CocoGarcia

Empowerment Congress

Honorable Mark Ridley-Thomas introducing the Reverend Al Sharpton.

Women Hold Up Half the Sky

Today I am inspired.  By Anita Caspary who recently died at 95 after waging years of struggle, that should not have been necessary, making way for women in the Catholic Church.  By the new Skirball exhibit Women Hold Up Half the Sky, the mere idea of which simply brings me to tears.  Why is it still necessary to even have this conversation?  Thank you Skirball Center for bringing if front and center.  And by the brave story of Keris Myrick who has stepped out on the front page of today's NYT to share things most of us would find unbearable to reveal, in the hope of helping others conquer mental illness. Her strategies ring true to me; a demanding job doing something that matters, therapeutic and medical treatment, feedback and support from friends-family-colleagues, the unconditional love of a dog and an ocassional stay at a luxury hotel.  This Sunday morning these three stories simply take my breath away.   

The Kiss in Bella Coola

The Women of Dagenham

This film opened the Traverse City Film Festival last night. A reminder of how the equal pay battle still rages and the outrage of its recency as a battle at all. The film tells the story of a work stoppage in 1968 by women working as machinists at a Ford plant in Dagenham, England. The action of 187 women forced Ford and others to raise wages to gender parity for women throughout the industrialized world. I was a teenager in 1968, aware of the women's movement but with no memory of Dagenham news. What an eye opener. Do not miss it. Take your sons and daughters. Lest we all take for granted these hard fought and earned rights.

Shabbat Shalom

Bathed in love is how I feel every time a good friend guides me to great food, like the heirloom tomato pizza above.  Bathed in love is how I feel every time I celebrate Shabbat with the Glicks.  It draws me into a circle of family, friends and neighbors that gathers at their house almost every Friday.  People tumble in as light falls, arms full of flowers, wine and their travails of the week.  Good food appears.  Last night it started with oven roasted leaves of purple chard brushed with olive oil and exotic sea salt as people laid down their week.  After some socializing a lovely ceremony of prayers, songs and lights precedes dinner, blessing everyone near and far.  Our wishes resonated through the canyon night as people called out for "Love, Gratitude, Health, Joy!"  And five-year old Micah's joyful cry for "Ice Cream!"  Lastly everyone washes away the week with the pouring of water on hands and a final blessing from our hostess before settling in for a lovely dinner under the summer night sky.  Bathed in love.

A Meditation on Communal Weeding

Periodically I catch a neighbor in the garden, weeding!  Other times I notice how magically weed free the steps are or the disappearance of a previously noticed pesky patch of plant invaders.  Gardens are full of the most unexpected surprises, in fauna and flora.  People stroll through our garden on steps that follow a previously established well worn communal path connecting the street above to the street below. When we designed the garden a few years ago we made a choice to honor this neighborhood right of way.  Who knew it would lead to communal weeding?  On Friday afternoon as I was cutting flowers in the garden our neighbor Ricardo walked up with his daschund Toby and began weeding while we chatted.  Pretty soon we were both going at it in the waning evening light, lost in our communal weeding meditation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Honoring Sargent Shriver, a Great Good Man

What a legacy R.Sargent Shriver leaves!  The founding energy of the Peace Corps, Head Start, Job Corps, Legal Services for the Poor, Volunteers in Service to America, and director of the Special Olympics founded by his wife Eunice Kennedy Shriver.  We should all take a good long moment to honor and thank this man who did so much for so many, setting the bar high for how a community should take care of its own.  Check out Bono's piece on what he learned from Sargent Shriver.  Knowingly or not, we've all learned and benefitted from this great good man.  The best way to honor his legacy is for us to uphold his high standard of caring. 


 

CASA Bloom at LACMA

This past Sunday evening Roberta and Ron Bloom hosted a gathering of CASA volunteers at their Carthay Square home for a very special wine tasting followed by a VIP tour of the William Eggleston Democratic Camera exhibit at the Broad Contemporary Art Museum at LACMA.  After sipping some very special wines personally selected for the group by Ron from his extensive wine cellar and enjoying some delicious small bites, Roberta led us off to the museum.  It was the final day of this exhibit and Roberta, an art enthusiast and experienced LACMA docent of 13 years, arranged this final tour especially for CASAs.  Regaled by Roberta's pithy informed remarks, we viewed Eggleston's remarkable work elevating the snapshot and the use of dye transfer color to an art form.  He took only one shot, come what may, of the most ordinary things and made them beautiful.  From unexpected angles Eggleston photodocumented the Mississippi world of his childhood, the Plains, Georgia world of Jimmy Carter, the Graceland of Elvis, his travels near and far.  We could hardly tear ourselves away from the riveting photographs, not to mention Roberta's entertaining soundtrack.  Strangers nearby shushed and drew near.  At the end of the evening we had time for a quick sprint through the European Dress 1700-1915 costume exhibit, another must see.  All in all a very satisfying evening of wine, food, art and community. 

CASA volunteers or court appointed special advocates are usually found hard at work as child advocates for foster children in the Los Angeles County dependency court system.  CASAs provides our vulnerable children victimized by abuse or neglect with a community advocate in their corner.  The Bloom celebration was a lovely expression of gratitude to these remarkable volunteers. 

Click here to learn more about CASA/LA and how you can help.

Leaning into Loss

Lest we forget.  A mass tragedy like what befell so many innocents on 9/11 or an individual one.  Never was I at such a loss as when recently visiting with a friend who is gratefully recovering from successful brain surgery while wondering how she will ever walk again.  Grateful to be alive while embracing frightening constraints.  Today I breathe deeply and lean into my own.

Mysterious Cool Garden Cat

A few days ago I spied her from above while gazing down from the upper deck onto our beautifully overgrown garden.  There she was, resting beneath the Meyer lemon tree, sizing up her kingdom.  A beautiful olive color with geometric charcoal black painted markings on her hind quarters.  Last night I encountered her in the upper garden, curled up on a ledge below the rosemary and roses.  When I saw her she looked up at me through beautiful green cat eyes and didn't even move.  We looked deep into each other's eyes for awhile and then I retreated.  When I returned she was still there, enjoying the falling light of early evening and the cooling summer air.  When I brought Lola to see her I learned that earlier in the day the cat had approached her office door and only bolted when seen.  As I moved to get my camera, the cat jumped up and scampered up the garden steps.  Could it be that we are being adopted by a mysterious cool garden cat?