Walking to Work

In a perfect confluence of gorgeous Spring day, $4 gallon gas, and a continuing desire to lower my carbon footprint, I decided to try walking to work yesterday. The path looked pretty.

It took me an hour each way. There was only sidewalk 10% of the way. The rest of the way pedestrians were expected to walk in the street, I guess. The assumption was likely there would be no pedestrians. American has a long way to go before we have all of the varied infrastructure to combat global warning.

I also decided whatever I saved on car gasoline probably was spent heating the water for the second shower I took because of my walk. I did get two hours of free exercise though and it was fun.

Toward a more just America: It's Time to Pass the 21st Century GI Bill

I have followed the career of Senator James Webb ever since he gave an outstanding rebuttal to President Bush's State of the Union Address last year. The Senator perfectly articulates the angst of that segment of America that is bearing the cost of the Iraq War through military service while the rest of us received tax cuts.

Senator Webb is proudly sponsoring a 21st Century version of the GI Bill to honor these people for their service. The GI Bill of WWII paid for our best and brightest veterans to lift themselves up by their bootstraps and our country was well-served by their subsequent accomplishments. Examples of people who benefited from the GI Bill are President Gerald Ford, who attended the University of Michigan, and Senator John Warner, who went through both undergrad and law school on the GI Bill. There were millions of others.

Surprisingly, both President Bush and Senator John McCain are against the bill, describing it as "too expensive." The military is also against it because they think they will lose even more experienced people who leave to take advantage of the benefit.

It's my belief that it will create a surge of ever more talented people entering the military. American higher education can cost a small fortune. I think young people will "play the odds" of not getting hurt and sign up for service in droves. Regardless of what I think of how our policymakers have chosen to use our military, what I care most about is that the people who serve are honored both verbally and financially for the nobility of their service. It's the least we can do.

"Shed Your Stuff, Change Your Life"

There is a first-rate article in Oprah Magazine (yes, I'm an official member of the cult) this month by Julie Morgenstern excerpting her new book When Organizing Isn't Enough. I would link to the article but it hasn't been loaded onto the magazine web site.

Julie says, "Let's say you want to make a major change...but you're stalled. Here's the things: You can't be a new you without to some extent dismantling the old you."

I like my present "you." I don't want to transform my "you" as much as I want to transform my "life." This article spoke to me because the inertia of making an almost 180-degree turn in my life (paring it down, living alone again without my children, moving across the world, beginning new work in a new culture) can be overwhelming. I can see how people stall and don't go anywhere! It's a lot easier to stay put and not do the work or feel the feelings of loss. Because there are always feelings of loss.

She says:

I devised a four-step system to help people manage their own transitions with grace. I call it SHED, and though the process isn't always pleasant or easy, without it life gets stalled. Clinging to the old, the irrelevant, the stagnant holds you back. It can confine you to a space that no longer fits, denying you the opportunity to be your truest, best self. By releasing your attachment to obsolete items in your space and schedule, you gain the energy and clarity to make changes in your life, find your passion, or deal with the transition of divorce, an empty nest, or retirement. SHED is a transformative process for letting go of things that represent the past so you can grow and move forward. The SHED steps are:

Separate the treasures - Identify and unearth the items and obligations that energize you and have value for the next chapter of your life.

Heave the trash - Let go of any activity or object that depletes you; the result is a significant opening of time and energy.

Embrace your identity - never mind your stuff. This is your new opportunity to reconnect to your most authentic self.

Drive yourself forward - Begin to fill your space and schedule with activities, experiences, and items related to your future goals.

This blog is a big part of "embracing my identity so I can drive myself forward" to "separate my treasures and heave my trash." Frankly, shedding an old skin can be exhausting. But I find that change is ten times more exhilarating when I make it happen rather than let it happen to me.

What helped you make the transition from full nest to empty nest or from one country to another?

Baby Steps toward Selling

My baby step toward selling this house that I'm celebrating today is that the lawn man did two solid days of work on the yard and the wild "forest" of uncontrolled trees the original owner/developer left growing in the backyard. The trees and understory bushes don't look quite as untouched now. I'm not sure that's a good thing. At least the organic debris on the "forest" floor is cleaned up and not fuel for a fire (I'm trying to think like a very critical buyer - all I ever saw was the beauty of the trees).

My next two vendors to deal with are the painters and the carpet layers. The painters are supposed to paint this week. Carpet to come the following.

Daughter #2 has become addicted to applying for college scholarships. Every week another "yes" comes in. Her goal is to have her first year entirely financed from scholarships. So far she is at 60%. She is making her father sooooooo happy. That's a good thing.

She has additional assignments to turn in plus a United States Constitution test to pass before she officially walks across that stage.

May we all keep on task this week and focus on what's in front not in the future!

Prague zoo sets out to save Indian gharial

Prague has snagged itself quite a civic entrepreneur at the local zoo. Yahoo News reports the zoo's first conservation project is an attempt to save the Indian gharial. Sounds like a very strategic marketing decision to make your institution's first project some cool, weird animal people haven't heard of before. The picture of the animal that goes with the news story is obscured. I guess the only way to really know what it looks like is to buy a ticket and go see it for ourselves. Bravo, Mr. Fejk. Click on the title for the whole story:

The zoo, a modest 111 acres (44 hectares), has been rated by Forbes Magazine as the seventh best zoo in the world, according to the Prague city website.

Much credit is said to go to the zoo's dynamic young director, Petr Fejk, the first non-zoologist to head the establishment who is credited since his appointment in 1997 with boosting visitors from 400,000 to 1.3 million last year.

The Prince is a Pauper

Here is an interesting article from Boston Magazine about recovering from communism in the Czech Republic. "The Prince Is a Pauper" tells the tale of William Lobkowicz who left his Boston apartment and real estate career to reclaim his Czech title and castles, which had been confiscated from his family when the communists took over. Click the title for the link to the whole story.

"The adventure, he knew, would be rife with other challenges, as well. The restitution laws had a catch: A family could have its treasures back, but nothing could leave the country. That little detail had the effect of destroying the value of reclaimed Lobkowicz properties, since no antiques or art dealer is going to buy something he can't sell on the international market. Had they been able to auction, say, their original painting by Pieter Brueghel the Elder (made in 1565, it's one of 45 surviving Brueghels in the world), the sale likely could have funded the entire restitution effort. Instead, these assets were, in a cruel sense, priceless. To the family, though, regaining control of their heritage was worth the expense. It was a way to circle back in time, to make this dark chapter of exile an interruption in their story instead of an ending.

Rather than targeting only the most meaningful properties, William and his lawyers made the decision to go after everything that had once belonged to the Lobkowiczes, pursuing every acre and building, every old rifle and violin. Proving such ownership might have been impossible were it not for the Communists' curiously meticulous note-keeping, which left behind a paper trail—a veritable treasure map—detailing every piece of property, where it had been seized, and where it ended up. Still, the process was extraordinarily expensive and time-consuming, spreading William's limited resources thin. But it was what the entire family wanted.

The small pieces came together first: a court declaring that William was the rightful owner of, say, a 17th-century sofa, at which point he and the lawyers would dash off to the proper castle and quite literally haul the furniture down the stairs, load it into the back of a van, and zoom off into the Czech sunset. During those early trips, William would reflect on his grandfather, who'd been forced to abandon the very property now being reclaimed. "I think he would have been happy that we were able to come back here, and his country was free again."http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Lobkowicz

Tourist for Today

Inspired by all the reading I've done of my favorite Prague and Czech expat blogs, I headed out with enthusiasm to play tourist in my own town today -- with spectacular results.

My community is fortunate to have the #1 rated Japanese gardens in all of North America. They were created by a local industrialist, John Anderson, who fell in love with Japanese gardens he had seen in Portland, Oregon. He and his wife decided to create their own.

This is a wondrous Spring day, made all the more beautiful by the lack of any pretty days like this preceding it. Seventy degrees. Blue, blue skies. Birds are singing. Finally, the Midwestern crabapple and dogwood around town are starting to bloom.

I walked into the brand new Anderson Gardens Visitor's Center with no expectations and was overwhelmed with the level of excellence. What a gift this couple has given to my city! My eye was immediately drawn to the brand new restaurant (it just opened last Thursday - who knew) and the gorgeous view of the flowers and rock gardens below.

In my excitement I chatted up a lady who turned out to be the restaurant manager. She had read about the owner stopping construction on his visitor's center and new restaurant because he couldn't find the perfect executive chef. She said Mr. Anderson, the garden's owner, wanted the new chef to be able to design his own kitchen to his own exacting chef specifications.

Sue, the restaurant manager, after reading this story, appreciated the patience and exacting nature shown by John Anderson in his search for the perfect person. She, told her up-and-coming, as-yet-undiscovered executive chef husband that he might want to take a look at this opportunity. Her pride in her husband and her advocacy for his work brought tears to my eyes. She took me back to the kitchen to meet him. What a pleasure to experience their joy as this new venture begins to charm my area!



Afterwards I went out into the gardens and enjoyed the waterfalls, the Japanese tea and guest houses, and feeding the koi in the numerous ponds. One of the ladies in the gift shop said that the Japanese do not turn their heads when enjoying a view from a garden bench. They stare straight ahead and when they are ready, they move to the next spot so that they can then again look straight ahead at the view they would like to focus on. In this way, they completely see the scene before them. I tried this at a pond overlook and lost myself in the garden reflections. I felt like I was 17 again and seeing Monet's paintings of pond lillies and the light at Giverney for the first time. I haven't thought about that in a long time.



The gardeners change the patterns in the Zen gravel gardens every three days. Each pattern represents water. A favorite pattern appreciated by the staff is one where they put a rock in the middle of the gravel and the gardener designs the ripples that emanate outward.

The website does the gardens some justice but not complete justice (being able to hear the garden sounds was a nice touch).

I want to go back when the Japanese irises are blooming.