A Love Letter to My Late Husband
Oh my gosh, that man gave me the ride of my life. We got to experience incredible adventures above and below sea level, create a bouncing baby business and most importantly, we got to enjoy our love story for 3+ decades. This is our story.
Long time, no see, old friend. Very happy to be welcoming back the season of health, happiness and sunshine.
Epilogue worthy of Tears. Of. JOY
The right time to censor speech is exactly NEVER. Do not let bureauocrats “protect” you from words. No matter how politically incorrect they may be-words will not kill you.
How different might the world be if Dr. Li Wenliang had not been censored & persecuted in December? 400k humans would have been saved.
How magnificent is it that he could give his loving wife this final gift of love & life?
I want freedom of speech.
Li Wenliang: Widow of Chinese coronavirus doctor gives birth to son
Warm days mean my poppies will soon fade. Here are some of my love letters to them & a few of my fav shots. Wishing u heaps of joy!
#PoppyPoem
Was it Iceland that I loved- then you?
It’s a fuzzy, joyful daze.
You bloom when no fellow flower will
The celsius that kills them-
gives you a downright thrill
You’re like a child’s Bratz Doll
with that giant head of yours
Yet your micrometer body
boasts blossoms by the score
You come in different colors
and each one tells a story
Nothing trivial here:
death, honor, glory
So let me bow my grateful head
to the genre I adore
Because before not long from now-
you’ll choose to bloom no more.
In defense of the tall poppy:
See these poppies stand equal in stature to all other species?
The visual perspective is skewed… but the poppy doesn’t care. It knows intrinsically that it
is just as tall as the palm tree and offers equal joy to the beholder.
These flowers defy reason.
They should not stretch so high toward the sun with such fragile infrastructures but they
do because they never thought about their limitations.
It’s not a mistake that this is the native flower for California.
Nor is it wrong that this magnificent bloom should flourish under harsh conditions in Iceland.
These are tough places with tough people that do impossible things.
Tall poppies don’t block the sun,
THEY ARE THE LIGHT
History
California Poppy
In 1903 the poppy became state flower for California. The plant’s bright orange flowers are an unmatched symbol of the Golden State, perhaps viewed as a floral representation of the “fields of gold” sought during the gold rush. April 6th of each year is officially designated as California Poppy Day.
Haiku Poem:
I can hardly breathe
When i behold a poppy
Oh so OCD
My haiku tribute to my magical flower that:
Gets some high
Is the state flower for California
Grows in extreme environments where
nearly all others fail
& even helps Australian parents teach their kids humility (more on this shortly).
Poppy. U r perfection.
Poppy love letter:
Poppies are a symbol of independence.
They can be grown from seed but unreliably so. They seek their own ground and it’s usually hostile. This bloom needs nothing from us to be beautiful and strong-We should admire their innate independence.
Tall poppy teachings to Australian Children.
Be humble. In the same way a poppy may stand tall amongst the others in a field- they are vulnerable to be cut first.
Rebuttal to the Tall Polly Moral Story:
Please don’t constrain the tall poppy.
It defies logic and should not be punished for its climbing, striving soul. If you feel u need to kill it, it takes nothing more than scissors or a hard fall from your foot. But why would you do it? Why not choose to let this tall, & impossibly strong flower bestow its gifts.
The world needs more poppies.
Release your inner poppy.
I love you…& poppies!
To be honest, SCUBA was not even on my radar. The night I met my future husband-he was slightly sunburnt & freshly back from a week of diving in Cozumel & packing for a trip to the Chinchorro Banks where he was going to board a dumpy local fishing boat with a makeshift shark cage that he had organized with his buddies. Well, I was firmly on the hook. I HAD to get in on this level of adventurous living…and fast-because I fully intended on crashing his shark cage.
After a short time together, we talked about dreams and his was opening a dive shop. I was working in a different industry at the time but I was all in for the idea of a business that was about fun, fish and incredible experiences.
Shortly after the birth of our bouncing baby business, we both became scuba diving instructors. We continued to develop the business and ourselves and over these past 28 years, I have had so many ridiculous experiences with the underwater world. I have befriended some of the most brilliant minds in our industry and I can engage a new customer and get even more inspired when they share their stories…and equally thrilling is to see the wide eyes and smiling face of someone whom we have freshly certified.
It has been an awfully lucky existence and next week there is more excitement to come. I am not a jealous person, but SSI created the most prestigious award in our industry and in its inaugural year, 1993, my beloved husband was awarded this honor along with other members of this first graduating class, including Jacques Cousteau and Bob Hollis (inventor and founder of Oceanic and Hollis and more).
Next week, at the #DEMASHOW, I will join the ranks of this elite tribe as I accept my SSI Platinum Pro 5000 award. An added bonus is the fact that I was nominated by people for whom my admiration is greater than my vocabulary. I have not read their endorsement letters yet. They will remain under a green tree until opened on December 25th.
The most fun week of the year in beautiful Newport Beach is underway with the Newport to Ensenada Yacht Race #N2E underway and the Newport Beach Film Festival #NBFF on its tails. Both events generally start on the last Thursday in April and the film fest wraps up the following Thursday. Enjoy 300+ well told stories on a variety of topics. All well crafted personal stuff that is hard to see in cinemas. Lots of after parties and special events also take place. Just another reason to love Newport Beach.
Just when u thought it was safe to sidle back into to those pre holiday skinny jeans, here comes the Newport Beach (and Corona del Mar) Restaurant Week.
Gosh, January in Corona del Mar might be one of the Nations’s best kept secrets with temperatures ranging from cute sweater cool to summer shorts sizzling. Yes, the days are shorter this time of year but they are on the “grow” and anyhow, there are lots of us who would rather endure a flu shot than to sit indoors from Spring through Fall, so Restaurant Week is really the only time to get a “taste” of what those patio and view impaired local zagat restaurants have to bring to the table. Okay, I have used up my pun allowance for this post.
There are two of these events each year. One in October and one in late January. If u come hungry, you can savor the best of the chefs in this city for around $15 for a three course lunch and around $25-35 for Dinner. I’ve already enjoyed a great meal at the Port in Corona del Mar and I have my eyes on a few contenders for this evening.
There is never a dull moment here in Corona del Mar and I hope that you can come by to join me in some delicious food. C’mon, it will be a gas(tronomical experience)….er, sorry. Definitely over quota.
Okay for lack of a better way of putting together a limited space, last minute party…please RSVP here and let me know if you will be attending with a guest or not on Saturday 12/18/10 on the Newport Harbor. I can only take ten people on the boat so when you see ten spots taken, then refer to my “B” plan email for another opportunity to share in some holiday cheer as we can watch it pass by from the balcony or dock and remain land lubbers. Either way it is a lovely evening and more so to have you there.
You can spend the night at my shoebox or get a close by hotel…heck, any of these are close enough to walk here.
https://www.theislandhotel.com
https://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/laxnb-newport-beach-marriott-hotel-and-spa/
https://www.newportbeach.hyatt.com
https://www.balboabayclub.com/
Merry Christmas, Pals. I love you.