3/11/2011

Just a little spring color from Bill's garden.
Fortunately we did not have the giant wave here at seven thirty this morning.

3/03/2011

Swallows Come Back to Capistrano March 19th

swallow cecropis duarica
March 19th the Mission in San Juan Capistrano is celebrating St. Joseph’s Day and the date the Swallows are to return. It is an old fashioned family party. Come join the live music and bring your camera. You ask what does St. Joseph have to do with the swallows?


They are celebrating the feast day of St. Joseph, the husband of Mary. Joseph was a humble carpenter. St Joseph is the kind of man you might choose for a Dad. We know when he took Jesus to be circumcised at the temple to be purified he offered of two turtledoves or a pair of pigeons, allowed only for those who could not afford a lamb (Luke 2:24).

 An angel came to Joe in a dream and told him Mary was pregnant with God’s child, without question he married Mary. This was during a time when adultery was punishable by death. A real man.

Enough of my side line catechism, what is the connection? The old padres at the mission knew on the feast day of St. Joseph the birds return. Some say it is to honor the Saint. Others might tell you it is the bells that bring the the martins home. I just hope the increasing flocks of crows here don’t scare them away.


Enjoy looking for their mud nests under the 5 Freeway, and come out for the fun.

2/14/2011

Are You Telegraphing the Wrong Message?

photograph Caroline Gerardo copyright "My children goofing around"

When Gen Kai re-opened after the fire they posted this cheerful welcome back sign. The neighbors had rumored questions about the cause of the destruction. I am not certain the home made banner aided in their recovery. I think Dana Kai is superior sushi. The sushi wars is another story. As long as it is fresh, yum.

I would never run around saying the sky is falling, it is not in my nature to be negative. I might tell you the clouds look particularly full of an unusual number of  full blown asteroids in large shapes and sizes traveling here at a hundred thousand miles per hour.


The tone we use with our children, the greeting to the tired guy at the register, and how we carry ourselves each moment I believe have long term outcomes that we control the universe. Today I witnessed an unusually cranky customer at the bank. She came in the glass door opening it the wrong way forcefully, loud yelling.

"You people have ripped me off long enough!"

The teller kindly inquires, " is there something I can change for you?"

"Change. Change your face."

"Madam I am happy to hear what you need."

The customer goes on with curse words about how the bank bounced her check and caused a roll of problems.

The teller notices, "is this the account statement you are speaking about?"

She points to a statement from another bank, not ours, in the woman's hands. Similar in name, but not the same. The woman comes to realize she has just unloaded on the poor teller and everyone else around - spreading a negative energy that she mistakenly blasted upon others. She does not apologize. She
curses again and storms out.

So it's a kind of extreme example, but she could have gotten so much help from the sweet teller had she started with sugar rather than vinegar. And working in a bank is a sitcom in of it's own new copyright- well yes love and inspiration and new health for all in the T.V. show I will write the treatment... another digression.  First impressions are like this as well, start with your smile and whiten it up and I don't mean with Crest white strips. I refer to having a happy attitude, when you are doing cold calls.

O. K. enough of my valentine love everyone post. xx00