Category: Manny Kagan

How To Pick Mushrooms

  

How To Pick Mushrooms

When we grew up in Riga, Latvia, every autumn we would go to a local forest to pick mushrooms. So when I saw an article on October 1, 2020 in “The Wall Street Journal” titled, “Russia’s Love Affair With Fungi Has Mushroomed in Pandemic”, it brought back pleasant memories. I sometimes use the analogy of how to pick mushrooms with how to find clients. First of all, you need to know which mushrooms are edible and which can be poisonous (think about clients). Then you need to know where to find mushrooms. You can spend the whole day walking in the forest and only find the wrong ones.

Some species grow under specific trees. In the Russian language, the mushrooms’ names can be related to the name of the tree. To be successful, one needs to get to the forest very early. And the most important part is, most of the time, only poisonous mushrooms are visible. The good ones are hiding under the moss and leaves. You have to use a stick to remove obstacles, and then when you find the right one, bend down and cut the stem of the mushroom, leaving the bottom part of the root in the ground. Then you need to cut the mushroom to check for worms. Worms can be one of the indications that this is an edible type. We would carry a basket or a bucket in the anticipation of a plentiful find. If you are lucky, as you walk, the basket gets heavier and heavier. Then there is another important part – how to find your way back; after all, there might not be even trails. Therefore, using a local person or a guide can help you in your foraging experience.

It is a good idea to bring a backpack to keep an extra shirt, since the temperature can change, or if it rains, mosquito repellent is a must, and you also need an extra knife, water, snacks or sandwich and a compass. Nowadays, a mobile phone can serve many functions, if there is cell phone service. But finding mushrooms and bringing them home is only the beginning of the process of appreciation. They need to be cleaned (very dirty work), preserved and then cooked, dried or marinated. This last type is good with drinking Vodka, which is a Russian tradition. While describing how to pick the mushrooms, I realized that the method of processing mushrooms is similar to the processing of mortgage loans. Finding a client and filling out the loan application is only the beginning, and there are many, many steps to get the final results.

In spite of the obstacles, foraging for mushrooms can be fun. If you’ve never done it, check online, join a group and be prepared to have a lot of fun.

P.S. I often photograph mushrooms in our neighborhood. Unlike those in the forest, they are mostly poisonous. However, they look good with my personal touch. 

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What Does Your Dog Really Want?

  

What Does Your Dog Really Want?

You might have heard about how dog owners start to resemble their dogs. Research has been made to verify this phenomena. One of the reasons may be that people choose dogs that look most like themselves (Do I really look like Max?). There is also some research that shows that it’s not just appearance; our dogs may also share our personality traits.

One of the books in my library is called “Inside Your Dog’s Mind” with the subtitle, “What They Really Think”. There are twenty articles written by different authors with the titles like. “Why We Love Dogs (and They Love Us)” and “Listen Up”. The last one was recommended to train your dog to do what you want, using positive reinforcement, which suggests that humans think they know what is right for their four-legged best friends. But do we really know? To find out, I consulted an article written by Gregory Berns, which appeared in Scientific American titled, “What Does Your Dog Really Want?”. 

Some of the research followed a divorce case, during which a couple was arguing about the custody of their pet. In 2017, Alaska became the first state to pass a law requiring the consideration of pets’ well-being in custody disputes. The question was how humans know what their pet really wants. To find out, scientists decided to use MRI equipment to determine whether a dog’s apparent love for their owners was driven by food or kind words.

The project started with two dogs who were trained to go willingly into MRI scanners. Five years later, 90 dogs had participated in a dozen different experiments. The conclusion is that most of the dogs liked both food and human praise and attention.

Of course I am not a scientist and have only one dog, our Labradoodle Max. During our three years together, Max has taught me a lot, while ensuring me that I know what he really wants (besides food and praise) – to play ball. Max is very smart and expressive. He speaks with his body language; particularly, his paws and his eyes. Sometimes I am slow to learn. Max patiently waits until I get it, and then he continues to encourage me to play with the ball. In my photo-story book “42 Encounters with Dog Lovers”, which you can buy on Amazon, I outlined seven lessons that I’ve learned from Max. Here they are;

1. Life is a Game

2. Life is Short

3. Life is Sharing Love

4. Life is a Journey

5. Life is Making New Friends

6. Life is a Cycle

7. Life is Learning

P.S. I received the poster with the Dog’s words of wisdom from a client. The other three images are the latest photos of my ball partner, Max.

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Let There Be Light!

  

Let There Be Light!

Tomorrow begins the cycle of reading the Torah from the beginning.

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was unformed and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep; and the spirit of God hovered over the face of the waters. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. And God saw the light that it was good, and God separated the light from the darkness.” (Genesis 13 1-4). For over 35 years, I’ve started my mornings with reading daily portions from the Torah, and each day I find something new that I did not realize before. For example, to whom God is talking about manifesting light and announcing that the light is good? And what about the separation between the light and the darkness? Since the purpose of the creation was to make the world ready for the first humans, Adam and Eve and their descendants, perhaps God was addressing the modern humans in his message. We are living in a time surrounded by a lot of darkness. Can we separate it from the light, or do we need God’s help?

Between the 2020 General Election, the Coronavirus, fires, unemployment and so many other personal issues, which are greatly multiplied by media outlets, it is very difficult to see the light and the good. This was the reason why on Columbus Day, I decided to venture to Downtown San Francisco. I have not been there since March. Before the Corona virus, I would go there once a week for a networking meeting, and on the weekends with my camera. I love our city and its people and wanted to see for myself what is going on. Of course, I knew about the changes due to the Coronavirus; the lack of office workers and tourists, whose place was taken up by tents of the homeless people. 

Nevertheless, I also know that while focusing on finding light – it is already there.

I met an old friend on Sutter Street, who is a doctor, and whose clinic was in the neighborhood. He never stopped working and witnessed how Downtown had become crippled with darkness. He pointed out on the windows of the Leica photo store covered with plywood. I remarked, “Covid”. “No”, he said, “Black Lives Matter”. The note on the plywood covering the door stated, “Unauthorized Entry Will be Met with Armed Response.”

I agreed with him that the city had changed. However, being an optimist, and a believer in the light and good, I know that this shall also pass. Perhaps there is a need to change the city’s leadership (in the 13th century, the poet Rumi wrote, “Fish begins to stink at the head”). But the lack of traffic allowed for some repair work to be done. I saw tourists by the gate to Chinatown, and a few stores had “We are Open” signs written on the plywood. I went to Belden Lane to have lunch at Tiramisu Restaurant and had a great ice cream at Amarino Gelato. Obviously, our city has boils on its body, but gradually the fuss will get out and the body will heal, and our city will be filled with the light (and people) again. 

P.S. The word “photography” means drawing with the light. I use the light to share with you four images, which show the signs of normality.

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The Significance of Numbers

  

The Significance of Numbers

Recently my wife Elfa reminded me that it was on August 5th forty years ago we moved to San Francisco. If not for the Coronavirus, we probably would celebrate such an important date in our lives. Instead, I decided to share with you some of the significance of the number 40. We can start with the Scripture where it was mentioned 146 times. There, the number generally symbolizes a period of testing, trial and probation. According to Numerology, 40 represents 5 traits – Dignity, Focus, Pragmatism, Sense of Security and Dedication. Looking back at our last forty years, which were challenging, exciting and very satisfying, I believe that during those years I developed all five traits, which prepared me for the next 40 years.

There are other numbers connected with the experience of our arrival here. It happened on the 5th of the eighth month. In Numerology the key characteristic of number 5 is curiosity and the need for variety of exciting experiences in order to feel fulfilled. It craves freedom and adventure and isn’t afraid to let the wind carry it where it may (this fits me perfectly). And what about number 8 (as August is the 8th months of the year)? In Numerology, the number 8 is the achiever and measures life by goals and reaches. It has a good business sense, a powerful presence and is strong for success (all of that sounds good). In Chinese culture, the number 8 is considered the luckiest number of all, and purposely worked into wedding dates. On the subject of weddings, there was another important number in our lives. Three days after our arrival in San Francisco, we celebrated our thirteenth wedding anniversary (I recently wrote about our 53rd anniversary). By adding 8 and 5 we get the number 13. Some consider number 13 unlucky. In Numerology the number 13 brings the test, the suffering and the death. It symbolizes the death to the matter or to oneself and the birth to the spirit: the passage on higher level or existence. This number cannot be unlucky, because I was born on January 13th and besides in China 13 is traditionally considered a lucky number, because in Chinese it sounds similar to words for “assured growth”. In Torah thirteen is attributed to meaning of Mercy. I found all of this trivia on line, and there is obviously much more if you have desire and time to explore. Meanwhile, I will introduce you to one more number – 42, which in Douglas Adam’s “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” is an answer to the Universe’s ultimate question – “What is the meaning of life, the universe and everything?”

I am ending with number 42, because it is the number of images I’ve chosen for my “42 Encounters” series of photo-books. I just finished working on “42 Encounters with Laughter”, which is going to be available in a few months. Start building your own library, since it will take me another forty years to finish all 42 books. You can find those on Amazon.com.

P.S. I used dried roses to design different numbers, which were mentioned in the story. The bouquet has forty flowers, and the bonus image of LOVE has forty-two roses. I might use this image on the cover of my book, “42 Encounters with Love”, which I am planning to publish in 2021. Meanwhile, “42 Encounters with Laughter” is moving forward. Stay tuned.

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Lucky Break

  

Lucky Break

How many times have you come across people who were successful at something, because of what seemed like a “lucky break”? I thought about this after reading an article in the San Francisco Chronicle from September 19, 2020, “How sand dunes became S.F.’s Golden Gate Park, thanks to a clumsy horse” written by Gary Kamiya, who is the author of the best-selling book, “Cool Gray City of Love: 49 Views of San Francisco” (I explored this book while doing research for my photo-story book, “42 Encounters in San Francisco”, which is available on Amazon.com).

The article describes how William Hammond Hall converted almost one thousand acres of sand into what became our beloved Golden Gate Park, which recently celebrated its 150-year Anniversary. And it was a horse who helped to do that. After trying to plant different plants and shrubs to hold the sand without any success, he got a lucky break when “one of their horses was corralled on a patch of sand. Its feed consisted of whole soaked barley seeds. One day, the horse spilled its feed on the sand. As luck would have it, the rains soon came. When Hall happened by the spot a week later, the barley seeds had sprouted and clothed several yards of loose sand with a vigorous green growth.” It took years, but this lucky break was the beginning. There are many other similar stories; one of them is about the “accidental” discovery of the penicillin by Sir Alexander Fleming. 

There is also the story of how Scotchgard was discovered by Patsy Sherman, who had a lucky break when she was trying to develop a special rubber.

The adhesive behind Post-it notes was discovered in 1968 by Spencer Silver, a researcher at 3M Laboratories, who was actually looking for a stronger adhesive.

Can there be a lucky break be in politics? Recently, I read a very interesting article about Joe Biden, which was published in The New Yorker on August 31, 2020, titled “Man in The Middle” written by Evan Osnos.

Joe Biden was trailing behind Bernie Sanders, when he got his lucky break in South Carolina. Before this happened, I was listening to a Public Radio interview with Representative James Clyburn, a South Carolina icon. He said that he had some political disagreements with his late wife; however, she liked Joe Biden and therefore to honor his wife, he decided to support him as well. The rest is history. Will this lucky break lead to one day, the most powerful nation in the world to have Kamala Harris, the first woman of color as the President of the United States? Time will tell.

P.S. Last week I shared four images with you of flowers without color. This week, flowers had their lucky break and their color returned. You can see them side by side, as well as other flowers on my Instagram. 

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