It’s All About the Women

When I was growing up in Riga, Latvia, March 8^th was an official holiday called International Women’s Day. I remember the first gift I gave to my mother on that day. I was probably about eight or nine. Somehow I was able to save enough money to buy her a chocolate bar. For some reason I still remember how it looked and tasted (it was my favorite brand). It seems that in the United States the gift giving to women moved to the Valentine’s Day, which became more commercialized. Both holidays are focused on women for different reasons.

International Women’s Day started in Russia out of a massive demonstration that took place on the eve of the Russian Revolution in 1917. It was a protest against the deteriorating living conditions, a lack of basic food supplies and the shortage of goods. A majority of the demonstrators were women. In commemoration of this demonstration, since 1922, the Soviet Union has celebrated Women’s Day on February 23rd (or on March 8^th, according to the Gregorian Calendar). Until the mid 1970s, it was primarily celebrated in socialist countries. In December 1977, the General Assembly adopted a resolution proclaiming a “United Nations Day for Women’s rights and International Peace to be observed on any day of the year by Member States, in accordance with their historical and national traditions.” As of 2014 IWD is celebrated in more than 100 countries.

The Sea Ranch is Calling

A few weeks ago I wrote that to celebrate my 71^st birthday we went to The Sea Ranch. We started coming here in 1989, and Max is our third dog to enjoy this remarkable place. The actual reason to take six days vacation was the need to refinish the kitchen floor in our house. Since we could not stay there during this process, we decided to use the opportunity to visit again The Sea Ranch. To buy a birthday cake, we drove to a pastry shop in Anchor Bay, about a half an hour away. After a long evening walk with Max on the ocean trail, and getting exhausted after running and playing with him on the beach, we settled down in front of the TV to watch the Father Brown series and to have tea with cake. This was the best birthday celebration I could wish for.

The Sea Ranch has an interesting history. Online I learned that “For hundreds of years before Europeans ever saw the northern Sonoma coast, the gentle Pomo Indians made seasonal tracks for the coast to hunt, fish and gather foodstuffs. In the spring of 1812, Ivan Kuslov, a peg-legged officer of the Russian American Fur Company, was the first white man to walk this coast. In 1839 the Russians sold their holdings to a Swiss rascal named John Augustus Suter, “who also owned large areas in the Central Valley, where gold was later discovered setting the California Gold Rush.”

What Does Wayne Gretzky Have In Common With Steph Curry?

After I finished working on my story about the basketball game last week, I realized that I still had some images left of the spectators watching the game, that I thought you might be interested in seeing. I decided to check the Sporting Green section in the February 10^th edition of the San Francisco Chronicle for story ideas and to read about the game I attended on Thursday night. Instead I found an article titled “Gretzky’s been on road Curry’s Taking” written by Scott Ostler. The article points out that “the king of ice hockey”, Gretzky, “was always the slowest and weakest player on his team”. The article compares the two great athletes. “Gretzky broke in as a 6-foot, 160-pound shrimp; Curry as a 6-2, 170-pound string bean. The big, mean guys would’ve killed ’em if they could’ve caught ’em.” Gretzky has been to a couple of Warriors games and he acknowledged, “Listen, I don’t know a lot about basketball, but I know one thing – he is fun to watch. I’ve had an opportunity to watch him warm up, and the stuff he does in warm-ups is sensational”.

As I pointed out last week, Curry is the highest paid player on the team, but during the game he looked like a midget next to the 6.9-7 ft tall guys. But how does one find high performing players? “We always look for the perfect athlete”, Gretzky said. “How big he is or how fast he is or how strong he is. But we can never measure the mentality of an athlete. You can test and say, ‘How does this guy play under pressure? How will he do when his back’s against the wall?’ Either you have that or you don’t.” Perhaps it was a coincidence (in which I do not believe in) on the same date in the Bay Area Section of San Francisco Chronicle there was another article written by Peter Hartlaub titled, “S.F. Warriors get off to low-key start – in Daly City”. It turned out the event, which attracted about twenty thousand fans to a game between the Warriors and Mavericks on Thursday had a humble start on October 23, 1962. “The first San Francisco Warriors game was at the Cow Palace in Daly City on Oct. 23, 1962, was pushed back to 9 p.m. in hopes that in the boxing match there would be an early knockout at the Gene Fullmer vs. Dick Tiger fight at Candlestick Park – and fans would trickle over to watch basketball.”

This Is Just A Game

There are those who are into sports, and those who are not. I belong to the latter group. While growing up in Riga, Latvia, I played soccer and basketball. I also practiced Roman wrestling, fencing, and then in the college (I attended the Riga Polytechnical Institute), I became a mountain-climber. I never succeeded in any of these activities. From time to time, my father would take me to soccer games, but these opportunities did not implant any sports bugs in me.

Nevertheless, when a friend offered me a free ticket to a basketball game between the Golden State Warriors and the Dallas Mavericks (or Dubs vs Mavs), I said, “Yes”. Prior to this, I visited the Oakland Coliseum a few years ago, when Chase Bank invited me to a basketball game at the VIP lodge. Other than watching the game, we were surrounded by free food and the cheerleaders would visit us in the breaks for photo ops.

This time, my experience was different. My friend has had great season tickets in the middle of the arena in the 6^th row by the aisle, for the last twenty years. Thus, I was watching the game from the best spot.

If someone were to watch a basketball game for the first time, they would observe ten tall men in two different uniforms running from one side of the court to another, and from time to time throwing a ball into a basket, while 19,596 spectators yell and scream when the ball goes through the net.

There are huge screens high up in the middle of the arena, where one can see the action much better. During the game, loud music blasted and names of different companies would up on the light panels surrounding the space. From time to time vendors would peddle different snacks, beer, water and popcorn. Meanwhile, cheerleaders would jump and shake their bodies, or other performers would entertain the public.

It’s All In The Heart

You might have heard the expression that “The Heart is Where the Soul Resides.” This belief originated in ancient Egypt. This was the reason why during the mummification process, other parts of the body were removed while the heart was the only organ preserved. The Egyptians also believed that the heart was the source of memory, emotions and personality. Later on, ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle believed that the heart was the source of intelligence, motion and sensitivity? Only during the Renaissance did it become clear to Europeans that the heart functioned solely to pump blood. But does the heart have anything to do with love? Isn’t love “located” in the heart as well? Years ago, when I would disapprove of my daughter’s choice of boyfriends, my wife Elfa told me, instead of brooding, I should connect to my heart. This worked like a charm. Since in my heart I only had love for my daughter, the anger was departed.

The idea that in addition to fulfilling its vital role in our bodies, our heart has enough room for love as well as the soul; is going to be manifested over Valentine’s Day, next week. On Wednesday the 14^th, chocolates, flowers and other gifts are exchanged, many in the familiar symbol of the heart, which interestingly does not resemble what human heart really looks like. Recently in “The Wall Street Journal”, the Review section published an essay from Marilyn Yalom’s new book, “The Amorous Heart: An Unconventional History of Love” titled “The Mysterious Origins of our Most Enduring Symbol of Love.” According to the author, “The earliest illustrations of the amorous heart, created around 1250 in a French allegory called “The Romance of the Pear”, pictured a heart that looks like pinecone, eggplant or a pear.