Mr. Rogers and Lorin Hollander - complete episode of clip in Won’t You B...

New York City Buses are Pure Theater.

I absolutely adore riding the New York Buses. Having recently moved here, I hadn't ridden a bus in years, as I drove everywhere in my former city, Los Angeles. Had to. The Public Transportation in Los Angeles is practically non-existent.

Got on a cross-town bus in the late afternoon yesterday. When I reached to put my card in the money box, there was a little card that said " Free Today." How nice. I said "Thank You," and sat down almost in the front row, closest to the bus driver. It was a busy time for bus users. Everyone got on and went to pay. The reactions on the peoples' faces were incredible.

One lady actually looked angry. Most people didn't ever react; they just put their bus cards quickly back where they'd come from. A couple actually asked, " Free?" and got the driver to nod.

One man asked," Does that meant that I just take my seat?" He was carrying a brief case stuffed with Financial Newspapers.

People continued to get on and off, barely noticing the driver. Then one woman walked to the front of the bus to ask the driver where the bus stopped. The driver asked her to stop yelling. The lady replied that she naturally had a loud voice.

When I finally got up to get off, I thanked the driver for the free ride and wished her a lovely evening. She just smiled, looking so relieved to finally have someone pay attention to her!

New York Taxi Drivers Can Be Amazing!!!

I have taken lots of taxi rides, since I moved to New York four years ago.

Some men... I've only had one female driver!!!... want to have a conversation with me, which I usually welcome and appreciate. I've spoken with drivers from all over the world, who have created better lives for themselves here. Some who came here alone,  have married and have raised kids who have gone off to college. These guys are super proud; and well they ought to be. Some leave their families behind and ultimately bring them over. Others come with everyone: their own young families and their parents, the grandparents. Paying attention to my drivers have usually enriched my day and social horizon.

I can imagine having a Giant National 'Reunion' of all the people who came here and became taxi drivers over the past three decades. what a movie that would make! I am sure we would learn lots and be wiser for their stories.

Every taxi driver I've spoken to has a story and has never been sorry they've come here. Some left professions behind, because they were afraid they could not expand their prior lives. Here, they have acquired property and their children are now living the lives they envisioned for themselves.

The grandest story I've heard from heard is about a man who arrived here with no money and started working in gas stations. He soon started buying land around several stations. It took time but he built a small empire which now includes a summer home in Italy. Today his children and grandchildren are living the lives of the Upper Class.

Taking The Time To Write and To Notice...

I haven't blogged in a very long time, and I've got a myriad of excuses...the most honest one being that I just don't give myself the kind of attention to make a special time to sit down to write.
...that is pretty basic and also major. In order to do the things we enjoy, feel good, passionate and energetic about, we have to give ourselves permission to take the time, to attend to whatever it is, to pay attention to the actual act of doing.

I collect stories and research from mega sources in articles that I add to piles on one of my three 'desks.' When I go back to them, I either like them all over again, can't find part of the article or the date it was printed, or it's out of date. There's lots of drama in that.

I have now decided that I have missed blogging enough that I am going to systemize the whole operation to make it easier, more fun, and more frequent!

I've discovered a new expression, "attention-hogging." I found it in a review of a dance presentation at Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival at The Berkshires in Massachusetts, a wondrous place , where every summer marvelous theater, music, dance is performed. The choreographer/dancer, Dorraine Dorrance was able to show in a number about romance her admirable aversion to 'attention-hogging.' While I didn't see the dance,  I immediately knew what she meant, as that behavior shows up everywhere...in  classrooms, in offices, around dinner tables, in relationships, and on and on. People interrupt, they draw attention to themselves somehow, they make faces using non-verbal ways to distract, they take up the energy in a space. I applaud her showing the physicality of it.

I've been able to see the dimension of attention for ages now, and this is another facet for me to notice!

It Is Said: A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words - Facebook Reactions to Photo of Fatal Accident Caused by Texting!

I recently wrote an article on The American Chronicle, a widely read Internet newspaper, about our serious cell phone problems. I even have a label for what I see happening: 

Our great social attention deficit disorder (SADD). You may read it here. 

When I first signed up for Facebook, I reconnected with a lovely young mother from California who attended a workshop I’d given there; she read my article and, in response, posted a picture of a very bloody accident on Facebook which has as of this writing has garnered 4,720 likes, 3,113 comments, and was shared 91,381 times. See below:

I am terribly fascinated by the comments that this picture has provoked, especially after just having written my article. My only comment, aside from my general amazement at the spelling and grammar, was that I wished the discussion had not been about the truck itself. My point was that if ten more people stop texting while driving after seeing the picture, and they tell ten more people to do the same, then I think we will have started a new campaign – the Stop Texting While Driving Revolution!

I have copied only the comments that grabbed me (names removed, of course). They are in the order they arrived, and no edits have been made. I want to know what YOU think of this picture, these comments and the issue of texting while driving.

So many people still not getting it in Bmore or Md.... It should apply to all including law enforcement since there so many wireless devices !!!! Safety is and should be everyones concern!!!

What a disaster?

I can't say I like this but I can say Texting while driving isn't such a good Idea..... it ended up like this!

This should be a wake up call to people in a hurry and want to multi task. Maybe not some people will think I am better than that and still text while driving. That is why they say wisdom is not for the young patience is acquired over time.

I agree this could happen to any one

People just don’t listen when you tell them not to tx and drive till this happen mayby is because they have shit for brains

Regardless of whether your driving a truck or car, pay attention to your driving. Pull over if you want to tx or phone someone!

 I think that Im gonna slow down in my corvette and def. NOT text while driving.....

What is so important that it cant wait...are a few words worth losing your life over!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OMG!! but u know what this still won’t effect the ones that still do it ivr seen adults txtn or reading need to get off ur phones period..

Life is short enough as it is. Take nothing for granite and take minute to think of the consequences of each action. I'm far from perfect, but I do want to live to see another day.

OMG No more texting & driving for me

that truck was broke down in the break down lane!!!! look at the ground behind the vette's tires!!! NO SKID MARKS... And the vette hit the rear axles of this trailer so hard it pushed them all they way to the front at the axle's stop bar!!!! i see this everyday, i been driving truck for 36 years... vettes owner my he R..I.P.

hey andrew there is a bar there desighned to stop this from happenening but due to the spped of the vehicle it is now folded up underneath the trailer

 The bars on the truck were put there to avoid this type of accident, They first appeared when Jane Mansfield ran her car under a truck like this, to very bad

Yeah, and what if the truck driver just pulled back on the road on the down hill side going only 5 or 10 mph. [I saw this many times] The poor fool in the vet wouldn't have a chance even if he wasn't tex in. These new young guys just out of so called DRIVERS SCHOO are as dumb as a sack of nipples. The main lanes are minimum speed 40 mph. So thhe idea is to get as closee to that speed as pos before you pull into the fast lane over a hill top.

 I drive a truck and can say the truck would push the car backwards long before it ever got under like that plus the car driver would get out or honk horn before this too as trucks don't reverse fast. Only a high speed impact would do this. Nice to know that the trucker is still always to blame though.

FYI...An ICC Bumper won't stop a vehicle traveling at a high rate of speed from going under a semi...I will usually stop a slower lighter vehicle but in this case, you can't fix STUPIDITY...even with an ICC Bumber...And, Jennifer...This is for you...If you REALLY think the truck backed OVER the car, I hope you never breed...This car had to be going at LEAST 60mph or MORE in order for this extent of damage to happen...Oh, wait, that's right, I forget, You PROBABLY have a copy of the police report, huh? Jennifer, you are TRUELY an idiot, but God bless you and may he allow your children to grow up more intelligent than you are

 I got a dwi I'm so piss I don't believe in drinking and driving but someone had to take them kids to day care!

hes dead give him a break im sure u have done stupid things to u wont tell rite

no dont blame the truckers its your job to be aware they got blind sides and no back window duh thats a cope out and u know it

Been there.High speed chase ended on the back of my truck.Three kids,stolen stang.ICC bumpers are designed to crumple@50,000 psi. 500hp,fiberglass,convertible?Probably didn't bend the bumper.Next the driver has to unpin the slider and rip the trailer fwd to slide the trailer off the car.Then he has to have the brains washed off the back of the truck

 the only disaster is the loss of such a nice car..... sorry i have no compassion for such stupidity, i refuse to have any sympathy for this idiot. im a truck driver and i see this shit every day. people driving down the road texting among other stupid things. YOU ALL NEED TO PAY ATTENTION TO THE ROAD!!!!!!

Our Toes Can Be A Connection to Healthier Living!

I know that since the arrival of the computer age, I haven’t been spending enough time exercising and moving around; I’ve been talking about that for ages, complaining about my new ‘addiction’ to sitting at my desk and typing away.... not good for me, for my elbows, my neck or my psyche. It's a common scenario.

So I’ve already had three private yoga lessons to get my old strength and balance back. This is working, but, of course, I wish my resurgence would come faster.

So there I was looking at my toes and realizing that I hadn’t really looked at them for ages. I stretched them, wiggled them and poured positive energy into them, until they really looked alive again.

Yesterday I went back to physical therapy, suggested by my internist, after I’d fallen several times. It seems my body is shouting out for attention these days! We worked together for an hour, and I was told that I don’t use my inner core muscles when I walk. I walk as if I’m about to “take off,” becoming disconnected from my body. Imagine...

I got what he was saying and worked diligently to energetically connect my head to the muscles that work my legs. I hadn’t realized I had this bodily disconnect.  For the rest of the day, I walked with a new consciousness about my mind-body connection. At the end of the day, I hurt all over. I knew that I was using muscles that I hadn’t for far too long, probably most of my life.

I remember my mother always joking about the way I walked...she told me that I could never be a dancer, because I was so awkward. Of course, I realize as an adult that those kind of remarks did little or nothing to enhance my self –esteem, my body awareness or my sense of grace. I’ve learned to forgive her for what she said to me; there was no way at that time that she could have known what her remarks were doing to me.

However, I did ask my physical therapist before I left if he felt that all kids ought to take dance lessons or other movement education in elementary school. He told me that he’d never thought about that.

I realize now how many physical problems could be prevented, if little kids learned to walk well and to be aware of their bodies and how to manage them. This is attention of the first order and lasts forever. I know that there are yoga classes now in many elementary schools around the country, as more and more adults are realizing the advantages of doing yoga for body realignment, focusing, repairing un-used body muscles, and gaining balance control. It’s vital that all the stake-holders in schools - parents, teachers, boards and principals - rally to keep these classes going. It’s such unwise planning to cut these kinds of programs in order to reduce expenses.

Fortunately, there’s a relatively new non-profit organization called Play Works, which in the fall will be located in 400 schools and will impact some 200,000 students. This group’s work, teaching play skills such as cooperation, fairness and respect on playgrounds, has resulted in less bullying, less need for discipline in the classrooms, improved communication skills, much better conflict resolution and a better respect for others. There are instant changes at playground time with playground coaches in charge and much more fun and physical activity. That is really great news and will have positive ramifications for everyone involved. I am thrilled whenever demonstrations of thoughtful attention make measurable impacts on young people.

Pierre Dulaine has been around for years teaching middle school kids the art of ballroom dancing. In fact, “Take the Lead” is a marvelous movie about his work starring Antonio Banderas. Dulaine has made a difference for tens of thousands of kids and teachers. 42,000 kids were part of his program, Dancing Classrooms, just last year. Through the art of dance, his program teaches kids to believe in themselves, increasing their self-esteem and teaching them how to respect themselves and others. Kids experience the breaking down of social barriers, learning about honor, communicating more effectively, cooperating and accepting others even when they look and sound different. And of course, they’re learning to dance, to move to music, to lead and to follow their partners, and to discover their physical boundaries, all of which are positive life-giving values.

Ballroom dancing can be wonderful for seniors, too. It is a way of exercising, of being touched positively by a partner, of communicating, of being part of a learning experience and a new way to connect their minds and bodies.

Moving is magic for us all, at every age, in any place, and needs to be recognized as a vital part of our lives, whether it’s on a playground, in a ballroom, in a yoga studio or consciously walking down a street. So tap, stretch and use those toes to bring more light and joy to your world!

The Brooklyn Bridge: It's All About Support!

Recently I celebrated another decade birthday.  This was a BIG one!!!

All my family plus two “adopted” family members joined in for a 3 ½-day weekend. There were eleven of us. This event was actually some ten years in the making. The previous decade birthday came at a tough time in my life, when I was going through a divorce and had ambivalent feelings about lots of what was happening. I was definitely not quiet about how unhappy I was then. While my sons did want to plan a Los Angeles party for me, I know, now, that I was just too debilitated by the recent events to take part in a huge celebration.

However, the next year I got to go on a great womens’ retreat to Isla de Mujeres, Mexico, where I got lots of special attention and even a special dairy –free chocolate cake from the residence chef, who was so proud that she found the right recipe. It was absolutely memorable.

But I missed being with my family.

I come from the time when kids were supposed to be seen and not heard, but I’ve grown and finally arrived in the vital place where I’ve discovered what I need and how to ask for it. My kids are ultra-important to me; I like to be around them. While they live in different parts of the country, Austin, San Diego and Eugene, OR (I’m just lucky that they’re not scattered across the world!)  I’ve chosen recently to live in New York. They have all visited, and we have had great times together, but they’ve never all been here at the same time. For this birthday I wanted to play with them, share outings and stay together.

At first I suggested, perhaps, a cruise, which met with a resounding “No!” After much deliberation, phone calls and e-mails back and forth, they all said they wanted to come to the Big Apple to do the things they’d never had time to do or were too busy to do on previous trips. We sent out a survey to gather information about preferred activities and dining needs. I think there were 39 items on one of the first lists. Everyone was very creative with their suggestions. But we whittled it down and came up with an agenda that intrigued everyone.

And so they came, my granddaughters presenting me with a magic wand and the proclamation that I could now have anything I wanted with a flick of my wrist! We all showed up at the chosen hotel at different times, assembling later for dinner. I carried my wand everywhere and got lots of juicy comments in elevators, at restaurants, and on the street. Of course, the family cameras were constantly clicking the entire time, and my wand was clearly visible throughout.  The pictures are wonderful; I get to live the week-end over and over just by looking at them, whenever I want. I’ve put the group picture of us posing at the end of our trip over the Brooklyn Bridge on Facebook, where it’s gotten more than 40 comments, some from people I haven’t connected with in many years. I like that.

We managed over the next three days to walk on the High Line, New York’s unique park situated atop old elevated train tracks, as well as visit delicious Eataly restaurant for dessert, visit my son’s New York office for a tour, shop at the wonderful UniQlo, the well designed Japanese store, visit the Museum Of Modern Art for the Cindy Sherman show, have a super tour at The Brooklyn Botanic Garden under the cherry blossoms, walk over the Brooklyn Bridge back to Manhattan, see Newsies, enjoyed by all for its fabulous dancing, great sets, and good music, ate well at places where all dietary requests could be met (no small feat!), host a big brunch for 46 friends and family and then hold a final review of everything! I saw lots of smiles, different groups hanging out together, and heard lots of laughter.

There was something for everyone and it has been declared an “awesome” time by all. All the conversations, phone calls and e-mails, but most importantly the attention we put into the planning of this weekend, were worth every moment. For me, it was a dream come true.

Not only did I have a sensational, nurturing and memorable time, I recognized a very important truth again, as I walked across the Brooklyn Bridge holding my wand and linking arms with many of my loved ones. My family was concerned that I might not be able to make it across due to the cold, the wind, the distance, etc., but I never doubted I could, and I did. I realized that when you feel the support you need from those you love, you can do anything.