand I felt like we all should be out on the streets shutting down business as usual until the killing stopped. On the other hand I went faithfully to work every day, until the day I got a call from an Egyptian woman with Palestinian cousins. She wanted to know what the people of Corvallis were doing in response to the daily massacres in Gaza. I told her I couldn't meet with her for a couple of days, until my next day off from work. Hummmm, she said, over 100 children were injured today in Gaza. How many more before your day off?

She was right. It jolted me upright and I called in sick. Meanwhile she called me back to say a demonstration had been called for Friday on campus by the Middle Eastern Club. So I set to work on the phone and computer. Two days later Courtney and I set up our table of information and held up our signs on the Quad with a wonderful group of students from Palestine, Egypt, Syria, Iraq and Tunisia. We were joined by faculty members and one of our city councilmen. The woman who had contacted me brought her grandsons and they passed out information to lots and lots of people. They were precious little boys and who could tell them no?!

One of the first people to stop and talk with us was a young woman who rode her bike up and gave a very heartfelt thanks to all of us. She said "I'm Jewish and I'm so horrified at what Israel is doing." I could tell the Muslim students were really grateful for her words. It was as if we all gave a collective sigh of relief and determination. Some people said some pretty stupid things as they passed by that day, and the students saw they had their work cut out educating others as to what's happening in Israel/Palestine. But for the most part people were respectful, and we all felt better for having done something.

Just days before the demonstration our Friends of Middle East Peace group had hosted a really fabulous activist from Portland, Peter Miller, to speak on grassroots organizing. His talk had been planned for a while, and with the events in Gaza overshadowing everything else, he shifted his focus to that. We had an usually good crowd, with lots of new faces, due to the events in Gaza. There was a general feeling of urgency and outrage, and the upshot of that day was that a new group of us formed, specifically focused on action.

The six of us met a few days later, not sure what we were going to do, but with the need to do something. After a couple of meetings and online discussions, we named ourselves the Palestine Action Group, and set to work planning a series of events. (All I can say is I love this group.)

I don't know exactly how it evolved that our first event was cultural and fundraising, but we wanted to bring in people who would not usually come to a political event ( a speaker or a film). We wanted to reach a larger audience. We also wanted to raise money for humanitarian aid for Gaza. After some research we decided on Middle East Children's Alliance (MECA) as the beneficiary--very exciting for me because I also love that organization.

It took us a little time to formulate exactly what we wanted to do and when and where. By then we had two weeks to work out all the details and publicize it. Below are photos of our Celebration of Palestinian Culture Night on February 7th at the Corvallis Multicultural Literacy Center.




The Multicultural Center is an amazing place in so many ways--warm and welcoming, beautifully decorated, right on the corner of campus, and free to us because of the generosity of the Board of Directors. They, along with the director Dee Curwin, really supported what we were doing and so charged us nothing.



It's a lovely two-story Victorian with high ceilings and large windows. The kitchen is especially wonderful with shelves full of yummy things from all over the world. Everything is there to use--not just to be beautiful.

All the week before our event, the Center had been used for a Chinese New Year's celebration. On the day of our event Dee put away all the Chinese decorations and brought out everything she could find that looked Middle Eastern. All the little touches added up to a perfect stage for the evening.




Many many people have donated things to the Center from their faraway travels or things they've collected, like this collection of dolls (pictured below) from around the world. Every inch of the Center is fun fun fun to look at, something interesting everywhere.




Our event was from 5-7pm on a Saturday evening. Our plan was to let enough people arrive to have a good audience and then start with the poetry of Mahmoud Darwish, the man considered to be the voice of the Palestinian people, and who died last year. It took no time at all for the fifty seats we'd set up in the living room to fill and more and more people kept coming. Then people started standing in any available space and filling the doorways.



A brilliant move, on the part of our Palestinian friends, was the setting up of a table in the entrance way to sell handmade crafts, baklava and Arabic coffee and staffed by the perfect hostess and saleswoman.

Now if you've never had Arabic coffee, I'll just tell you that it's very strong, intense in fact, sweet and flavorful--and does it work!? As people came in the front door they stopped to buy baklava and coffee, and by 6pm the place was collectively buzzing. Aaron and I shared one Arabic coffee (they're tiny in those tiny cups), drank only half of it, and still we were up at midnight yakking away. If you ever want an energetic and enthusiastic crowd, this is the stuff to serve!

Below is Karim, an OSU professor from Tunisia, who interjected a few lines of poetry as well as added his grace and warm smile to the overall good feeling of the evening. And standing with him is Alison, from our Palestine Action Group, who acted as mistress of ceremonies. (The two books she's written will be the subject of another entry!)




As much as possible I try to make these events family affairs. Aaron in paid by the hour or the event for his work, plus the added bonus of sweets. His jobs that night ranged from watching a couple young kids in the children's library and playroom (pictured below), hauling chairs and boxes and bags full of supplies in and out, washing dishes and cleaning up. It was great to have him be part of the evening, even when he appeared not to be paying any attention, as in this picture. Still he learns alot and contributes well.





After the Darwish's poetry, read by our friend Roger, and then the original poetry of an Iraqi man named Lafi, we took a break to eat.

The food was amazing. When I had first called our friend Rimah and told her what we wanted to do, she'd immediately started planning the menu. She knew other friends who would also be willing to cook and bake and serve. She enlisted her whole family, including her terrific husband Sameer, to help. She, and her friend Mirvana, and others put together an amazing spread. People were so happy.





We fed over 100 people, plus sold containers of hummus and falafel and baklava for take home.



Here's Rimah in all her beauty and glory. A consummate hostess, besides a fabulous cook.




After everyone had eaten, Rimah's son Shady and two of his friends from OSU played traditional Palestinian music and Shady recited some of his own poetry--sharp and sad and beautiful and highly charged. It was very emotional--I was so glad that this was what we were doing. Right at that moment celebrating Palestinian culture was exactly the right thing to do. As well as raising money for Gaza relief efforts.

We raised over $1800 that evening, had basically no overhead, and had a packed Multicultural Center, with a very engaged audience. (For days afterwards people called to ask how they could contribute to MECA, so the total raised we'll never know.) It was a success all the way around.

Well, there's lots more to tell. Life is rich and full, but I've run out of steam, and must stop writing. I appreciate that you've read all this.

Just one more reminder of how precious life is:



Ben's got such a great sense of humor and is oh so playful. One of his favorite tricks is pretending to be asleep--and any piece of furniture will work as his stage. He and his humor bring us lots of joy. We're so lucky to live close by and see him often.

Hope you are feeling lucky! Thanks for reading this. There'll be more soon. Next up: a trip to California! Maya starts a new job! And Alison Clement writes two fabulous novels!

With love,

Valori