The Indian Grief

Young nettle growing from the mulch.

Yesterday we went to Felicita Park, which is one of the county parks in Escondido. It's a very nice park with plenty of trees and some unique plant species. We also found there oodles of nettle and as you might know nettle is an edible plant.

So we harvested nettle and curly dock there a couple of times before. I want to point out that we harvest plants "the Indian way" that is to say we just take a little and leave plenty more. We don't touch species that are scarce and we prefer the methods that do not damage the plant.

So we went to our usual nettle meadow and were horrified to see that it was demolished by tractor or some other machine. Literally nothing was left of the nettle. A few luxurious species of curly dock were mercilessly hacked and what used to be a glorious and fragrant patch of sweet alyssum was reduced to a few sparse blotches mingled with short grass. Mushrooms were gone too.

Now for the first time probably we knew how Indians felt when white man destroyed the buffalo and other resources. And the Indians really depended on them. White man promptly destroyed Indians too.

motor vehicles

A Nice Day at the Beach, 2009. (Tomasito cartoon, 2009)


1969: "It CAN'T get any worse..."
1979: "It CAN'T get any worse..."
1989 "It CAN'T get any worse..."
1999: "It CAN'T get any worse..."
2009: ...


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Recycle Artwork

(photo by Tomasito--click on picture for detail.)


Recycle Artwork


Papier mache vases and trays, drawings and collage by Bea, Al, and Helen

Today is Earth Day so I thought I would show the work of a little class I teach at an old people's home across the street from our apartment.

We are working mainly with recycled materials--plastic, cardboard and paper-- and using commercial acrylic paint and wheat flour for paste.

I have four artists in the class--three old timers and one nine-year-old. They all like the class and we all are learning something.

Every day is earth day.

Tomasito, 2009


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Lemon Drop Cookies

Today we made lemon drop cookies and they were soooo good that we decided to share the recipe with you. They melt in your mouth.

1/2 cup butter (softened)
1/2 cups sugar (a little less)
2 eggs
1 1/2 cup sifted flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup dairy sour cream (milk) (optional)
zest of 1 lemon (or 1/2 tsp. lemon extract)


Mix together flour, baking powder, salt; set aside.

Cream together butter and sugar in bowl until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Blend in milk and lemon zest (or lemon extract).

Gradually stir dry ingredients into creamed mixture, blending well. Drop mixture by rounded teaspoonfuls, about 3 inches apart, on greased baking sheets

Bake in 350 F. oven about 15 minutes, or until golden brown around the edges. Remove from baking sheets; cool on racks.

You can make other flavours with the same dough. For example, you can add 1 tsp. vanilla extract or nutmeg, almonds, pecans or other nuts. Raisins are good too.

Liars and Lying

Tomasito Dumboozled. (Tanya Photo, 2009)

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Spin

Political lies are now called spin—which makes them not lies but politically correct instruments of information. (Politically correct is another new phrase which means a lie which is substituted for a somewhat awkward truth.)

The prevalence of spin in political announcements in these United States has reached epic proportions—as they say—with the effect that nobody except a real fool believes what the government says anymore.

This is a bit like it was a few years ago when I was living in Ecuador—a much simpler and more direct land. I was slowly puzzling out a Quito newspaper with my limited Spanish in a cafe one morning when a native stopped to sip a coffee next to me. I remarked to him that, according to the newspaper things were certainly looking up in Ecuador. He laughed and said that nothing in the newspaper was true—it was all propaganda designed to keep the population dumboozled.

Tomasito, 2009

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Deer Park Monastery

We went to the Deer Park Monastery. That was my first “real” live encounter with Buddhism religion. Now the monks there belong to what can be described as Vietnamese Zen Buddhism. In actuality it looked and felt more like a small expatriate community spiced with religion.

The good thing is that they welcome visitors on Thursdays and Sundays. So we went on Thursday. Early in the morning they gave a dharma talk and then went for a stroll (walking meditation). Unfortunately (or fortunately) we missed that. We did, however joined in “dharma discussion” which is very close to a therapy sessions like alcoholics anonymous. It went okay for a while until some guys started loosening up and talking too much. The worst was yet to come.

We had some tea on arrival. Then we joined that discussion. One of the main ideas of Buddhism is to be present in the moment and they have reminders like bell ringing every half an hour or so. You are supposed to stop whatever you are doing and think of yourself at the present moment. By the way the idea is sound but there is still too much theatre involved so sometimes it feels really funny.

Anyway, the main “attraction” of the day was a “free” meal. Why in parentheses? Because I found out that there are no really free meals. You always pay, especially in religious institutions. Not necessarily with money. In this case it was a very long waiting. You serve yourself from a buffet-style table. But then instead of sitting at the table in the same dining hall we walked to their meditation hall and had to sit crossed-legs on the mat while waiting for everyone else. Than you wait through all the ceremonial speeches. Finally you eat. As you can guess by now even if you are finished you have to wait while everyone else is finished. More talk, asking the newbies how they happened to be in the place. It is finally over. And get this: they recycle chopsticks. I know it’s not really relevant to the story but I wanted to let you know anyway. And the moral of the story? It does not pay to be the first.

The best part for me was just walking on the grounds and looking at the plants. The surroundings are beautiful and they have magnificent view on the valley.

So if you are in the area and are curisous about different tradition, stop by. It’s not as bad as I described. You’ll get to see real monks and their lifestyle.

Liars and Lying

Tomasito photo 2009
(Click on the photograph to enlarge it.)

Lying: It's a Way of Life

Lying is endemic. It is more or less expected and not a social disgrace as it may have been in a gentler age.

In advertising—it's a total free-for-all of prevarication. Everything is “The Best” (Even if it's about the worst!), “Reasonable” (Unreasonable by any standard!), “New and Improved” (Even if it is more expensive, less in quantity and poorer in quality!)

Part of the general dumbing down of America is the fluidity of truth. And if the liars are caught with their pants down, they are not in the least ashamed. They never expected you to believe them anyway!

I suppose television is a major culprit. People who sit in front of the tube for hours every day are exposed to so many smooth lies, presented by such glib people, that they literally do not know what truth is any more.

Tomasito, 2009


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