richard radstone

On May 18, 2012, we conducted an experiment. Setting up a booth at a local art walk, we extended a 365 invitation to anyone who wanted to express one word with the world; a word that they deemed as council to us all. From affirmations to language we heard it all. Yet, in the middle of the hum of advice and slang, one woman charged us with a well-earned call to action, “Think Positive.” A call that although consumes two words, is necessary in the telling of her story… A story that deserves a this second entry dedicated to what our two-worded friend shared with me on that May evening, and a story that today, our new friend Rhonda, returns to share in-depth with us all.

“I don’t know whoever is out there, or whatever…” Rhonda begins, “…but they gave this to me because they knew I could handle it. They knew it was going to be OK. And the clinical trial that I was on, will now be good for a lot of other people. That was helpful, I was looked after for some reason, but I… they… knew it was all going to be OK.”

You see… Rhonda is the survivor of a very large Brain Tumor and despite the clinical trial that she gives great credit to in healing her, she equally applies a mental medication to the recovery that she so peacefully carries. Rhonda tells me how she never gave up, even when she was in the greatest of pain. “I pushed myself to always think positive.” She says as she shows me the book of affirmations that her husband created in recording each day of Rhonda’s fight for her life.

Rhonda is more than an example; she is an activist for others. “I entered into a 5K walk to raise money and bring awareness to the need for finding a cure for Brain Cancer.”

Cool a lot of us enter athletic events for a cause, what makes Rhonda so special?

Think Positive! she ceaselessly promotes. It alone conjures proactive works, but Rhonda puts her actions behind her brainwaves. “I was in the middle of my Chemo when I walked the event. I remember waking up feeling terrible and weak, but I knew I needed to do the event. Once I started walking the pain went away and I finished the event. Since then I have not missed the chance to participate.”

It gets better, the second year Rhonda entered, she created an invitation to join her in a team walk, fifty entered with her. The third year seventy-seven, and now in preparing for her fourth event, Rhonda is hoping for eighty-eight.

I talked it over with my family and it looks like we will be supporting the walk this year, The 2012 Race for Research, Sunday November 4, Playa Del Rey, CA, and I want to ask for your support in joining Rhonda’s team if you are local to the event. Or if not able to attend, maybe you can donate a little to her team. Click here for more information on how to contribute. Wouldn’t it be amazing if we could build her team to over one hundred?

“Think positive and pray for our angels.” Rhonda declares as she gives my family a set of bracelets and charms with “Think Positive” stamped into them.

“I started to give them away in seeking donations to be used in for research…” Rhonda explains, “…But after a while I stopped asking for money and directed everyone to donate directly to the Brad Kaminsky Foundation for Brain Tumor Research. It was too hard to deal with the non-profit paperwork and tax issues myself, and the Kominsky Foundation has the resources to get the funds into the right hands.”

Per words of wisdom, Rhonda advises, “Listen to your body… and when you feel that things are not right, you should definitely go in and get yourself checked out. And think positive, no matter what curve balls get thrown at you… they come from out of nowhere… and you have to think positive! And, hopefully everything will be OK.”

Rhonda looks at her illness as an uplifting step in knowing herself and in growing her compassion for those around her. A compassion that can be felt in her every word and via the glow she brings into the room. But naive and rose-colored her glasses are not. “I’ve learned to slow down and appreciate what I have,” she owns the lessons learned in life and illness.

“’I worry about where we are going to be in the future. Because of all these computers and all these things, and we don’t know what is in store for us. I kind of want it to be turned around… to go back to like it was in the forties, the fifties and the sixties in a way; like a ‘Leave It To Beaver’ sort of thing.

I feel like everybody is in such a hurry… that we need to stop and slow down and look a little bit. It seems like everyone’s heads are always in their phones. And, you watch people… they are not paying attention. No one is looking around and seeing things or each other. Everyone is just kind of in they’re own selves… There are people looking out for the community, but it always seems that it is the same people.

Slow down… it’s fast out there… and it is only going to get faster.

Everyone needs to take a deep breath…OK… Slow down… It’s not the end of the world if you are five minutes late. We need to take it down a notch or two, and hopefully that will help us. Stop looking at everyone with that look…you know… that… ‘Come on buddy!’

It’s OK to slow down a little bit.’”

How many of us are willing to let go of overly stressing, relaxing our schedules in allowing our eyes and hearts to open to the world and people around us? To give ourselves permission to see, and to grant ourselves ownership of what we feel is assessable at the moment. A hard thing to do, I know. And sadly, it’s such human nature to only do so when tragedy or disease strikes… But, what if?

What if we could master outlooks and soulfully monitor thought patterns. Training our minds to better govern the over analyzation and quest for scholarly or worldly knowledge that so many of us get tripped by. For quite possibly if we could, doorways unknown or unseen might potentially open.

Rhonda explains, “’The past two years I have met people for reasons I don’t know. It just feels that I have met them for reasons that have not come up yet. There is a Yiddish word, ‘Bashert,’ meaning ‘Things are meant to be.’ There are reasons for everything. Why there are…? I don’t know, but now I see clearly that there are reasons for a lot of things.

I do worry about a lot of things, but I know I can’t do anything about them because they are not here. I worry sometimes for naught. I’m always thinking, but there is nothing you can do until things happen, and you have to have hope that you are prepared.’”

In physics they say “To every action there is always an equal and opposite reaction.” The same principle applies to our minds.

Rhonda speaks of looking at the world with worried eyes. But in her worry there is peace. How can that be? You might ask.

The answer can be found in one great word that Rhonda buries into her above quote… Hope.

For hope is the rain that extinguishes fear; and, in pulling from my scientific comparison, may I be bold enough to offer a word of council. Without hope… fear can reign.

To every action there is always an equal and opposite reaction. Shall we grasp onto hope as we acknowledge the flames of fear. For as equal to the burning paralysis of fear is an equally strong force: The waters of hope, for in them flow, as proven by our brave friend Rhonda, a power able to overcome any obstacle… Even ourselves.

The question then remains, “Are we prepared?”

Fitting that I am hearing my scratching brakes, in heavy Los Angeles traffic, as I drive to meet a new friend that has been referred to me by Brook, new friend featured in a past 365 interview, “You have to meet Zareh, he is a great guy!”

Brook in herself is quite the human, Her Rolodex is endless, and not one name in it is there for the purpose of her self-gain. Brook is just that way in wanting to know people, and because of this people are just magnetized to her. Forgive me if I am band standing too much in Brook’s favor. But in qualifying that today’s stranger now friend was not referred to us by Brook would be a disservice to the character of Zareh.

He is a man of the highest quality and I regard him as a person who is at the top in regards to integrity. Brook called it right, Zareh is a great guy!”

And for this reason I have dubbed him, “The Honest Mechanic.”

Zareh’s shop is clean, organized and one thing that strikes me is the absence of the typical swimsuit calendars that are prevalent to so many auto shops. The moment I arrive I am greeted as if into a living room of a close friends. “Would you like a cup of coffee?” Zareh offers as I sit with his mechanics for what becomes a campy little family discussion. We talk of our children, parenting and the way the world looks at each other.

Zareh tells me of his history and of his experiences in relocating from Lebanon to the United States in the seventies. “I’ve always been a mechanic, it has been good to me and my family.”

Here I am, sitting in the living room of a workplace, not wanting to go home as I settle into a wonderfully friendly conversation between warm friends. I could hang for hours and would like to do so, but with the time cresting the 2:00pm hour and my needing to post by 5:00pm, we jump to our 365 questions.

At first Zareh personalizes his commentary. Humbly stating, “The future…? I can’t say… “I think I just want to be on the beach enjoying the beauty with my wife.”

Then after a little more thought, he steps out of his humble wishes, “Working class people like us just want everybody to be peaceful and straight-forward people… I don’t know…

… It really does not matter religion, what matters is that the heart is good. If you work straight in your work, in your private life, in your friendship, as a husband and wife…

One lie… Eventually it is going to catch up… And then you are going to be in trouble.

You do your best. And then, if you know you did your best… what else are you going to do more.”

“Do you have any advice for what we can do to make our communities better?” I ask.

“Be honest,” Zareh comfortably and quickly replies. “’That’s it… one word, honesty… It’s the only way.

Again, friendship, family, whatever… business… if you lie…? yea, you can get away with it… once… maybe twice… Third time or more…? People start to see things!

So don’t’ lie.

Sure, we are human; we make mistakes, but be honest in what you do… There is nothing better than being able to sleep at night.

If just fifty percent of us treated each other with respect and honesty, the world would be in a better place.”

And none of us should never forget, that if we make a mistake, we should say two simple words… ‘I’m sorry.’”

I could write a book in reference to the twenty minutes I spend with Zareh this day, but glancing at the clock, 4:44pm, it’s time for me to scrub my writing and upload Zareh’s photos.

One thing I can conclude… Zareh is an “Honest Mechanic.”

Talk tomorrow my friends. May your travels be traffic free?

Terri told you that I was a little slammed, but although deep into directing a little testimonial spot, I nevertheless get the opportunity to meet a new stranger turned friend, the insightful, thoughtful and very talented sound technician Paul.

I’m still deep in production and with a pressing schedule, I’ll get right to the point in letting Paul’s philosophic words drive this entry.

“Uncertainty is not such an enemy.

That’s not from me…” Paul set’s up his narration, “’…that’s from years of going through my own crap and anxiety over things…

…Uncertainty is one of the most normal things that’s going to happen… learn to live with that.

We always want to know the answer. We are more comfortable when we know something is certain, even if it is bad… so hold on… It might be alright.

Let uncertainty happen.

I had a big ego when I was growing up, grew up in a nice area, and now, knocked down to learning how to really follow others; I accept that I don’t know everything, and the more that I grow… I realize the less that I know. And, I feel the less I know about the future.

But if there is anything that has been shown over the last ten years that shows me evidence towards the future, it is that it feels like we are growing more and more separated from each other. And regarding the self-esteem generation who feel like, ‘don’t tell me what to do… I’m so awesome…’ all that stuff. We’ve been telling everyone they’re so awesome, that they don’t know how to collaborate. That is going to explode into so many more levels of narcissism; and, sociopaths will be lifted up. These people will continue to prevail as they have throughout history, but even more so in the year to come and the You-Tube generation is going to explode even more spastically.

But I predict there will be a renaissance to a point where we will all come back together…? I think people are starving for connections and that will happen on micro levels… and those micro levels will share with each other. But as we do this electronically, we are still not going to have the tactile experience. The challenge is, ‘Can we have tactile relationships?’ I’m not sure yet?

Five, ten, twenty years, politically, we probably will not know the difference.  You can sit in a box for twenty years and you won’t know the difference. Everybody thinks you can… I don’t think you can. Maybe there are a few things.’”

I ask Paul to summarize his thoughts on the few things that we can do.

“’You have to care! That’s all it takes! And you have to fight against the urge to trend towards compromise over quality!

You have to remember every that time you got an easier something; there has been a compromise towards the earning of that thing.

There’s a thing spoken of called ‘The Bread of Shame.’ Every religion has it. Just remember, you can’t have fulfillment unless you earn it. I don’t care if you win the lottery… It’s not going to feel the same as if you earned it.

You have to care and you have to earn it!’”

Paul tells me of a trademark he lives his life by, an inspiration that he encourages us all to adapt into our lives, “Go on and do great things.”

Thanks Paul, we’ll do our best.

He proudly appoints himself Pigface, a title that exemplifies his bold, entertainingly spontaneous and captivatingly aggressive demeanor.

Within seconds of knowing my new Harley riding friend, I know he is a man who holds no punches; and in what he expresses, he mixes no words in calling it as he sees it.

I ask him of his council.

“Learn mandarin and Hindi…!” Pigface accounts with a sarcastic tinge of wit, “…You better know it for the future… We’re F…ed!

It’s all about American greed… and we created the monster.

I work in Aerospace and all of our jobs are going to people who will work for fifty bucks a month. Bottom line, the few rich here will reap the benefits… The rest of us are F…ed.”

As I said, Pigface holds no punches.

Like it or not, he flies with his opinion, and in it, slaps us in he face with reality. I’m not going to point a finger at China or India. For as Pigface charges, the problems start at the core of big greed, and in the end, pulling from the tone Pigface has started, we… the working people… get it in the proverbial end.

It’s strange how themes come in bundles with 365. I don’t look for any specific weekly agenda, profile those I approach or guide our conversations in any way… other than asking the same two common questions of everyone. But, somehow this last week has been charged, in both fearful and accepting tones, with the topics of patriotism and immigration. The sum whole of which I’m sure has stirred a great variety of emotions in all of us.

And to finish the week with Pigface’s aggressive stance might possible be the kick that gets us thinking as to our views on the subjects. Trust me, in all that we have spoken of this last week, I do not sit on the fence. But in respect to honest journalism and to allow all a fair representation of their views I charge no arguments. To do so would be wrong and disrespectful to those who have continued to trust me and have the courage to make their opinions heard.

I will however politic on one disclosed agenda. That being my mission of being an ambassador to the one statement I will not bury. I’ve written it many times this week… not planned… just happened. And in even writing it I will admit that I am a little charged by the energy of the topics of the week… “We are in this thing together!”

Truly the power to tolerate is within us all… and tolerance in the most powerful weapon in our arsenal of humanistic outreach. There is no way we will all ever agree on any one given perspective. It’s a wonderful dream, but we need to keep our heads grounded in reality. Sure, I’m an optimist, but even with the quest to seek the best in all, we sometimes walk through mud.

Pigface is a cool dude, who is doing his best to eek out his living in a rapidly changing economy. And in his Aerospace experience, he has seen first hand the many who have lost their livelihoods to the low bidder. Yea, he does point a finger, and many fingers have been pointed back at him as an American.

I don’t think he is speaking with any form of supremacy; he speaks of fairness. A fairness that we all may receive a wage comparable to the product or service delivered, no matter who offers it. And in pointing to other countries he is accurate. Too much undercutting is happening between boarders. I’m no economist… Not even going to claim that I make my observations based on any mathematical facts or corporate training. Its just opinion… Opinion that in the case of 365, is not wholly of personal or political objective, but a compilation of emotional response spurred on by the hundreds of people I have spoken to during my 365 travels.

Yes, I’m a little charged this week. Not ranting, not raving, but at the core I confess that I am feeling an overriding emotion. One that makes me want to stand on the roof and yell, “Listen people, we need to respect one another, no matter what!”

In that I will give one more confession, perhaps a hidden agenda… I really don’t know. But if I was to give a theatrical definition to an outlook, it might read like this, To self and to each other, “I’m not trying to cut your legs off… so please don’t chop at mine!”

Personally, I don’t care if you are American, Chinese, Indian, Canadian, Arabic, European or whatever, just listen to each other and look past the words in a shared camaraderie of temperance.

I’m no Gandhi, just a balding white dude in Middle America who has now spoken to almost two thousand people, and in doing so, has received a countless number of blog, Facebook and direct email comments. Some are endearing, some are freighted, others scornful. One thing I can say is that in all, whether positive or negative, and as passionate as they all are, I can honesty collate; the majority of them have been addressed and are resolved. Not by me, but by the very soul of 365, it’s readers… and how cool is that. In it is evidence that we can learn tolerance and respect, or at least gain the skills to bridle our reactions, reformatting them into a more constructive use of intellect and emotion.

Enough said, and still I’m clueless why I have orated so much today and over the last few days. Must be the chili I’ve been eating or quite possibly the triple digit weather is affecting my mood.

“What about the future?” I ask Pigface.

He takes a very long silent breath, then responds, “Learn to tighten your belt.”

“Do you mean financial belt?” I ask.

Pigface smiles.

“Is there any recovery in store,” I second.

Soberly, “I don’t know…” he responds, “… by that time I may not be here.”

Despite his colorful countenance Pigface is short in words, so I inquire if he has any final thoughts.

“We should legalize Marijuana and never elect a Republican…

Better yet… we need a pot smoking atheist in the White House.”

I leave that one alone; the week has been political enough.

We resume back to the world of jesting.

“I’ve been working out,” Pigface jokes, “…Does it look like I have a six-pack or does it look like I drank a six-pack?”

I buy into his humor, “Sure, you look tight… better than me. I’ve been working on my one pack.”

We start taking pictures and inspired by the “Are you modeling?” comment from the employees of the Harley Davidson dealership at which I have met Pigface, he grows our laughter, “Am I not photogenic or what!”

He puts what he calls “his ridiculously legislated helmet” on the seat of his bike, and showing off his tee-shirt logo, asks me for a favor, “Can you get me on the Sons of Anarchy?”

Anarchy or not, Pigface has made us think.

Signing off now… I’m toast.

Talk tomorrow my friends.

Open, honest and informed, three principles that have become grounding benchmarks to the messages shared during our 365 meetings.

And with so many interviewed thus far, I’m sure we have read entries that strike to the core of our beliefs, as well as experienced emotions of confusion or rejection to the words of some.

Feelings that I empathize with you in owning, for each day I ride an emotional roller coaster as I circulate within the world around me in throwing my acknowledgments to all that I can lock eyes with.

Many opt to not engage with me, turning a head down or verbally shrugging me off. An accepted byproduct of reaching out, but the refreshing part of the experiment is having the opportunity to meet the so many amazingly diverse people who have engaged with us.

Not all have allowed their photos taken or to be interviewed, many have just shared conversation and life perspectives with me. So as painful as the rejections are… I have grown to expect the four to six brush-offs I receive on every outing. They are bearable, only a few times have I felt threatened or unsafe. What is impactful is that over the course of 365, regardless of person, faith, view, or positive or negative outlook, one glimmer of hope is universally pushing through, both from those we have met and from those who have chosen to remain anonymous.

All accept or at least acknowledge, “We Are All In This Thing Together.”

A confession… today I started with a lowness of heart. It’s hot, I’m tired from a long week, my day is packed, I’m overwhelmed by a seemingly endless list of tasks for the week to come, and in thirty minutes I’m teaching a spinning class and have not yet made acquaintance with a new friend. (“OK, Richard, we know you like to ride your bike”).

Lastly, I’ve not spent much time with my family for a while, and looking into their supportive eyes, I can see the 365 countdown happening as we mark the under sixty days to completion of this leg of 365… more surprises to come in 2013.

Even now, as I am writing of this mornings meeting with stranger now friend Vicki, I sit typing on laptop through the sound of my daughter’s laugher as she bakes cakes with friends and my wife. And, as I pause to visualize what I am missing, I self-review the positive changes I have seen in my family over the last 308 days.

I see a daughter who is aware, engaged and concerned for the world’s people, as well as the planet. A wife, that through her felt sacrifice of time with me, is excited by every entry as she too gets closer to the world around her, and a set of friends and colleagues who ceaselessly encourage me to go forward in the journey as they too open their eyes to those around them.

Readers, Vicki, thank you for allowing me this bit of narrative therapy, for in it I realize what is of the greatest importance to us all, that being our family. Dysfunctional, lost, found, adopted or as self-created as it may be. Whatever the place in life or state of emotion, I’m pretty certain that the basic need to belong… to be accepted… and to be loved is the unifying and edifying award we all desire.

And even though 365 has taken four to six hours of daily commitment from me, much of it coming from personal time, I cannot exclude the blessings in has brought into my life, and I hope yours.

“Why do I share this?” you might ask.

Trust me, I’m not grandstanding… I’m listening and observing.

I said in the beginning of 365, “Let’s see what happens!”

Well… we’re deep into the project now, things are sharpening into focus and I want to publish a couple of observations that are worthy of noting: 1) My jitters in approaching strangers has not gone away, at time they are even more powerful than at the beginning of 365; 2) The majority of people speak of the ‘Golden Rule’ of loving thy neighbor as thyself; 3) Many share a dream for a people who respect one another, accepting them for who they are, and 4) The greater majority of people have a relationship with God lingering in the depths of their bosoms, and are resolute in seeking some kind of better world.

So with jitters created by three early morning rejections I approach Vicki in admitting that it’s been a scary and uplifting thing reaching out to the over 1800 people I have approached to date.

“We are in this thing together,” I say.

And in response Vicki bravely opens her heart to what drives her to loving her neighbors in quoting from the Old Testament:

The Second Book Of Chronicles, Chapter 7, Verse 14
“If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”

“…That is my dream,” Vicki expresses.

“We need to pray for our nation… to admit our sin, all of the liberalism, the way our children are fed this sexual freedom, and the words to the music they listen too are so harmful.

We need to recognize that what we are doing is so far from the way God originally meant it. And, at we have to understand that at this point we are not too far gone… if we can reach to him for guidance and forgiveness… in praying to him to heal our nation… And if we all did that… he would.

It’s really scary what President Obama is doing to our country. I truly fear for us… I fear for our children and our grandchildren. We’ve created a place that is not safe for them, and they are not being taught about God… They are not being taught about their creator.

So, I’m afraid we will self-destruct at some point. Where we might be when we self-destruct…? I don’t know.

I’m afraid of this Obama-Care thing. I think it is going to totally devastate our country.

We’ve lost the patriotism we had when my grandparents, my parents and even I enjoyed as a young girl. We are becoming more and more of a melting pot and are loosing our identity. Along the way we will no longer be called the United States, or so to speak. We will just be this huge country that anyone and everyone will be allowed into… no matter what… and we will be so in debt.

It’s just really scary.”

Maybe some of you agree with Vicki, maybe some of you do not. But here is what resonates. Vicki is not speaking of her self. Her outlook is towards the children and their place in the world to come. Sure, she expresses a few tremendous fears and worries for the patriotism of America. But if you were standing with me in meeting her, I’m positive you would agree with the integrity of character that she walks with.

Vicki speaks of society, of helping our youth to look towards a loving God, and in her critique of the culture and government we live in, her message is unifying, that we should listen to the instincts of our hearts and teach our children to walk in the light of a higher power.

Vicki, thank you for the few minutes you shared today. We hear your dream and will do what we can to pass it on.

Sorry if I am sounding too religious, not my intent, but the following closure just seems appropriate in honoring Vicki.

May we all be healed.

On day 124, we met Fernando and spoke about an invisible border that separates two distinctly different neighborhoods. Thirty feet of auto traveled asphalt that I defined as the Farralone line, a black-topped river that parts two cultures, each with their own dynamic ways of daily living. My side being communicatively isolated within its walls and the other side open with street activity at day’s end and weekends when music regularly rings out and where families are seen gathering in front yard conversation.

In a way… it is reminiscent of vintage America. A time where neighbors knew neighbor, and cups of flour were exchanged.

The irony, not often can a single Anglo be seen present navigating the shores of the Farralone line. And in my observation of times past, a question is posed. What is happening to the American spirit of unity? For in a country, in which the very title, The United States, screams of knowing thy neighbor, many still point a finger at the richness of it diversity; a diversity that is the very foundation of it’s creation. And, a foundation that, as observed by my Hispanic friends on the other side of the Farralone banks, has been respected as long as I have lived in my house.

Yes, I have many friends on both side of the river, but to be quite honest, at many a time I feel more at home across the stream.

Today is such a day when I run into two new friends, neighbors Robert and Erik. Now I’d be a liar if I told you I have never seen them. For often as I have walked past their home, we have met eyes with an exchanged hello. But after a while even this distanced acknowledgment has grown old and lacking of depth.

And with this admission… time has come to pause in conversation. After all, Robert and Erik are my neighbors, only four houses and a street divide have parted our knowing each other a little better, and its well time we talked.

I ask Robert to share his words of council with us. “Live every day like it is your last. Because you never know what is going to happen.”

Without fail I’ve heard this from many a youth throughout our 365 interviews. And, every time I hear it, it sounds different… especially from the way I said it way back when I was a teen and young adult. For me at the time, it was about self and looking only for self-fulfilling fun. I’m a little embarrassed in looking back upon not only myself, but my generation, the… “If it feels good… do it” era.

The eighties…? And, although there were a host of global and political problems then, the era bred a youth that were in no way comparable to the informed generation that is walking the planet these days.

So when Robert speaks of living every day like it is the last; it is implied that his meaning is based in a much greater depth.

He elaborates as he looks toward the world to come, “There will be no more gas, everything will be run off of electric, like water and solar panels. There will be no poles and electrical wires. Everything will be wireless.

Tires won’t be rubber. We will be hovering over the ground, helping the environment and all that.”

Sure it sounds Sci-Fi. But in reading through the lines, Robert is speaking of environmentalism. Taking care of the world that has been given to us.

I turn to Erik, “What words of wisdom do you have to share with us?”

He gives us more of a petition than advice. “I’d like to see world peace,” he says.

I could write more, but how do I top, “World Peace.”

And as far as this afternoon, let’s just say this, The Farralone Line is slowly disappearing in my world. My hope is that we all join in working on dropping our boarders to support Erik’s admonition… again… he dreams of World Peace.

For as history continually illustrates, the efforts of one can be great, and if each one of us does our part in our own neighborhoods, perhaps Erik’s words might not have fallen not fall on deaf ears.

It’s not about riots, big groups of protestors, or even subscribing to one party or another. It’s much simpler than that…

The answer is lurking in your own circle of influence… where one good deed, or thought, has the power to yield another. And from there, who know what can happen. The choices are ours, and I think we know the answer. So the question lingers, “Do we choose to listen?”

Pass it on my friends!

“I don’t want to depress you…” Jerry responds to my inviting his comment to 365… “My words might not be that popular.”

“You can say whatever you like Jerry…” I assure “…what is important is that you express your opinion. That is what my 365 project is all about; letting people know how other people feel: Good, bad or indifferent.”

Jerry joins us, “We need to straighten this country up… we need to lock down our boarders… export everybody who is not here legally… it’s not looking good.”

Now… I am a British immigrant. Came here, with my family, way back in the sixties. I have many close and dear friends from Mexico, South America, Asia and many other parts of the world. Some arrived by the book, and others under the radar. But in all, hard-working people who are doing all that they can to establish a better life for themselves, and for their families. You can’t know anybody for that!

Yet, one thing runs common to all of these courageous people, who in face of great financial and cultural struggles, came to the United States with the intention of citizenship; and, all of who have paid their full load of taxes and fees in order to reside in America.

Jerry says, “It’s not looking good.” He elaborates. “It’s not that I am against anyone, or that I judge any culture. This county was built at a time when everybody here was a foreigner. It’s not that I don’t want people to come here… they just need to do it legally. Too many come into this country illegally and it gives them everything. While the citizens struggle for healthcare and to just make a living. It just does not make any sense.”

We shift to an economic discussion when I ask Jerry about his perspective on the import / export of good and services. Sort of dangling a carrot to get a better picture of Jerry’s openness to the world around us. His answer gives a deeper look into his understanding of fellow-man.

“The world needs a strong import / export trade… doesn’t matter where it’s coming from… or who is making it… as long as it is not being made by children. People need things.

Yea, we need more export… but that is a problem we have created, we don’t even ship our cars overseas. Other countries won’t accept them. Look what Kennedy did back in the seventies. They said if you are not going to build a better quality car, we are not going to buy it.”

Jerry is an advocate for the environment and has no love for the auto industry.

“We don’t have a future… It’s a bonus… bud. Look at the planet. We’re sucking billions of gallons of blood out of the planet and replacing it with water. What is the earth going to have to live on… and that is what the world lives on… oil. WE should not be living on oil… that is put there for the planet itself.”

Being the hopeless optimist that I am and have to ask, “Jerry, what should we do on an individual level?”

Jerry stays on course, “Get rid of cars… there is no reason for us to own one. They are creating air pollution and are tearing the earth apart. We don’t need automobiles.

“I’ve seen the Yucon… it’s unreal, there are just oils well everywhere!” Jerry pleas.

I do a Google search, “Negative environmental impact of oil wells in the Yukon.”

I won’t say that I have been turning blind eye to the problem. Always considered myself somewhat informed. But the shear count of references where astronomical; 569,000… the number of links that came up. Far too many for me to research, but in scanning them, it is evident that Jerry is right on the money in his expressed fears.

“People are spending millions of gallons a day just waiting at stop lights and other forms of idling… Millions at gallons wasted! (I looked up this one reference, and Jerry is very correct), That is why I don’t stop at red lights,” he soulfully jests.

“There are other alternatives other than cycling or walking. Instead of the government spending all those billions of dollars on the auto industry, we should build real public transportation. Not Amtrak, that’s just another eighty million dollars a year for the government to spend money on. It’s not thought out right.”

Jerry decline to allow his portrait to be taken, ‘There are too many people that have something against me,” he again smiles as he allows me to snap an iconic photo of his lower torso and bike.

“Any last thoughts Jerry?” I ask in giving Jerry opportunity for a personal sign off.

He thinks for a moment… “Yea… I’ve got one… Our problems are not the Mayan calendar… They are about our society.”

“The lighter the luggage… the bigger the smile.

Sometimes we don’t even know what the baggage is. Life most often tells us what it is, and we need to eliminate it… whatever it is,” Advises Christina.

The least worries, or the least baggage, that we carry with us, in many aspects, starting with the material tasks… the bigger the smile!

You don’t need to have a lot to give a lot.”

“Appreciate people and humanity more than the stuff that you have or the stuff that they have?” I ask in confirming that I am hearing what Christina is saying.

“Correct…” Christina replies, “… I truly believe that.

There is nothing that matters about the journey and tide, what does matter is the spiritual aspect of why we are doing what we do, rather than focusing on the materialistic things.”

The paradox of the moment, Christina and I have been introduced by a common friend, and in meeting, we are having a very informal phone interview. What is wholly bazaar is the location in which Cristina is calling from. Thanks to our wireless devices (got to love modern communication), she and I are able to converse while Christina and her family are touring the Hollywood Walk of Fame, probably one of the most in your face and materialistic places on Earth.

And amidst the background noise, and I’m sure costumed faces, Christina and I bond in a very spiritual conversation.

“I had a dream to be a Ballerina at a very young age…” Christina reveals, “’…I was very shy, and dance was a way for me to communicate without words. Then life took that away when I had an injury.

And then, against all predictions, I got a career in communications, which for someone as shy as I was as a child was… as my father said, ‘Was a miracle.’

Now, I’ve left all that the world considers success… position, money and all that… leaving a career in communications to become a dance and theatre teacher. Which brings me back to what I am saying, ‘The lighter the luggage the bigger the smile.’

When I let go of many of the reward of being quote… unquote… successful in the eyes of others, I truly became successful in the eyes of myself. Now I feel very lucky and am enjoying my life very much.

My friends ask me, ‘How could you leave a successful career in communications?’

I tell them, ‘I thought it would be difficult, but it was really easy… once I made the decision.’ It was a blessing in disguise.’”

I catch up with Christina today at UCLA where she is touring with the children of she and her boyfriend Steve (not pictured) for a very quick photo session.

What about the future?  Christina shares more of her positive mindset.

“I’m probably not the person to predict the future, it’s a very difficult question,” she pauses for a long breath…

… Then magical words come forth, “I see greatness… and I see light. I see people evolving to another place. I don’t have too many facts socially, but still, I see a big light. I see beauty and I see so much awareness. I truly believe that people really want peace and harmony and to be happy… all of us.

If everybody could pay if forward… If everybody could just smile at each other, just smile randomly… one hundred times a day… it would be a much better world.

And, I want my ten-year old to live in that much happier world…

I want the fairytale!”

In inadvertently meet California royalty today. The kind leader who seeks not applauds of the general populace or the ratifying vote of the house floor, but the kind of man who promotes self-control and unity through actions. A claim that he does not speak of in any boastful way, or arrogantly scream from the rooftops to a numbed audience.

His name is Rick and I run into him, unsuspected, at a local shopping center.

Ricks quite claim to fame is an iconic display that he has constructed in the highly trafficked Topanga Canyon pass; a route that I frequent in my daily travels from inland to the coast.

Rick calls it “The Great Wall Of Topanga.”

I call it a funky little doorway to humanity. One that if not paying attention passes ever so quickly as you drive by it. But non-impactful it is not. For in grasping it’s meaning… it’s presence projects an impression that is lasting and impactful.

For businessman to homemaker, for the poor to the rich, for Christian to Jew, and regardless of whatever creed or perspective one may have. The Great Wall Of Topanga rises as a testament to diversity and in a quite way is becoming a centralized, and uniting, talking point for many a person. So much so that it is rapidly gaining press in mainstream publications the like of LA Weekly.

From oversized mousetrap to much subtler content this Southern California point of interest is holding strong in making a cultural stance. A stance that creator Rick humbly takes no credit for as he quotes American cultural anthropologist, the late Margaret Mead.

“Never doubt that a small group of committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”

Rick is so to the point in using Margaret Mead’s observation. For in it, the purpose of 365 is again defined. How often have we talked of passing it on and of the power each one of us possesses to evoke positive change in our daily lives? And for this purpose, Rick has summed it up perfectly with his choice of reference.

An athlete, Rick has competed in many a velo cycling event in his younger years. And to this day human-powered transport is key to his healthy outlook on life.

“If fear for the future…” Rick sobers up with a projection, “’…I guess the image that comes to mind is the movie ‘WALL-E,’ where you see the succession of the captains of the spaceship just going from large… to larger… to larger… to larger… to larger… then to immense. We have basically invented ourselves into complacency about our size and such.

There are fewer and fewer people who live in a healthy way. We have to go back to the basics of walking, cycling and human power. Using our muscles for life in a way that our species has forgotten. How important that is!

And we are just turning into these blobs of fat. Everything is too easy for us. Society is now built on drive to… and then sit down. I fight that all I can with cycling.

I cycle with my kids. My five-year old rode sixty-five miles with me on our tandem. Now… he did not do that all at once… We took breaks… but he did it.’”

Rick goes on to tell me of the many way he and his family conserve through riding bikes and the reasoning behind the Great Wall he has created.

In all, I pick up on two agendas telegraphed by Rick. One: His desire to bring us together, and Two: To respect the planet.

Rick, prior to meeting you the clock was ticking and I was feeling rather stressed in not knowing where to turn in meeting a friend today. Nothing was working out, and as always, the moment I let go to speak to whomever was in front of me, you appeared.  I thanks you for that.

And in knowing you, I have come closer to a local landmark that has grown to be part of my daily commute. An Icon that has touched me greatly, and an Icon that I am now proud to say is the results of someone I know.

Rick you are right in referencing Margaret Mead, “Never doubt that a small group of committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”

You are doing it my fine friend.

Okay… this is starting to get ridiculous. Summer is here and with beads of sweat dripping down my forehead, I am doing my best to fight my dry mouth’s desire to guide me away from my enthusiasm in meeting a friend today.

For over an hour I have walked mostly empty streets, and with the three-digit temperature rising most are staying inside… and its only 9:00am.

Yep… Summer is here and I’m feeling a bit slow roasted walking in the direct sun.

Discouragement is a temptation, but one that is being subdued due to a sign that I am passing on every street corner. It has quickly become a symbolic companion who is proving to me that, even in the barren streets, I am not really alone…

I call this companion, “lost bird.” Who, through the implied love of his owner, has become an icon to me in opening yet another glimpse of the love society is capable of putting forth.

It is this plea, which in a strange and surreal way pulls me from street to street in unwavering desire to meet unknown friends. Can’t explain it fully, but for some reason, the posting for this lost friend has strengthened my obligation to stay open-minded, even in the midst of a solar barrage.

Maybe it’s the implied love read into the copy, maybe it’s the absence of human presence at each posting, or maybe it’s a hidden wish to find the noted lost feathered friend. But whatever it is, my eyes are double opened in my blistering walk.

Heat waves are beginning to rise from the pavement, and in a patch of shade I see a fellow washing his car. With the awareness of the hot day slowly fading into the background of my brain, I approach him… hoping that if he will not speak with me, he will at least blast me with a stream of cool water.

Well, the water soaking takes not form, but in its place I am refreshed with the words of new friend, Noor.

At plus seventy years of age, Noor pick up the theme of yesterday’s Drake, our fifteen-year-old friend of peaceful wisdom.

The generation gaps is closed when with the same hope of young Drake, Noor expresses his greatest advice, “Try to find a way to have more peace in the world and less violence… everybody should get together in having the same respect for each other.

If we continue on the path where we are going, especially with our government system, we will have another revolution. The middle class is being shrunk down. We will have the rich, the super rich and the poor, with nothing in the middle. That’s what I am afraid will happen.”

Now, I speak from experience, because I am a little bit older. My dad was born in Pakistan, he was a Muslim, but I converted to Catholicism many, many years ago. And, I’ve learned that regardless of what you believe in, we all hold the same truth to our heart. And if things don’t change… I see a revolution in this country, that is if the bomb does not drop first.

I grew up in New York, and we all got alone with each other… Sikh, Muslim, Jewish, we all respected each other and were friends.”

I’ve been watching the film Gandhi, starring Ben Kingsley. It’s a very long flick, but in it lies the secret that made Gandhi the great man that he was. And, in his greatness there was no malice, no charge to kill, maim or torture. No quest for personal gain. No senseless anger or contemptuous and greedy thought for self. He had one wish only; that was for his, and all people, to be treated with love and kindness; to be respected for who they are and be allowed to live in equality and harmony with fellow-man. Not having to be crafted of the same cultural or governmental mold, and to be governed, or to govern, unjustly. But, to accept one another’s faith and beliefs with one basic rule: Acceptance and love towards one another.

What’s sad… is that in the end, he was murdered for his good works, But in that Gandhi still live on in the hearts of many, an inspiring statue of right to us all.

Noor, smiles at the reflection of Gandhi’s works, “We can live in peace and still get what we want,” he concludes as he get back to the business of washing his car.

Noor, thanks for the shade and kind conversation. Peace to you my new friend.