Pandora's Other Box

Well… since I am not a cow, I guess what I mean to say is that I am “pondering” about many things… It all started during one of those ESL classes which I have the pleasure to give. The book for this particular class requires some serious work on “perfect tenses”. You know… the pesky could’ve… would’ve… should’ve… and all those assorted verbs with “have” as the assistant. But as we delved into the topic, there were some questions within the lesson which actually sparked some interesting and, at times, insightful conversation… all in English, of course… One in particular dealt with a person’s self perceived weaknesses and strengths. Another with dreams not accomplished yet and a third simply asked… “Have you had a difficult moment which has helped you learn something important?” As you can imagine, the people who come to these evening classes ( mostly adults with some baggage in their trunks, so to speak – including their teacher ) don’t really expect to walk into a semi-confess...

Sometime ago, the idea of calling an entry “Introspective Philosophy Entry” was a bit too much, so it came to me … Why don’t I just call it “From Wally’s Pond”? Sort of a tribute to “On Walden Pond…” I think there were one or two entries under that heading, and the contents of this one actually qualify… I think… If you have read some of these posts over the years ( well… we are going on the 4 th year of the blog… ), you know there has been no intention ever to hide the fact that I do believe in the Spiritual aspects of our persona. My upbringing was somewhat eclectic, for it was based on a heavy dose of Catholicism, cushioned by a Mason grandfather as well as an everyday dose of “Spiritism” as practiced by both, my grandfather and my mother, as well as a number of domestic employees with whom I grew my infant years. Early in my life, I was present and participant –though with limitations- at many sessions of these practices, as evidenced in some earlier blogs where this has b...

There is something to be said about words and what they convey… happiness … fear … sadness … joy…  English is a language which encourages communication at a straightforward level; some might say basic level. While I do think it is somewhat simpler than Spanish, I disagree with its being lacking in nuances… just read some of the Bard’s work and it is plainly seen that it can have indeed many shades. Spanish… well… it seems to have been created by confused and somewhat scrambled minds, longing to shout out to the world this is a language for lovers and dreamers; a language best used to describe the stars and the universe which holds them in its bosom… Why the preceding? Some of these passages come from the Spanish blog… Interestingly, when I sit down to translate, there is a lot of poetic license to be had… luckily… I get along well with the original writer. He won’t charge me royalties. Nature... a gift... Mentalists who claim to know, tell us that nothing is imposs...

When we grew up in a country of those called from the “Third World”, in simpler times long gone, we had the chance to live experiences which in the so called “First World” countries would never happen… But… before we go any further, I want to establish we are all inhabitants of the “Third World”… the coveted first world is a little too close to the sun and we would all burn to a crisp in seconds… In my childhood years, in that beautiful island of Cuba, we lived a very different World then than what we have here, or there, or anywhere for that matter. We could roam the streets freely, the worst fear being that of becoming distracted somewhere and getting home late or, in a worst case, being the victim of a very unusual street accident… We could play with our friends, family and neighbors, constantly making someone else ( or becoming ourselves ) the butt of what now would be … GASP!!!... a politically incorrect joke. My Lord… to call someone “Negro” ( Black ) or “mulatto” ( Mixe...

Did you ever hear someone say this? … I bet you have!!! In Spanish we have one that goes something like… “May He Bless Them, But not Multiply Them…!”  This is the story… well… perhaps an anecdote… of Paco and his Paramour… Although a bedside story, is not one of those you might read your children to put them to sleep… It was many years ago, somewhen in he 1950’s, in a beautiful city on the south shore of Cuba, that I met Don Paco. He was the scion and head of one of the branches of a very well off family, with big Holdings in the area of farming and cattle. Paco was the oldest of three brothers who managed the family business and he, very appropriately perhaps, was the head of the milking side of the house. I still remember those delivery trucks, painted a deep, bright yellow… so yellow and so bright that in one of those sunny Caribbean mornings you had to look at them from behind your dark sunglasses. In our island folklore, we refer to any and all cars painted that b...

Auntie Georgina is that aunt we all have… or had at one time or another… the one who never married… or the one who has decades of forced “widowhood”… the one who lives in her own world of memories, ideas… her “things”… This is really an open letter to all those Aunt Georginas in our World… after all, they spoiled us as children and we loved them very much… Dear Auntie Georgie: We are closing in on a very special day… your birthday. This year has been pretty much of a mixed bag; some good things which made us laugh and some others… not so good and which made us cry… Do you remember so many years ago when we were children, and you gave us special candy with a sip of your special drink, in hiding so the grandparents would not see us? … when everything was so easy and we laughed so freely at so many foolish things? … What happened Auntie? Where did those beautiful, simple times go? It has been a long while since my laughter has run so freely and, at times, I have felt like c...

Oral communication is an art which is very exacting except, of course, for those available inflections, subtleties, nuances and variables… After more than 30 years of traveling over 3 million miles doing business around the world and dealing with folk who speak several languages, I am more than ever convinced of the fact that we should all speak at least two languages. Even if we never leave our country of birth. What mind doors this knowledge opens!!! You can spend time in a country or with people from that country and actually get to know it, its customs and culture. You can read history and stories in their original language and learn and absorb all this without the need of going through others. Besides… it is now an established medical fact that the effort spent learning a new language as we get older, will help our brain battle potentially devastating illnesses like Alzheimer’s. A fantastic added benefit!! All is well and good if you learn out of wanting to know but… ...

Lost right at the bottom of the belly of that alligator shaped island that is Cuba, there was this little patch of land… Just there, right where the belly of that mythical beast would be scratching Mother Earth, east of the Bay of Cienfuegos and half way to the town of Trinidad, just about half a mile on the right side of the main road there was a little hill, a “colina” and, sitting at the top of that little hill, there was and old country house, Worden walls and floor, open to the breezes of the countryside. But the most beautiful detail of this old house was the wrap-around porch; one of those you see in the old manor homes in the south of the US and in many countryside homes around the world. Especially in warm climates. This was the late afternoon and evening meeting ground, a place from which the green countryside, the hills, the blue skies and the shape forming clouds could be seen and enjoyed, where early evening stories, after the sun would hide behind the mountains, ...