REDONDOWRITER'S SACRED ORDINARY

Dreaming of Saying My Prayers on a Vintage Prie Dieu

Long, long ago I had a dear Catholic nun for a friend and a journal mentor. She was the late Sister Mary Patricia Sexton, CSJ. She lived at Carondolet Center at Mt. St. Mary's in Los Angeles when I went for journal workshops given by Dr. Ira Progoff of Dialogue House. She loved to tell the story of giving Dr. Progoff, who was Jewish, his own prayer kneeler and she called it a prie dieu. He cherished it. There were many beautiful prie dieus in Carondolet Center as well as at most retreat centers I've frequented over the years. I've always wanted one for home, but assumed they were too expensive to own personally and simply dismissed the thought as frivolous.

This is the prie dieu in the chapel of Christ Episcopal Church where I worship now. It is so beautiful and when we had the Redondo Beach Home and Architectural Tour last weekend, I photographed all our beautiful, but modest treasures to include "in the cloud" with a lot of other historical material I have been gathering. We are celebrating our 120th anniversary this year. 

For some reason, I actually did a brief Google search tonight for a vintage prie dieu and was amazed to find there are many available though most are way beyond my price range. I'm envisioning one sitting at a garage or estate sale someday since I do frequent them to buy "junque" for my mixed media collages. If I were so lucky to find one, I'd sand it down, antique it, and then embroider a beautiful kneeler cushion. I have found that sometimes when I set an intention to trip across something in my journeys, I actually do. 

So, for the few people who read here, do you have an old prie dieu buried in your attic or garage you'd like to sell so I can recycle it and give it a new life? In the meantime, I'll keep haunting eBay, Etsy and some of the antique dealers online. 

 

Amazing Tour of Homeboy Industries

Fr. Greg Boyle, SJ, founded Homeboy Industries 25 years ago in Los Angeles to provide employment opportunities and rehabilitation for L.A. gang members who wanted to get out of the gangs and change their lifestyles. There's probably few people in Los Angeles who don't know about Fr. Greg and Homeboy. What he has accomplished there has been nothing short of miraculous. His book, Tattoos on the Heart, is a deeply moving account of Homeboy. It has made Homeboy internationally known. Now a documentary film by Frieda Mock is available called G-Dog available on Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

Today 16 of us from the South Bay toured Homeboy Industries located downtown near the train station and right by China Town. Following is a short video about what Fr. Greg and Homeboy is all about.

 

To say I was impressed today would be the understatement of the year. Our tour guide was a 44-year-old man named Victor Key who started the tour in Homeboy's gardens and where he told us his story.

 He said he had been a wild child and has been in and out of jails and prisons since he was eight-years-old. When he got out of Pelican Bay's SHU eleven months ago, at his mother's urging, he went to see Fr. Greg because he wanted to change his life. He said he has been incarcerated three-quarters of his life and if he is arrested again, the three strikes law will kick in. He'll be in prison forever. He has a three year parole and this is the longest (11 months) that he has ever been on parole. He fell in love and he and his wife are expecting a baby girl in August. Fr. Greg will marry them again this fall at Dolores Mission, where Father Greg was pastor from 1985 until 1992. There's going to be a Homeboy baby shower for them in a few weeks. Victor is an artist and one of his assignments at Homeboy is facilitating a Tuesday artist's group called Exit Wounds. 

After we ate in the Homegirl Cafe (I ordered a trio of street tacos and a mango drink, all excellent), a young man named Omar struck up a conversation. He is also a tour guide. Everyone at Homeboy is so friendly. He had been working at Homeboy in years past but in 2008, there was a huge cut backs in grants when our economy began to go down the tubes. There were massive lay-offs and apparently that's partially what G-Dog is about. Omar said he got back in a gang and was subsequently shot in the head and it took him two years to rehabilitate. One arm was still in a sling and his speech was a little difficult to understand, but he is a family man now, too. He raved about G-Dog. 

The tour took us by the tattoo removal suite, and we saw the community rooms where many classes and groups are held, the computer lab, the therapy rooms, the cafe and bakery, gift shop, and the humble administrative offices. There's art hanging everywhere mostly by two resident artists Jose Ramirez and Fabian Spade Debora. I took a lot of art photos. 

There's a huge waiting room in the foyer where people make appointments for all the services available, or with Fr. Greg or the mental health people who take them into Homeboy employment. It was a beehive of activity and I've never seen so many tattooed men and women before. One guy in the maintenance department took off his hat and showed us his bald head completely covered in tattoos. 

I have heard Father Greg as a homilist at a mass at the Cathedral and as a speaker in the community. A humble man, his story is so compelling. I know that Fr.Greg has cancer and is undergoing chemo right now. Pray for Fr. Greg. 

Personally, other than donating to Homeboy and buying their products at Ralph's Markets or eating in their cafes (a new one just opened up in the Tom Bradley Terminal at LAX), I'm too old now to be involved in this kind of ministry. But today was a real eye opener. I'm aware that I live in such a bubble. I'm so grateful to all the people who work at, or volunteer at, Homeboy and who work in all the areas of social justice. Watching the news sometimes feels like the world is "going to hell in a hand basket" as my mom used to say. But, there are a lot of really good people on this planet and Fr. Greg is one of them. 

Time For a Redondowriter Redesign

In this rapidly-changing world of electronics, the blog has kind of been back-burnered. Facebook is easier, but I have always said that the blog was part of what I call my spiritual writing practice. I knew it was time to look at the blog's design and content when Google Chrome recently warned me that I had some potential malware via something called Blog-O-Rama. 

I contacted Typepad's Help Desk and they gave me the directions for searching for and eliminating the site Google questioned. This meant going back into the design and finding that little bugger, which I ultimately did under Feeds. I don't even remember placing it there, but I've been writing here for nine years and I can't remember what I ate for breakfast. I Blog-O-Rama and it appears that I'm once again clean and good to go. Sorry if I alarmed any of you who may have gotten the warning. 

So, if I made you uncomfortable when you came to visit Redondowriter's Sacred Ordinary, Mollie and I say we are sorry. 

We've just returned from our evening walk and she has been antsy all week as individuals randomly shoot off fireworks now and then in prep for tomorrow's 4th of July celebrations. 

Fireworks are illegal in Los Angeles County, but tomorrow the Redondo Beach Pier and Veterans Park will be jammed with celebrators. At about 9 p.m. tomorrow night the big public show will be available out in the harbor. I'll stay home quietly with Mollie so she feels safe--and I can see them out my bedroom window. 

And here is Mollie saying have a wonderful and safe 4th of July. 

Haiku My Heart Friday: The Tulip Tree

When the tulip tree

Sheds her winter modesty

I know spring is here. 

The Malaga Cove Branch Library of the Palos Verdes Library District is a place I visit and volunteer at frequently. The peacocks wander, even in the winter, but the tulip tree is dormant, bare, but I like to think of her as a lady in waiting. When I park the car to go into the side entrance and the tulip tree has grown into a burst of lavender blooms, I stop, sigh, and get the camera. Now I know that spring is really here. 

Thanks, Rebecca at Recuerda mi Corazon for hosting Haiku my Heart. Take time to visit and you will see that a lot of people are waxing eloquent in haiku. 

Rainy World - A SoulCollage® Card

Yesterday my girlfriends and I gathered for our monthly SoulCollage® day and it was very rainy driving over and all day long it rained. Just try to remember that this is sunny California. As we all sat around Mary Lou's big dining room table chatting about our lives (we have a check-in for each person as we work), I kept gazing out the window at her beautiful yard, remembering how much we need rain and how beneficial it is. But, I am one of those people who has a hard time with winter, even though winters in Southern California are mild. Though we were primarily creating cards for Christmas and what it means to us, this card practically made itself. 

 

I am the one who internally becomes chilled physically and emotionally when the weather turns cold and rainy and it gets dark really early. Much as I love Washington state where one of my sons and a sister live, I could not thrive there because of the rain and darkness for months on end. Though I have never been diagnosed with seasonal affective disorder, I assume I might be affected by the lack of light. I am the one who, as a kid, however, loved rain where I grew up in Sunland, CA. I especially loved walking home from school where leaping into puddles and floating leaf boats in the gutters was exhilarating. Now I am the one who hibernates as much as she can when it is cold and rainy, but works hard on getting out among 'em and shifting attitudes when I become too gloomy and homebound. I take comfort in recalling "Singing in the Rain" and walking home with my girlfriends Dannie and Claudia, three umbrellas across, making as much mess as we could. Then this image created itself and I took great joy in thinking about the fact that around the planet there are whole groups of folks under umbrellas and I envision a Broadway production of "Singing in the Rain" and I'm one of the dancers. 

If I could ask this card a question, it might be, "Help me to recall all my rainy day pleasant memories and record them in my journals or in my art so I can better understand why weather affects me so deeply. 

This card would be in my Committee suit under Rainy World Me or it could be a Council card helping me to see that there is Spirit there even when I am uncomfortable. By the way, I have a nasty head cold and I swear that half the people in my school have colds, pneumonia or bronchitis, too. 

Perhaps the card answered me yesterday but I just figured it out today. Driving home at 4 p.m., I saw a huge, overarching rainbow over Torrance, CA.

Queen Anne House in Redondo Beach Decorated for Halloween

This is the Pringle Queen Anne house just a half block from where I live on S. Broadway St., Redondo Beach. It is across the street from the fire house and next to Christ Episcopal Church, where I attend. The Pringle's decorate their house for all major holidays, but Halloween is my favorite. On Halloween night, when the trick or treaters come, a spectacular witch hands out treats and incredibly eerie sounds can be heard inside the house. People stop continuously to take pictures.

I've been in this house several times (including Christmas) and the interior is fully restored and decorated for the period. 

Skeleton Parade

The skeletons are out tonight,
they march about the street,
With bony bodies, bony heads
and bony hands and feet.
Bony bony bony bones
with nothing in between,
Up and down and all around
they march on Halloween.

                                                                -- Jack Prelutsky

Let's Hear It for Daryl Muncey and His Project Earth Gallery

The two weekend art extravaganza, Power of Art, hosted by the Redondo Beach Art Group, closed tonight and I will carry memories of it for the next 12 months, until the show turns up again in 2012.

If I had the space in my home or yard for Daryl Muncey's gorgeous tree sculpture, the centerpiece of one gallery called Project Earth, I'd buy it in a heartbeat. Daryl always curates our collaborative project each year and it was Project Earth this year. Daryl's tree was constructed with lathe and the trunk of the tree was at least 10 feet tall, with its black branches spiking up at least another 10 feet. It is magnificent. I was shocked it didn't sell at the show as he was asking basically what he spent on materials--$1500. It even had a little door in the trunk where little kids could hide--and it smelled just like a forest somehow. Here's Daryl and his tree--and, by, the way, the picture hanging on the tree near his head is my contribution, "Our Lady of Sustainability." 

There were many magnificent and thought-provoking pieces in Project Earth, but Daryl's won my heart and soul. Hopefully his tree will find a temporary home in a Redondo Beach government office until it sells. I see it in the lobby of a huge company who supports the sustainability concept. As soon as it is placed, I will report where so that those of you who want to experience it can. Or maybe one of you who read here might want to buy it yourself. Just leave a comment and I'll pass it on to Daryl. 

And I want to say thanks to the dozens upon dozens of people who worked so hard to make the Power of Art as successful as it was. Job well done. And believe me, folks, if you live in Southern California, it's actually worth a visit to see Power of Art when it comes around again. Today is strike day, taking down the show, and everything has to be out by 5 p.m. Then all the worker bees can hopefully take a well deserved rest.

Out of my four pieces on display, I sold two of them, which amazed me. I gave another mixed media piece to my friend Mary Lou as a gift. I'll write more about this in days to come, but for now, I'm really focusing on the prep for Day of the Dead coming up on Nov. 1 and 2. 

Meet Aimee Bender: The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake

If you have not read Aimee Bender's best seller "The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake," I highly recommend it. Though I read it last year, I appreciate the book a lot more now that I've met Aimee Bender and heard her speak not only about the book and its characters, but her writing process in general. She teaches creative writing at USC and after hearing her speak, how I wish I could take her class. 

She was the featured speaker tonight at the Palos Verdes Library District's One Book, One Peninsula annual event and I had the pleasure of taking photos of her and members of the community prior to the event sponsored by the Peninsula Friends of the Library. Here are a few you might enjoy:

She is one of the most down-to-earth writers I've ever had the pleasure of meeting. 

Here she is with her fiancee Mark Miller--and a plate of? Lemon cake!

And here are the little lemon and chocolate cakes up close. Rose is the primary character in "The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake," and she has the blessing/curse of tasting the emotions of the person who cooks. The person who baked this batch must have been really happy. 

If you check the Peninsula Friends of the Library blog tomorrow, there will be a series of photos available to see, if you are interested.  

Redondo Beach Spectacular Fall Sunsets

Yesterday was the hottest day on record this year in Los Angeles's South Bay. At Chadwick School where I work, it was 103 degrees in the shade by the grade school classrooms. 

Last night my friend Orma and I walked down to Redondo Beach's Veterans Park community center (the old library) for a Redondo Beach Art Group meeting and what greeted us was the most spectacular sunset I had seen for a while. This area is just two blocks from my home. On Sunday night I had worn two jackets to walk Mollie and no jacket was required at all last night. Indian Summer park and beach goers were everywhere enjoying the weather. Here are three versions of heavenly Redondo Beach last night. 

This shot was taken inside the park and I have stared at it repeatedly as the tree is genuinely mysterious in silhouette. What do you see there? 

I can't even begin to tell you how much time I used to spend watching these sunsets and what I call setting sun trails. Now I am asking myself why I am not down there more often. Because of the sciatica I was recently diagnosed with, walking has become very painful. 

My favorite tree in the entire area is this very old Moreton Bay Fig which was fenced off a few years ago to protect it. It stands south of the old library where my meeting was. The sunset turned the leaves a shade of gold which wasn't visible to the naked eye, but the camera picked it up. 

FLAG STOP: an alternative contemporary art event was a great way to spend an evening

On Friday night I attended the opening of a three day art event in Torrance,  CA called "FLAG STOP: an alternative contemporary art event" co-sponsored by the local Lexus dealer and the Switzer Learning Center.

In addition to the spacious Lexus service center and showroom filled with art, 50 PODS were rented which each became a mini-art gallery of its own. This story in the Easy Reader explains it all.

I was attending with friends and managed to take a few photos before I was spirited away for dinner out. Not everyone is as tolerant of contemporary art as I am, although there were some traditional paintings, photos and installations as well. I loved the concept and look forward to future shows, should they happen.

Below are a few photos I took but with one exception, I don't know the names of most the artists. 

Be sure to double click on this installation to get the full impact of it. As I recall, it was named "Socks," and featured dozens upon dozens of balled up socks. All I could personally think of was all the socks I've somehow lost in the washing machine in my seven decades of life. 

This is another installation that you simply had to experience. Embiggen it to get its impact. I don't know it's name, but I called it "Rubber Room" cause on some days I wish I had it to escape into. 

For those of you who know me well, you knew I would love this one, didn't you? Wish I knew the artists name. I love the red, black, white and gold palette and it fits into my category of art I call femmage. 

I do know the name of this artist: Gloria D. Lee. Her studio is in San Pedro and every show I see her in, it's her work I vacillate toward.

So, what did you do on your Labor Day Weekend?