Emotions

Just hearing that question asked of me recently, as I stared off into the distance, may have put me in a bemused state. The synonyms for “bemused” are puzzled, confused, and bewildered. But, at that very moment, I was none of those words. I was channeling my muse for the sake of helping someone through a difficult time. I was trying to “be a muse.”

Chip’s Editorial Comment: Stacy Peralta is a big deal in the film and adventure sports world, but you’d never know it by meeting him as he’s so down-to-earth and humble. We are fortunate to have him be one of our MEA faculty members.

That’s the most loaded question in the English language. Most of us treat it like a dodge ball game. “Fine,” “Great,” “All right.” But, what if the answer is “Life sucks right now”? Too often, we don’t go there given the risk that it opens up a conversation for which we don’t have the time or energy. So, we offer a half-smile and say we’re okay.

Yesterday was my 63rd birthday so I was flooded with memories.

Meet Unicorn, a Diné Churro (four-horned sheep) traditionally cared for by native peoples in New Mexico.

San Francisco has seen its share of boom and bust cycles: the Gold Rush, the 1906 earthquake and fire, the sexual liberation of the hippie 60s and 70s and the AIDS epidemic of the 80s, the dot-com boom and bust, the Great Recession, the Pandemic and remote work phenomenon and, finally, however you would currently describe the “balagan” (chaos in Yiddish) that describes the current state of this 7-mile by 7-mile earthly bardo.

Traveling through Italy brought up some memories for me, including one that is bittersweet. I was 20 years old and going to college in England for a quarter. Along the way, I decided to trek to Florence to see some college friends studying there. If you can believe it, I wore my hair like Peter Frampton, long wavy curls (yep, I'd gotten a perm). I even carried a guitar with me, playing the role of the melancholy artist—my self-delusion of uniqueness.

I was touched reading a philosophy professor share his nearly-end-of-life story in the Washington Post with the title, “As my end nears, I crave the soul-to-soul connection of seeing friends in person.” (https://tinyurl.com/zoom-friends-dying)

When you randomly encounter the same person twice in one week, you take notice, right? What happens when it’s a new concept that lands in your lap back-to-back?

Luke Skywalker. Moana. Harry Potter. And now: Barbie.