Friday, March 29, 2013

Moving Forward Looking Back

      In 1991, as Bill and I threw off dock lines in Santa Cruz to begin our cruising life, a very special teacher—Mary Duffield—presented us with a packet of quotes she’d gathered over the years. 
     She apologized for the cut-and-pasted assortment of photocopied pages,  “I'm on a pension,” she said, “can’t afford more in the way of gifts to friends.”   Mary has passed on now, but the values she held dear are a legacy of comfort and inspiration that, as in e e cummings' poem,“I carry…in my heart.

     Not knowing how to resume posting to this blog without another apology for lengthy silences, one of Mary’s quotes came to mind.  Her annotation to George Bernard Shaw’s words put shape to my reasons why updates have continued to be so few and far between. She wrote:

Ecstasy comes from devoting your life to a purpose larger than all the little things in it.”   

     Showing appreciation to those who are supportive is not something I consider one of the ‘little things’ of life, but committing to a purpose very large has tended to quickly sweep me past events and people I want to remain connected to.

     Being part of the One Candle Schoolhouse, first, then the evolution of it into the two Bright Lights Community Learning Centers, has been an involvement much larger than my abilities—it has been a project larger than any of us who have been involved—thus the learning curve has been arduously time-consuming.  But the evolving, often elusive ‘ecstasy’ of seeing what we have brought to fruition, that of being part of a “mighty purpose…being a force of nature” through the support of others, has kept us moving forward. 

     Giving individual recognition to everyone who has helped make so much possible is paramount to me because, by those individual acts of generosity, all of you have demonstrated a belief in belonging to a world community. You deserve to see the results of your participation and to experience the resulting joy therein.  Upcoming posts will feature:
  • Jim and Jamie Richter, s/y RAZZLE DAZZLE—Pioneer Supporters, they provided Mac computers, scholarships, books, materials, cameras and so MUCH, MUCH MORE
  • Danah and Jong Fortunato gave school materials, books, invaluable organizational advice, introductions to influential people and events, donated financial aid for college uniforms and shared home-cooked meals for a former OCS student, to name only a few examples of their support.
  •  Michael and Stephanie Radunsky, s/y WILD GOOSEfrequent care packages of school supplies, including a year of monthly financial help, and a continuing, treasured friendship.
  • The Pool/Stuckey family, who sent annual financial donations in lieu of birthday/Christmas gifts in addition to numerous gifts of school materials, educational resources, plus stateside networking on the school’s behalf.  Kathy divided her father’s legacy towards a college scholarship and personal bequeath to Renato, who had assisted Bill in building his last small boat.
  • Phil and Ann Gagnon and their family sponsored our first livelihood skills projects, and more recently a two-day Gender Sensitivity Training.
  • The N.Z. family of SILLHOUETTE (see Maya’s letter of condolence) taught music, art, and brought Saturday dinners for Bill and I when class was over.  AMAZING friends.
  • Trish and Fitz, s/y COLUMBUS –financial support, quilting techniques, management skills; extraordinary summer school guest teacher.
  • Sue James--introduced by Trish—came twice from N.Z. as a guest teacher for several months, directing numerous innovative art projects, raised funds and has continued to support independent projects in the community
  • Kenji Imura, s/y PAPALAGI,  music teacher and provider of  quality recorders to OCS students.
  • Fraser and Karin Petrie, s/y LUNA—loyal sponsors of consecutive scholarships for two student’s college living expenses.
  • Hadley and Junko Dykes’ generous donation made possible not only a long-term feeding program for both Learning Centers, but also a three-day Team Building Ropes Course Camp for twenty students.
  • Gena Dayon, with Martin at DIVE HUB Resort, hosted over sixty children for a day of snorkeling, a spaghetti lunch and Marine Conservation slide show, as well as tirelessly introducing new sponsors to us from their visiting guests.
  • A host of Bay Area friends—Maura and Michael, Larry and Theresa, Ingo and Espie, Al Wasserman, his son, Harvey, my sisters Denise and Donalie, to name only a few who donated funds or materials towards livelihood trainings, high school and college scholarships, school supplies, workshops and field trips, computers, even hearing aids.
  • Lei Parker, Australian Business Volunteer Extraordinaire who, in six weeks last year, not only did a massive job of creating an organizational structure for the two Learning Centers, but then organized a donation of four months budget from his community of Tuross, in Australia to add to his own financial contributions. 
…these are just some of the names  of friends who, along with pictures of how their donations were used, will soon have their own pages within this blog.  I am eager to assemble each one as there are so many wonderful memories to document, so much joy to share.  G.B. Shaw's conclusion, “Life is no mere ‘brief candle’...it is a sort of bright torch which I have got hold of for the moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations” expresses well the ‘Why' of continually making this effort.

Monday, March 25, 2013

"This is the true joy..."

"This is the true joy in life, the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; the being thoroughly worn out before you are thrown on the scrap heap; the being a force of nature instead of a feverish selfish little clod of ailment and grievances complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy.  
I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the whole community, and as long as I live it is my privilege to do for it whatever I can...I rejoice in life for its own sake.  Life is no mere "brief candle" to me.  It is a sort of bright torch which I have got hold of for the moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations."

-George Bernard Shaw-