Family Literacy Day

By Krista Schwimmer

Some of my fondest memories of my early, child- hood years are of my parents reading to me and my brothers before bedtime. One such book was “Are You My Mother,” by P.D. Eastman, about a lost, little bird. My mother read this book to me so frequently that I surprised her one day at the age of four by apparently reading it to her. I had simply memorized it.

Imagine now that you are in a home where there is not a single book. No fairy tales to hear as you drift asleep; no shared memories of reading with any par- ent. Sadly, in California, this is too often the picture. Ranked 48th in childhood literacy, California is in dire need of help. Fortunately, three organizations are pre- pared to send in some troops: Raising A Reader, Sun- set Lodge #369 Free & Accepted Masons, and the Mystic Journey Bookstore. Armed with books, knowl- edge, and heart, they are ready to show the community how we can not only face this situation, but ultimately solve it.

On Saturday, June 1st, from 1 – 4 pm, Sunset Ma- sonic Lodge and the Mystic Journey Bookstore are proud to present Family Literary Day. The event will be held at the lodge, located on 1720 Ocean Park Boulevard in Santa Monica. This free event will bring awareness to the amazing, national, literacy program called Raising A Reader. The day will include a book swap; a creative arts station; a model train display by Group 160; and a celebrity panel, discussing the issue of child literacy and children’s literature. The panel will include the local Venetian author and actor, Paul Michael Glaser.

In 1999, Raising A Reader was created to help lower income families of children aged 0 to 8 years old “develop, practice and maintain home-based liter- acy routines critical for school success.” They do this

in a simple, effective way: by providing low-income families with free books to take home. Having already helped over one million children, this group’s thirty years of research shows that children do better in school when the family is involved in their activities. The most successful activity is that of families reading books together.

Historically, Masons have championed public education. Just in California, they have lobbied for state-supported education and federal land grants; helped create a free system of public education; and created Public Schools Week. In the last four years, the California Masonic foundation has provided more than $5 million in educational scholarships and serv- ices to children.

Each year, the incoming Grand Master of Masons in California chooses a charity to support. For not only this year, but the next three years, the Grand Lodge has chosen to support Raising A Reader. Along with donating funds to the organization, the goal is to pro- vide the Raising A Reader program to 250 California kindergarten classrooms in the lowest performing schools, reaching an estimated 6,000 children at risk.

Locally, to support the Grand Lodge’s project, Sunset Masonic Lodge, in coordination with The Mys- tic Journey Bookstore, has created Family Literacy Day. This diverse and dynamic lodge has served the Venice Beach, Santa Monica, West L.A., and sur- rounding areas for more than a century. For this event, they reached out to the West Los Angeles area, starting with Will Rogers Elementary and Grant Elementary Schools. Ironically, although Raising A Reader was founded in Redwood Shores, California, the West Los Angeles region has been untouched until now.

The Mystic Journey Bookstore, founded in Octo- ber 2008 by Jeffrey Segal, joins Sunset Masonic

Lodge in their efforts. The metaphysical bookstore is located at 1624 Abbot Kinney Boulevard. Its mission is not only “to spread light and love, to enlighten and enliven, to intrigue and inspire,” but to “become a leader in our community.” The two organizations plan on promoting other charitable events together in the future.

Victor Hugo writes that “to learn to read is to light a fire; every syllable that is spelled out a spark.” Please join Raising A Reader, Sunset Masonic Lodge #369, and the Mystic Journey Bookstore on June 1st in lighting a fire for children in California, one spark at a time.

For further information about or to donate chil- dren’s books for “Family Literacy Day,” please contact John Stellar at 800-858-2712 or info@e-pr.com To learn more about the other organizations, please visit these websites: Sunset Lodge #369 F&AM, http://www.sunsetmasoniclodge.org; The Mystic Journey Bookstore, http://www.mysticjourneybookstore.com

California Coastal Commission Silences Pacific Gas & Electric’s Airguns

By Krista Schwimmer

On Wednesday, November 14, 2012, the California Coastal Commission unanimously and vehemently denied Pacific Gas & Electric Company a permit that would have allowed them to conduct a high energy seismic survey off shore of the Diablo Canyon Power Plant, along the Central Coast of California. To accomplish this goal, the Research Vessel, Marcus Langseth, would have towed numerous airguns, sending out high level sound impulses, in excess of 240 decibels, every few minutes, 24 hours a day, for a minimum of 12 days. No one in the room disagreed that such a barrage of sound would have some kind of a harmful effect. The question before the Commission then was whether or not P G & E could prove the survey’s benefit outweighed its inevitable harm.

The hearing, which took place in the Santa Monica Auditorium, lasted the entire day, reflecting both the enormity of the issue and the passion it stirred in a diverse set of people unified by this one issue. The California Coastal Commission received between 150 and 170 speaker cards to testify. As the day progressed, it became evident that all but P G & E were there in protest.

The California Coastal Commission opened the hearing with background history and then, their staff findings.  The lengthy and complex backstory included the passage of Assembly Bill 1632 requiring an assessment of the potential vulnerability of the state’s two nuclear plants; the Energy Commission’s report requesting P G & E to update their plant’s seismic hazard assessment; and the California Public Utilities Commission directives to P G & E for their 2014 licensing renewal. Although the California Commission’s own staff recommended the denial of P G & E’ s request, the company was granted the hearing under a “special approval” clause called the Coastal Dependent Industrial Facility Override Policy.

Making the case for P G & E was Mark Krausse. Krausse claimed that 3D high-energy offshore studies were needed to evaluate geometry and potential intersection of offshore faults. As for the use of such powerful airguns, he sited bridge piling, with its 250 decibel sound source, as a precedent. In his closing statement, Krausse argued that the “essential issue” was “one of public safety pitted against environmental protection.” Krausse’s hopeless position before the Commission was reminiscent of the song, “Alice’s Restaurant”, when Officer Obie, with his 8×10 color glossy pictures as evidence, watches in dismay as the judge walks in with a seeing eye dog. (Though, in this case, Krausse was up against a Commission and coastal community with hawk eyes for vision!)

At this point, a group of 9 environmental notorieties – including Surfriders, Sierra Club, and NRDC – led the seismic attack. The day-long testimony consisted of intelligent, passionate, and spiritual arguments against such a form of surveying that one grandmother said, would create “an acoustic prison” for the more than 2,000, friendly, Morro Bay porpoises who reside there. There was the organized presentation of environmentalists that showed the potential injury to the marine life there, as well as the ripple effect of it on the whole Marine Protected Area network. There was the fishermen and City of Morro Bay itself that spoke of the negative economic effect in that area. There were grandmothers, physicians, lawyers, and the 12 year old Aaron from San Luis Obispo who told the Commission that “the choices that you make now define integrity for our children.” Whether it was the fact that the harbor porpoise can suffer injuries at merely 164 decibels of sound or the dismissal of the ridiculous notion that it was ok for the endangered otters there as they hold their head above water, the crowd came well-prepared. Such levels of sound, too, could actually harm swimmers and surfers, unaware of the testing.

Some of the most moving testimony was given after lunch by speakers for the Coastal Band of the Chumash Nation. Fred Collins, Tribal Administrator for the Northern Chumash, began by reflecting on the very close connection his people have always had for the animal and plant nations. His own family, he said, comes from the village where Diablo Canyon is built. He called this issue, “the biggest issue that ever has been along our coastline.” The second Chumash speaker, Mati Waiya, went more deeply into the Chumash tribe’s longtime connection to this land – 30,000 years, according to his elders. He called his tribe, “the dolphin people”, who teach their children the relationship to the dolphins and the memory that “our whales carry. As families, (the whales) travel in pods and they mourn the death of their loved ones. Just like you do.” He told the Commission that “you carry the tear of the whales in your hand,” advising them to see truth through the smoke and mirrors before them.” He ended by asking them not to “wake up this land by this testing. Because you’ll regret it. This is what our ancestors say.” He also indicated, like the speaker before him, his trust in the Coastal Commission. “No one has the permit to take lives,” he concluded.

At the end of the hearing, when it came time to vote, the audience soon learned how seriously the California Coastal Commission took this request. Not only did each Commissioner vote against it, many shared stories of his or her unique connection to the ocean and its inhabitants. Dr. William Burke spoke of how he had once wanted to be an ichthyologist; but now has 9 salt water tanks at his home, filled with what he deems are “his children.”  Commissioner Connie Stewart mentioned how she, too, once touched a whale and found it powerful.

For many compelling reasons – ranging from the scientific to the spiritual – the California Coastal Commission denied P G & E that day. In doing so, they showed that they can be powerful allies to the coastal inhabitants – whether they live in or along the water. It was, indeed, a marvelous victory for marine life and lovers.

And yet, in the shadow of this victory, lies another, pressing concern, brought up throughout the day by commissioner and citizen alike. Should Diablo Canyon Power Plant even be there anymore? Rather than renewing their license in 2014, should we instead be scurrying to find solar and other energy solutions?

Answering this question could indeed be California’s next seismic matter.

Let Us Now Praise All Women Writers – or Not!

By Krista Schwimmer

March is designated “Women’s History Month”, a designation that began first as a week. In 1978, the “Education Task Force of the Sonoma County Commission On the Status of Women” started a Women’s History Week, choosing the week of March 8 to coincide with International Women’s Day. The idea caught on. So, in 1981, Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and Representation Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) cosponsored the first joint Congressional Resolution proclaiming a “Women’s History Week.” Six years later, the National Women’s History Project successfully lobbied Congress to declare the entire month of March as National Women’s History Month. Every year, a Presidential Proclamation is issued to launch off this celebration.

This year the theme for Women’s History Month is “Our History is Our Strength.” I have been mulling over the fact that women still seem largely missing from mass consciousness in many walks of life. I have also been thinking a lot about prizes and awards. So, I decided to take a look at two of the most well-known and prestigious prizes – the Nobel Prize and the Pulitzer Prize – to see how women have fared in them. Being an avid reader, I was particularly drawn to literature. I decided to look at only the Nobel Prize Winners for Literature and the Pulitzer Prize Winners for “Letters, Drama and Music.”

The Nobel Prize for Literature has been awarded 103 times to 106 Nobel Laureates, beginning in 1901. Only 12 of these recipients have been women. With the Pulitzer Prize, I looked at the 8 categories under “Letters, Drama and Music” which were: Biography or Autobiography; Drama; Fiction; General Non-Fiction; History; Music; Novel; and Poetry. According to my calculations, the totals for men and women under the category of “Letters, Drama, and Music,” were 389 individual men and 92 individual women. There were eight shared awards given to groups of men; two others shared by a man and a woman.

Well, one could argue, what does a prize matter anyway? There were many men on the Nobel Prize Literary list, (such as Jacinto Benavente, 1922 winner for his contributions to Spanish drama) that I have never heard of, let alone read. I cannot say literary prizes affect me much. They are far too subjective to amount to anything. In the United States, however, a country where people participate in ridiculous television reality shows for money and notoriety, I believe it matters. If nothing else, a well known prize such as the Pulitzer or Nobel, gives a writer a chance to get his or her work out to the world over a longer period of time. It doesn’t hurt either that a Pulitzer prize winner receives $10,000; and in 2010, the Nobel Prize winner, a fat $1.5 million.

Women fared better in certain categories more than others. For instance, combining the Novel and the Fiction Category (which replaced the Novel Category in 1948), 27 women and 57 men received awards. Interestingly, in the History Category, men received 85 Pulitzers and women, only 7. (Hmmm – could this be why women have been written out of history at times?) Similarly, under Biography and Autobiography, the voices of men over women were heard 82 to 12.

If prizes such as the Pulitzer and the Nobel reflect a deeper attitude towards those we value, then we still have a long way to go when it comes to re-cognizing the written words of women. So this month, make it a month of reading the works of women from all walks of life. Read them to yourself in the bath; read them out loud to your lover and friends. And when you find a treasure, pass it on to those you love. After all, it is not a prize that makes a work great; it is the way the work resounds within you.

The 12 Women Nobel Laureates for Literature:

• 1909 Selma Ottilia Louis Lagerlof
• 1926 Grazia Delede
• 1928 Sigrid Undset
• 1938 Pearl Buck
• 1945 Gabriela Mistral
• 1966 Nelly Sachs (shared with Shmuel Yosel Agnon)
• 1991 Nadine Gordime
• 1993 Toni Morrison
• 1996 Wislawa Szymborska
• 2004 Elfrieda Jelinck
• 2007 Doris Lessing
• 2009 Herta Mull

How Women Fared In All the Nobel Prize Categories (including the Prize in Economic Sciences) From 1901 to 2010:

These prizes were awarded 534 times to 840 people and organizations. A total of 813 individuals received prizes; 20 organizations. Nobel Prizes were awarded to only 41 WOMEN IN TOTAL, with Marie Curie receiving it twice.

(Note: All prize statistics obtained at www.pulitzer.org and www.nobelprize.org)

Keeping Vigil For Eun Kang

By Krista Schwimmer

On December 8, a group of around 20 to 25 people met at Crescent Place Triangle to hold a candlelight vigil for Eun Kang, a 38 year old Venetian resident brutally raped and stabbed to death in her own home one year earlier. At the time of her death, she was pregnant with twins.

Despite the enormous tragedy of her death, there was little fanfare on this one year anniversary: no politicians, no large media groups, and only a small crowd consisting of Eun’s neighbors and officers from the LAPD and local Fire House Number 63.  Two detectives who responded to the call last year were present: Detective Castruita and Detective Carranza whose case this is. By coincidence, the two fire fighter paramedics from Fire House 63 on duty last year, Kevin Kemp and Sevan Gerard, were on duty again this year and were able to attend the memorial.

One of the organizers, Jim Hubbard, spoke about how the purpose of this vigil was to “honor a person and her unborn children who were slain viciously.” He called the loss of life by these means “insane and unacceptable.”

Representatives from both the LAPD and LAFD echoed similar sentiments, stating how this kind of a crime is also heartbreaking for the police.

A suspect, Boneetio Kentro Washington of Culver City, was arrested immediately in the case. He was charged with three counts of capital murder and could face the death penalty. Detective Carranza stated that his case was still in the court system and would drag on for years. He said he would see this case through, as he does with all of his cases. Detective Castruita, a detective for 16 years, called her murder “particularly gruesome.”

Chris Chanaud, boyfriend and father to the unborn babies, did not know about the community vigil. He said he had privately remembered her earlier in the day. He stated that “Eun would not have really cared about how people honor her memory. She”d probably say something like “Don’t dwell on it. But maybe get some lights on that street (Electric Avenue.)”

Although the criminal case is not over for the officers and family members connected to Eun, there appears little more the community she lives in can do for her.  We are left simply with the task of remembering. For Chris Chanaud, that means remembering how Eun touched his life: ‘she lived her life to the fullest like the candle which burns twice as bright but half as long. She was just so awesome. She really showed me how to enjoy life and not stress too much about the little things. She was a simple girl. Her favorite things were tomatoes, sewing, and surfing.”

 

A Labyrinth Grows in Oakwood

By Krista Schwimmer

On a small lot next to the Bethel Tabernacle Church, corner of San Juan Avenue and 6^th Street, there is now an ancient symbol marked on the earth itself.  Found in a multitude of cultures as early as 4,000 years ago, this circular design invites you to pause, to look and to walk. With a symbolism that incorporates themes of life and death, inner revelations and communal gatherings, you could call it a thumbprint of the gods. Most people, however, call it a labyrinth.

Sometimes confused with a maze, a labyrinth is usually circular, with a unicursal path to the center. There is one way in and one way out, with no tricks or dead ends like a maze. In the 1990s, labyrinths became popular once more. Suddenly, people wanted to build them, walk them and talk about them. As a result, you can find them in churches, parks, hospitals and private homes either as permanent fixtures or portable art.

Who is behind the Oakwood labyrinth? The trail begins with Venice Public Art and its project called “The Venice Corner Ball Park Projects.”  The goal of this project, according to VPA’s website, is to transform underutilized or blighted street corners in Venice into unique landscaped parks with sculptural seating. Lead artist to the Corner Ball Park Projects is Robin Murez, a Venice artist whose studio is right on Abbot Kinney Boulevard.  The Oakwood Labyrinth Park is one of the parks in Venice that Robin is working on right now. It has the honor, however, of being the first completed one, with the Grand Opening day set for Saturday, May 1^st, a day coinciding with International Labyrinth day.

Why a labyrinth there? Throughout time the labyrinth has meant different things to different people. In Scandinavian and Baltic cultures labyrinths were built next to the ocean. Wives would run them for their husbands at sea to bring them good fortune. The Hopi cultures associated them with new life and reincarnation. Christians placed them in churches such as Chartres, and saw them as part of pilgrimage. Many people today have embraced it as a symbol of the goddess. Seeing this association with the spiritual, Robin thought a labyrinth fit well next to the neighboring church.

Besides being spiritual, the park is also ecological in design. Five hundred cement cylinders, recycled from landfills, mark the circuits of the labyrinth. Newly-planted palm trees create a boundary between the church and a neighboring home. Community members are still donating drought-resistant plants to plant in the front of the church. Other modifications include an irrigation system, an overseeding of grass on the whole area, and the addition of thyme and chamomile in the labyrinth itself, creating a pleasing aroma for the walking pilgrim. Finally, a palos, a single concrete sphere encased in black and white marble, serves as both a unique marker for this location, as well as a place for a visitor to rest.

The overall beautification also included repainting the outside of the Bethel Tabernacle church. The building dates from 1927.  One member of this aging congregation recalls it was first a dance hall. It has been used as a church now for over 50 years. Fitting with the time period and the structure, the church has been painted in traditional, craftsmen style colors.

Past and present, labyrinths bring community together. So, how has Venice responded so far? Robin says that the project has met with tremendous support, both from Venice at large and the immediate community. The Reverend Harold Smith, Pastor for the neighboring Bethel Tabernacle Church, agrees. He says he is overwhelmed with enthusiasm already with the kind of attention and attraction that this has brought his church. There were a few congregation members who were uneasy about it at first, wondering if the labyrinth was a sort of cultural thing inviting idolatry. “What we don’t understand, we don’t always make room for,” the Pastor said. Once his people understood how the community wanted not only to put in the labyrinth, but help them with repairs the church has not been able to afford, the few uncertain members were also convinced of its benefit.

Some cultures believe it is possible to reconnect with those who have died by walking a labyrinth. Maybe that’s why Robin muses out loud about the Irving Tabor home right down the street. Once the home of Abbot Kinney himself, he bequeathed it to Irving Tabor, his art director, chauffeur and close friend. First located on 1 Grand Canal, (currently the Postal Annex), Tabor had to move the home to Oakwood because he was an African-American and was not welcomed in Abbot Kinney’s part of town.

Robin likes to think that Abbot himself would approve of not only the Oakwood Labyrinth Park, but the series of parks planned throughout the rest of Venice — like the in-grown maze, poetry corner, or sundial park – all still in the works. She sees them linked together, with people walking from place to place. Each park has its own palos. The Pastor sees the labyrinth as a chance for the community to rediscover a devout and enduring congregation. Whatever the future holds for the Oakwood labyrinth, there is little doubt that its creation and its birth already have brought the Venice community together.

C’mon out May 1, from 10 am to 5 pm, and join the community in celebrating the birth of the Oakwood Labyrinth Park.

Profile: Venice Activist Ivonne Guzman

By Krista Schwimmer

With even more homeless people living on the streets, it is inspiring to meet and talk with Ivonne Guzman, CEO of “Reach for the Top,” a federally tax-exempt, non-profit organization. Located in Venice since 2005, this organization is dedicated to housing the homeless, as well as distributing food to the community itself.

To accomplish their main mission of housing the homeless, they have purchased two properties: a triplex and a single family home, allowing them to have 4 different households. Two of these households hold all men; one, a mix of men and women; and the fourth houses families. Due to the high cost of real estate in Venice, both households are outside of Venice itself. The people they serve, however, are from the Venice community.

Ivonne is a passionate and enthusiastic member of the Venice Community. She came to Venice with her parents when she was five and has lived on the same block since, her parents having purchased several properties together. Although she did not plan on becoming involved in “Reach for the Top”, she believes in” divine intervention, divine path”. This is the path she has been put on.

What is amazing about this program is that not only does it provide shelter for anyone needing it – people ranging from the very educated to those coming out of prison – but it helps them gather the tools to then move on to permanent housing. Some of this is accomplished with the help of the Department of Social Services that started a private housing program 2 years ago. This allows for some basic funds for each individual. The rest is accomplished through the contributions of the household folks themselves. Everyone contributes in someway. There is no such thing as a free ride.

Although they do not keep statistics, Ivonne says the program is very successful. The average stay is between 9 and 12 months. They can stay up to 24 months. “The truth is, “ Ivonne declares,  “I don’t kick anyone out unless they are bad, meaning they are causing problems for everyone else. Then, they have to go.” She says they are particularly good at keeping clients from returning to crime; and recently, she helped a single father with amazing computer skills obtain a job at NASA. Now, he is looking for a home here in Venice.

Currently, what keeps Ivonne motivated and excited is the new facility in the works that would add 27 new beds for moms and children only. “It’s really sad,” Ivonne bemoans “when you see young kids out there with babies.”  There are some funds already allocated for this facility. They are working on developing a site for it in the West Adams District.

Ivonne has a lot of dreams. She dreams of developing affordable housing here in Venice; of greening throughout the City itself; and of employment development. All of this takes will, money and most of all time – “time and a good team”, she exclaims.

Towards the end of our interview, Ivonne announces that she has decided to run for office in the Neighborhood Council. “I’m scared to death; but by the same token, I just feel that it is time to – when I was younger we would have parades for things like Cinqo de Mayo.  The people were more united. We need to go back to that more, to people holding hands and saying we’re not going to take this anymore. We don’t want to be known as the persecutors of the people, just because you don’t have a place to live.”

It is people like Ivonne – with her compassion, commitment, and sense of community – that give Venice soul. If Venice is to truly be, as Ivonne herself believes, “the heartbeat of Los Angeles,” then we must support her and others like her even more than ever.

Andrew Koenig, My Venice Neighbor and Friend

By krista schwimmer

On Thursday night, February 25^th, my friend, Simona, found me at work to tell me that my friend and neighbor, Andrew Koenig, had been found dead in Stanly Park, Vancouver, Canada. Although he had been missing by then since the 16^th, and had a history of depression, I had still held up hope for his safe return. Friends and family sweeping the park had finally found his body off a trail. The news later confirmed his death as a suicide.

I last saw him at his Venice apartment the night before he left for Montreal, Canada. As he often did, he knocked on my back door. When he told me he was moving and flying to Canada the next day, I was surprised. He had not mentioned any of this to us earlier. I said as much and then asked him his plans. He said he wasn’t sure, that he was going to most likely travel for a few months. He had friends he could stay with in Canada. He wanted to know if I needed any herbs or spices from his kitchens; I told him no, and then hugged him, saying I would miss him. He told me he would miss me, too, and returned to his apartment to continue his work. Little did I know he had given away most of his possessions. He seemed calm and focused.

Although his move was a surprise, I knew he was miserable in Venice. I knew, too, how much he loved Canada (a shared love as my husband is from Nova Scotia). He had lived in Vancouver when he was younger and still visited friends up there regularly. Whenever he returned from his visits to Canada, he seemed happy and refreshed. I thought that he was perhaps trying to make a dash for Canada. I had done that myself, in my 30’s, when I had moved to Nova Scotia. So, I interpreted it as a man going after his dreams. I planned on checking up with him through Face Book to keep in touch with him.

In 1998, when I first moved into this neighborhood, folks still took the time to get to know each other. Andrew was no exception. I would see Andrew in passing when I threw out the trash or left cat food on my back steps for the wandering Venice cats. Being Canadian, my husband, Michael, would see Andrew and say, “Hey, come over for a beer!” Over time, Andrew would come over often for a variety of reasons — to borrow something; to use our printer; or simply to visit on the front porch where squirrels and birds would come because of the feeders. We had many conversations on the porch ranging from politics, to meaningful work, and critters. I particularly remember how Andrew loved the idea of astral travel and had consciously tried to do it.

Andrew was a kind hearted person, sometimes in spite of himself. There was a group of cats that lived in the back of our two apartment buildings. In the beginning, there must have been at least 6 of them. They were abandoned after their owner, a woman next store, died of cancer. There was a golden tom cat named Junior that Andrew particularly helped. He was a very needy, physical cat. At first, Andrew was a bit put out by Junior’s demanding way. (Believe me, we all were!) They became particularly close buddies, with Andrew regularly leaving his door open for Junior to wander up and visit with him, particularly when Junior was ill. Andrew would take Junior to the vet and pay for his vet bills even when he, himself, had little money. When Junior finally died, Andrew knocked on my backdoor. He had Junior’s body, knowing I would want to say my final goodbyes before he buried him.

I always admired that Andrew put into action his philosophy of life. He was a vegan; owned a Prius; went to Burma and returned to speak up for their suffering. As an actor, writer, director and editor, he struggled; but, he also persisted, learning new skills and constantly working at something. All three of us shared a love of Halloween, with Andrew almost always coming to our annual Halloween porch party and public ritual for remembering our ancestors. That is probably why I enjoy so much Andrew’s humorous short, “Good Boy” about a man who chops off his own hand to retrieve his remote control.

Although I admired Andrew’s creative self, for many years we knew nothing about his early acting success as “Boner” in “Growing Pains,” or that his father was Chekov on Star Trek. It was largely Andrew, the neighbor, I knew and loved. When I had my hysterectomy in 2008, he drove down to Harbor UCLA in Torrance to visit me in the hospital. He also made himself available to me while I recovered at home, so that when my husband went to work, I would have someone there if I needed. He was one of the few people I trusted to take care of my birds whenever Michael and I went up to San Francisco.

I still find myself looking out the tiny window of my backdoor to see if Andrew’s door is open. I still expect to walk by him, in that alleyway with the pink bougainvillea, as he returns and I go to the local post office. Or maybe, catch him on the steps of our porch eating a lunch of organic greens and heirloom tomatoes. I think of his family and their terrible loss. I pray that his soul is at peace, that the Goddess has taken him back into her being and even now, is restoring him with her infinite compassion.

One of the teachers I admire tremendously is the Buddhist activist and monk, Thich Nhat Hahn. In his book called “No Death, No Fear”, he talks about how when conditions are right, a person who has died, returns again. As a young boy, Hahn experienced this himself, after his mother died. One night, when he was sobbing in bed for her, the moonlight touched him in such a way that he knew it was his mother.

I believe in this myself. So, I will look for you, Andrew, in the world around me – the world of birds and squirrels and sky that you protected and loved; a world that you decided to return to yourself.

For more information about Andrew’s life and suicide prevention, visit his father’s site at www.walterkoenigsite.com

Poetry

• Tumbling – Karl Abrams
• dedicated to the memory of Milton and Bunny Bratton – Kitty Bratton
• Praise for a lost Woman - hillary kaye
• Life’s Work – Vecelina Minkovski
• for Carol Fondiller – R.F. Wagner, Jr.
• During the campaign – Edward Ferrer
• Changeling – Jim Smith
• Prayer – krista schwimmer

————————-

Tumbling
By Karl Abrams

So I waited for you,
This time completely.
Looking only at the garden gate
Where you would first appear.
Something moved gracefully,
gently in the languid afternoon.
It was you, I thought.
Then, no, it was just a leaf
in that sweet lonely wind…
tumbling effortlessly
But yes, that is also you.

————————-

(dedicated to the memory of
Milton and Bunny Bratton)

I long for the beach
I long for a beach
The one I recall is out of reach…

The dolly with the pink hair in the
Venice dept.store-gone
The candy striped playground at windward-gone
The 10 cent tram up and down the boardwalk-gone
The king neptune of P O P’s entrance-gone
Jack’s by the sea-gone
The Lafayette’s restaurant-gone
The green pagodas we sat in-gone
The Fox movie house-gone
The old val’s drug store-gone
Hotels on the beach front full of seniors-gone
Running into friends you know for years-gone

My parent’s love was born in venice,
and they both died there.

I long for a beach.

–kitty bratton

————————-

Praise for a lost Woman

by hillary kaye

A life covered
in the blood of betrayal
A cremation of dreams
A fire pit
of loss
A woman’s
life
the life of the soul
enmeshed
in sorrow and joy
She gives birth and nurtures
and still is slandered
by a world enthralled with
its own destruction
And yet she loves the very things
that hate her
and is buried by the
same blood as her sons

————————-
Life’s Work

By Vecelina Minkovski

Life demands
That we grow up and
Teaches us to persevere
Our independence is crucial cause
It frees our selves and
Gives us power to create
It reminds us that we’ve had
The choices we are learning all along…
Unfortunately countless human beings
Especially the women and children of this world,
Have a limited pool from which to choose…
Or they have no choice at all…
No thanks to
Oppression-
Ignorance-
Violence-
And Fear…
It is our duty to make these demons
Disappear…
It is our destiny to fulfill our utmost
Purpose… right now.
With the abundance of resources
That we have so generously been
Given…
It is our responsibility
To make this world a better place
One act of kindness
At a time
So make the best choices that you can
And help those who have no choice at all
This is what it means me to be alive.
The fresh breath of oxygen given…
Had better create a happy reality that
Flourishes and grows many other
Happy realities…
This is purpose.
This is life’s work…
Now come along
And sing the song
Of peace on earth
And good will to all.

————————-

20:35 Friday, February 26, 2010, behind the Talking Stick, for Carol Fondiller….. I never got to meet you. Now you’re lost To haunt me, and no ordinary ghost You are. Just what I needed: one more shock To waken me too late, a heavy rock Attached to my left ankle, pulling me In spirals to carve through a leaden sea. A millstone to embrace, held to my heart. A sense of sinking lingers. I report What I receive via eternity. I never got to know you. Certainty That you remain, in memories, to lock Into some private chamber, as the clock Has sounded from the tower, tolls at best, Reminding us: no ordinary ghost….. R.F.Wagner, Jr.

————————-

During the campaign

During the campaign
the hope rose
an Obama Nation
candidate Obama was a true single payer supporter
The truth
in the adage: “Campaign promises are meant to be broken”
gives us an
abomination.
Rahm Emanuel
“not a problem”
unfortunately, an apparent
role model
Our President
is part of the
“Best Democracy money can buy.”

–Edward Ferrer

————————-
Changeling

By Jim Smith

She rides upon her great mare, Gladus
From end to end this town is hers.
The timid peek over their fences
Others wave from their porches.
We recognize her without a doubt
A bit of pink or brightly blue, it’s her.
One of a kind, A Venice woman.
Hard to predict, easy to admire
She’s up to nothing but good.
Cooking for the sick.
Entertaining the elderly.
You’ve got to be Bad
for Suzy not to think you’re good
…down deep.

When night falls our fair maid
changes before our eyes
and under the moon
into the Vamp of the speakeasies
and Queen of the b l u e s
bop bop a be bop
Yeah, sing it baby sing
sing that song of a woman’s torment
sing that song of a woman’s ecstasy.

————————-

Prayer

Oh Goddess of the Winged Night
let not my heart go out to all men
as if each were a god.

Oh Goddess of the Many Moons
let not my mind turn towards all men
who cannot bear the brilliance of moonlight.

Oh Goddess of the Hidden Well
let not my mouth drink from any man
as if he were the source of life.

Now i invoke your tenderness!
Now i invoke your luminescence!
Now i invoke your strength!

And in the coolness of November rains
as the dead return to their graves
i rise up with them to return to you.

–krista schwimmer