nakedjen

Your Support for a Marathon Effort

Dear Friends and Family and You Special Blog Readers, Too,

A couple weeks ago my friend Dr. Suz and I embarked on a strange and remarkable journey.  We met at in a room at a hotel here in Santa Cruz and before the evening was over we had signed up to train for a marathon. 26.2 miles.

Of course, because I am me, my first impulse is to run screaming from the room.  Then, of course, because I am me, my next impulse was to say, “Why just one??  Why not two??  Two are always better than one!”  The important part is that something definitely kept me there. Something has made me say YES to getting up on Saturday mornings at 6:00 am, YES to raising over $7,000, YES to walking downstairs backwards because it's easier, to losing a toenail, to washing my sweat-soaked hair every day.  YES to training to compete in the Maui Marathon in September and the Nike Women’s Marathon in October. 

What can that be, you ask? The opportunity to make a difference in the life of someone with cancer.  I can do it, so I will do it!

This morning as I was driving the dogs for their daily walk on the beach, my favorite radio station in the world, KPIG, was playing all kinds of beautiful songs without commercial interruption.  I kept waiting for my favorite DJ, Laura Ellen, to come on in her famous cackle to tell me who had just sung what and to remind me to call in with my favorite song for the daily “Out to Lunch” program at noon. 

But Laura Ellen didn’t come on the radio this morning.  Instead, Ralph Anybody came on and informed all of us that Laura Ellen had died yesterday.  Of lung cancer.  Cancer that she only learned she had last week.  Cancer that had metastasized through out her body.  Cancer that had taken that beautiful loving spirited voice from our air waves forever. 

As most of you know, a few years ago, I also lost my “brother” John to brain cancer.  After putting up a very valiant and brave fight that included cutting-edge treatments at the best hospitals in America, John lost his fight with the tumor and died.  John was one of my dearest and best friends, a person who loved me just as I was and I’m not sure I still comprehend his death. 

That is why I said YES to Team-in-Training (TNT), the program sponsored by The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society to raise money for cancer research. For the honor of being able to put John and Laura Ellen and Naomi and Judy’s and all the other names of the loved ones I have known who have been lost to this disease.

And now I also need you to say YES. You don't have to walk downstairs backwards or even wash your hair. You don’t have to lose a toe nail!  All you have to do is give money to help fund cancer research. Please consider donating to this worthy cause.

I ask you to contribute whatever you can. No amount is too small or too large. I’ve even created a website for your donations to make donating a very simple exercise for all of you.   To securely donate to this very worthy cause right now simply click this link!  Go ahead, click.  I'll wait.

Frozen foods and pain killers are also accepted. :-) In return, I offer this: if you know someone with this disease or anyone with cancer and you’d like me to run for them, I invite you to tell me who they are and a little bit of their story. I’ll add their names to my TNT shirt. I want you to know that the dollars we are raising are assisting not only those that are infected with blood-borne cancers, but those that are affected by the disease. My motivation is simple: if we can find a cure for one, we grow ever closer to curing them all.

Thank you so much for all your love and support.  I will be blogging about my progress and I promise to keep you updated! 

My love to each and every one of you.  You are all blessings in my life!

P.S.  Feel free to pass this along to anyone whom you think might like to help in this grand marathon effort! 

Really Different

"Wow", I said.  "We are just really different!" 

"Yeah," he said.  "I know.  But it's a good thing."

"I mean, I never, ever would eat a pickle with a straw!"

"And I wouldn't see a National Monument, clap my hands and say, 'Oh, boy, I can get naked here!'"

"You might want to try it, it could be liberating for you?"

DearSweetDave smirks and extends me the straw with the pickle.

"Or maybe it's just better that we are really different!"

Merde

A word to the wise:

When searching for downloads on BitTorrent, be sure that the very important Grey's Anatomy episode that you're downloading and absolutely must see so you can find out what on earth happened to Denny is actually in English.

Unless, of course, you're fluent in French.  Then, by all means, download the French version.

But if you're like me, and you understand only so much French, you'll be screaming MERDE when you push play and Meredith's voice over says, "Quelques jours vous vous réveillez et trouvez dehors vraiment ne devriez pas s'être levé du tout..."

Feel the Magic

We all know, I believe, how I feel about VW Vans. 

They're Magic.  Personified.

I just know whomever got this one is going to feel the magic like never before!

"I'm not saying this bus will give you immortality. Oh, no. I'm just saying that if you buy it, you'll never die. There's a difference."

That is one Magic Bus!

Odd Animal Behavior

This morning, as I do on most every single morning, I took Buddha and Stella for their walk at the dog park and beach.  I would normally not even be telling you about this because it is such an every day regular occurrence that it is completely unremarkable.  We go.  We walk.  We chase a ball.  We drink from the dog fountain.  We come home.  Wait a few hours, repeat.

This morning, though, both of my dogs were visibly agitated when we got to the park.  They are such creatures of habit that their usual routine is to sniff that tree there, pee on that bush over there, crawl under those poison oak bushes in that corner to see if the crazy homeless person has left behind any delicious Kentucky Fried Chicken or Taco Bell and in between those visits sniff every blade of grass and every blooming flower along the path.

But that didn't happen today.

Today, instead, they were two characters from Mutual Omaha's Wild Kingdom.  They were like wild beasts who were fighting over their dog park territory.  Rushing at each other, leaping into the air, fangs bared, wrestling each other to the ground, snarls and growls and fur flying!  Over and over and over again.  It was all I could do to get them to continue to "walk" through the park they were so intent on "killing" each other. 

Not the usual mellow Labrador behavior at all.

I decided to take them down to the beach to chase their favorite Rainbow Stripey Ball and see if perhaps that would shake this "let's kill each other" demeanor out of them. 

When we arrived at the beach, the first thing I noticed were the birds.  There were literally hundreds of birds.  Huge pelicans.  Seagulls.  Loons and Egrets.  All congregated just off shore.  Or swooping down towards the beach. 

It was when we actually got down to the shoreline that I noticed the fish.  Yes, the fish.  It seems the fish had chosen today to commit suicide!  The beach was littered with fish who were all flopping about.  Fish that were throwing themselves from the ocean up onto the beach.  Fish that normally swim out to the bay were instead choosing to leap onto the beach to become a tasty breakfast for all those birds who were waiting to eat them.

And then there was the absolutely HUGE sea lion who was sitting at one end just barking away. 

The dogs were quite curious about the fish with the death wishes, but unsure what they were supposed to actually do with them.  They kept rushing up to the flopping fish, poking them with their noses, running in circles around them, and barking!  Stella, of course, decided that she had to become the grand protector of the fish and when other dogs would approach her "fish" she bared her teeth and charged after the dogs making sure they didn't come near. 

Buddha would pick one up, carry it back toward the water, and then drop it.  I think he was trying to save them, but it is hard to know for sure since it is hard to ever quite know what Buddha is thinking!

Eventually, Stella got to the point where she was just too agitated by all the fish she needed to "protect" and I decided it would be best to leave.  I took both dogs back up to the field and they returned to their "let's kill each other" antics so I also decided that I should just take them home.  But as I was making my way to the car, I noticed that the trees in the field were also filled with far more birds than normal.  And that there were even hawks flying about, which is a rare thing to see.

So we come home.  I share the story with DearSweetDave.  I remark that it seems rather odd that the fish are all leaping FROM the bay onto the beach and am wondering what might cause such behavior. 

I then went to see Shannon to get a massage.  Complete bliss.  By the way, if you go see Shannon for a massage, ask her to release all the knots and tension in your jaw.  Goodness does that feel amazing!  I burst into tears when she did it, but now?  Now I feel like I can actually chew my food again! 

I was just now walking back from my massage and in the middle of Church street there were seven or eight very large mice.  Who were all spinning in circles.  In broad daylight.  In the middle of the street.  Absolutely together, like they were dancing a very specific ballet. 

The strangest part of all of this is that I was able to walk right up to them.  They didn't stop, they didn't run away, they didn't move from the middle of the street.  They just kept spinning in circles.  Together. 

So, of course, given the suicidal fish this morning and now the spinning mice, I have to ask, "What on earth is happening here in Santa Cruz?"

Anyone want to take a guess??

ABC

A.  Sunday ritual. 

I am beginning a new Sunday ritual.  Not that I have an old Sunday ritual, really, but I am beginning a new Sunday ritual.  Yesterday I spent the day at the Live Oak Farmer's Market.  This is a lovely little market that includes lots of local food vendors in addition to local farmers and musicians. 

After taking the dogs for a grand romp on the 26th Avenue beach and swim in the ocean, I am going to stop at this farmer's market and find myself some yummy coffee and pastries, some delicious produce for the beginning of our week, and I will plop myself down at one of the provided picnic tables under an umbrella and listen to the live music and read the Sunday paper.  Buddha and Stella can even join me.

I honestly think this is just about the best way to spend a Sunday morning.  If you come and meet me there, I'll buy you some coffee and pastry, too.

B. Tragic

I saw the movie The Waitress on Saturday evening.  I want all of you to go and see it.  It is far more endearing and touching and wonderful than the previews of the film lead one to believe.  And if you've ever been pregnant I can assure you that there are many, many moments in this film that will just make you just, well, nod your head along in complete agreement. 

Andy Griffith is in the film and I couldn't help but wonder how on earth he had spent so much time with my own Uncle Paul.  It was eerie how well he channeled him.  I'm not joking about this.  If you're a member of my immediate family and you go see this film, you will know exactly what I'm talking about.  Andy Griffith playing the role of Joe in this movie could play Uncle Paul in the ABC movie of the week about Uncle Paul's life without changing one thing!  Not a thing!

The saddest part for me, though, was the final credit of the movie.  In case there are those of you out there who like me, before I saw the film, still somehow don't know, that's all I'll say.  But I will also say this.  I am having a lot of trouble understanding the karmic good in the universe.

C.  Spock Rocks!

Who knew that Leonard Nimoy cared about women's body image?  Apparently, he really and truly does.  Or at least that believes that all women are beautiful and that, as I'm often saying, we shouldn't ascribe to the distorted and often unattainable images that the media is so fond of feeding to us.  In this article in the New York Times, Nimoy actually says,

“The average American woman, according to articles I’ve read, weighs 25 percent more than the models who are showing the clothes they are being sold,” Mr. Nimoy said, his breathing slightly labored by allergies and a mild case of emphysema. “So, most women will not be able to look like those models. But they’re being presented with clothes, cosmetics, surgery, diet pills, diet programs, therapy, with the idea that they can aspire to look like those people. It’s a big, big industry. Billions of dollars. And the cruelest part of it is that these women are being told, ‘You don’t look right.’ ”

You don't look right, indeed. 

Mr. Spock?  I think you just became a true Nakedjen hero.  And it isn't just women who have this problem, as I am always reminding.  It is ALL OF US.  Our American culture, especially, is just far too concerned with the number on the tag inside of our clothes that absolutely no one can see. 

Let's remember that a healthy body isn't necessarily a size 2.  And that it is even far more important that we love the beautiful body that we have right here and right now, all parts of it, big, round, voluptuous, or thin and flat. Loving ourselves is the first step towards being able to love one another, it's our first step towards true peace.

Kudos, though, to Leonard Nimoy for showing the world that there is beauty in women of all shapes and sizes!

Burn This!

we had quite the new moon ceremony last night on the beach. 

it was me, shannon and dearsweetdave. and my pillow. this will squick out a lot of you. i have had the same pillow, the exact same feather pillow, since i was born. 43 years i have laid my head on that pillow to sleep. about ten days ago, dearsweetdave and i were changing the sheets on our bed and i went to change the pillow case on my pillow and feathers went flying everywhere. the pillow casing had pretty much disintegrated. which isn't surprising, huh?

i fretted for hours about what to do. i really considered just taking another pillow case and sewing it all around the outside. but then i caught a "whiff" of the feathers and well, it nearly knocked me out. STINKY!

so i decided it was time to let go. and move on. new pillow. but...i couldn't just throw away my old pillow. no way. that pillow held all my dreams and nightmares for the last 43 years. all.of.them. i have slept on it every night. i take it with me when i travel. it went on tour with the grateful dead.  it lived with me in london.  it went to boarding school, to college, to every single resting stop from cradle until now, so imagine all the dreams in that pillow?!

i decided we would burn it on the new moon. send all those dreams into the universe to do whatever it is that they need to do. so we had a ceremony on the beach last night. and burned the pillow. or more like, melted the pillow. feathers that are old and stinky and full of my body oils it turns out melt more than they actually burn.  although at some points, it was almost spooky. the pillow would suddenly just ERUPT and massive flames would swirl as if some huge very powerful dreams were being released. and then it would go back to smoldering and "melting" and then woosh, more huge flames licking the sky.

it took a long time.  as dearsweetdave said, "your dreams do not go quietly!" 

i said goodbye to them and not without some tears. which surprised me, but it actually really hurt to watch that pillow burn. it was so final. it has been with me for so long. i even had it with me in the hospital for my brain surgery!

we all lit our candles for the new moon from the burning pillow and sent up our wishes. and hopes. and new dreams. and then we went to saturn cafe for dinner positively wreaking of my burnt pillow dreams. met chris there. and the burning pillow has become our new standard for story telling. 

"oh yes, but is it as good as a burning pillow?"

We Don't Need No Stinkin' Leashes

on thursday night there was a public hearing about our beloved dog park.  on the panel was the mayor of santa cruz, our state assembly representative, a representative from the state parks, a woman who has done a study specifically on the impact of dogs at state parks and beaches, the animal control person for santa cruz county and a representative of friends of lighthouse field, which is the organization that the dog owners have formed. 

i was so frustrated by this meeting that i actually started crying. here's why.  i've been working, diligently on this dog park issue for over a year.  i've written complete and thoughtful proposals about how we have over 20,000 dogs in the city of santa cruz and that if they suddenly are denied off-leash exercise opportunities the community health issues that this will cause not only for the dogs but for their humans, as well.  and i've offered solutions.  viable solutions.  not just pie-in-the-sky solutions. 

so on thursday night i wanted to at least discuss these possible alternative solutions.  because, honestly, there's a very strong likelihood that the current dog park is not going to be retained by the city and will become a state park and state parks mandate that dogs are not allowed off-leash and often that dogs are not allowed, period.

when the question was raised about what the city plans to do if, come november, the current park is no longer accessible to dogs, the mayor said "i expect all of you to be there with your dogs, off-leash, in civil disobedience!"

now, we all know that i am one who will most certainly perform civil disobedience if warranted.  however, what upset me was that the mayor of our city was actually condoning this rather than at least prefacing it with, "the city of santa cruz understands that the dogs' and their owners' health and well-being is critical and that off-leash access is a very important part of this and we will do whatever is necessary to assure that there is a sanctioned off-leash exercise area for the dogs should lighthouse field not be available." 

those words, that promise, was never uttered.  not once.  the entire evening.  and that really made me angry.  what we got instead was a lot of hot air.  a lot of "we're with you in this fight to keep lighthouse field."  but the truth of the matter is that if they were REALLY in the fight with us, they would have extended the lease from the get-go.  and they also, in knowing that they were NOT going to extend the lease, would have said, "we're not able to extend our lease on lighthouse field, but understand that dogs being able to exercise off-leash is very important for the health of our city and we will be providing an off-leash dog park for all santa cruz dogs." 

when will we hear those words?  when will this city step up and say, "dogs are important. and so are their tax paying owners.  and here is a dog park that is just for them!"

they need to say it soon. other cities have shown how much they care.  come on, santa cruz.  show you care!

Very Large Impending Karmic Overhaul

My friend, Beatrice, whom is having quite a set of adventures in South America with her lovely husband, Kragen, has the following in her email signature and I just think it is so appropriate and important to remember, especially right now.  So I'm sharing it here.

"Stop thinking this is all there is.  Realize that for every ongoing war &
religious outrage & environmental devastation, there are a thousand
counterbalancing acts of staggering generosity & humanity & art & beauty
happening all over this world right now on a breathtaking scale.  Resist the
temptation to drown in fatalism, to shake your head & sigh & just throw in the
karmic towel.  Realize that this is the perfect moment to change the energy of
the world, to step right up & crank your personal volume: right when it seems
dark and bitter & offensive & acrimonious &  conflicted, there is your opening.
  Remember magic.  And finally, believe you are a part of a groundswell, a
resistance, a seemingly small but actually very, very large impending karmic
overhaul, a great shift, the beginning of something important, potent &
unstoppable."
- this quote was transcribed from the wall of a place of worship

Thanks, Beatrice.

Genuine Extenuating Circumstances

Those of us who reside at ChezNaked and who happen to also have opposable thumbs and are over the age of 16 and are, um, human happen to also have a license to drive.  Being in possession of this license to drive that has been granted to us by the esteemed State of California means that we have also deigned to own vehicles to drive. 

It just so happens that ChezNaked is located on one of those pesky streets in Santa Cruz where you are required to have a parking permit in order to actually park your car.  The reason for this, on our particular street, is because of our proximity to the public high school.  All those newly licensed high school students with their automobiles who want to drive to school.  Well, there's very limited parking around the school, so the city requires a parking permit if you want your car to remain in the same place for more than two hours.  This keeps the high school students from parking on our streets as it is quite difficult for them to actually be present in class, where they are supposed to be, and driving around the seven block radius of the school searching for a new parking place every two hours.

DearSweetDave and I are very responsible citizens and both of our cars have the required parking permits neatly affixed just above our rear bumpers.  However, DearSweetDave has been playing musical cars over the last week.  This is because of some unfortunate circumstances in his immediate family and because, as we know, DearSweetDave has one of the biggest hearts in the world.

Due to the musical cars, yesterday DearSweetDave got a parking citation.  Right in front of our house.  A parking citation that he has decided to appeal.  He shared his appeal with me this afternoon and if I didn't know him, if I was the person sitting in the city parking office reading this appeal, I'd perhaps wonder aloud at the very depths to which DearSweetDave is willing to go just to avoid paying a $40.00 citation.

His appeal, verbatim:

My mother broke her arm last week.  She drives a stick, I have an automatic, so we traded cars until she recovers the use of her arm.  I've had to use the guest permit during this time because her car is not registered to me.  This week, a friend stayed overnight.  He was ill.  I gave him my guest pass so he could go to bed and found a 1-day scratch-off pass for my mother's car.  In the morning, when he woke, we switched passes, but I was distracted and forgot to put the guest pass back in my mother's car. 

That's the one-hundred percent God's honest truth.  The puppies had nothing to do with it.  They didn't even eat his homework.

If it were me, I'd let him slide.  But then again, I'm a sucker for DearSweetDave's.