Living in the moment (12/19/2021)

Each year, around this time of the year I seem to write a post where I review what happened in the world and in my life during the past year. I gave 2020 the proverbial middle finger for contributing COVID, my house arrest and tRump at his best. But what did 2021 bring us, or do I even want to write about it?

It is my understanding that the Buddhist are very strong believers of living in the moment. Living in the moment or not dwelling over the past and not being anxious over the future.

Dwelling over the past. My thesaurus tells me that the word dwell also means inhabit or live. This will age me, but it reminds me of one of my favorite Jethro Tull albums and associated tune “Living in the Past.” Part of the lyrics go like this:

Now there's revolution
But they don't know
What they're fighting
Let us close our eyes
Outside their lives
Go on much faster
Oh, we won't give in
We'll keep living in the past
Oh, we won't give in
Let's go living in the past
Oh no, no, we won't give in
Let's go living in the past

Damn, here I go again on a tangent, don’t I? Not really, the Album Living in the Past came out in 1969 and this part of the lyrics can apply to the much of the January 6th insurrection we saw. Those folks did not know what they were fighting for, and I am sure they still do not! They think they did, but was that really what was behind it all? A red-haired wannabe dictator who only cares about himself and maybe his rich cronies as long as they adore him, otherwise he’ll throw them under the bus. He somehow was able to whip up the masses with some popular ideas, but he doesn’t give a damn about them. The perfect demagogue, Mussolini, Stalin, Castro, etc. all in one person.

So yes, maybe it is better for me to live in the past, the times before we lost our innocence, and the country elected this red-haired wannabe dictator? Or should I focus on living in the moment? Boy what a conundrum.

This past year I have been very anxious about the future, my aging, and our environmental future as you can conclude from my blog posts. So, what remains? Yes, I better live in the moment, otherwise I’ll turn into a complete wreck!

But no, we can learn from the past and come to terms with it. I am still trying to do that in my personal life at times, although I think it is working most of the time. Regarding the future, I still need to plan, maybe try to lose those few pounds, my 2022 travel and teaching schedule, eventual retirement, and yes keep fighting for the environment and future generations. I wrote a post about bonsai work and how it is all based on long range planning (actually it was a political post, turned bonsai post, but as regular readers you know how my strange mind twists). So, living in the moment does not mean just sitting here staring at my belly button a.k.a. my computer. I want to try to make every moment count and live life to the fullest; enjoy it.

So maybe my next post will be a yearend review, although maybe not; I think I did a pretty good job at it here today.

I took this photo mid-November of my desk (top).  It is iconic for the year, I suppose.  Working from home and some of my (tropical) plants, inside for the winter months.  It is definitely not my Richmond office; they don't allow live plants there.

What does the word environment mean to you? (12/14/2021)

What comes to mind when you hear the word environment? That was a question I read in a periodical I get called Yes! Yes! calls itself “Journalism for People Building a Better World.” It is a very provocative and informative magazine, and I enjoy it. The question what the word environment means to you was partially answered in the magazine, and I thought it was worth spending some time on here in my blog, since I often write about the environment, environmental protection, and environmental justice.

The Oxford Dictionary defines environment in two ways:

1. The surroundings or conditions in which a person, animal, or plant lives or operates.
2. The natural world, as a whole or in a particular geographical area, especially as affected by human activity.

From a biological viewpoint, some define environment as follows:

1. The uninhabitable portion of the environment
2. Uninhabited part, and
3. Inhabited part of the environment

Those darn biologists again! They know how to ruin a good thing and make something uninhabitable. But I guess they (we) are correct, places like the lava flow in Tenerife or Iceland are still part of the environment and are pretty darn uninhabitable. It just makes it sounds so clinical.

I guess, I could just copy what is written in the article since I assume that not many of you read the magazine, but that would be plagiarism, now wouldn’t it? Still, to paraphrase what Breanna Draxler wrote in her article, she writes it should not (only) be the charismatic things around us like the National Parks, the majestic peaks, and the beautiful forest. However, it should also the mundane including the soil, our air, things around our home, our workplace, and schools. We should understand how we are interconnected with each other, with the planet and everything living on it. Wow that is a Unitarian principle if I have ever heard of one.

The article then goes into environmental justice and makes the argument that wherever the environment is under assault, the local inhabitants will be under assault as well. It always seems that these inhabitants will mostly be minorities, especially women and children.

Why is it that when I start writing, things go where I did not intent it to go? This time I only read the introduction to Ms. Draxler’s article, and I thought it would make a great post: wondering what the word environment means to me. So, let’s see if I can bring it back to there. What does it all mean to me? As someone who is acutely aware of my surroundings, I like to “forest bathe”, meditate, observe and study nature, my environment is all around me, wherever I am and go. As I mentioned before, winter walks are my way of examining the canopy of trees in search of a design for the perfect bonsai. So yes, I consider myself acutely aware of my environment.

At the same time, I recognize the larger environment and often write about global warming. Right now, I am upset that our republican governor elect is either bowing to his own or to the conservative belief or bias and wants to dial back regulations that fight global warming and sea-level rise. The only thing I can think is “here we go again”. Let’s fight whatever progress we have made for future generations for short-term gain, and who really gives a damn how our kids and grandkids will suffer? Our generation’s legacy be damned!

To me environment includes all that and the people around me, my family and friends, you all who read my blog posts, my students, neighbors, foes, even my enemies, or shall I call them the folks I do not really like that much or get along with. That part of the environment is important. I once wrote a post on the difference between being alone and being lonely. As an introvert, I like being alone at times but being lonely without community or folks in my environment is not good.

In conclusion then, for me, the word environment encompasses everything, the whole, the web of our and my existence, as well the minutia everything and everybody around me. I need to cherish it and them, respect them, love them, take care of them; because they are all I have and all I can leave as legacy for future generations. They (you) contribute to who I am.

This photograph symbolizes what I am trying to tell you all here.  I walk by this scene probably at least once a day, if not more.  The perfect embrace of two different tree species: a loblolly pine and a maple.  If they can do it, humankind can do it, and fight for the environment on all different scales.

 

The Debate Du-Jour (12/02/2021)

Ok, here I am getting into the debate du-jour and telling you nothing, that you have not heard, and that has not been said before. However, just for the sake of history and since I see this blog as a reflection of what I see that is going on in society and my opinion of it, I feel I need to chime in. The abortion issue, that is now in front of the Supreme Court.

So let me put it out there: Essentially, I am anti-abortion, but pro-choice. What, how is that possible. Well in my ideal world, abortion would not often be needed. There would be perfect family planning, without hiccups, there would be no rape or incest, we would have great healthcare and the mother’s health would never be in danger, and we would have done free genetic testing before hand to know whether a pregnancy would result in an abnormal fetus.  However, we do not live in utopia, do we?

The problem is that too many conservative men and yes, also women want to control the lives of others. They believe in less government when it comes to healthcare, gun control, taxes, what you can do on your property, vaccinations, you name it; however, they do want the government to control what you do in your bedroom. It is just like what the mother of the latest mass murderer of the Oxford high school wrote in an open letter to then president elect tRump. I am paraphrasing here, she wrote that she was looking forward to him cleaning up Washington from those politicians who are fucking her in the ass, because as a middleclass working mom she would “rather be grabbed in the pussy.”

I am personally so sick and tired of hearing these folks being pro death penalty and then turn around and talking about the sanctity of life. Wanting to save blobs of tissue in a womb that were put there by a rapist, an abusive uncle, stepfather, boyfriend of their mother, you name it. Then when it is brought to term, the mother and baby can rot in hell. They are not given any support, because the pro-lifers do not believe in healthcare for all. Remember how they fought Obamacare? They are too poor to feed the child and let us make sure to cut food assistance programs, and fight all other welfare programs. That child does not need three meals a day or a coat on cold days, that makes them weak! We definitely have to cut education and not raise minimum wages.

Many of these folks have a nice story to tell (life is sacred, etc.), but they simply do not care. They may wish to adopt one of these babies if it is the correct race and mother did not use drugs. But, for the rest, stick them in a ghetto, loosen the gun control rules and have them kill each other, get a drug overdose or stick them in jail. That is a way of getting rid of them while still feeling good about ourselves and being pro-life. It is simply callus what they are doing, and why? Just to make themselves feel good, because of some internal frustration or guilt, because of some false deity they believe in? Who knows? Maybe it is because they want to control us.

The problem is, the way the conservatives have stacked the Supreme Court, they are going to win and society is going to lose. Remember the latest opinion poll shows that something like 63% of the U.S. population is pro-choice and our religious Taliban is increasingly trying to control us. We need to fight back and that is what I am trying to do here in this post!

Why do I write? (11/23/2021)

Why do I write, or more specifically, why do I write my blog? I am not sure where I heard something similar asked the other day, either on the radio from someone on why they make music or maybe it was on XM. I know this is a subject I have visited before <here>, and it is the number one post on my site. I am still not completely sure; so I question why do we do what we are doing for a hobby or work? Do I want the attention, “preach” my (liberal or environmental) believes (now that is different from my previous blog post)? It sometimes seems that I act too much like a fool, make fun of situations, don’t take things seriously. Whenever a serious situation presents itself, I may even have a difficult time being serious or handling it in a serious matter.

Wow, this first paragraph was not where I wanted to go at all with this post today. So back up.

My posts are mostly serious, I hope. But who do I write them for? Myself, or who do I phantom my audience to be, you, who reads my ramblings? I started out my public persona behind a microphone on a radio station: KGLP FM, Gallup Public Radio. I remember it like yesterday. We built the radio station and the first minute it went on the air (I think it was 1992), Frank, who was hired as station manager by the Community College signed in and stuck the microphone in front of my face and said: “say something Jan.” The rest was history, I was hooked. Soon I had three daily radio programs for at least a year (a classical afternoon show, the Frank and Jan “All things reconsidered” show, and an evening jazz show). When Frank left, I temporarily took over as station manager for a half year or so before we left Gallup for a “real” job in Cincinnati. I missed being on the radio ever since.

Talking into a microphone to an anonymous audience was comforting. Friends listened of course, but others did not know me, and I did not know them. I could be whatever and whomever I wanted to be. Sometimes I feel this blog is the natural continuation of my short radio career, which I absolutely enjoyed so much. Very few friends know that I blog, and I really do not advertise my writing. You are one of the lucky ones if you happen to find it, read it, or even follow me. Lucky maybe exaggerated, but you get the drift. I am the lucky one if you read it!

This graph shows you where my readers came from over the years.  I started my blog on June 23, 2013.  Just over 67% of my readers were from the US.  The Indonesian readership was 0.9%.  After that, the numbers were too small to show on the graph.  I always seemed to get a lot of Russian hits whenever I mentioned tRump. 

At the time KGLP was a volunteer radio station and I did not earn a dime being assistant and later as temporary fill-in, full-time manager. It was a labor of love. I raced to the station when the station went down to fix things. In a way that is how I run this blog; I don’t make a damn penny on this blog. Yes, I know, I have complained about it at times and threatened that I will start putting adds on my blog in the hope to make a few pennies with my rambling. And there comes the point, I sometimes question who the heck do I write this thing for?

Was the radio thing and now this blog just one big ego thing, one big form of self-gratification? Am I just doing this for me? Am I just a big, fucking egocentric dick and should I just stop all this nonsense? What am I contributing to society? Am I wasting my valuable time sitting with my laptop on my lap hammering these worthless letters on the keyboard? I really don’t know.

I have written two sermons to share with folks in our UU congregation, hopefully partially educating, being empathetic, spiritual and a team player. The radio was a cheap thrill, but also something I did for the community. Both these things and other volunteer work I do, I do with the excuse that I want to give back to the community that is willing to put up with me. Maybe that is a good excuse: With this blog I am trying to give back to the world community that is willing to put up with me. Ha, ha, ha. I told you I can be funny, cynical at times.

So why am I really doing this? It is a form of diary, I guess. It started out as a daily photo blog and quickly turned into something more. I wanted to educate folks about what was dear to me, sailing, plants, nature, the environment. Then came my work, the teaching, my bonsai, and just simple life’s observations. Finally, this all was followed by politics; and there was the rabbit hole! Especially with the election of tRump. When writing about politics I was trying to challenge the right wing, the proud babies and alike. See if I could get their goat. But no, they are too interested in their own little dumb shortsighted chatrooms than to read the hopefully slightly more broadminded intellectual blog that I write.

So why do I put myself out there? I still don’t know. I don’t want or need the attention, but then like everyone else, I do check the number of hits I get on this blog, and the likes I get on my Instagram and Facebook posts. So maybe it is for self-gratification. However, I hope that some of my readers learn some thing and walk away from my posts having picked up something valuable or entertaining. However, probably not from anything I wrote in this particular post. I just had to do some public soul searching and reminiscing, but hopefully this post stimulated that in you as well.

For those who cannot remember the past (11/09/2021)

This weekend I was reminded of the saying often attributed to the Spanish-American philosopher George Santayana: “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” I was being interviewed by a fairly close friend for her school project about my career in environmental sciences; how I got to where I am now. My friend is relatively young, I think in her mid to late thirties, and is trying to finish her college degree on-line. This was part of one of her final projects. I find her a go-getter, very intelligent and overall, a very nice gentle person. It was fun to be interviewed by her. This is in no way an editorial or a judgement on her.

There was one point; however, where she drew a blank. I mentioned Idi Amin and she had no idea who I was talking about. Maybe not surprising since he was a ruthless African dictator who ruled a relatively small country from approximately 1971 to 1979 (way before she was born). My wife and I lived in Uganda during that time and went through the bloody civil war that ousted Amin in 1979. Back then everybody talked about the “Conqueror of the British Empire” as he called himself. He even inspired two movies, one based on the raid of Entebbe where the Israeli commandos freed hostages from an airplane hostage taking; the other “The Last King of Scotland” was based on the first few years of Amin’s reign. It was after the Entebbe raid when my wife and I moved to Uganda to work at the leprosy center in Kumi.

My concern is not my friend or Amin, but I realized we have a collective amnesia with the past. Whether it is the climate, yes, we may make fun when grandpa talks about having to walk to school through three-foot-deep snow and other fairy tales. Or was there really a holocaust, a guy named Hitler who was a demagog, a landing on the moon? Before long we will forget we will forget we lost a war in Viet Nam or even Afghanistan. Did the US really support dictators in Central America? Never heard of a guy named Samosa. Let’s not talk about Gaddafi, Mugabe, Marcos, just to name a few. Then we should never mention how the CIA assisted in overthrowing governments like the one of Allende in Chile.

To me the worst of it all is the attempted overthrowing of the election on January 6, and let’s not talk about this weird idea of critical race theory that is floating around. We definitely do not want to teach our kids that it was their grandparents who were standing in front of the public schools and universities yelling and shouting the N-word and trying to prevent these institutions from integrating and allowing students of color a proper education. Let alone their grandparents were openly members of a group that were wearing hoods and burning crosses onto lawns of folks who were for the integration of society. No, we do not want our children to know that grandpa and grandma were these folks and that we, your parents, were raised by them to by like them and we (secretly?) hate minorities, as well.

This is what I realized this weekend! We live in such a sheltered U.S. centric society, where we do not learn about our past, let alone the global international past, or we purposely want to ignore it. We do not learn world history, or we purposely want to ignore it. Conversely, instead of ignoring it, we spin it to fit our narrative, with the result: a demagog and an aspiring dictator was able to get elected. He and his henchmen are still out there, and we must be careful. We need to study and learn from history in order not to repeat it!

This is one of my baby bonsai trees in its fall colors.  It is a forest planting of two dawn redwoods.  Dawn redwoods are among the oldest trees in existence.  Once thought to be extinct and only found in fossil records, a small forest of them was found in a valley in China and from there they concurred the world as horticultural specimens.  Obviously, this species would have a long memory and able to tell us a lot about world and human history.