too many markets?

Is there a word for when you realize that your mother does grocery shopping at more than half a dozen locations? I didn't think this was possible until I actually compiled this list:

1. Pathmark, Glen Head

2. Stop & Shop, Carl Place

3. North Shore Farms, Sea Cliff

4. C-Town, Westbury

5. Whole Foods, Jericho

6. Costco, Westbury

7. Stop & Shop, Glen Cove

8. Fresh Farms, Mineola

9. King Kullen, Manhasset

Granted, each has a distinct character and plays a specific role in the household shopping... Even so, there are times when nine seems like a high number.

some good short Saint Anthony prayers...

...that I found on luckymojo.com

from Jamaica:

Saint Anthony, Saint Anthony

Please come down

Something is lost

And can't be found

from Chicago:

Dear Saint Anthony, I pray

Bring it back, without delay

from Poland:

Something's lost and can't be found

Please Saint Anthony, look around

the power of restoring lost things

I have never had such a productive relationship with any saint until this year, when Saint Anthony of Padua came to my attention. He is the saint known for helping to find lost things, and I have been blessed to discover that he works with astonishing speed and effectiveness when petitioned. The best description of this phenomenon I have found yet is from a very good Saint Anthony prayer, which begins "Saint Anthony... who received from God the power of restoring lost things..." This same "power of restoring lost things" can be extended beyond material items and include people, as life has shown me.

the emperor Schwarzenegger

Ted and I came up with this idea that when Arnold Schwarzenegger retires as governor of California, his talents may be well served if his new ambition is to "fix" Haiti. Haiti's problems are daunting, and after building up his political muscles trying to fix California for eight years, it just may be an odd fit for a man who flinches at nothing. If nothing else, it is an amusing scenario to ponder. If nothing else, someone might approach him about making a film about him attempting to fix Haiti. It would be a "Being John Malkovich" sort of film and A.S. would star as himself. We can picture him sitting behind a large desk in the presidential palace, smoking cigars, or outdoors, rallying the will to fix the nation's beleaguered agriculture, or promoting health and fitness among the population's sick and undernourished masses. We entertain this idea in the most respectful and admiring way to all involved. Schwarzenegger's sheer will to get things done, even if only to boost his legacy, could be channeled into a very productive and impressive post-governorship.

dish towel love

Sometimes a person goes to the Crate & Barrel store in Manhasset for years for reasons one doesn't fully understand, except for enjoyment of the atmosphere and the napkin rings; then one decisive year one buys a dish towel; then a year following that event one realizes that towel's subtle and important role in supporting one of the most amazing years of one's life while returning to that very same Crate & Barrel store. Then... one has no way out, and it becomes evident, it becomes inevitable... one is forced to admit, and happy to realize that... one is in love with the Crate & Barrel store in Manhasset.

the Tonga Room

I am seized with a strong desire to go to the Tonga Room, San Francisco's archetypal Tiki bar, before it gets closed, IF it gets closed, which I sincerely hope it WON'T...

This is a great example of the "meant to be" conflicting with the "what is". If I was meant to go to the Tonga Room, which my gut is telling me is the case, then plans to close the place clearly run against the grain... against the grain of the meant to be.

an unsung American hero

In 1953, Dr. Ernst Wynder presented a paper suggesting a connection between cigarette smoking and lung cancer. Apparently, at the time, such an idea was seen as wildly speculative and radically against the collective grain. Well, sometimes time proves such crazy ideas as this one correct. It would appear that this is such a case.

So where are the coins with Dr. Wynder on them?? The stamps?? The bank notes?? Doesn't this country know a national hero when it is handed to them on a silver platter?? Why the heck isn't this guy a household name?? And why wasn't a world class non-smoker such as myself familiar with him until now??

Credit must be given to T.R. Reid, who mentions Dr. Wynder in his extremely important and well written book The Healing of America: a global quest for better, cheaper and fairer health care. The book is a handy, fascinating, easy to read overview of the different kinds of health care systems found throughout the world, which in turn serves as a prescription for fixing the American health care mess. You will find mention of Dr. Wynder, and more about his work, in the chapter on preventative medicine and public health ("An Apple a Day").

Come to think of it, T.R. Reid is also an American hero for writing this book. By bringing this information to our attention, he is doing the U.S. a huge service. So where are the postage stamps?? The coins?? The bank notes?? The grade school essays?? I will add both names, Wynder and Reid, to my list of unsung American heroes.

the disconnect between "what is" and what is "meant to be"

One way of looking at history is as a chronicle of the disconnect between "what is" and what is "meant to be", and the interplay of those two things. Sometimes the two are aligned, but often they are not... The "meant to be" -- being the will of the universe, of God, of call it what you like -- never goes away. It is by design the resting point, the final destination of the process of creation.

"Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven"

Sometimes the realization of the heavenly blueprint comes about smoothly, other times not so much. The discords arising from the disconnect can sometimes render the earth a very rough battleground. But history illustrates that there is a whole range of different paths to the same intended destination. Velvet revolutions are possible, and should be promoted... don't you think?

the absence of internal limits

Going for an evening walk, I felt the limits of my external world closing in on me. I've done this walk too many times and it goes nowhere. Surely the larger world has more to offer than this. It does, but for now I am here... Then I recalled Hegel's definition of infinity: not the absence of external limits, but the absence of internal limits. That helped.

three times ten times three

Today is 10-10-10 and aunt Lana turns ninety. There is something mathematical going on there. Three times ten is thirty, times three is ninety.

obstacles & opportunities

This morning while laying in bed I had a profound moment of Indian philosophy. I thought about Ganesha, who is technically not only the remover of obstacles, but also the placer of them. If you think about it, so much of life is determined by the presence or absence of obstacles... And what is the removal of an obstacle, but an opportunity??

So it took me my entire life up till now, but the complementary relationship between obstacles and opportunities has never been so clear. I hereby christen this blog with those words.

Needless to say, opportunities are a lot more fun than obstacles, and so the general direction of life consists of the removal of the latter so as to allow for the creation of the former...