Puerto Plata and the 5 P's

February, 2017
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They called them Impact Activities - "shore excursions" with a social purpose and impact upon the people and region around Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic.  They said this cruise by Fathom Travel would be like no other. A chance to cruise while also doing good (aren't those somehow mutually exclusive?)  It struck me as something I might enjoy, given that I've devoted most of my professional career to being a "do-gooder".  So, I went.  By myself.  With 699 other people I didn't know, to a place I'd never been, to do things that sounded important and significant, at least on paper.

Well, in a nutshell, THEY WERE RIGHT - at least from the standpoint of how we travelers would feel when it was over.  So, this particular blog post is not going to be a recitation of every minute detail of my 3 days in the DR.  Rather, it may to some extent help me understand why I confidently signed on to a 2nd cruise back there in May, even before the ship had left port to head home.  It may help to justify setting up a Facebook Group for fellow travelers who, upon hearing of the impending discontinuation of this program, were equally compelled to ask "WHY WOULD YOU STOP SOMETHING SO SUCCESSFUL"?

So, to help me compose this, I came up with 5 "P's" to cover the things I think are most important.  Here goes:

PLACE - The Dominican Republic, in our case the north coast, City of Puerto Plata, at the Amber Cove Port (built by Carnival Corp. to the tune of $85M). Some key facts about the DR:


Demographics: 10 million+, mixed 73%, white 16%, black 11%, 95% Roman Catholic

Poverty rate:  41%Economy: The Dominican Republic has long been viewed primarily as an exporter of sugar, coffee and tobacco, but in recent years the service sector has overtaken agriculture as the economy's largest employer, due to growth in construction, tourism, and free trade zones.
Youth Unemployment rate:  31.4%Educational levels: Literacy rate 91%; school expectancy rate 13 yearsFor more info visit:U.S. State Dept.

PEOPLE:  As I said, I went on this cruise alone (couldn't persuade anyone to tag along), but I sure didn't come back that way.  Unlike what I'm told is a typical cruise, everyone on this 700-passenger boat was there for the same reason - to experience another country in ways that other travelers never do.  So, once I overcame my natural reluctance to ask if I could sit/join others at meals, etc., it rolled from there.  I didn't meet all 700, but I came back with a list of over 35 that I interacted with more than social chit-chat.  [Don't get me wrong - being a single in a world of doubles is still not easy, overcoming that "third-wheel" feeling].

On the cruise: My 35 closest fellow travelers:
At the Port:  There were the Pedi-cab drivers, the girls at the Coffee shop, the Taxi Manager, the Merengue band, the security personnel, and two very special new friends who work at the Port in the Coco Cana restaurant/bar (more on them later).
In the City:  My taxi/guide Alfri, our tour guide Augusta, the two musical instrument merchants, the 83-year-old artist Rafi, our bus drivers,
At the Impact Activities:  By accident, I learned about a pilot Impact activity teaching English to underprivileged (I really hate that term) college students in an English Immersion program.  And the amazing ladies at Repapel, a paper recycling cooperative in a low-income neighborhood.

PURPOSE(S): From the Fathom.org website:  We believe travel can make a difference for good. We also believe that many people long to make a difference in the world and within themselves, but have no idea where to begin. Globally, great things are happening to address some of the social and environmental needs in the world, but there is far more to be done. Fathom exists to connect people’s passions and gifts with the needs in the world, and to help them navigate this complex journey. Fathom exists to create meaningful social impact, and to unleash the greatness in every person. Fathom exists to put love in action.

PRACTICAL STUFF:  Some things we were told were absolutely true:  Don't drink the water; don't pet stray dogs; use insect repellent; most everyone accepts US Dollars. There's lots more - feel free to ask.  PS: In 3+ days there, I found NO ONE that was not helpful.

POSSIBILITIES:  Early on, we learned that Fathom Travel (at least as we know it today) is discontinuing these Impact cruises at the end of May (this is not official as far as I know).  The ostensible reason - P&O Cruises (the owner of the Adonia, our ship)- is recalling her to Southampton, U.K., to cruise the Baltic and the Amazon River, so Fathom is out of a ship.  They say that the Impact activities (Chocolate production, Repapel, Student and Community English, Concrete Floors, Reforestation) will continue to be offered to other cruise ships coming to this port as shore excursions.  Those travelers will not, as far as I heard, be offered the very important "immersion" that takes place on board ship while enroute to the DR and the debriefing that happens on the way home.

Almost everyone on board would - if given a vote - continue and even expand these activities.  Everyone I talked to was brimming with ideas about how to expand the underlying activities (more on this in a subsequent blog).  Some wanted to donate money.

Suffice it to say that the P&O/Carnival folks on board didn't seem interested in anything more than the "standard" evaluation form provided on the last day that doesn't even come close to capturing what everyone was feeling.

What was I feeling?  Does the phrase "life-changing experience" begin to capture it?  The preface to this particular chapter of my life begins with these key factoids:

• I'm 66 years old, going on 90, going on 25, single, live alone with 3 cats and do genealogy for fun. 
• I am a long-time percussionist in the Rockford Symphony Orchestra.  
• I am a cancer survivor, now about 3 years in remission
• I am in my 25th year running a nonprofit agency that I founded
• I am growing in my desire to do what many others in my situation have done and are doing - "retire", i.e. begin a new chapter in your life
• I do not lack in the passion for working with and for young adults who lack opportunity but who possess incredible potential.  
• I rarely take vacations.

It is hard to describe the effect this trip had on me.  I think that it is has clearly convinced me that a new chapter in my life has already begun.  The end of that chapter has not been written, obviously, but the ingredients are there:

• Somehow combine your passions for your work, travel, and available resources to continue to enlarge, expand and enhance the lives of those I encounter (past, present and future).
• In the process, continue to perform and be involved in the music world.

I have not stopped thinking about how I could put my knowledge, skills, and contacts to work alongside the people referenced above.  This is not a selfish thing, nor a desire to shower them with gifts or favors.  It is not borne of the uniquely American (dare I say Trumpish) attitude that "we can show you how to live your lives better".  It really feels more like a "how can I roll up my sleeves and join in" kind of thing.  

We went for a reason....so now what?  Here are a few thoughts and ideas:

• Expand the time frame in port
• Deepen the partnership with the on-ground partners (Entrena and IDDI)
• Arrange for "reverse" impact, that is, recruit Dominican partners and students to return with us to the US, participate in learning exchanges, and travel back later.
• Look at full blown student exchange programs between US and Dominican universities
• Establish partnerships between DR agencies and US programs (like YouthBuild) to foster transnational training and education experiences.

Got you thinking, right?

If you are a fellow traveler - visit our new Facebook Group, called "Impact In Action".

Medical School and Cars - (excuse me, how are they connected?)

The connection is really simple - I went to college to study pre-med, and couldn't cut the mustard.  My nephew, now a senior in college, just got accepted into med school at his first choice school.  He inspires me, and is into classic cars and LP's.  He asked me if I could list all the cars I'd owned.  So here goes:

My first car was a battleship-gray 1950 Dodge Coronet with a stick shift on the column.  I paid $100 for it from Linda McKay's dad.  It served me well, and even doubled as a Civil Defense Weather Watching vehicle, complete with a CB radio, which I still possess.

From there, as best I remember (and perhaps out of order), I owned:

• 1964 Rambler station wagon (first gear never worked)
• 1967 Plymouth Fury 
• 1968 or 69 Chrysler Newport with push button drive
• 1969 Pontiac GTO Judge with Tri-power, orange with white vinyl top
• 1968 Lincoln Town Car
• 1979 Lincoln Town Car - possibly my all time favorite.
• 1975 Mercury Grand Marquis
• 1978 Pontiac Bonneville - up to that point, the first new car (which I rather shortly had to sell to mom and dad as I couldn't afford the payments)
• 1960-something Mercury Vomit (Comet) - again with no first gear
• 1982-3 Olds Cutlass Supreme - the first of a string of leased cars, since I finally had a real job.  
• Another Cutlass
• An Olds Intrigue
• Possibly an Olds Alero
• Pontiac Bonneville - 
• Mercury Mariner X 2

From the 82 Olds forward, these were either leases or turnovers every 3 years. 

I probably missed a couple along the way, and I may revisit this blog to add some pertinent details on each.

Teaser - the 68 Lincoln had suicide doors, and a "smoke ejector" in the back window.  

Philip - hope this suffices.  Since I'm not really a car guy, I guess I just didn't pay close enough attention over the years.  

I should also note that the last 3 brands I chose have all gone out of business.  What will my next car be, and would you want to buy stock if I told you?

Will you still need me, Part 3: "Quit turning the pages so fast"!

July 10, 2016  

It's a pedestrian analogy - comparing the process of aging or maturing to turning the pages of a book - but I'm going to use it anyway.

Over my 65+ years, I haven't taken much time out to contemplate where I've been, where I'm going, or where I'll end up until recently.  I was too busy with the "doing" part of life, usually on as many fronts as I could manage.  That's still kind of true.

But, two weeks from tomorrow in 2013, that all changed.  My measuring stick went from occupational to medical.  I was diagnosed with cancer.  The book(s) I had been writing and reading, so to speak, changed dramatically.  The buglers were signalling a different strategy was needed.  Time for a test that I had not studied for at all.

Three years hence, and I think I'm finally about done reading that book, although it will never be closed and put on the shelf.  It will be kind of like the Unfinished Symphony, started by someone else, but to be finished by me.

In part 1 of this particular post, I said that I had spent about 43 years wondering about some stuff. The problem with wondering is, it's sort of amoebic - it just doesn't lend itself to a clear shape, form or function.  But, isn't "wondering" self-imposed?  It's certainly not like we are taking orders from the Wonder Department of HQ or something.

Tomorrow, I shall finish the chapters I've been creating as I have this foreign object in my chest surgically removed (chemo port).  It's been there almost 3 years, and I've come to be fond of it in a weird way.  I've procrastinated having it removed, as the specter of recurrence keeps popping in and out.  I shall wonder no more.

The events of the weekend - all connected to the Phantom Regiment - have given me pause as well.  Pause to appreciate the greatness of the organization I've followed for 46 years, worked for officially for 13 or so, and am back helping create a new iteration called Rockford Rhythm.  Pause to understand---now--the depth of feelings I had and continue to have for the "phamily" of drum corps folks.  Pause to be in awe of the talent which we saw in those "kids" back then, that grew and is now sustaining new generations of musicians, educators, administrators, volunteers, and more.  Pause to wonder how the exhaustion I felt after yesterday became a torrent of energy today.  And pause to pray thanks for the deeds - both seen and unseen - that have blessed me from so many of those I've come to know and love. You know who you are.

Every morning, I read from a great book called "Daily Strength for Daily Needs" by Mary Tileston.  I read about it in another book called "The End of Your Life Book Club" by Will Schwalbe which I read with my mom during the height of my illness.  Today's quote, as I bid farewell to the PR alumni, seemed particularly relevant:

As God leads me, will I go, ----
  Nor choose my way;
Let Him choose the joy or woe
  Of every day:
They cannot hurt my soul,
Because in His control:
I leave to Him the whole, ---
  His children may.                       L. Gedicke

I was talking last night with a former marching member and I asked what he was up to.  "I'm a band director in Minnesota for the past 25 years", he said.  "Wait, there's a mistake", I said.  "It was US who were supposed to get old....not you kids", I said.

There was magic in the house, in the air, and in the world this weekend.  It seems like its pointing the way again.

SUTA!

Will you still need me, Part 2:

Late January, 2016

Some years back, I remember visiting my parents in Arizona--long before I realized that someday those things that only happen to old people would happen to me.

At some point, after dinner, there was conversation among the "old folks", that-- dare I say--had to be tolerated by younger people, and that had much to do with who had surgery, what aches and pains were du jour, and even, perhaps, who had passed on.  It seemed to me then that there were a thousand things more worthy of talking about, but these things seemed important to them.  So I listened.

I must also confess that until recently I had not contemplated the importance of those of the previous generation, either in terms of wisdom, or knowledge, or that they wouldn't be around forever.  It certainly has something to do with aging--scratch that--maturing, and beginning to wonder about your "legacy".  Who, exactly, will give a r@#s A-- that I am not around, or remember much of anything that I did or was? 

Now, especially as I am working on ancestry, I have begun caring, wondering, and researching those who came before.  Mysteries appear--some solved, some not.  For example, on a recent document I found a notation that my 2nd great uncle - Murray Winkler, a bachelor - was murdered in Iowa in 1928.  Suddenly, I'm engrossed in trying to discover if it is true, where it happened, why, and how if at all this makes any difference to me 80+ years later. His obituary says he died of influenza.  Hmmm. 

My mother recently shared a photo album of her family photos from her childhood, that neither I nor my siblings remember seeing.  Most of the photos weren't labeled, and so I sat her down, went thru them one by one, and wrote on the back of each.  I realized that only she and her sister remain of the siblings, so a sense of urgency overcame me. 

In addition to these mysteries of antiquity, I find myself wondering about things that seem inconsequential, but shouldn't be. Can I name all the planets in the galaxy? What's the capitol of Idaho? Can I recite the entire police 10-code like I used to?  How many different cars have I owned and what were they? Who was that kid that played bass drum on 1812 with Phantom Regiment?[BTW, the partial answer here is "chemo-brain"]. 

Will you still need me, will you still feed me when I'm sixty (4,5,6,7)?

I really don't want to write about turning 65, and all the hoopla that sometimes attends it.  The physical stuff (you know, hair, peeing, ED, and all); the emotional stuff (O, God, I'm old); and the bucket list stuff (I really love that movie and it has more significance for me since I do have cancer).


I think, instead, I will briefly chronicle what has become my new normal since my jumping off in Rochelle, Illinois at 6-something in the morning of October 4, 1950.  I do this selfishly, so that when I actually want to look back at turning 65, I have some kind of baseline from which to judge myself on the scale of cantankerous-old-man-ness.  Here goes:

1. I HAD cancer and I've beaten it, for good as far as I'm concerned.
2. I'm reasonably sure that I was a real asshole for much of my adult life to a lot of people - Mrs. Silberhorn told me that somewhere around 1988 on the field at Beyer Stadium when I sent her son off the field for not paying dues. 
3. I was very lucky to grow up in a small town, although it did delay my social consciousness.
4. I think I've finally learned not to fight it when I wake up at nothing in the morning.  

I am completing this first part of this epiphany at 30,000 feet, on New Years Day.

I will have additional resolutions, but here is the first.  It has religious overtones but should be taken at face value:

I have spent approximately 43 years wondering when and how a particular life event was going to happen for/to/with/in spite of me.  I give up.  If it does, hurrah.  Que sera sera. 

TO BE CONTINUED......

Phantom Regiment - Amazing Grace

You Can't Make Me Do It, but you can sure as Hell make me wish I had....

In digging through my personal library (euphemism for collections of stuff), I came across a 2 page manuscript with the same title as this post.  I recognized it immediately as the beginning of a book I promised myself I would write after I left my 12-year stint as a Probation Officer. 


It was printed on a dot-matrix printer, and as I recall had been created in a now long-defunct computer program called something like GeoWorks.  I no doubt saved it on some sort of floppy disk, but have no clue where, and am sure Microsoft doesn't make a translator for such a program.


No problem!  I have what amounts to the Introduction, as well as my preliminary list of chapters.


Here's a teaser from the intro:


"A lot of people will probably do with this book what I did with the one about black militancy back in the 60's when I left my all white school, went off to college, and realized that there really were things I preferred not to know about or think about."


Darn it....now I gotta write the darn thing