November 2010 Entries
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- By Nancy Ferguson -
Spain and Beyond
Crossing the border at Biarritz, the air warm and soft, the Atlantic blue and beautiful, we enjoyed the border guards as much as they seemed to enjoy us. We were convinced that they spoke more English than they admitted because at the toll road, one young guard, with laughing black eyes, asked many questions in Spanish but ended with, "Are you American?" When I answered yes, he said, "50 cents, please." And suddenly we were in Spain. The smooth, lilting French was replaced by the snapping, castanet sound of Spanish, the red roofs and...
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- By Barbara Warkentien -
Several weeks ago 52 residents began Tai Chi; currently the class comprises 12 to 16 regulars. What made them continue when so many dropped out? One answer is found in that Tai Chi is deceptively captivating. One doesn't just stretch, he/she reaches high to pick that ripest piece of fruit; nor does he merely do leg bends, instead he polishes the mirror, or he grinds corn moving his hands in opposite directions. One's mind becomes so engaged in the activity that the body follows naturally, gradually building endurance and strength.
This is what some of the regulars...
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- By Peggy Perry -
Her name is an instant clue to Carmen Friedman's multi-faceted heritage, and multi-cultural is a bit of an understatement when Carmen describes her family origins. Her four grandparents came from four countries on three continents: Cuba, Hungary, Germany and South Africa. She didn't know all of them, but lovely portraits commemorate some of them in her Lakeview home.
Her father, of Cuban ancestry but Spanish by nationality, was a businessman, an importer of raw cocoa beans in the seaport of Hamburg, Germany. There Carmen attended school until 1943. By then her father was the Spanish Consul in...