July at the County Fair

Hadn't realized how much time it's been since I posted here. So busy networking with Entrecard and BlogCatalog, no time to write. And now that I've separated into three blogs, I find I'm actually writing more on Hamida the Herbalist.

Thursday and Friday I volunteered with the Master Gardeners at the Sonoma County Fair in Santa Rosa. We always have a demonstration garden and the theme this year was Making a Rain Garden. This includes using the rainwater that comes off your roof in the winter in a specially constructed garden. I found out that 10 inches of rain falling on a 1000 sq. ft. roof results in 6,000 gallons of water. Most homes in the U.S. are twice that size. All this water goes down the storm drains, through pipes and ends up either in lakes, rivers or the ocean. Moving over pavements and roads it picks up toxins such as oil, rubber, chemical fertilizers etc., which go with it to the body of water. The volume often causes flooding. The water is polluted and so when it floods, it carries the pollutants with it.

If we could catch and use the rain where it falls, it would both raise the local water table and help to naturally purify the water.

While the usual displays, games, rides, souvenirs and junk-food were in abundance, there were signs, even here that things are changing. The number of people who were interested in our demo garden was amazing. Many people wanted the plant lists for bringing beneficial critters into their gardens like hummingbirds, bees and butterflies.

And they had a small Green Pavilion featuring companies providing services such as solar power, alternatives to plastic, composting and energy saving appliances. And it was packed with people.

The Democratic Party exhibit had a bumper sticker for Obama that said: GOT HOPE?

There were cakes and jams being judged in the Home Arts Building; roses and flower arrangements in the Garden Building. There were sheep, goats, cattle and hogs being auctioned by a real auctioneer; children sheering their sheep hoping to win a prize. There was an area that smelled like hay and manure, and another of BBQ and popcorn. It all brought tears of joy to my eyes.

Cross-Blogging

On my other blog Hamida the Herbalist, I feature an issue of the week. The issue this week is Gratitude.

I found myself writing quite a bit about this, so this time, I moved the comments here and kept the flower essences there.

Let me begin with a personal account. I had to go to Tiburon yesterday to pick up some items at the Wooden Boat Show for a friend who is out of the country. Lately, I have been staying home more than usual for a number of reasons: 1) I am conserving on gasoline; 2) I don't like driving much anymore; and 3) I am busy and content at home doing what I'm doing. It was around 120 miles round trip and it was a beautiful day. I figured since I was out, I might do some window shopping and maybe 'hang out' in Tiburon - a high-end place with 'cute' boutiques etc. But I found that when I looked around, there was nothing there that interested me. In fact, all I could think of was getting back home. I looked at all the people on the street and nothing pulled me. I was not attracted to the scene. In fact, what I saw felt empty and meaningless, whereas my home felt alive and full of magical possibilities.

As I was driving back, as fast as I could get away with, I saw all the traffic, bumper to bumper going south back to San Francisco and the peninsula and I thought to myself, as I often do, these people spend their week commuting to work, then their 'days off' driving around looking for amusement and distraction. Do they ever 'stay home'? Why not? This led to the next set of thoughts which was that staying home, staying put is considered not cool or interesting when there's so much to see and do out there.

So I asked the questions: What's wrong with what you have? Don't you enjoy it? Why keep looking out there for more, different, new? Will any of it ever be enough? Many years ago, I did some research on the phenomenon of dissatisfaction that is so strong in the modern world. Why this constant need for more etc. I read a lot about the role advertising plays in making us feel that what we are or have is not enough. We are too fat, too ugly, too old, too stupid or whatever... so we need....this or that. It goes on and on. It is endless. I came upon a book that was a revelation because it talked about how the government funded research in the mid-30s, as the Depression was waning, to find out how to 'jump-start' the economy again. They needed to get people to spend money again. After the failure of the banks, people lost confidence. After going through the Depression, many people had learned to be frugal and do without. People didn't want to spend money as freely as they had before.They wanted to hang on to it. Now, the government wanted to stimulate industry and get people to spend again. A report came out that showed how psychology could be used via advertising, to make people want things, by creating dissatisfaction in their minds about themselves and their lives.

As with many other things that start out benign, but become malignant, the program was extremely successful and has led to the uncontrolled consumerism of today. We are trained to be dissatisfied from birth. It is normal for a child or even (especially) a cat to be considered a 'fussy eater'. Are there any fussy eaters in a drought-ridden African country?

Dissatisfaction is considered so normal in the modern world that, in fact, satisfaction is 1) considered unattainable or 2) considered a sign of stupidity or backwardness.

Shopping has become a recreational activity, whereas before, it was a way to get necessities. All of us have more than we need. But NEED has been redefined to include things that make us happy, things that make us feel good. It is an endless process because in order to be okay, we need the latest electronic device, hairdo, handbag, chocolate truffle etc. On and on. We are never content with what is. How would our lives be different if we were satisfied?

What if we said to ourselves every day, I have everything I need. I am content with myself and my life. To me, this is the basis of gratitude.

For flower essences that can help with Gratitude, see my other blog: hamidatheherbalist.blogspot.com.

Interestingly, as I was doing my daily 'drop' routine, I came across Michael Nolan's blog Frugal Living Tip of the Day which is Thankfulness
Find it at: frugalliving.today.com

So Now For the Bucket

Took this test and was surprised, since I have not exactly been, nor am I now, a saint. Since I didn't expect to live this long (60), I'm wondering how it will be to live another 27 years.




Do you want to know? What difference would it make?

In 1970 or so I remember wishing on a star. I wanted to know how my life would turn out, what I would do etc. I actually got an answer. The star said, "What would you do if your knew? Would it change what you are doing now? If yes, then change it anyway, without knowing. If no, then all is well and you are where you need to be.

At that moment the answer was "No" since all was well at that time.

I have always used 'Death as an Advisor' after reading Carlos Castaneda's first book, The Teachings of Don Juan, which came out while I was working on my B.A. in Anthropology. I was actually studying Mesoamerica - a term anthropologists coined for a culture area which spanned the U.S. Southwest down to the northern part of Central America. Like others in my generation, the book intrigued me and I got the bug to study Shamanism.

When I did, I realized that Shamanism as it relates to a particular group of people, is rooted in history, language, geography, culture and ancestry. Traditionally, shamans, healers, or other holy people, were chosen by their community. No one in their right mind would walk in and say they wanted to be one. And, no amount of money could buy you the job.

For me, it was impossible to become a Huichol shaman. I might become a Sicilian one (if such a thing existed - Ha! Ha! or a Ukrainian or Polish one - also part of my ancestry).

Since one one my goals in life was to have a happy death, periodically I would look around at my life and ask myself, "If I died right now, would I have a happy death?"

If the answer was NO then time for a change. If YES, then I kept doing what I was doing.

Since it looks like I've got another 27 years, I think I better look around at my current life and answer the question once again.

My Most Memorable July 4th

This morning as I sat outside drinking my morning coffee and appreciating the silence, I was so grateful for my life. I love it when there's a legal holiday because the sound of commuting traffic echoing in the narrow canyon where I live is absent.

I am grateful for my home, my garden, my current life. I know I am lucky compared to other people. I have seen some of those other people, both here and in other countries.

I began thinking of past July 4ths and the one that stood out was 1976. At the beginning of the year, I was in Africa in the Peace Corps. I regretted not being home for the Bicentennial, but my contract was not yet completed and there was no way I could leave for a vacation at that time of the year.

One thing led to another and I got so ill I had to be "med-evaced" out of the country and ended up in George Washington University Hospital in D.C. having surgery. The night of the July 4th celebration, a group of hospital staff and I watched the Bicentennial Celebration out of the window of my hospital room bathroom. I sat on the toilet seat, the best and only seat in the house, and marveled at how Fate had brought me home for this memorable event.

That night I was proud to be an American. I was glad to be alive (since I had gotten so ill in Africa I didn't know if I would live). And I was relieved to have been able to leave to get the medical attention I needed (which didn't exist where I was). It had taken days to get out of the country, because they would sell tickets but not make reservations. Each day it was first come, first served. People just lined up and pushed and shoved until they got on. Each day, accompanied by someone from the American Embassy, I would go to the airport, wait, and not get on. It was getting drastic as my medical condition worsened.

Finally my chance came. They thoroughly searched my belongings and when they found a coin that I had kept for a souvenir, they accused my of taking their currency out of the country, which was against the law. Fortunately, the embassy person intervened. The plane was already beginning to taxi along the runway. It stopped as I ran towards it. When I got on that PanAm jet, I cried. I felt like I was already on American soil.

My time in the Peace Corps did more for my patriotism than anything else I have ever done. Even though the country I was in was not so bad off (then), it was still such a drastic change from home. I used to dream of being in Safeway. I'd reach for something and it would vanish before I could touch it. In my PC country, "super-markets" had row after row of empty shelves. Sometimes there would be a whole row of one thing, because they had gotten a shipment. We expatriots stock-piled and hoarded. If something came in, the word got round and everyone would run to the store to get it. We had money, but there was nothing to buy.

We had to go to a nearby country for sugar, coffee, flour, gasoline. I had a friend with a land-rover and we made supply runs every few weeks for ourselves and other people. Nothing illegal, just basic foodstuffs. The locals subsisted on manioc, greens, palm oil and pilchards. But few Europeans or Americans could hack a diet like that on a regular basis.

I think that all young people, when they graduate from high school or reach 18, should spend at least one year in a third-world country, so they can appreciate what we have here. Not just the material wealth, but all of it. I have written before about how my students in Africa were hungry for knowledge. They didn't let "poverty" get in their way. They were enthusiastic about learning. They didn't mind if they had one pair of shoes as long as they could get to class. Many people had no shoes.

What does it take to keep America strong?

For me it takes education, appreciation, understanding, compassion and acceptance of differences. It does not take killing, maiming, torturing, force and fire-power. We will never regain the world's respect the way we are going, nor will we gain its love.

These days when I travel, I find myself in the position of having to explain why America is so evil and corrupt. I feel I have to separate myself from the policies of my government, when I live in a democracy. How can we possibly be an example to the rest of the world - which used to look up to us? People in other countries can't understand why we had a coup d'etat and didn't run into the street to stop it.

Now they are talking about Iran.

What are you doing today? Having a BBQ in the backyard with your family? Enjoy. It might be your last.

Another part of us has moved

I started an astrology blog - thedesertsky.blogspot.com

I moved the astrology posts that were here and added some new ones.

As a give-away, to promote this blog, I am offering a free report called The Sky Within to the first three people who make a comment and include their birth data and email address. I will not publish these comments, they are only for the promotion. Include your date, time and place of birth (name or gender not required) and your email address, so I can send you the report. The report is by Steven Forrest, a well-known astrologer. To win this report, you must include all the required information.

Go the blog and read the post about a New Day, for more information.

For those who don't know, the first part of us that moved was the herbalism, which can now be found at hamidatheherbalist.blogspot.com

Here we will continue with cultural commentary, travel, movies, books, ideas, and observations.

My Bucket List

As I've said before, I haven't had T.V. service for 14 years, because of the location of my house. There is no cable and it's not worth having a satellite dish, because I don't spend that much time watching. I do have a set, though, and a subscription to Netflix. Since movies are so expensive these days, I tend to wait 'til they come to Netflix before I see them, which could be as much as a year after they come out. Oh well.

I just watched "The Bucket List" with Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson. And, of course, I started thinking about the bucket list I made for myself when I was a kid. Here are the things on the list that I have done so far:

Sky dive
Join the Peace Corps
See the Pyramids
Travel on the Nile
Go on a camel caravan into the Sahara
Become a Whirling Dervish
See the Taj Mahal
Travel all over Mexico
Study Mayan Hieroglyphs
Have a small house in the woods where I can have a garden

Here are the ones left to do:

Write and publish a best-seller
Get an Academy Award
Get married in Machu Picchu
Travel on the Amazon River

Not bad. A couple of those on the to do list might not get done, but so far, my life has been pretty miraculous, so I'm not ruling them out.

Although I have not written 'a book', I have had some things published - articles about California Indians in News From Native California, and articles on Benicia and the Historic State Capitol there in the Solano County Historical Society Journal. I also worked on the illustrations in a book on Mayan hieroglyphs written by one of my professors at Tulane University, which was published - called A Grammar of Mayan Hieroglyphs by V.R. Bricker.

While I did not become a professional epigrapher or Mayanist, I learned enough about Mayan hieroglyphs to teach courses at Sonoma State University.

And I did write the script for published video that shows daily at the Sonoma Barracks - part of the Sonoma State Historic Park in Sonoma, California. It's called Mariano Vallejo and the Northern Frontier and has to do with the role Vallejo played in early California history. In fact, the town I live in now was once a land grant given by Vallejo to an Englishman who "Mexicanized", which was what they had to do to own land in California in those days.

What this meant was: 1. They had to become Catholics, 2. They had to speak Spanish, 3. They had to marry a Mexican national, 4. They had to become citizens of Mexico, 5. They had to change their name to a 'hispanicized' version - John became Juan, etc. There were a few exceptions, but they are rare. Things have changed a bit since then.

Another thing most people don't know about early California history, is that the California State Constitutionwas written in English and Spanish, since most of the signers were from the land-owning majority - who were Mexicans and all documents that came out of the legislature were bi-lingual. This state was bi-lingual from its creation.

I doubt that my video will win an academy award, or that my publications will become best-sellers, but they are all published and out there in the world with my name in or on them.

The two things that may actually prove more difficult are those two travel destinations which are extremely challenging physically and I doubt I'm going to get married again. LOL

There may have been other things on that list from time to time, but whatever they were, they were not important, since I totally forgot about them. In general, I'd say I got to do more than was on my list, because there are many other places I've been and things I've done than were on those lists. I can truly say I am satisfied with my life.

I never wanted children since, even as a child myself, I knew the world was over-populated and that my children or grand-children would suffer from the effects of pollution, lack of resources and degradation of the planet. And I was right.

Because of who I am, I can't help thinking that 'the end' of life as we have known it, is upon us. For the past week, here in Northern California, the orange sky and the smell of smoke due to the numerous forest fires has had all of us coughing. My cats are freeking out. I have been having nightmares.

The SF Chronicle had an article on the front page today about the dying bees and how much we need them for our food supply. One quote was "How would our federal government respond if 1 out of every 3 cows was dying?", Maryann Frazier, a bee expert from the University of Pennsylvania.

These days, all I want is to see bees, birds, and butterflies in my yard. When a hummingbird hovered in front of me then flew directly to the plants I had put in just for her, I knew I had done something right and she was thanking me.

Part of Us Has Moved

As of a couple of days ago, I created a new blog called Hamida the Herbalist, which can be found at hamidatheherbalist.blogspot.com . It was time to do it. Soon I will be creating a separate blog for astrology. That way, those who want those specific topics won't have to wade through the rest of it. To make the transition sweeter, I'd like to offer sweets. An offering of chocolate. Take the test and see.

You are Milk Chocolate

A total dreamer, you spend most of your time with your head in the clouds. You often think of the future, and you are always working toward your ideal life. Also nostalgic, you rarely forget a meaningful moment... even those from long ago.

What Kind of Chocolate Are You?

I'm am totally loving this blog stuff!