Happy Birthday, Dad

“If in our daily life we can smile, if we can be peaceful and happy, not only we, but everyone will profit from it. This is the most basic kind of peace work.” Thich Nhat Hanh

“Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.” Dalai Lama

Today is your birthday, Dad. You would have been 90 years old. It was ten years ago today the last time I wished you a happy birthday and was able to hear your voice. You were so happy about reaching your 80th birthday. Little did we know when we talked that day that three short months later you would be gone from us without warning. It has been quite a tumultuous decade.

I am sure we would have talked many times about so many different things like we always did. I know politics would have been at the top of our list. You would have been appalled at the way Colin Powell was treated by the Bush Administration. You were an old Army man and you would have expected that the government would have told him the truth about Iraq and not sent him to lie to our allies. I can hear you raging now. I remember how excited you were when I told you he was coming to the bookstore where I was working and I would try and get you an autographed copy of his book. How proud you were when I was able to send you the autographed book. I can still see it on the bookshelf. I think you would have agreed with Colin Powell about Barak Obama and in spite of telling Mom that you were going to reregister as a Republican we both know you would have continued to vote Democrat. Hey how about Indiana actually going Blue?

Your children are doing okay. We got your wife to retire finally. Of course we had the help of a little black cat that has wormed her way into Mom’s heart. I bet you would have liked Pixie but of course you would never admit to Mom that you did. Your oldest son’s politics have gotten even further to the right but as you always said his head is up in the clouds and locked. You have an English daughter-in-law now. You two would probably have some interesting conversations. Your youngest child celebrated 25 years of marriage and is a published author now. It was a hard fight but we finally got some help for your next to youngest child. Government regulations and red tape are the pits aren’t they?

I know you would have been thrilled with the way your only grandchild has turned out. She has triumphed over adversity and is on her way to a Masters degree in psychology/Human Development. She has changed the way that many people view the homeless after being dumped by her ex. She now has a wonderful husband and the father that her three children deserve. She has become politically active and has dedicated her life to helping others. You would be so proud of her. I know I am.

And your only daughter has turned into you. I am the one they all come to now to help with problems. I am the shoulder they cry on. I am the one surfing the web to find answers to all sorts of problems. I guess it is fitting that I have taken over your library here. Of course I brought a lot of my books with me but many are ones that you and I shared. We lost one of our favorites authors, Tony Hillerman. I am rereading some of his books and remembering the New Mexico that you and I loved to explore when I was a child and we lived there. You and I loved exploring the ruins and we soaked up the history. We did the same with the California missions.

There are so many things that I would love to sit down and talk to you about. There are so many movies I want to show you. There are so many new books that I want you to read. In the time we had together we explored outer space and wandered through the weird and unexplained. You and I traded so many books on the Bermuda Triangle and other weird things. We both love a good ghost story. And though I miss you so much I know as long as I can remember to think and wonder and explore that you will always be with me. The picture is for you Dad and is called The Golden Years because that is what we had together. Happy birthday, Daddy.

Don't Let It Snow

“Without freedom from the past, there is no freedom at all, because the mind is never new, fresh, innocent.” Krishnamurti

“Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck.” Dalai Lama

We got clobbered with snow last night. There was no way that I could get my car out of the driveway and no way I could dig my Mom’s car out so I ended up staying home along with two-thirds of the office. I spent much of the day making some cosmetic changes to my web site. I’m still doing research on how to set up a web based art business. It is definitely something I will try to do this year.

Other then that I spent the day trying to get over the after effects of the asthma attack from shoveling the car off yesterday afternoon tying to get home from work. That and thinking very nasty thoughts about the person who wrote the song with the lyrics “let it snow.” ;-)

Happy Chinese New Year

“The Great Way has no gate: there are a thousand paths to it.” Wumen

“Share you knowledge. It’s a way to achieve immortality.” Dalai Lama
Yesterday started the Year of the Ox. I showed my Mom the Chinese Zodiac book I had made. She decided she wanted to be an Ox even though she was born in the Year of the Tiger. ;-)

You can find my art and information on the Chinese Zodiac here.

Walk on the Wild Side

“Now may every living thing, young and old, weak or strong, living near or far, known or unknown, living and departed or yet unborn, may every living thing be full of bliss.” Buddha

“Whether they belong to a more evolved species like human or to simpler ones such as animals, all beings primarily seek peace, comfort, and security. Life is as dear to the mute animals as it is to any human being; even the simplest insect strives for protection from dangers that threaten its life. Just as each one of us wants too live and does not wish to die, so it is with all other creatures in the universe.” Dalai Lama

My newest picture came just before I renewed my membership in three environmental and wild care groups. I believe in trying to support groups that are trying to help preserve and care for this planet.

Ain't No Big Thing

“Your way is the best for you, but that is no sign it is the best fir another.” Swami Vivekananda

“Follow the three Rs: Respect for self, Respect for others, Responsibility for all your actions.” Dalai Lama

“Michele is very forgiving.” A simple sentence but it had a profound emotional impact on me. A coworker spoke it. A couple of coworkers had ordered out for pizza and in their pique at other coworkers who were being their normal obnoxious selves they had forgotten to ask me if I wanted to order too. They had apologized and but I didn’t feel slighted or left out. To me it wasn’t a big deal. I knew they were upset and did not intend to leave me out. As my Hawaiian friends would put it “ain’t no big thing.”

It comes down to a matter of priorities. What is really the most important thing? Is it important to hold a grudge against those who have hurt you in some way or is it more important to let go the anger and move on? It is a question we face not only as individuals in our own lives but as citizens and part of the governmental process.

Where do we go from here and for that matter where do we start? What should our priorities be? My personal starting point has always been who or what does it help or at least not harm. If we look at the problems we are facing as a country and a world we need to ask ourselves would this action help or hurt.

Being employed in health care business for the last ten years one of my top priorities is better and affordable health care. Real science needs to be funded in order to find not only a way to heal but to prevent illnesses in the first place. Cancer and heart attacks have taken a lot of my family and friends. There has to be a cure for both.

I got my 401K statement yesterday and I have lost money again. If it keeps up the way it is going when I’m ready to retire I will owe them money. The economy has to be a top priority. I am tired of calling customer service for various companies and getting India and people who claim their name is “Fiona.” I am tired of companies closing down and out sourcing departments so the CEOs get a huge fat bonus and the common working men are struggling to keep their heads above water. People need to work and the rate that we are losing jobs in this country is frightening.

We need to get our soldiers home as soon as possible. They have placed their lives on the line long enough. We need to take care of them properly when they do come home.

We need to do something about this planet and its environment. It is the only home we have. If we lose the Earth we have no place else to go because science has not been funded enough to open up the possibility of living on another planet.

The people who have broken the law and violated the basic human rights of others need to be held accountable. The important thing we need to remember is that we have to proceed within the law and uphold human rights ourselves. If we do not then we become what we fight against.

It is the last thought that I base my life on. I don’t like working with several of the people in my office because their purpose in that office is to try and see how many people they can get into trouble. They are out for themselves only. They are petty and mean spirited. I can order my own pizza. I would rather have friends and not make waves over the small things in life. It ain’t no big thing.

“Always forgive your enemies – nothing annoys them so much.” Oscar Wilde

It's Cold Outside

“You have to stand against the whole world although you may have to stand alone.” Mahatma Gandhi

“For a better, happier, more stable and civilized future, each of us must develop a sincere, warmhearted feeling of brotherhood and sisterhood.” Dalai Lama

I finally got my computer back. The art computer died a couple weeks ago and I haven’t had the high speed Internet or the ability to do my best art. It has been a long week and a half. It cost close to $250.00 to get it repaired but it was worth it. It is spurring me to something I should have done a long time ago and I am actively exploring setting up the art business on line. I can then write off repairs etc. to business expenses. That is what I did when I lived in California. I just need a resale license out here.

I am still in a floating high from yesterday’s inauguration. I think Obama’s speech was absolutely beautiful. I hope that the people of this planet and our nation will accept the open hand and try and work with him to ensure peace and prosperity in our country and in the world. I was impressed how he hit the job running this morning with already contacting the leaders in the Middle East to try and help broker a lasting peace there.

Something happened at work today that has left me rather stunned. I mentioned a couple of months ago how a coworker had told me that she didn’t like the person she had become by trying to fit in with some people at work who to be blunt are not nice people. They are selfish and spend so much of their time trying to get other people in trouble. Today the lady told me that she had flat out told them she was not going to play their game. She did not like the way they had treated me and ganged up to try and get me in trouble. All it got them was my taking the time off to get well which left them doing my work as well as theirs. It really touched me that someone had come to my defense like that and I was deeply touched that she let me know.

It proves the old adage of what goes around comes around. I had always been nice to this woman and now the niceness is being returned. I wasn’t nice because I wanted something in return. I was just being myself. My nature is not one of being nasty although if pushed too hard I can explode. Generally though I try to get along with people. It is good to see this person returning to her true self. Shakespeare was right “too thine own self be true.” I may not be the best in the world but I am the best me that I can be. What you see is what you get.

Ode to the African-American Girl in Second Grade

When I was in second grade we lived on the Army base in Albuquerque, New Mexico. This was before the real start of the civil rights movement. While the Army wanted blacks to fill their ranks they also didn’t want to give them the same deference as they were giving the white personnel. At my school the girls out numbered the boys. The school was into dancing and especially folk dancing and I must admit our dance teacher did try and bring in every ethnic group she could for that area. I had one of the boys as a partner. I thought he was pretty yucky. The one black girl in our class was partnered with another girl who decided she didn’t want to dance with her. She wanted my partner. I will never forget how embarrassed I felt when the teacher brought me up in front of the class because I was willing to switch partners. Yes I was being unprejudiced but I was also a kid who happened to like the black girl and thought of her as a friend. I was one of the few people who would play with her at recess. So today as we get ready to inaugurate our first African-American President I am taking time to think about those long ago days of second grade. This was a poem I wrote a few years ago. I hope the girl is still alive today and in Washington DC cheering our president on.

Ode To The African-American Girl In Second Grade

The years have made me forget your name.
Your smile? No.
Your warmth? Never.
You taught me something.

Second grade.
A long time ago.
Black - White -
Human - Love -
Yes.

Dancing. A free expression of the soul.
Not enough boys - Girl's partners -
I had a boy.
She wouldn't dance with you.
Why?

With quiet dignity you took it.
She wants my partner. Yes.
Dance with me. Yes.
Good. I like you.

They hurt you.
Why?
They pushed you down.
You cried. I cried.
Your blood was red like ours.
You were the same as us.
Why did I think your blood
Would be a different color?
Foolish child.

I think of you.
Do you think of me?
Sometimes?
Do you hate us all?
I hope not.
For we're all the same,
You and I,
You taught me that.
Thank you.

Goodbyes

“Learning is like rowing upstream: to not advance is to fall back.” Chinese proverb

“The more we care for the happiness of others, the greater our own sense of well-being becomes.” Dalai Lama

I grew up watching television. As a child most of the shows we watched were shows that my Dad liked. I saw a great deal of sports and westerns because Dad loved them so. Two actors whom I always associate with Dad are Ricardo Montalban and Patrick McGoohan. Ricardo Montalban is probably best remembered as Khan in “Star Trek” or Mr. Roarke in “Fantasy Island.” Patrick McGoohan is best remembered by his shows “Secret Agent” and “The Prisoner.” What is important to me is that both men were superb and under rated actors and they were both in shows that made you think.

My Dad was an unusual man. He was a mathematician and scientist. He also had a fascination for things mysterious. He was fascinated by ghost stories and things not easily explained. I look around at his library and there are books on the Bermuda Triangle. There are books on ghosts. There are serious books on religion. There are books on spies. There are books on outer space and Einstein and Stephen Hawking. There are books on history and books on philosophy. Dad was a man who liked to think and a man who liked to talk. One thing Dad never was, he was never boring.

“Fantasy Island” was a show that many thought was escapism but there was a moral in the lessons learned there. People would come to the island thinking “if only” and leave learning that dreams also have consequences. I remember the episode especially where the couple wanted to live in a simpler time where the materialism of today and all the gadgets that people surround their lives with were no longer a distraction. Mr. Roarke sent them to the time of the Pilgrims in America. They barely escaped being destroyed in the Salem witch trials after giving a girl an aspirin to reduce her fever.

Ricardo Montalban presided over Fantasy Island with grace and elegance and an air of mysteriousness. When he did Khan in “Star Trek” he was a man of charisma as well as strength. There was a passion in both men that made them irresistible. In real life Mr. Montalban was the cofounder of Nostros and the ALMA awards. He fought to raise the profile of Hispanic actors and to bring them roles that showed the essential dignity of their culture.

Patrick McGoohan fought his own wars against prejudice. As an Irishman he fought against the English prejudice against his people and became a force to be reckoned with in the English television world. He went from the success in “Secret Agent” to create one of the most talked about shows ever made “The Prisoner.” In real life he was also a man of enormous strength and dignity.

“The Prisoner” is debated today just as fiercely as it was when it was shown in the sixties. Did Number Six break the system? Was Number Six part of the system? Did he become what he fought against? Is the freedom of the individual more important then the security of society? Where are the lines?

So today I think of three men who are no longer with us. As different as they were in real life they all had the ability to make me think. They remind me of the lines from a play I was once in called “Teahouse of the August Moon.” “Pain makes man think. Thought makes man wise. Wisdom makes life endurable.”

Growning Old in America

“Life and death are important. Don’t suffer them in vain.” Bodhidharma

“Compassion is not religious business; it is human business. It is not luxury, it is essential for our own peace and mental stability; it is essential for human survival.” Dalai Lama

Five million seniors remain in poverty despite the 2008 Social Security Cost of Living Adjustment Announcement. Medicare premiums have skyrocketed 93 percent Since 2001, five times faster than COLA Increases. My mother was looking forward to the 5.8% increase that she was promised like other senior citizens in the Social Security payments. What they failed to tell her was that they were increasing her Medicare costs so much that all she sees of the cost of living increase in $66.00 a month.

$66.00 let’s see how far that can go. She takes 17 prescriptions a day for her heart $66.00 won’t even pay for one months supply of one of them. Gas is back up to $2.00 a gallon. $66.00 wouldn’t even cover the trips to her doctor for one month. The price of groceries keeps going up and up and $66.00 buying at the lowest cost place in town of Aldis wouldn’t cover a months worth of groceries let alone a week. Duke Energy puts her on a payment plan and increases the amount they take out every month. She keeps the house at 68° during the day and 63° at night. Her cat gets so cold she sleeps on the floor heater vents hoping they will come on soon.

This country’s history of treating our senior citizens is appalling. In the Far Eastern cultures the elderly traditionally have been looked on with respect and are cared for in their old age. Here in America we are a throw away society and that includes the elderly when they get to be a burden to our life style. Nursing Homes are over crowded and understaffed. At our hospital here in my small town we have had the local nursing home just drop off patients suffering from dementia with no papers and no idea of where they are or whom they are here to see or even why they are here. It is no wonder why so many senior citizens will hide their poverty in an effort to stay in their own homes even if they are crumbling around their ears.

With the high cost of medicines we are finding a number of elderly are just not taking them any more because they can’t afford them. They try and get through the red tape of Medicare and Medicare replacements and plan D medical and supplemental coverage and it is a nightmare. We had to complain a couple of years ago that elderly patient were being taken for a ride by Humana Health insurance. They had tables set up at Wal-Mart supposedly to let the elderly know about their supplemental coverage for medicines but if fact were enticing these people to give up their Medicare and take the Humana replacement. They aren’t the only company out there doing that. The seniors think they are getting just the drug coverage only to find out that they are stuck for the next year with a replacement that took away their Medicare and are now sticking them with high co pays.

Our government has let the drug companies take advantage of the elderly in their efforts to “privatize” Medicare. They give embarrassingly small cost of living increases and then take most of it away. They ignore the energy companies gouging of the public. They give billions to Wall Street and the corporate jets. You want to see something truly frightening check out what the cost of the war in Iraq at http://www.nationalpriorities.org/costofwar_home and then see how many senior citizens could be helped in your area for what we have thrown away in Iraq.

Our elderly should be our number one resource and treasure. They made it through the Great Depression. They made it through Hitler and World War II. We can learn from them if we choose to do so. While politically my Mom and I are worlds apart, emotionally there is a bond that can never be broken. She deserves more then a $66.00 a month raise and I intend to keep on my political representatives to do something about it. I don’t envy Barak Obama. He has a huge mess to clean up but I do have faith that he will try and do his best for all of us, including the elderly.

Saturday Afternoon Films

“When drinking water, remember its source.” Chinese proverb

“The fact that there is a positive side to life is the one thing that gives me a lot of happiness. This world is not perfect. There are problems. But things like happiness and unhappiness are relative. Realizing this gives you hope.” Dalai Lama

“I can believe anything provided it is incredible.“ Oscar Wilde

Being the only girl among four brothers my Dad wasn’t quite sure what to do with me until he discovered I was a huge tomboy. He was thrilled to find out that I was more then willing to go out and play football with him. I can still throw a mean football and the hero picture on my wall is a signed picture of Joe Montana. He also taught me baseball and softball. We watched a lot of shows together that we both liked. I remember seeing a lot of Westerns like Bonanza and Gunsmoke and his favorite Have Gun, Will Travel. Dad and I also like spy shows with The Avengers and Secret Agent being our favorites. We even made it through Patrick McGoohan’s very enigmatic The Prisoner. We had our fun shows to watch too including Batman and The Green Hornet. I was especially entranced by the last show as it was my introduction to Oriental martial arts with Bruce Lee starring as Kato. We also watched the incredibly hokey but fun Kung Fu with David Carridine. I introduced Dad to Doctor Who.

Over the years I have developed a fondness for martial arts movies. I took a couple of months of martial arts until it became obvious that a very dodgy back was not going to let me continue. One of my brothers went on to get a second degree black belt it hapkido. We got each other hooked on martial arts films. When I lived in California we had a cable channel that would show martial arts films in Cantonese with Mandarin subtitles. I had no idea what was going on but I watched them for the fight sequences any way.

I really liked Bruce Lee’s Enter the Dragon. Later my brother got me into some of the Chuck Norris films. My favorite was probably An Eye for an Eye mainly because it had the wonderful Christopher Lee and I will watch really bad films if Mr. Lee is in them. He is one of my favorite performers. I don’t know how I first saw Jackie Chan but after watching Rumble in the Bronx I was hooked. I had the pleasure of turning my brother onto the films as well as my Dad before he passed away.

One of my favorite films of all times is Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. A Chinese nurse friend of mine and I corresponded extensively after seeing the film. I made sure my brother got to see it. I have always been fascinated by the fantasy elements in Chinese stories and this movie had that in abundance. The fight sequences in the film were fantastic.

When I want to destress though nothing does it for me like the Jackie Chan films. I think my favorites are Who Am I, Supercop with the incredible Michelle Yeoh matching him martial arts for martial arts, and the one with the most incredible fight sequences Legend of Drunken Master. I first saw that film in the original Chinese version with English subtitles. It was the film I showed my brother when he came to visit with his new fiancée a couple of years ago.

In a time when there is so much trouble and heartache going on in the world you have to find a way to destress. For me the movies of Jackie Chan are the way to do it. My second favorite Christmas gift was from my brother who sent me The Forbidden Kingdom with Jackie Chan and Jet Li. Yes it does borrow from Star Wars and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and the plot is a bit thin in spots but be honest the real reason we slog through the beginning of the film is to get to the Jackie Chan and Jet Li fight sequence. It doesn’t disappoint.

I’ll be putting on a Jackie Chan film this afternoon after I slog through the Wal-Mart crowd doing my Mom’s shopping. I may even play with my favorite Christmas gift while doing watching. My niece sent me the Stargate Atlantis action figure of Colonel John Shepherd.

Harlem Globtrotter's Day

“To make a decision is an illusion. Behind the decision is the hidden belief that everyone is the same.” Swami Prajnanpad

“When family and friends disagree, those with valid reasons can cite them one after the other and argue their case point by point; whereas those with little rational support soon fall prey to anger. Thus anger is not a sign of strength, but one of weakness.” Dalai Lama

“Always forgive your enemies – nothing annoys them so much.” Oscar Wilde

Some of my favorite childhood memories are of basketball games that I attended with my Dad. Of course his idea of a basketball game was the Harlem Globetrotters. To this day basketball games bore me especially since the Chicago Bulls super team with Michael Jordan is no longer ruling the courts. Today is actually Harlem Globetrotters Day and what happy memories those games I saw as a child bring to me.

I have always loved the fact that even though these guys were making us laugh they were also some of the best basketball players in the world. It is this ability to be funny and serious at the same time that makes them so special. I think that these men are some of the real ambassadors to the world for America. They have the ability to let the world know that their are really good people in America and not all Americans are stereotypical “ugly Americans.”

The Harlem Globetrotters can be enjoyed by people of all ages. There is nothing sophisticated about their humor. It has a simplicity that reaches out and touches the child in all of us. They make us laugh and in a gloomy world beset with problems that is a valuable commodity.

I have always liked the fact that off the court a Globetrotter was expected to contribute to making this a better place. They were encouraged to get involved in charity work. They were encouraged to be that rare quality gentlemen.

So guys thanks for all the laughs. Thanks for being such super athletes as well as performers. May you continue to delight the world for another 80 years.

I Am Geek Hear Me Compute

“The Three Noble Principles: Good in the Beginning, Good in the Middle, Good at the End.” Pema Chodron

“Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own actions.” Dalai Lama

On a lark I took something called the Geek Test on line a couple of years ago. My niece had sent the link to me and wanted me to see what my score would be. I came out as a “Super Geek.” For the people who know me that was not a surprise at all. I have always referred to myself as a geek. I am very into science fiction and fantasy. I am mechanically inclined. I do my artwork now by computer.

The main problem with being a female and a geek is the attitude and prejudices of many people towards geeks. For a mundane the idea that anyone would be interested enough in a show to learn a made up language or go to or even run a convention where you meet the people responsible for your favorite form of entertainment or even the fact that we can sit and talk about the books, television, and movies we love is a waste of time.

Many people on the outside of fandom expect geeks to conform to a certain stereotype. You are supposed to be unattractive. You are supposed to have problems forming any meaningful relationships. You are supposed to be uninterested in the real world and be totally wrapped up in the world of make believe. You are supposed to be uninterested in things like sports. You are supposed to intellectually smart but lacking in common sense. If you are a woman you are supposed to be interchangeable with the male geeks.

The problem with stereotypes is that they are just that, stereotypes. They don’t take into account that geeks, like any other classification of people, are a collection of individuals. We are as different from each other as any other group of individuals. One of the things I found when I moved to this small Midwest town is that many of the people I encounter in everyday life feel that I am weird because of my interests. They fail to understand why a lot of my artwork has dragons and unicorns in it. Why I do a lot of pictures that are set in outer space. Why I would spend several months knitting a genuine replica of a Doctor Who scarf for my niece.

Many of the women I know in fandom are political activists. Many of us are interested in healthy lifestyles. I have so many friends that are diabetic that I put together a diabetic cookbook for them. I know and understand computers and how to get the most out of them. I find people who refuse to use a computer to make their lives easier weird. When arthritis made it difficult for me to do my artwork I taught myself how to do graphic art on the computer.

I was the main female influence in my niece’s life and I taught her how to be a geek. She is turn is teaching her daughter how to be one. I think it is important for woman not to be afraid of being geeks. We should be encouraging them to learn about math and science and computers. We need to encourage them to read and love science fiction and fantasy. They are the literature that teaches us to dream and reach for the stars.

I am a geek and proud of it and yes I did keep checking back yesterday to see who they were going to cast as the eleventh Doctor on Doctor Who.

Mew Years?

“Only when you drink from the river of silence shall you indeed sing, and when you have reached the mountain top, then you shall begin to climb. And when the earth shall claim your limbs, then shall you truly dance.” Kahil Gibran

“Old friends pass away, new friends appear. It is just like the days. An old day passes, a new day arrives. The important thing is to make it meaningful: a meaningful friend or a meaningful day.” Dalai Lama

We are now into day two of the New Year. It is officially “Happy Mew Year for Cats Day” and “55-MPH Speed Limit Day.” I love the silly holidays that somehow people manage to get recognized. On this mew year’s day my cat is insisting that I get away from this computer and get to bed or at least sit on the bed so he can sit on my lap.

I’m not one for making hard fast resolutions any time during the year especially at the beginning of the year. What I do tend to do is set out some things that I might like to do in the coming year. I believe one of the reasons why resolutions fail is that we put artificial pressure on ourselves to accomplish something and that we make the goals unreasonable.

One thing I would like to do is learn more about Oscar Wilde. He was a most fascinating man and I love his The Picture of Dorian Gray. He was also a source of some really interesting quotes, some funny, some serious. I especially like his view on artists. Oscar Wilde said on art, “No great artist ever sees things as they really are. If he did, he would cease to be an artist.” Someone once criticized one of my pictures because I had never been to the place and the sun wasn’t really at the right angle. They totally missed the entire point of the picture and carped on something that wasn’t relevant at all. If you want a “correct angle” then go take a photograph. Art should be the realization of the vision inside the artist’s mind and set forth in a way to communicate that vision to the viewing audience.

Take the above picture for example. It is called Birches in the Snow. It was inspired by looking at the trees of winter without their leaves and against a background of a snowy field. If you drive around Indiana looking for that view you won’t find it. Inspiration is the jumping off point in an artist’s vision. For me that inspiration can be something I see, hear, or even dream. It is my role as an artist to take that inspiration and turn it into a piece of art that I can share with others.

My art is another thing I will continue to work on this year. Art is one of my joys in life.

Happy New Year

“The heart is cooking a pot of food for you. Be patient until it is cooked.” Djalal ad-Din Rumi

“To deepen your gratitude towards all people, it is helpful to reflect on the unintended kindness of those who provide goods and services without necessarily knowing the names or faces of those whom they serve. In this life there are so many facilities we enjoy – nice buildings, roads, and so forth – that are produced by other people.” Dalai Lama

As I watch the Tournament of Roses parade I want to wish all of you a happy new year and I hope all your dreams come true.