Will's World 02 28 2010

Mildred C. at Hsi Lai Temple, Hacienda Heights, California.

From the sacred to the science fiction, my parents and I did a great deal of traveling today.


We started the day at Hsi Lai Temple in Hacienda Heights, California, enjoying the last day the temple celebrated the Chinese New Year. Both my parents enjoyed the visit and had many questions about Buddhism as we drove home on Interstate 610.

As night approached, my mother, daughter and I headed south on Interstate 405 to Dana Point to see a screening of “Plans 1 to 8 From Outer Space.”I played a character in this 66 minute movie, which was a take-off of the early 1950s science fiction movies.

Dana Smith --- author, set designer, actor, sound man, costume designer, chief bottle washer, director, editor and a dozen other positions --- is an inspiration for anyone who has a dream. He began writing Plans 1 to 8 From Outer Space” over ten years ago and by sheer determination and creative energy he was able to produce a full length science fiction movie.

To get a sense of Dana’s humor, and some movie clips, visit his website at: http://www.inconsequentialfilms.com/Default.aspx#

Absalom C. enjoying some of the statues at Hsi Lai Temple.

Hammering the gong for good luck in the new year.

Mildred C. and statue of Master Hsing Yun.

Newspaper advertisment for movie.

Dana Smith: the genius and driving force behind

"Plans 1 to 8 From Outer Space"

Will's World 02 26 2010

“Just don’t take me up to Los Angeles again. I can’t stand that traffic,” said my father when we were discussing places to dine. He complains about any drive to Los Angeles before we start the trip; he criticizes the roads, drivers and hectic pace of any drive to Los Angeles while we’re on a trip; and he regrets almost everything about any drive to Los Angeles after the trip is over.


For whatever reason, he has a great fear of driving in heavy traffic.

So, today we headed south to Laguna Beach, and my father seemed much calmer.

My father at least recognizes a fear he has, although he may not be dealing with it in the most beneficial way. Myself, I’ve had fears that I have refused to recognize and have paid a heavy price for it. We all have fears. The well-balanced person will recognize those fears and deal with them in the best way possible. The unbalanced person will attempt to ignore those fears and thus make decisions illogically just to avoid fearful situations.

I believe that fear fuels depression and depression enhances fears. Together they can hinder growth and happiness in anyone. Of course, a solution is to recognize my own fears and deal with them honestly. What can be done to lessen or eliminate the fear? So far, I’ve always found a way out of the fear/depression entanglement, sometimes by myself, but more often with the help of others. And I know I must reach out for help when I need it. I no longer foolishly think I can always do it by myself.

We’re all in this together.

Mildred on the beach with volleyball players.

Mildred and Bill outside the original Wylan painting on the parking lot wall.

Time for a sweet break in Laguna Beach.

Enjoying yet another sweet break, this time at Johnny Rocket's.

Will's World 02 25 2010

Grabbing a pickled egg at Philippe.

“This is terrible. Boy, look at this mess. This is terrible,” said my father looking at the traffic slowly moving north on Interstate 5 toward downtown Los Angeles. “Remind me to never to travel on these highways again.”


“Dad, all you have to do is relax,” I responded. “You’re the passenger. You can’t control the traffic but you can control your own thoughts and actions. Just learn to relax.” End of min-sermon.

“Oh, this is terrible,” he moaned in a slightly softer tone.

We arrived at Philippe restaurant on Alameda Street, near historic Union Station, at 11:15 a.m., just before the noontime rush. The restaurant, according to its brochure, “is one of the oldest and best known restaurants in Southern California, family owned and operated since 1908.” It still has its original wooden stools and has sawdust scattered throughout the dining area.

Celebrities and L.A. officials often plop down at one of the communal tables to devour a sandwich or two . The brochure states that “L.A. Times reporter Cecilia Rasmussen says, ‘burly railroad, brewery and factory workers rubbed elbows with judges and politicians.’” And judging by what we saw, that’s correct.

My parents and I ate the Pork Double Dip sandwiches, dill pickles, potato salad, cole slaw, and pickled eggs. Philippe is known for dipping the bread into gravy before making the sandwich, which makes it a very tasty meal.

Philippe, the Original, on Alameda Street in downtown Los Angeles.

Placing orders at the deli counter.

Mildred and Bill eat everything in front of them.

Dining tables are on two floors.

A sight seldom seen any more: telephone booths.

Will's World 02 22 2010

Mildred and Bill leaving home for their flight to California.

I left from Logan Airport, Boston this morning with my parents. They will be visiting me in Seal Beach, Calif., for two weeks.


The 3000 mile, 6-hour flight was uneventful, although very tiring for my parents --- mother is 93, father is 90. They are still active physically and mentally and seem excited about getting out and doing a lot of walking while in Calif.

Although there are the usual hassles when trying to accommodate elderly parents, there is great joy in knowing that we have time to enjoy more cribbage games, more card games, more laughs, more history about their lives before I came on the scene. To have them around still providing insights and guidance is a blessing for me.

Logan Airport with ubiquitous Dunkin' Donuts sign in background.

Flying high above the patches of snow.

Cribbage and Sudoku are the games of the day.

Southern California beaches.

Parents arrive at one of the most pleasant airports: Long Beach.

Dining with Katie at O'Malley's Pub on Main Street, Seal Beach.

Will's World 02 19 2010

Kayaking on Quincy Bay, Quincy, Mass.

A cold, brisk wind was blowing across Quincy Bay as I headed toward the marshland in a kayak.


Alone, paddling on the ocean is a wonderful way to relax and collect one’s thoughts. As I headed down the coast to take a few photos, I realized that the wind was stronger than I had anticipated. By the time I reached my destination, I was tired.

Still, as it is every time I step into the kayak, it was a very enjoyable experience. The sting of the frigid sea wind rubbing my cheeks; the sound of the waves slapping against the side of the kayak; the sight of wild fowl frantically flapping their wings to escape from the intruder; all these made me feel momentarily free from earth’s attachments. Then, after plunging my hand into the ocean to retrieve a lost glove, I also felt a rush of reality as I thought of the many souls lost at sea. I immediately teared up and said a prayer of compassion.

Mosques and temples, churches and synagogues, oceans and mountains, forests and deserts; all can be used to increase our appreciation of God’s presence on earth.

Leaving from Squantum, heading toward the marshland.

The constant battering of wind and sea

often breaks up the edge of the marshland.

The Boston skyline is visible in the distance.

Chunks of the marshland will often float to new locations.

Will's World 02 18 2010

The Boston Public Library's McKim Building.

Today’s blog comes live from the Boston Public Library in Copley Square. This library was the first publicly supported municipal library in the United States and the first public library to allow people to borrow books. It contains 6.1 million books.


The library was officially established by a Boston ordinance in 1852. Then in 1887, the New York firm of McKim, Mead and White was chosen to design a new library building. In 1888, Charles McKim proposed a design based on Renaissance style and construction began, with the opening coming in 1895.

Bates Hall, named for one of the library’s first benefactors, is the main reading room. Boston Globe reporter Sam Allis wrote: “Bates Hall, the great reading room of the BPL, vast and hushed and illuminated with a profusion of green lampshades like fireflies … [is one of Boston’s] secular spots that are sacred.”

Today, the McKim building occupies only half the area of the BPL. In 1972 a late modernist addition, designed by Philip Johnson, was built using similar proportions and the same pink granite as used for the McKim building. The McKim and Johnson buildings are both in use and are linked by hallways, thus doubling the size of what was the BPL prior to 1972.

Built into the façade of the McKim building is a granite bench. My blind grandfather used to sit on this bench often, especially when my grandmother planted him there as she went shopping. When she returned, often hours later, he usually would have a story to tell her about someone who had stopped by to chat with him as he enjoyed the sun.

As a teenager in need of a sanctuary from the home battles with my father, I sometimes would flee to the BPL to do some reading and then borrow some books to take across the street to Waldorf’s Cafeteria. Over several cups of coffee, and a piece of apple pie if I had the funds, I would continue to be transported far away by the printed words.

A statue near the entrance to the McKim building.

Entrance stairway.

Halfway up the entrance stairway.

Room on second floor where rows of wooden

file cabinets for index cards once stood.

The main reading room.

Bust of Oliver Wendell Holmes in main reading room.

Center courtyard in the McKim building.

File cabinets in the fine arts section.

Window in central stairway looking out on courtyard.

My mode of transportation for years: the T, which includes

trolleys, subways, diesel trains and buses.

Will's World 02 17 2010

Club Passim on Palmer Street, Harvard Square, Cambridge.

In mid-February, the acrid fog of gloom descends upon some New Englanders. If frigid winds, like edges of a serrated knives, are sawing at the base of your brain, or for that matter, if only a paper cut is about to push you over the brink into the slate-gray, emotionless abyss of depression, stop! Relief is just a song or two away.


Visit the Museum. Not any museum, but the David Wax Museum, the folk/bluegrass/old timey musical group that brought the excitement of a sun-filled Spring morning to Club Passim in Cambridge tonight. Mandolins, acoustic guitars, fiddles, a Dobro, drum, accordion and even a bass saxophone blended with the harmonized voices of this six-person band. Gospel and folk songs, along with music gathered from Central and South America, had the audience grinning and bobbing their heads to the rhythms. And Passim’s 30-foot-by-40-foot basement venue provided the relaxed, comfortable milieu for the audience of approximately 125 to enjoy this talented band.

For over 50 years, musicians such as Joan Baez, Tom Rush, Taj Mahal, and Maria Muldaur have performed here. Originally called Club 47, this basement room “may have been the most influential club of its kind during the 1960s folk boom,” states Passim’s website. “And it was here that a friend of then 17-year-old Joan Baez rented the club out just to get her on stage. Baez quickly built a worshipful following and became a regular feature. Here, she introduced Bob Dylan who played between acts.”

But, if you can’t get to Club Passim and are not able to see a Museum performance, at least listen to their CDs. I’m not a doctor, but I still prescribe two CDs to each depression suffer, and advise them to listen carefully and call me in the morning.

Also, I’m willing to lend out my two, personally autographed (by David Wax) CDs, but only to those who are willing to e-mail to me a picture of someone smiling (or frowning if that’s possible) as they listen to The David Wax Museum.

The 30-foot-by-40-foot room where many now well-known

performers got a boost for their careers.

The opening act: "The Honey Dewdrops".

The main act: "The David Wax Museum".

David Wax.