Natasha and Natalie resurface on California's Central Coast. The call came in the middle of the night. It was Natalie's voice on the line. After more than four months, her voice was non-apologetic, but her charm always has a way of insinuating itself into my psyche. She was calling from San Luis Obispo, where she was attending the International Todesvermittler Convention at California Polytechnic University. Meg and I were also scheduled to be in San Luis Obispo (SLO) for the convention, so Natalie must have seen my name on the delegate listing. As a metaphysician, the practice of a Todesvermittler has always been interesting to me, and has been refined since "death mediation" first became public knowledge with the challenge, and later prosecution and conviction of Dr. Jack Kevorkian during the late 1990s. Ever since her days working for NASA in Washington, DC, Natalie Ivanova has been deeply involved with the cause of Euthanasia: providing a means of ending life in a painless manner. In the practice of modern metaphysics, theTodesvermittler facilitates the soul's transcendence of the earthly plane and the return to the spiritual plane. I was pleased to learn that both Natalie and Natasha would be in San Luis Obispo during our stay, and we made plans to have dinner at Big Sky Cafe the second night of the convention. Downtown Association Farmer's Market The SLO Downtown Association sponsors the weekly Farmer's Market held each Thursday evening along Higuera Street. Many restaurants have booths, offering everything from chicken, ribs and western favorites, to Mexican, Asian and Italian cuisine. Many local farms are also represented, offering the best in fruits and vegetables. Since we landed at the airport early that afternoon, Meg and I had ample time to pay a visit to the mission church of San Luis Obispo de Tolosa and amble over to the Farmer's Market, just a couple blocks east. Almost everyone in SLO attends this weekly event, so it wasn't long before Meg and I were met by Natalie chowing down on some ribs from Mo's Smokehouse BBQ. The conference started that morning at Cal Poly, but I had to work late the night before, so Natalie filled me in on the first day's seminar topics and workshops. Since Meg wasn't taking part, Natalie also gave her a rundown of the local shopping opportunities. I purchased a sausage and pepper sandwich from a vendor and an Oatmeal Stout from the SLO Brewing Company, savoring every morsel of the onions piled high on the bun.
Unity in Diversity If anything can be said of San Luis Obispo, it's the fact that there is such unity and cohesiveness in a truly diverse population. If tolerance has a hometown, it must be SLO, where almost every ethnic group is represented, and a large gay population has gained the respect of the community at large. Natalie took us over to the booth of GALA, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance, where Natasha was busy handing out informational brochures and answering questions. Natalie would have also liked to help out at the booth, but she wanted to remain free to show Meg and I around town. Natalie, who freelances in the US defense industry, travels most of the time. Natasha, on the other hand has opted to put down roots in SLO and work in the library at Cal Poly. Natasha Petrova, a native of St. Petersburg, Russia, worked as an information analyst in the Kremlin. She met Natalie on a field trip in the Ukraine, and the two of them immediately bonded.
In Metaphysics, we learn to suspend judgment. It's not the package that counts; the CONTENT is most important. Another way is saying "Never judge a book by it's cover." We Baby Boomers are moving into our "golden" years. In my own life, I passed up on some things that I had been conditioned to shun, either because I was taught it was "morally questionable," or "unhealthy," or not "accepted by society." I must admit that during the past few months, I have begun to realize that doing the things I WANT to do is the most important thing to do in life. Society teaches us to crave a nice, trim body, with the assumption that it shows we are powerful, or successful people. "Dress for Success," we are told; so, we must sport trendy threads to adorn our trim, neat and "healthy" bodies. But, a lesson to be learned from Pop Culture is that a nice "package" often camouflages the fact that there is little CONTENT inside some otherwise attractive people. Many of the nicest people are those society considers to be unacceptable, either because they don't maintain a "fashion" sense, or because they are ground down to a nub by day-to-day living and use "comfort foods" to ease the pain of existence. As the old world collapses around us, we begin to trust our inner selves, and the beauty of our spiritual being. We begin to understand the old Buddhist saying that "The body is only the horse that our soul rides upon."
There is a woman in my writer's group who is in her 70's and writes poetry. Her poems are honest and come from her heart, talking about pain, happiness, regret, fulfillment...the whole gamut of life. She recently self-published a book of her poetry, and often shares her new stuff when we get together. One of her recent poems talks about doing all the things that we once shunned because we were conditioned to reject "pleasure" and our own happiness. We were conditioned to deprive ourselves, and to "sacrifice" our own happiness so that others can be served. Then comes the day when we get THE MESSAGE: that life is to ENJOY, and that we have to be JOYFUL so that we can SHARE our happiness with others. As a metaphysician and life coach, I studied all the major religions of the world. I grew up in the Church and spent a lot of my time volunteering and trying to help other people. But, the mistake I made was trying to "save" others from the pain in life, while I took upon myself a load of pain and suffering. Looking back, I really didn't help anybody or any situation. I should have spent more time taking care of myself, so that I could travel the path of happiness and follow my bliss. Teaching others how to be happy is more important than handing them something on a silver platter, which they never completely appreciate and often really don't value. Now, I'm spending more time on MYSELF. Also, I honor the path that others walk, even when it differs from mine. To paraphrase the Bhagavad Gita, we must respect the diversity of life, while also understanding the unity. The Old Ways are collapsing, and the world is a much different (and tolerant) place than the one we were brought into over 50 years ago.
"Pismo Beach and all the Clams you can eat" We took Bugs Bunny's advice and drove over to Pismo Beach, where you can in fact find the freshest Steamers at Splash Cafe. Pismo is a beach town similar to those along the New Jersey coast. In fact, the only difference is that California has the most lovely ocean sunsets. We took a bucket of food out to the pier, where the late day breeze felt good after the heat of the day. Just south of Pismo, the monarch butterflies congregated on their Spring migration south to Mexico. The sound of Leslie Gore singing "California Nights" lilted ever so gently from one of the bars that dot the boardwalk. Sung by a Jersey girl, I thought the timing was appropriate for the occasion.
Pismo Clam Chowder Recipe:
INGREDIENTS:
4 DOZEN Soft-shelled Steamer Clams
1/4 CUP Shredded Salt Pork
1/2 CUP Chopped Onions
2 tbsp. Flour
1 1/2 CUPS Peeled, diced raw potatoes
1 1/2 CUPS Light Cream
Cayenne pepper to taste
DIRECTIONS:
Wash and scrub clams well. Barely cover with cold water in large pot and bring to a boil. Skim. Simmer for 10 minutes. Drain clams, reserving broth. Discard shells, necks and black thread of clams. Separate hard membrane from soft stomach and place each in separate bowls of cold water.
Slowly fry pork until crisp. Remove pieces and save for garnish. Saute onions in fat until tender. Stir in flour and cook over low heat a few minutes. Add clam broth, chopped membranes and potatoes. Simmer 30 minutes. Add cream, clam stomach and pepper. Garnish with crisp pork pieces. Serves six people.
Surfer's Paradise Surfers congregate nightly at the local Pismo bars, but the locals will tell you that the best of the best surf Morro Bay, a fishing town 10 miles north. It was getting late, so we drove Natalie and Natasha back to San Luis Obispo. Meg and I headed north to Morro Bay, ending the perfect day on the golden Central Coast of California.
SEND E-MAIL INQUIRIES OR COMMENTS: alvoto@aol.com
