THE Call

THE Call

I have been reminded recently how many “lost days” in my life have been totally wasted waiting for THE Call.

Before cell phones, it was the yellow handset in our kitchen.

It was THE phone I first learned “my number” on when phone numbers were partially letters. (BTW it was UL2-7117 and my Grandma Bootie’s # was FA1-4335) I could hear it all the way across the park and in the schoolyard next to our house and would stop EVERYTHING whenever I heard it ring knowing that “it was for me”. Perhaps it was my Dad, either of my grandparents or perhaps someone else offering me an alternative to whatever the heck it was I was doing at the time. The phone did not ring too often.

When I started my businesses I had tape machines that took messages, that later, from even payphones  I could point a device into the receiver to replay THE Call or still later insert a special code, even from overseas. Always waiting with anticipation for THE Call that would shift me out of whatever current situation I was experiencing. “Did the owner’s financing come through?” – “Did the Subs show up?” – “Were deposits made?”…”Permits?”…”New Client?” …etc…..sitting on pins and needles until answers could be had. Later I would await calls from my kids telling me about their days and what was happening at home but more often than not I was “too busy to talk” so as not to miss THE Call and let those calls get shorter and shorter.

 My 1^st cell phone only worked in my car as the unit fit in the trunk. My next one was a briefcase sized thing with a shoulder strap which looked stupid but I thought was techno-cool and well, you know how they’ve shrunk since then. What has not shrunk is this over riding cloud that seems to follow me in the ethers or wi-fi signals that continually tell me that I must carry this contraption to ensure I don’t miss THE Call.  “Is it charged? , charged enough?“ , “How many bars am I getting ?”

 We have had the great fortune to have our beautiful Grand-daughter with us for the summer and despite decades of knowledge I found myself patting my pocket too be sure the phone was there as we left this morning for a walk and scooter ride. Ugh.

THE Call may never come but, The Calling never stops.

 

Switchgear

This will definitely turn into a multi-part post as I realized that this weekend is the 10th anniversary of the Grand Opening of El Monte Sagrado in Taos, NM. Enough has been written about the project itself and all the wonderful folks that made it happen. What has not been discussed in any depth was the impact that project had on my life since 2003 and how it has directly impacts my life today. Edy said in passing the other day that I could “write an encyclopedia” about my experiences and I just laughed it off, (at first).

 Over the past couple of days I have just made an initial list of all the words that could indeed be expounded upon into their own “personal chapters” . Once I started it has been hard to close the faucet of the downloads that continue toward the multi-volume:

Encyclopedia of El Monte Sagrado

 

Like many key points on the railroad tracks of life, this seemingly “cool project” was simply a SWITCH in everything I ever knew to that point. The trajectory from that initial SWITCH continues to impact me daily. It seems it has had a similar affect on the lives of many others involved with the project including the GC, Field Super and the Owner.

__________________________________________________________________________

Preliminary Table of Contents

                                  Not yet in alphabetical order – still a work in progress – more to follow

** - Various forms of the word

A

Abundance

Ambition

Agriculture

Alignment

Arrogance

Awkwardness

Anointing

Altruism

Anger

Acceptance

Astronomy

Alchemy

Alcoholism

Advertising

Approval

Affidavit

Airplanes

Abandon

Agony

Author

Arroyos

American Express

Amazon

Anaconda

Archeolog

Art

Artists

Artifacts

Awards

B

Banks

Basalt

Balance

Brilliance- **

Building-  **

Beauty

Benevolence

Beta

Brujas

Blessings

Betrayal

Body – **

Boredom

Broken- **

C

Children

Construction

Chaco Canyon

Canyon

Complex

Confused

Corrupt

Cameras

Colleagues

Collaboration

Contracts

Copyrights

Credit – **

Ceremony

Custody

Cash

Cars
Core Energetics

Counsel – **

Coyote

Crystals

Corn

Cessna Caravan

Chutzpa

Computers

Culture

Culinary

Conservation

Competition

Character

Creativity

Cork

Consultants

Consciousness

Civic Duty

Charities

Cinco de Mayo

Castile

Conflict

Compassion

Caring

Carelessness

Collateral

Charisma
Chakras
Celeche

D

Datacad
Design
Deceit
Dangerous
Destitute
Disgusted
Defeat
Dreams
Desperation
Divinity
Defamation
Debt
Divorce
Diligence
Dousing
Draught
Denial
Dog – Douge
Donation - **
Death
Daughters
Diaspora
Discipline
Diplomacy
Double Truck
Due Diligence
DBUG
Detectives

E
Edy
Environmental- **
Ego
Energy – **
Excellence
Excuses
Excess
Eagle
Empathy
Exasperation
Embrace
Excitement
Enchantment
Entrapment
Exhaustion
Existential
Enthused
Enterprise
Enlightenment
Eclipse
Emotion
Ethics
Explorers
Empowered

 F

Futility
Fame
Fortune
Facination
Fun
Financial
Family
Forlorn
Fish Ponds
Film
Furniture
Friends
Fantasy
Fossil
Finding
Flood
Funding
Feminine
First Nations
F&B
FFE
Fire - **

G

GOD
Grants
Green
Government
Geology
Gratitude
Gifts
Generosity
Garnishment
Government
Guardian ad litum
Grace
General- Various Forms
Gumption
Grandparents  - **
Gardening
Golden Mean
Guilt – **
Geometry – **
Greif
 
H
Hay
Humming Birds
Home/Homeless
Hope
Hopelessness
Helplessness
Hunger
Heart
Happiness
Herbs
History
Humility
Horses
Hubris
Harsh - **
Humor
Hotels
Hate
Honesty
Honor
Health
HTML
 
I
Integrity
Intelligence
Injustice
Insolence
Illusions
Inspiration
Inequity
Indispensible
Insurance
Indignant
Interview- **
Isolation - **
Itinerant
 

J

Jesus
Jealousy
Jail
Joint Venture
Judicial System
Judgment
Jewelry
Joy
Justice
Journals
Jet Lag
Jubilant
 
K
Kiva
Kindness
 
L
Love
Lack
Lust
Loyalty
Limits - **
Looters
Lies
Liability
Liable
Life
Loans
Lease
Law – **
Leadership

M

Meta-Physical
Mental
Marriage
Mining
Materials
Mind
Mylar
Magic
Marooned
Mercy
Mountains
Music
Mayhem
Masculine
Medicine Wheel
Miracles
Massage
Mule
Mojo
Move – **
 
N
Non-compete
Non-disclosure
Neighbors
Neighborhoods
 
O
Offices
Order – **
Ordinary
Openness
Opposition
Ownership
o2c
 
P
Politics
Physical
Platinum Member
Polynesians
Possessions
Propane
Poverty
Prosperity
Polaris
PR
Pueblo
 
Q
Quandary
Quality

 R

Religious
Ranches
Rapture
Regret
Repossess
Resourceful
Resources
Relinquish
Respect
Release
Rodeo
Romance
Resumes
 
S
Skill
Skymiles
Suicide
Sensuous
Sexual
Spirit
Spiritual
Security – **
Sons
Staff
Seek
Self pity
Supplication
Sacrifice
Sanctification
Sustainability
Sustenance
Smudge
Slavery
Sympathy
Sacred
 
T

Taos

From the first time I visited New Mexico in 1995 I knew I’d be back.
Food, Air, Sky, Natural Beauty, History, People and so much more.  I felt I had a cosmic contract to fulfill and El Monte offered a way to initiate the completion of the agreement beginning in 2002. Flying in and out weekly in a little Cessna Caravan offered me the best views ever of the surrounding vistas . I was smitten from day one. I wanted to see and experience it ALL and I was certain that I had found Shangri-La. I dug deep into the history of the region and explored all the various landmarks and hidden treasures. In the beginning I just could get enough.    Little did I know  that I would leave there seven years later feeling like I’d just escaped from the Gulag.

Travel

Talent
Time warps
Testimony – different uses
Trials – as  above
Trails
Thwart
Trees
Trementia
Truth
Tragidy
Trust
Technology
Transformation
Toxic
Tonic
 
U

Unity

Unworthy

Uselessness

Unlimited

V
Victory
Value
Vanity
Vulnerability
Villain
Vacant - **
Vagrant
Voodoo
Volcano
Violence

W

Withholding
Witness - **
WWW
Water
Waste – **
Worth
Whelm
Wealth
Words
Worry
Wood
Withdraw
Withhold

X

?

Y

Yes

Yellow- **

Z

Zero- **

Connections

Connections

Many years ago there used to be a neat TV show called “Connections” hosted by a Britt-Science guy who would start the show with a meat-ball or something like it and then take you through Marco Polo, Silk worms, Fiji , the Aztec the Empire State Building and after an hour of this ,  back to the Meat-Ball…….all with a fascinating accent, great stories and beautiful film work. I really enjoyed that show.

Today I had a meeting with a guy who I met in one of my church groups. Actually I first met his son who was my study partner, who happens to have the same name as my son, is the same age and has a similar birthday. I then found out from him that his dad grew up in the same southern Texas City I did and in the same neighborhood. Then two weeks ago I met a guy whose brother was two years behind me in that same elementary school. Connections.

I left that city when I was eleven years old and had never been back until Edy and I took a trip there two years ago to meet with a guy who fabricates furniture for me (for 30 years, but we’d never met). We took a tour through the “old neighborhood” / “barrio” and parked in front of the house I essentially grew up in, off and on ( a story for another day). It was funny how I remembered vividly some parts of town but drew blanks with others. Overall it seemed smaller.

I remember boyhood friends with names like TG, JG, Ink,Surf, and of course Buzzard. Even Buzzards’ Mom would call him Buzzard. It was only later I thought how sad that was. I also had a bud who’s name was Randy Zant. It took my Mother several weeks before she asked me why I was always going over to Randy’s Aunts house? Moms.

We drove around the park I learned to play sports in and the elementary school I noted above which now has no playground but is full of mobile classrooms. I did note that it had air-conditioning and I’ll bet the kids are happy for that. As we drove out of town I thought to myself, “Hum, for 40+ years I’ve remembered, dreamed and had visions of this place and… well, I’m not coming back”.

 My only other similar experience was on the Shinkansen (Bullet Train) from Tokyo to Kyoto in the 80’s when I befriended a Canadian gent who as it happened bought a Condo in a Building I did in Marco Island, FL. He went on to describe in detail all the special things he enjoyed about the project and why he bought it because of those details. I was shocked and awed by the Connections. I never heard from him again.

 Of course in business you always run into a rep who knows your old rep from (fill in the blank) and then of course there is the whole “social networking” thing which is human relationships in a “cloud” and quite a science experiment in and of itself. I honestly find the whole Facebook thing quite fascinating. I have colleagues who swear by LinkedIN as “gospel”. Sometimes we’ll be talking about this guy or that woman and they will enlighten me with deep information about these folks. When I ask where in the world they learned that?.............They reply, “LinkedIN”. Omniscient.

 These same folks have over 1000 “connections” or “Friends” and a ga-zillion “Likes” on their FB pages. Holy Smokes, that’s a lot ! I think I have less that 10% of those combined. I believe they would call that minimally connected.

 Edy is returning tomorrow after being away for a very long time. She is bringing our favorite 7 year old boy for a week. I am thrilled out of my mind that they will be here in less than 24 hours. We have a lot of catching up to do.  Connection, deep and wide.

Endings and Beginnings

Endings and Beginnings

I’m still in a bit of a daze after returning from Taos Sunday night. We were blessed to receive a new child into our Village. I feel so grateful to have been able to participate and be a part of the celebration. Health, wholeness, beauty and love. Things so easily taken for granted are cherished in this place.

Nine months of excitement and anticipation dwindled down to a few months, then weeks, then days and then …”Voila’………..BIRTH”…! Close the pregnancy chapter and turn the page to “Day One”.

Mothers, Fathers, Siblings, Grandparents and of course the new child immediately shifted from what was, to what is ….in a single breath. Yep, the 1^st breath.

The levels of awe and wonder that wash over me when I see mothers with their new babies send me into a dream state. Intuition, instinct, knowing and shear bravery fill me with such reverence that words escape me. I just say a prayer of thanks, HUGE Thanks.

 

Home Birth, Water Birth, Midwives…..?

Edy slides right in, ever knowing, supportive and loving.

Dad participated; boys and I spent time together playing away from the “scene”. Legos, swimming pool and Animal Planet were welcome distractions while we awaited the arrival of the “new addition”. Little brothers immediately became BIG brothers and Big brothers became BIG-BIG Brothers.

Dad gulped……………as all Dad’s do.

And the band plays on……..

Sun rises …….sun sets……

All is well.

Boys will be Boys

Boys will be Boys

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times……..thus has been the last few months, as we roll back into the best times of all ……. all over again. HooRay for us! Plus it’s always good to give a shout out to Mr. Dickens every once in a while.

As mentioned previously, I’m now spending a lot of time around males of all ages and varieties. My Men’s Course at church was very enlightening and positive and the other Men’s groups I belong to have offered a varied network of gents to communicate with on a variety of topics. Business networks have offered other introductions . Small projects also offer a chance to play in the mud, climb ladders, walk on roofs, cut wood and rummage through stone yards all for the sake of “the job” …………We (Banjo and I) know the truth…….we loved it when we were 5 and we love it more when were 55. Boys will be boys.

We are blessed with 3 wonderful grandsons (perhaps another on the way?) and of course LLL the little princess of the Village. While LLL is content to draw and model herself to me 24/7 (which I love, BTW) the boys and I need “action”. We walk, we swim, we throw stuff and occasionally make enough paper airplanes to make ATL look lame. We walk loud, we talk loud, we can’t sit still most of the time either despite dire warnings of “consequences”.  Don’t even get us started on butt jokes or anything associated with bodily functions or fluids... BOYS!…..(wink-wink). We also break stuff. Not on purpose, we just do. Our youngest “King H” wanted to be like grandpa and put on my glasses and then folded them in half. I did not know they were “foldable” but they are now. Each time I slip them on now I am reminded of how darned cute he was wearing them. Replacements are not required.

Then there are the grown up boys I contend with everyday at yoga. I have been conducting a science experiment for the past several months with each class. At first I thought it was a “Boys Only” thing but I began noticing the same phenomenon occurred with women in the class too, BUT only women who hold very strong masculine energy. Here is how it works:  

As you know the room is about 105 degrees and 60+ percent humidity (mimics an Indian Jungle)  26 postures. Now that I have been doing it for over a year I am gaining confidence and still push 100% every class to get max benefit. I began noticing that when I would do a posture and then push a bit more the guys next to me would also (sub consciously)  push a bit more or deeper. GAME ON !

 A couple that stand out are Awkward and Cobra . Being the good scientist I am I’ve been actually making eye contact with each gent who wants to “play” and then we all get together and go deeper and deeper into each pose to our personal limits…….then just a touch more just to show we’re “in the game”. Its been a blast. Ages 17 to 70 everybody’s a winner. Even new guys get into it despite not even knowing they are on the team.  Every once in a while I’ll have a women next to me who wants to “play” and we let her. It’s a rarity because women generally think of everything BUT “our game”. We’re an equal opportunity group and we let them play if they want. It also lets me know what kind of jobs they have,  in fact it’s a “marker”.

Anyway, today several of us were scattered throughout the room having made it through about half of the class out doing each other with each pose. We were just setting up and getting into Standing Bow Pulling pose (which is one of my new favorites).  We were all sweating profusely and breathing deeply while holding our arms out to the side as the dialog continued………..then out of the blue this new young girl of 13 took her heel behind her and touched the top of her head with her toes, AS A WARM UP !!!!.  

WHAT THE ................?????

We all looked at each other in panic and only through visual clues agreed to a man that this one was “Boys Only” !!              

Our Club, Our Rules!

Three Part Harmony

                           Vision Quest Series                                    Spider Rock 09-09-09                          c-2009

Three Part Harmony

Well we finally ventured out together for more than a few hours today after a week of contending with a version of respiratory yuk that included rib breaking hacking, fevers and overall blah. The worst part of this particular version of illness was the low gas mileage. Edy had it far worse that I, but it was one of those maladies that was very tricky. “I feel SO much better” you’d tell yourself and then by the time you got to where ever it was you were going (the store or the bathroom) you would soon be moving solely off of fumes so that by the time you finally returned to bed you HAD to stay there because there was no gas to start the engines again for anything else. Ugh.

Of course in the good news-bad news lenses which I see things we are building up further immunities to other variations of yuk out there and we also get to be together a lot and read more too, so it all evens out as things tend to do in life. Harmony.

One of the books I recently read was by one of my favorite SW-USA airplane novelists. I actually found a hard cover volume in the display in our lobby and “checked it out”. It was a fast read as his adventures always are and his Navajo Police Characters “got their man” as I knew they would. I was reminded as I read the story about how enthralled I am with the different ways in which people pray, believe and my overall fascination with “sacred places” anywhere/anytime. Navajo have an especially lovely way of looking at things and dealing with life I find refreshing. Granted “back in the day” they were not all “mellow folks” they stole, raided, kidnapped and took their own form of coup but for the most part because of their location and size of their tribe they were more mellow than others.

Essentially they , the Hopi and most Puebloan cultures believe that any upsets are due to an imbalance of sorts, a dis-harmony with the natural balances and if it gets bad they call in a “sing” and gather all the people close to that person to sing, chant, feast and pray until harmony is restored. This goes along with sickness or a guy driving drunk into your pick-up. You don’t sue him, you call together a “sing” and pray that he is released from the alcoholism that has him acting in ways that are not in harmony with his true self. Anyway, that is the Cliff Note version I encourage more study on your own.

Another one of the books I “checked out” from our beautiful lobby display is one from Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn who I have been big fan of since High School. I love history and am always amazed at the depths of depravity and abuse humans can go to even in this day and age AND yet those being oppressed by “The Man” continually find ways to survive and thrive in the most abhorrent conditions for generations. The 3^rd and 4^th eyes developing with each generation to keep watch on who’s watchin who…..or is it whom ? I can never get that right. Anyway I have such huge respect for him and his ability to continue to write despite imprisonment, black listing, exile and constant arrest and harassment. A lesser man would have just gone off and made “shoes for industry-comrade” and left the “stories and truths” for others.

One leg of the excursion Edy and I braved today was to the Museum of Fine Arts to view an exhibition they have from the Prado in Madrid. It was breath taking! Every one of the finest examples of painting from the period was represented. I had forgotten too just how itinerant the painters of Europe were during the 15^th and 16^th century. “Going with the flow” …Being paid with gold from the cconquered Incas was A-OK with all the courtly painters as they flocked to get their piece of the New World Pie. They were prolific in their production. Quality improved as competition from afar came “right next door” and magnificence was de’riguer. Although our gas tanks were running low we took in the whole show and some of the permanent collections too as we are always amazed at the quality of the work right here in our own backyard.

We felt even more energy when we left and despite the “fumes” continued on to make a few more stops on the way home. I made us lunch when we got home and Edy went in to rest while I went downstairs to work a bit on my modeling projects and some orders for a client.

Slowly I can feel the gas tank getting filled as I remember each of the paintings we viewed this morning. I think that for us ART in all its forms is required for balance and harmony. It’s not a luxury but a necessity for daily living.  Note to self.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have met the enemy.....

         Frozen Whispers Series                                                   "Rockettes"                                                         c-2011

I have met the enemy……

I picked Edy up at the airport a few evenings ago and boy was I glad to have her home. Aside from missing her terribly,  I’d been sick while she was away and she came down with the same affliction too, so we both were a bit under the weather and coughing duets as we made our way to baggage claim hand in hand. We were accosted by a very loud guy in a suit behind us who was making a point, to make a point to whoever he had hostage on the other end of his cell phone and I cringed. Edy informed me that “Mr. Wonderful” had also been on her flight making sure everyone knew just how important he was throughout the entire flight and I cringed again when I heard this.

We stood at the baggage carousel and waited for her bags as we then watched Mr. Wonderful walk up to a double amputee and say “wow, sorry you got hurt man”……….then spun around and walked off speed dialing yet another victim in the wake of carnage that obviously followed him like a dark cloud. I cringed yet again as the “you spot it – you got it” played loud in my head and I said a silent prayer of gratitude that my “important days” are behind me.

Yes, days of double cell phones, Seat 5A, “getting there fast” – “getting it done” – “getting YOU to get it done”  and overall planetary rotation monitoring have been replaced with bike rides to yoga or  any other place I want to go and no cell phones at all for over 3 months.  As it turns out nobody even knows I haven’t had one, which is how important I am these days.

When the two older grand kids were about 3 & 4 I heard them out on the portal talking to someone and thought “what the heck? “, who could that be?”  First one then the other would be talking , not to each other but to someone else. I walked out to find one on one end of the long outside porch and the other on the other side “talking” into one of the dozen or so old cell phones I let them play with. I mean TALKING up a storm!! I poked my head around the corner and first one  then the other held up their hands to say “don’t disturb me” – “I’m on a really IMPORTANT phone call and will be with YOU when I am free”……..I went back inside and waited.

When I heard a lull in conversation I poked my head around the corner again and as soon as they saw me they picked up the phones, put them to their ears and started another animated conversation giving me a kind “wink and nod” to let me know they saw me and would be with me “shortly”. I slunk back to my desk and wondered just what kind of game they had invented?

Soon they both came in and informed me that they had just had long conversations with “Banjo”.   “Banjo?” I asked, “Yep, Banjo is our friend and we talk to him a lot on our phones and well we’d love to tell you more but we need to get this call as it’s him calling again”……………and off they went into the not so cute anymore pretend conversation with “Banjo” while I sat at my computer scratching my head wondering where they could have ever learned THAT kind of behavior.

One of the crazy things about being sick and feverish is the intense dreams that come forth during fever induced insanity. This past week while Edy was away I’d been doing some modeling for an industrial project and would fade in and out of fever/sleep/dreams wondering about modeling terminology and if I had modeled my dinner or pillow with the correct normals or Boolean operations or some other whacko thought that my feverish brain called out.   I would drift in and out of the wackiest scenarios and remember them vividly when I awoke. 

During times when I’d get up and try to get some work done, I’d do my best to  just stay focused on the task at hand and not give up until  I made a certain benchmark I’d set  earlier. “Ok, now we’re JUST going to model the burner assembly in the ovens, then move on to the robotics later”, I’d coach myself.  With each successful benchmark completed,  I’m certain I could hear encouragement coming from someplace in the room. I’d shake the feverish cobwebs out of my head and plug away again for awhile until another benchmark was met and in the distance I could hear........... “way to go!” – “Hooray” – “you’re the best!” –“awesome work” !.......!!

 Yep, “ME and Banjo” , saving the day, one 3D line at a time.