Dear Occupiers...

(suggested music pairing:  Wake Up Everybody - Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes)

Dear Occupiers:

Occupy Rochester

First, I want to say that in general, I am a fan of your movement. Protest movements in general are interesting to me, as I posted in my Labor Day post. And as I understand it, your message in general is to stop Corporate Greed. Or to try to convince the wealthy 1% of the country to try to help take care of the remaining 99%, especially the ones in need. Either way, I am a fan of that general message. I am sympathetic to the cause, being raised in an extended family that started out with little and was directly affected by racist agendas of the past generation; and being raised on a blue-collar old steel mill town like the one in Billy Joel’s song “Allentown”. 

So, I am behind you in general. 

A Fall Walk In Philly

I took vacation the week of Thanksgiving to spend with family and friends back in my hometown in the Philly suburbs, and I vowed to also take some time to myself.  When I lived back in PA, one of my favorite ways to spend a day was to go into Philadelphia, park, and just walk around; whether I went alone, or with local friends, or out-of-town friends, Center City Philadelphia (in my opinion) is a great city to walk around in.  (The same could be same for the other major cities in the Northeast - Boston, New York, Washington DC, etc.)

So...that's what I did...here are some photos I took along the way...these are just a few examples of what can be found wandering...


(clicking on a picture will open the pic in a slide-show window)

walking route - Google Maps

I parked my car at the parking garage on 4th Street between Market Street and Chestnut Street.  

view from parking garage, S 4th Street

Thanksgiving...

This is MY list - a list of things that I am thankful for, and try to be thankful for every day...


(I'll try to keep this short, and I'll try to stay away from cliches, and I'll try to not be TOO sappy...but I can't promise to be totally successful at all that.)

• ...my parents.  Without them; a) I wouldn't be here at all, and b) I wouldn't be who I am.
• ...my little guy, who for his entire four years, he's brought out the little kid in me, amazes me every moment we have, makes me grow stronger and makes me think outside of myself
• ...my family, immediate and extended.  You help me stay real by reminding me who I really am; who call me out when I try to pretend I'm something that I'm not, or when I try to pretend I'm not something that I am
• ...all the friends and acquaintances I've ever had, past and present.  To those friends in the past who I've drifted from or who have drifted from me, past tense doesn't take away from the fact that our friendship served a purpose for each of us, and past tense doesn't take away the good memories from our time together.  To those friends and acquaintances who I haven't know for very long, I appreciate the fact that you see something worthwhile in me now and hope that our friendship serves a purpose that makes both you and I better people.
• ...all the special friends I've had for a very long time or are very close; the ones who have stuck with me through everything.  You are also my family.  You give me a place to let me guard down and you give me a place to feel needed and helpful.  I am very lucky to have as many close friends as I do.  There is not enough time in a day to spend as much time as I'd like to...
• ...my current and prior employers.  Though I complain at times, and REALLY complain at times, in the end, I do know I am fortunate to have been given opportunities and have been able to provide for myself and the above list of people, and more importanly, enough financial freedom (just enough) to be able to explore the places and creative expressions that move me.
• ...the concept of America; the freedoms that we have and share, the safety that we have, and the willingness of those in the Armed Forces to defend this concept.  There may be things broken in and about America, but this is the greatest country on the planet.
• ...creativity, and the people who have the courage to openly express themselves and share their inner voices, at sometimes great personal sacrifice, all to make the world a better kinder place.
• ...everything else.

And seriously, everything else.  In everything else, there is a lesson to be learned, an opportunity to grow, a step to be taken.  For every night there is day, for every rain drop there is a sun beam.  We can't have the good without the bad, happiness without sadness, down without up.  It is all necessary and it all serves a purpose.  And though sometimes things can be hard, and overwhelming, and maybe we don't think we can get through it, every moment leads to another moment and any moment can be the greatest moment if we just look for it.  Not every moment WILL be the greatest, but every moment can be, or lead to one.   There is a lot out there to deal with, but if we keep walking forward, and we keep moving, anything is possible, as long as we live.

Of course, I could therefore summarize this list into a single statement.

What am I most thankful for?
Life, and everything that is created by it.   

Any Given Wednesday. Or Monday. Or Thursday, Tuesday, or Friday.

Wake up get up gotta lot to do today jump in the shower make a mental list already behind let’s go get dressed three texts already two phone calls and a meeting at 8:30AM hop in the car can’t wait for it to warm up hit the gas run the yellow light it was yellow right hurry hurry don’t have time to see the sun is shining but here come the clouds crud I forgot my umbrella no wait I don’t own one now here’s a red light.

Breathe.

Flip the radio dial commercial flip commercial flip news blah blah green pick up the phone listen to messages now wait here’s a cop gotta hide the phone don’t have time or patience or the money for a ticket why is that a law anyway I’ll never get into an accident not me, I can drive and talk and tune the radio and eat and work out today’s schedule in my mind and a left here and almost hit someone didn’t they see me coming and a right there and I’m at work.

Breathe.

Get out of the car do I have my iPod my phone my keys my laptop my wallet my frozen lunch good take three steps check my pockets again, yes I have everything, keep walking fast but not so fast I lose my breath no time to breathe no time to hold the door open for anyone else (and at least I don’t own a Bluetooth or else I’d be talking on the phone, and I’ve thought about walking and typing at the same time) flash my badge hit the elevator walk out go to my desk unpack my laptop take off my coat put my keys and cell phone in my desk and plug in my iPod, turn on computer, feed the fish…

…look, he’s swimming as fast as I was walking…

…check my work voice mails when did the sun go away turn on my desk light why isn’t the logon screen up yet stupid technology I have 27 things to do and 3 people waiting and ah, here it is type in password crap too fast type it in again crap too fast again last chance let’s slow down and…

…d e l I b e r a t e l y    t y p e    I n    e a c h    l e t t e r    o f    m y    p a s s w o r d    a n d . . . .

Plateaus and Protests

It’s been a while since I posted anything. To be honest, I’m stuck at a plateau.  A writing plateau, a weight-loss plateau, a career plateau – I think any subject that could be brought up, I’d be at a plateau.  And what does one do when one reaches a plateau? Take a look back, take a look around, evaluate the landscape, review the options, check the map, etc.  And when I did all of that, I realized something that is very discouraging:  there is a lot of misery out there, a lot of unhappiness, stress, struggle. And I have to admit, I can’t seem to escape it myself.

What is going on in the world?  Am I the only one who feels this way, which leads to the question of “is there something wrong with me?” And in the process of looking back and around, I keep coming back to the answer of “no, there isn’t anything wrong with me.”  But something is definitely wrong.  

And as I’ve posted before, I know quite a few people who are struggling with some real situations; some deeply stressing, what-am-I-going-to-do-next situations, and I feel for them all. And I can’t help it. But misery and stress is not additive, it is multiplicative. And collectively, we are all suffering and struggling.

So, I want to begin a protest. I want to protest misery.