Tag Archives: Dreams

One Year On The Road

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In honor of our friends…

Our friends, Russ and Laura, have been traveling by bicycle across the United States since last Summer on an open-ended journey.

For several years before they left Long Beach to follow their dreams, they were a major part of our Friday night Happy Hour crew which met every week to unwind and share our ideas, dreams and latest creative works.

Over the course of many Happy Hours we were privileged to watch their shared dream take shape, acquire wheels and take them out onto the great American pilgrimage – the open road.

In honor of their One Year On The Road, a group of us got together last Friday, August 13th, so we could record a video “congratulations” to them.

Included in the video is Chris, Dominic and Jayme, Katie and Rick, Tania and myself, and Richard (the Jesse Ventura look-alike…)

This video was edited by myself on Saturday night, August 21st, with much input from Tania, Enjoy!

Links:

You can follow their journey on their website and also on their Facebook page:

Website: http://pathlesspedaled.com/

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Path-Less-Pedaled/94377691671?v=wall

Until later, best of health.

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Kicking Out The Jams

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Jon, onehumanbeingAnother movie running through my mind…

I keep watching this strange movie in my head about this massive, rotting tree. A huge tree, bigger than any tree I’ve ever seen -  only it dead inside, rotting, but with billions of creatures are making their home on it. Groups of creatures patch up their bit of the rotting tree, but it’s only temporary measures…

Then my view shifts to below the ground, below the roots of the tree, where 4 massive pillars support this dirt clod land the tree is growing from… but in the midst of the pillars is a powerful giant with a sledgehammer.

I watch him as he takes aim and swings the hammer, and one of the pillars shakes and vibrates. Then he takes aim again at another pillar, WHAM! Chunks of the pillars fly apart by the structure holds firm. So the giant takes aim again, and again, and again…

I watch until the pillars are smashed to dust and the dirt clod land and the rotten tree crumble away, carried by some wind into oblivion.

Then I look back and I see new pillars have been erected, a new land established and the sapling of a new tree planted.

And then the movies repeats itself.

MC5 – Kick Out The Jams

This is the soundtrack for the movie running through my mind…

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My Wife – The Cover Girl!

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The District - Tania on Cover - December 9, 2009

Above: Tania on the cover of The District – December 9, 2009

The District Weekly – December 9, 2009

The new issue of The District came out yesterday with an article that has been much anticipated around our home…

Rachel Powers, a writer for The District, has been putting this article together since the summer, and our friend and professional photographer, Russ Roca, took the photos several months ago.

We had no idea when the story would come out, or that they would choose this photo (above) for the cover shot…

I think it’s a great photo. That’s my beautiful wife, doing what she does everyday – giving her time, energy and love into making other peoples lives better.

I’m very proud of her!

The story is about the amazing place Tania works at called “The Village” which serves the homeless, “mentally ill” population with real care and true compassion.

Long Beach is finally learning about this world-famous and very successful resource in their own downtown.

People who work in the mental health field come from all over the world (right now there is a group from Japan visiting for a week) to do an “Immersion” and find out how the philosophy of The Village works.

The article does a great job of explaining the simple, but radically different approach The Village uses to help remind people that they are somebody of value, to reawaken their forgotten dreams and to both start and continue on that road back to health and stability.

Tania started working there in September of 2005 – how she got there is a story for another time – and since then she has grown in amazing ways.

I feel honored to be a part of her story and to be able to offer her my unconditional support for the work she does.

Article Links

Best Practices – The District Weekly, December 9, 2009

The Village Website – Information Page

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Some Thoughts About Decisions, Dreams, Words and Big Sur

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jon99bw1Decisions, Decisions…

Time is a map and we build upon it with our dreams and decisions. Every thing we do, and every action we engage in has an effect upon ourselves and on the world around us.

The abstract expressionist painter Robert Motherwell wrote that a painting is the result of thousands of decisions. If you have ever been involved with the creative process (and who hasn’t) you’ll understand what he meant.

We each do the same thing with our lives, make decision after decision, choice after choice… you can not avoid that responsibility. Even if we delude ourselves into thinking someone else has control over my life, I still have the responsibility for how I react and the decisions I make based on other peoples choices that affect me.

In hockey it works like this; the referee might let a little infraction slide, but if a player takes matters into his own hands and retaliates, most likely he’ll end up in the penalty box. I think most parents will understand the social management wisdom on the part of the referees.

In this world people will offend you, will cut you off on the road, will cut in line, smile to your face and then stab you in the back, cheat on you, lie to you, steal from you and worse… why, because we’re all becoming human beings, and in this world you will have suffering. That’s not my original thought – every great religion will point that out and you don’t have to live long to experience the truth of the matter…

But that is not the end of it – you have choices, and you have dreams.

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