TUESDAY AFTERNOON MUSINGS

By Debbie Bulloch



Today I want to share two recent stories from my local newspaper. One story deals with the increasing local homeless population; the other story deals with the “healing” power of bike riding.

NUMBER OF HOMELESS FAMILIES CONTINUES TO INCREASE

Ventura County is one of the most affluent counties in all of California and it consistently ranks among the top 100 most affluent counties in the entire nation. It is thus shocking to read that the homeless population Ventura County has grown by over 10% over the last year. This is proof that not even the wealthiest areas of the country have been spared the adverse consequences of the economic downturn.

The increase number of homeless people is also a call to action; as I have written here on several occasions the homeless are not lazy, shiftless, crazy, drug-addicted people – the homeless are US and we are THEM. We must be willing to take all necessary action to help the homeless; if we fail to help them we fail to help our own brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers, sons and daughter then we fail as a society. The homeless situation is not a “homeless problem,” it is a problem of our entire society.

TANDEM RIDERS HELP FIND A CURE FOR PARKINSON’S DISEASE

As you all know, I am a big fan of bike riding. I fully believe in the restorative power of bike riding; so it is not surprising that this second story is about the good work done by two local bike riders. At the recent Los Angeles Marathon (Monday, May 25, 2009) two local women rode a tandem bike to raise money to combat Parkinson’s disease The two women have been training for months on a tandem bike to ride on the pre L.A. Marathon bike ride. Although the ride is perhaps a relatively short ride by Monsieur Odriscoll’s standards (only 26.2 miles) riding a tandem bike presents problems of its own. Climbing hills and maneuvering around tight turns is difficult on a tandem bike and coordinating a common cadence takes practice. On the other hand, riding downhill on a tandem is a lot of fun because the added weight of the second rider makes tandem bikes extremely fast on the downhill part of any climb.

In addition to training hard, the two women, Jessica Chadbourn and Debbie Jew (ages 48 and 42 respectively) have also been busy gathering sponsors to raise funds for a cure for Parkinson’s Disease And while training and finding sponsors, the women have also been raising the public’s awareness of this debilitating disease that afflicts millions of people throughout the world.

A journey of a thousand miles starts with one single step. Maybe we will not be able to completely eradicate homelessness during our lifetime, and maybe a cure for PD is not yet around the corner. But with all of us taking small “baby steps” we can work together to solve these, and similar, problems.

MEMORIAL DAY BIKE RIDE

For Memorial Day I had originally planned to ride my bike out by the beach. But when I stepped out my front door the morning was cool, overcast and slightly foggy – ideal conditions for a little hill climbing. So instead of putting my bike on the back of the car and heading for the coast, I decided to just ride out.

The ride was very nice; I covered about 25 miles (about the same distance as in a marathon) in just under 2 hours. There were long hills to climb, which were then followed by fast descents. Lowest speed was about 7.5 mph (during a long, steady climb against a headwind) while the fastest speed was about 29.0 mph. I was using my mountain bike and because of the fat tires and “taller” sitting position speeds of 30 mph or higher are hard to achieve.

Along the way I paused to take a few pictures. As you can see, this ride took me through some of the “back” country around my home. Most of the roads where I rode are back, country roads that carry less traffic than the main roads. Riding in traffic can be hazardous (see Ghost Bikes) and so I prefer to take to the back roads, where the traffic is lighter and the view are nicer.

Now please join me in my Memorial Day bike ride.

(Please remember to click on each individual image for a larger view. Thank you.)

As you can see in this photo, there is a lot of empty country where I ride.



Here you can see where the road begins to climb. It is not a steep climb, but after a while it begins to add up.



Here is one of the back roads that I traveled on Monday – notice the lack of motor vehicle traffic. I like these shots in black and white.





The sign, spray-painted on the pavement points to a bike path that leads back to Thousand Oaks, California. One photo is a close-up of the sign while the other shot shows where the signs is pointing to.





The road that I ride on takes me within eye shot of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library The Reagan Library is located in the city of Simi Valley, California It was a foggy, hazy morning when I took these photographs so the library compound is hard to see on the pictures. On a clear day, however, it is possible to see the Pacific Ocean and the Channel Islands from the Reagan Library.

(The Ronald Reagan Library compound can be seen on top of the ridge, on the upper right hand side of the picture. The big square building to the left houses the former Air Force One used by President Reagan. The only other place in the US housing former Presidential airplanes is the Air Force Museum in Dayton, Ohio.)



(The Ronald Reagan Library compound can be seen on top of the ridge, on the upper left hand side of the picture. The big square building to the left houses the former Air Force One used by President Reagan. The only other place in the US that houses former Presidential airplanes is the Air Force Museum in Dayton, Ohio.)



Ventura County has often been referred to as “horse country.” Some of the finest horses in the entire country (and possibly the world) are raised and trained in Ventura County. Will Simpson a rider from Thousand Oaks medaled during the 2008 Beijing Olympics.







I hope that you have enjoyed riding along with me on this bike ride. Thanks for coming along!

All photographs are original work. © Copyright 2009, DB. All Rights Reserved.

THE LEARNING EXPERIENCE - VE DAY OBSERVANCES

By Debbie Bulloch


Second Life’s THE LEARNING EXPERIENCE recently sponsored a special event in remembrance of Victory Day in Europe or VE Day. VE Day marks the official end of War World II fighting in Europe. In Europe the day is observed on May 8. In the US it is observed in late May, as Memorial Day (in remembrance of all the men and women who have died fighting this country’s wars). Incidentally, Victory Day over Japan (VJ Day) marks the end of hostilities against Japan, on August 1945.

Please go to The Learning Center’s blog for more details and additional information about all the event and projects sponsored by TLE.

Here is a video of the event. Some of the images may be disturbing for some.

VE Day Remembrance with Holocaust Survivor in Second Life from Pooky Media on Vimeo.

Finally, as part of the remembrance, TLE sponsored a poetry contest. The poems submitted will be published in a book commemorating the VE Day event.

My father was German and even though we never spoke about it, I know that he carried a lot of anguish over the events surrounding WWII. He was a very sensitive and moral man who was deeply troubled by the events that took place in Germany.

I submitted these poems for TLE VE Day poetry contest. I now dedicate them to my Dad’s memory for he too was a victim of the horror that swept over his land.

I HEAR THE SOUND

Clickety-clack, clickety-clack,
I hear the sound
Clickety-clack, clickety-clack,
I hear my Mother singing in the kitchen.

Clickety-clack, clickety-clack,
I hear the sound
Clickety-clack, clickety-clack,
I hear my Father snoring in the study.

Clickety-clack, clickety-clack
I hear the sound.
Clickety-clack, clickety-clack
I hear my sister playing with her dolls in the front porch.

Clickety-clack, clickety-clack,
I hear the sound.
Clickety-clack, clickety-clack,
I hear my dog barking at the neighbor’s cat out in the yard.

Clickety-clack, clickety-clack,
I hear the sound.
Clickety-clack, clickety-clack,
I hear the train rolling into the station.

Clickety-clack, clickety-clack,
I hear the sound.
Clickety-clack, clickety-clack
I hear the door sliding open.

Clickety-clack, clickety-clack,
I hear the sound.
Clickety-clack, clickety-clack
I hear the soldier yelling, “Off the train!”

Clickety-clack, clickety-clack,
I hear the sound.
Clickety-clack, clickety-clack,
I hear the sound of my stolen innocence.

TEN AND EIGHT

I turned ten and seven,
“There is no more flour to bake you a cake,”
Mother said.

I turned ten and seven,
“The Fatherland needs you!”
The old man said.

I turned ten and seven,
“There is no more leather to make you shoes,”
Father said.

I turned ten and seven,
“Take this gun and fight for your land,”
The sergeant said.

I turned ten and seven,
“There are no more flowers to put in the vase,”
Sister said.

I turned ten and seven.
“Victory will soon be ours,”
They all said.

I turned ten and seven,
And I was sad.
Because in my Fatherland,
I would never see,
Ten and eight.

I HEAR THE DISTANT ROAR

I hear the distant roar,
I run and hide.
I feel the distant thunder,
I run and hide.

In the skies above,
Faceless men pilot metal birds.
On the ground below,
More faceless men battle each other.

Day after day,
I look into my mother’s eyes.
Hoping to divine,
My father’s fate.

And the metal birds still fly,
In the skies above.
And the men still battle,
On the ground below.

The blood of a thousand faceless men,
Runs like an angry river.
Blood from different lands,
Blanketing the burning earth.

The metal birds spit out bolts of fire,
That cover the land with softly falling metal-jacketed raindrops.
While the faceless men,
Dance a mortal pirouette around desolate fields.

I hear the distant roar,
A child runs and hide.
I feel the distant thunder,
Another child dies.

All poems. © Copyright 2009, DB. All Rights Reserved.