Manny Kagan

Cheers,

How to Celebrate Spring

Spring represents a rebirth of the nature. New leaves adorn trees and flowers bloom everywhere. In addition, there are two holidays that relate to one another, and take place in the spring, as well. Passover and Easter both represent rebirth. Passover signifies the birth of the Israelites as a nation, after living in Egypt for 430 years and moving to the Promise Land with a short stopover in the desert for 40 years.

Easter uses eggs as a symbol to represent new life and rebirth, and is an extension of the ancient custom, which was adopted to celebrate the memory of Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection. Whichever tradition you follow, lets celebrate Spring’s arrival with beautiful flowers from Japanese cherry blossom trees.

Enjoy and Share Love with a Friend!

Cheers,

Spring Is Here

On Friday April 1^st, I fooled myself and instead of staying in the office, I drove to Golden Gate Park for a stroll in the Botanical Garden, to experience spring. If you received my latest book, “42 Encounters with Love” (if not you can order here), you know that, in addition to my other skills, I write poems.

SPRING

I know that Spring is here

Because the Japanese maple tree

In our backyard has burst with red leaves.

It looks as if the burning bush

Mysteriously appeared in San Francisco.

The majestic magnolias flowers

Are showing their beauty.

The Calla lilies stick out their heads

To manifest their royal glory.

Red tulips have opened their mouths

To absorb the morning dew,

And yellow daffodils

Bounced together as in the dance.

The colorful tapestry covers the ground.

White daisies, pink flowers

And blue forget-me-nots.

The navy-blue and white hyacinths

Fill the air with their fragrance.

I know that spring is here

Because the world is filled with beauty.

In the Botanical Garden I photographed many exotic looking flowers; but I also encountered people who came here just to relax.

Enjoy and Share Love with a Friend!

Cheers,

Chicken or the Egg?

I do not think you would lose sleep over the question, which came first, the chicken or the egg. The Torah only tells us that “God created all the winged birds of every kind. And God saw that this was good.” (Genesis 20:21), without letting us know how he/she did it. Therefore, this task was left for the scientists. And as it sometimes happens, there are at least two opinions: some claim that the chicken came first, while others prefer the egg.

Regardless of what scientists consider, some of us prefer to eat chickens; while others only eggs. In our family, we do not eat meat. When I tell this to some people, they ask, “Not even a chicken?” Not even a chicken; however, eggs are a great source of protein. One of my clients who lives in the Sunset district of San Francisco has egg laying chickens, and I was lucky to get some of those fresh green colored eggs. My wife and I ate the eggs, but you can enjoy these images of the chickens.

Enjoy and Share Love with a Friend!

Cheers,

Reviving

According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, “revive” means to “return to consciousness of life: become active or flourishing again”, as well as “to restore from a depressed, inactive, or unused state, bring back”, and “to renew in the mind or memory”.

I decided to check the definition of this word after a recent visit to Downtown San Francisco. For many years, I was coming here with my camera, to capture images of encounters with people filling the streets of our beautiful city. Some of these images ended up in four of my “42 Encounters” photo-story books that I’ve published so far (order here).

This time, the streets were empty with only a few out-of-town visitors. The major name stores on Grant Street had polished windows and tight security, but not many buyers. Wearing masks was optional; however, many still did. It was difficult to imagine how life will return to normal; nevertheless, I am sure it will. This is why I am currently working on my next photo-story book, “San Franciscans. Looking Forward, Through Looking Back. 42 Encounters with Pioneers”. Stay tuned! Meanwhile, enjoy these three of my encounters.

Enjoy and Share Love!