Rose Parade

THE SMELL OF ROSES

We awoke early, in time to get up and get ready to watch the annual spectacle of the Rose Parade in Pasadena. In keeping with tradition (and no one reveres tradition more than the white jacketed Tournament of Roses committee, with the possible exception of the British royalty) the Parade is never held on a Sunday, and thus never interferes with the WASP worship traditions of the committee members. This benefited us by allowing a decent recovery period following our New Year’s Eve revelry (modest by most other people’s standards, but hey, we were up to one AM!)

Today was an exceptional weather day, even by Southern California standards; crystal clear skies, sunshine, and temperatures in the mid to high seventies by the time the last  float passed the reviewing stand across from the Norton Simon Museum, whose wall was appropriately decorated with the stylized Rose emblematic of the event. There has long been a rumor that the Rose Parade organizers had a pact with the devil, guaranteeing no precipitation during the march down Colorado Boulevard. While I would not be terribly surprised to discover that some of these eminent members had at least a passing acquaintance with Old Nick, all I can say is that in the 40 years since I lived here, I have never seen rain befall the actual parade. Sometimes there was rain before the start, occasionally rain after, but during? Never! You be the judge.

I have to confess; as cynical as I may be towards the politics and the motivation of the organizers, there is a beauty and grandeur in the artistic arrangement of the millions of flowers and plants that go into the making of one float, and youthful wholesomeness to the faces of the thousands of young people who come here from all around the world to take part in a spectacle and tradition that is jubilant, festive and uniquely American. Watching this event on television in the cold, snowbound homes of the Midwest and Northeast, I can certainly understand why each year several million people decide they want to pull up stakes, stop shoveling driveways, and move to Southern California. Like most Chamber of Commerce brochures, you have to take this one with a large grain of salt, but there is no denying the appeal of the image that is broadcast into cold and wet homes elsewhere.

The millions of dollars and countless hours of volunteer time that go into this event certainly could be spent more productively and wisely than investing them in this very ephemeral day, but the reality is, they wouldn’t be. If the Rose Parade were to be abolished, I doubt all those people who are involved in its creation would suddenly channel their energies into feeding the poor, or helping the homeless. (In fact, a number of these people do both.) People have the need to create something that is beautiful, artistic, that celebrates life. If they didn’t, I wouldn’t have had the enjoyment of watching the splendid group of kids from Japan infect the crowd with their energy and music, or the pale blond mariners from Sweden squinting at the masses lining the boulevard as they marched for the first time in this granddaddy of all American parades.

Happy New Year to you all,

J.

 

How Do You Justify Your Existence?

When I was considerably younger, I had a circle of friends who would get together once a month, and discuss items relevant to our lives at the time. Each meeting would start off with a question – “How do you justify your life?” We would then go round robin around the table, giving our answers, and receiving comments and questions in return. We were all survivors of some calamity or tragedy, be it war, physical trauma, a major illness – a happenstance from which not all walked away. This exercise proved to be not only useful, but life altering for many of us. It gave us a chance to acknowledge our good fortune, remind ourselves that our survival was not necessarily due to our skills and preparation for life events, but more to random chance (or to a few in the group, Fate, or God’s will; I was never quite sure which was the more terrible.) What we all shared was a sense of obligation to ourselves, and the rest of the world, to give something back for our good fortune, to give meaning to being survivors.
This by no means is a new theme. It has been addressed by many over the years, notably by Victor Frankl in his book, “Man’s Search for Meaning.” It’s part of the essence of being human that we seek to find a narrative that makes sense of the randomness of life. For those of us who sat around that table, the answers were all different, but all contained a common theme – one of service to others. Some of us chose to provide service through our choice of professions; doctor, teacher, policeman, butcher (dispensing philosophy with his cuts of meat.) Others chose to serve through family, church, or community; lifetime care of a brother with Down’s syndrome, Kiwani’s, Lion’s, foreign missions. What we all shared was a sense that we had been given a gift, and we had the need to give back.
Sadly, our group has long separated, scattered around the country and the globe. Some of us never returned from serving our country; others have fallen to the ravages of disease and time. Still, the question we used to ask of each other, I continue to ask of myself – “How do you justify your life?” You need not share the answer with anyone other than yourself. However, it is a useful exercise to remind ourselves of all that we have to be grateful for, what we choose as our expression of gratitude, and the ways in which we are all connected to each other.
Be well,
J.

Long time gone

It’s been quite a while since I was able to come here and post a blog. In case any of you wondered what I was up to, I have been completely swamped in the myriad of details involved in merging and moving a medical practice. I’m just now settling in to my situation, but it will be some time before the adjustment is complete. I had no plans to make such a move until relatively recently, when it became obvious that with the changing economic situation of our country, I either had to find a way of reducing my overhead costs by sharing space and personnel, or retire. Since I enjoy what I do, and feel I’m entirely too young to spend my time sitting at home clipping coupons, the former option was far preferable. The down side of my move is that I’m no longer my own boss; I have to learn a new computer system, and get rid of a lot of accumulated stuff my new, smaller quarters will no longer accommodate. The upside is that I can continue to work at a reduced schedule, continue to teach at the University, have available coverage when I’m away or if I get sick, and there is someone who has made a commitment to take over my patients when I finally make the decision to retire.

My “new life” began on November 1, and while the transition hadn’t been as smooth as I had hoped (after a week, my phones are finally working and most of the computers are functioning, though the forwarding of mail is still an issue in negotiation with the US Postal Service) I feel the end results are going to justify the pain, and I feel good about my decision to embark on this new road. Now, I’ll have more time to read (my backlog of books and magazines should keep me busy for several years even if there are no additions to the piles,) write more, and visit some of my neglected blogging friends. I also look forward to more time with friends, more hikes in our local mountains, and a chance to visit my far away son more than I have been able to in the past.
To the few who may still read these words, be well.
J.

Chocolate

I had just come back from a delightful hike in the local mountains. As we sat down with our friends,  I opened a bottle of wine, and shared a taste of chocolate. I confess – I’m a chocoholic. I’m afraid I will never be cured by a 12-step program, as I am shameless in my desire, and find myself surrounded by like minded people who fuel my addiction by giving me boxes of the stuff for birthdays, Christmas, anniversaries – you name it. I was going to write a whole blog on this topic, until I remembered, “Wait! I’ve done this before.” So here it is. Hope you enjoy it with a nice piece chocolate truffle!

CHOCOLATE – THE ALL CONSUMING PASSION

For those of you for whom chocolate is not just a passing fancy but a philosophy by which to live, but whose cravings are afflicted with guilt about health and nutrition, I offer the following items.

1) Chocolate is a vegetable. How, you ask? Chocolate is derived from cocoa beans. Beans are a vegetable. Sugar is derived from either sugar CANE or sugar BEETS. Both are plants, which places them in the vegetable category. Thus, chocolate is a vegetable.

2) To go one step further, chocolate candy bars also contain milk,
which is dairy. So candy bars are a health food.

3) Chocolate covered raisins, cherries, orange slices and strawberries all
count as fruit, so eat as many as you want.

4) If you’ve got melted chocolate all over your hands, you’re eating it too
slowly.

5) The problem: How to get 2 pounds of chocolate home from the store
in a hot car. The solution: Eat it in the parking lot.

6) Diet tip: Eat a chocolate bar before each meal. It’ll take the
edge off your appetite, and you’ll eat less.

7) If calories are an issue, store your chocolate on top of the
fridge. Calories are afraid of heights, and they will jump out of the
chocolate to protect themselves.

If I eat equal amounts of dark chocolate and white chocolate, is
that a balanced diet? Don’t they actually counteract each other?

9) Chocolate has many preservatives. Preservatives make you look
younger. Therefore, you need to eat more chocolate.

10) Put “eat chocolate” at the top of your list of things to do today.That
way, at least you’ll get one thing done.

11) A nice box of chocolates can provide your total daily intake of
calories in one place. Now, isn’t that handy?

12) If you can’t eat all your chocolate, it will keep in the freezer.
But if you can’t eat all your chocolate, what’s wrong with you?

13) If not for chocolate, there would be no need for control top pantyhose. An entire garment industry would be devastated. You can’t let that happen, can you?

GOOD NEWS, BAD NEWS

It has been one of those days in Southern California that justifies our choice of living here despite the traffic congestion, high taxes and the other well publicized problems of the State – clear, sunny, without significant humidity, balmy temperatures in the high 70’s, and Mt. Baldy still covered with a cap of snow. After going for a morning walk to enjoy the benefits of the Santa Ana winds, smell some of the spring flowers along the way, I had a rare chance to relax, read the Sunday paper and reflect on the mixture of bad and good news to be found inside the pages. As usual, the bad news predominates, reflecting the journalist’s bias (and sad truth about human nature) that good news doesn’t sell papers. Given this selection criterion, it’s sometimes difficult to know if the world (and the people in it) is really as terrible a place as the media would have us believe.

One would have to be a complete Pollyanna to not realize the terrors that war, human cruelty and greed, not to mention the devastation Mother Nature brings to the human condition. No wonder that many choose simply to avoid reading newspapers or watching news programs, as we have all become overburdened and desensitized by the amount of carnage and horror delivered daily in front of our eyes. I hadn’t even had a chance to reflect on the earthquake damage in Haiti, Chile, and then New Zealand, especially as it might apply to our own geography, before the tsunami in Japan and the nuclear plant meltdown shifted my focus in a different direction. Now, with the tornado ravaged Southeast competing for news attention with the British royal wedding (a telling assessment of our values based on the time allocated to each,) I cannot recall any recent mention of what is happening in these other areas, though I intellectually know that the people there remain homeless, are still dealing with loss and daily deprivation. Sadly, just as the flotsam and jetsam of their lives have been washed out to sea, their problems are also lost in the relentless never ending news cycle of the media.

I was brought up by my parents to care about the suffering of others, to be grateful for the daily blessings of my life, to share with others surplus which is mine when their needs exceed my own. I still believe that this is the right way for me to live, but I admit, I feel completely overwhelmed by the magnitude of the problems that are daily placed in front of me. I, along with millions of others, suffer from compassion fatigue. It’s daunting to realize that if I did nothing else but devote my entire life, energy and resources to the solution to but one of these myriad issues daily raised before my eyes, it could totally consume me, and still not do more than scratch the surface of the problem. I admire, and attempt to emulate those who have selected one or two worthwhile projects to which they lend their support, and who have remained steadfast in their focus. I continue to be impressed with the generosity of the American people in continuing to give to disaster after disaster relief, even knowing that their money is sometimes misspent or wasted.

I have been very fortunate in my life. All along the way, I have encountered angels in the form of people who have given me financial and moral support, who had literally taken me into their homes as though I were one of their own, who have opened doors for me that would have remained closed without their aid.  There is always more that each of us can do for another, and it is a struggle for me, as I’m sure it is for many of you, to know where to draw the line between obligation of what I owe to myself and my family, and what I owe to someone who has been less fortunate than me. One way to deal with this dilemma, and one which I’m sure all of us have attempted to practice at one time or another, is to attempt to avoid seeing need so as not to feel guilty about not responding to it. Unless you live in almost complete isolation, this is almost impossible in our society. Another is to draw up a budget, setting aside a sum (be it money, time, or both) you feel you can devote to helping others. But what do you do when your budget has been spent, and an appeal reaches you that is difficult to ignore?  How much right do we have to deprive someone close to us of our time or financial resource without their specific consent for what we feel is a greater need? And in the end, just how much impact does what we do have on the life of another? In my personal case, I can give you an easy answer – tremendous! I hope those of you who read these words will reflect on your own situations, continue to struggle with the balance between your good impulses, your selfish needs, and the legitimate needs of your families, and remain generous with the less fortunate.

Be well,

J.

OLD FRIENDS

 

We just returned from spending a couple of days in the mountains, relaxing, eating, hiking, and spending time with old friends. They’ve invited us, along with another couple, two of our dearest friends, to share their beautiful home overlooking a scenic mountain lake. We’ve all known each other for over thirty years. He and I were colleagues until his retirement, and we’ve taken a number of trips together here in the States, as well as around the world. We’ve watched each others’ kids grow up, get married, create lives of their own. We’ve seen the lines of age change our faces, the weight of years alter our movements, and the experience of life mellow our opinions along with our expectations.

To say our friends are hospitable, kind and charming would be gross understatements. We feel very comfortable together, knowing we are accepted, cared for, welcomed. There are no hidden agendas. No one is looking to find favor, advantage, opportunity. We have some shared history, a few common interests, and a tolerance for the other’s beliefs. We seek not to covert the other to our own ideology or faith. We enjoy each other’s humor, and have heard each other’s joke many times over, but we still laugh at each re-telling. We are very fortunate that life, on the whole, has been kind to us, and while we each have had our shares of trauma, we have learned to be grateful for the gift of each day. They are almost a generation older than us, but have retained the gift of play with each other, maintaining at times a degree of childish teasing and joy that gives me hope for our own futures.

Over time, I hope and expect we’ll have other friends come into our circle, but they will never be able to replace the bonds we have forged with each other over many decades. It takes time to get to know people well, to see them in different settings, to appreciate their character in response to the various challenges of life. There is also something to be said about being with a person who knows you well enough to see through the various protective veils we all wrap ourselves in, in front of whom there needs to be little or no need for subterfuge. Old friends become our dearest treasures.

People & disasters

Miki has returned from Chile and Argentina, and I’m going into my fourth week of IV antibiotics, I’m feeling a whole lot more like my usual self, so my world has been up-righted. In the meantime…

The tragedy of Japan continues to unfold, as more bodies are being reclaimed from the rubble left behind by the twin devastation of the earthquake and subsequent tsunami, while thousands more remain unaccounted for, presumed to be also dead. Radiation continues to seep out from the damaged nuclear reactors, affecting food and water supplies in nearby areas, while continuing to keep the specter of a full nuclear meltdown in the minds of everyone concerned. As engineers heroically battle to cool damaged reactors at the risk of their own lives, we are left with our growing unease about the safety and wisdom of nuclear power not just as a local but a global issue. Can any nuclear plan be built to withstand an earthquake of 9.5 magnitude (the largest recorded quake that hit Chile in 1960) and the tsunami that’s likely to follow? Can human error, and the desire for profit over safety, ever be designed out of any future reactor? Are we now going to rebuild and redesign our current nuclear power systems to meet the greater safety standards that (hopefully) will come from the lessons of Chernobyl, Three Mile Island, and now Japan? If history provides a blueprint for the future, the answer, sadly, is “not likely.” (In one of the not much reported ironies of this tragedy, a documentary movie made by a female Japanese filmmaker pointing out the safety issues uncovered at the currently damaged nuclear plants was playing in Tokyo as the earthquake struck the country.)

Japan relies on nuclear energy for thirty percent of its current power requirements. In some countries, such as France, that number is significantly higher. Unless a hitherto undiscovered means of energy production were to be found, the world at this time is not able to realistically eliminate fission power without major reductions in energy production. For as long as we continue to double our population at the rate we have been doing, we can expect to face not only further energy crises, but also looming disasters in the areas of food production and the rapid destruction of irreplaceable natural resources. In what is a zero sum game, the likelihood of economic and physical conflict will continue to grow, with the stronger wresting from the weaker that which they require for ongoing survival.  The longer people, governments and religions ignore the threats that over population creates, the less likely we are to find an answer that will assure the peaceful survival of mankind.