Leveraged Intelligence

News Flash: King Tutankhamun No Longer Cursing!

San Francisco, CA,  February 27, 2010:  Famed King Tutankhamun, boy King of Egypt, he of the foul cursing, has reportedly repented since it was discovered that he died from a leg infection and malaria, not as the result of a nefarious plot (nor even a Nefertitius plot), but instead a plot more of the garden variety.  It seems he was a bit embarrassed that it wasn’t a death more exotic.  To quote the King, speaking through Agnes Moredread (after everyone had successfully caused a table to rise and then bump around), “I felt kind of bad killing that guy who came into my tomb and then making that canary be eaten by the cobra and the dog drop over dead.  I mean, it just wasn’t very nice.  So, I have stopped cursing and hope to make it up to someone soon.”

Well, darned if he didn’t pull it off.  On the afternoon of the dangerous Chilean tsunami which generated a wave of .8 ft. along the Pacific Coastline where San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park meets the ocean, an intrepid pair of locals survived by spending the afternoon wandering through the park  somewhat aimlessly, enjoying it immensely.  This unlikely couple were Carol and Conrad Hake, better known as the parents of Carly Hake, international scholar.

After going to see the genuine Dutch Windmill, which Carol had always wanted to see, they wandered to the 55-acre Botanical Gardens, noting the irony that the only section seemingly incomplete and in disarray was the section of native California plants.  To quote Mrs. Hake, “It seems ironic at first … until you realize that this was the only section probably surrounded by plants of other lands and left simply as it was found.  By definition, anything growing there HAD to be a California plant.”  The Hakes have no further quotes after that, for they were found to actually be an uninteresting interview.

Wandering to the DeYoung Museum at 5:00 PM PST, they decided to check on the pricing of the King Tut exhibition taking place there.  Walking to the ticket desk, Mrs. Hake asked the attendant what the cost was of the exhibit.  The attendant replied, “Would you like to go in and see it now?”  She was told that, “no, we simply wish to know the pricing and the time schedule for another day.”  The Hakes had already spent $5.00 at the Botanical Gardens after all.

The attendant leaned over and spoke more slowly, perhaps thinking with some justification that the Hakes were not bright, saying, “No, you don’t understand.  Would you like to go see it right now, FOR FREE?  Someone did not pick up their tickets and we would like to give them to you.”  Bright or not, the Hakes homed in on the word FREE like it was Momma calling them in to dinner, and gladly accepted.

Now, I copy the ticket so that you may examine it:

Not only were the Hakes given two tickets, they were given two VIP passes!  The lines of people waiting to see the exhibit wound back and forth as they do in Disneyland; long lines, tiring lines.  But, being the VIP’s they were, the Hakes were ushered around the lines completely and taken directly into the exhibit.  Ten exhibit rooms of some of the most exquisite carvings, jewelry and furniture to be found anywhere!

Mr. Hake, who was thought to be mute to this point, was heard to exclaim as they disappeared into the night, “Thanks, Tut!  I owe you one!”

__________________________________________________

Picture of Tut Coffinette licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.5 Generic license.

You are free:

• to share – to copy, distribute and transmit the work
• to remix – to adapt the work

Under the following conditions:

• attribution – You must attribute the work in the manner specified by the author or licensor (but not in any way that suggests that they endorse you or your use of the work).
• share alike – If you alter, transform, or build upon this work, you may distribute the resulting work only under the same or similar license to this one.

Faith

Every walking step taken is an act of faith, natural faith.  You have faith in the landing, faith in your balance, faith in the fluid shifting of weight that maintains momentum into the next step.  You never think of it as an act of faith until you trip or realize it can be lost, permanently or temporarily as Grannymar and bikehikebabe in our own group have found out.  Last year, my wife turned and stepped against a raised joint in the sidewalk and fell to a knee – breaking her kneecap and spending a significant stretch in a brace then going through rehabilitation.

Every step taken is a step into the future, a step into the unknown.  While walking takes a little faith, running takes more.  There is more potential for falling, but more reward in the process.  The unknown comes faster, is consumed, is known.  And, there is another difference, for now both feet are off the ground simultaneously.  For brief periods, you are no longer anchored to terra firma.

When I was twenty-one, I took the faith to the next level.  Five of us took off for the Bridger Wilderness in the Wind River Range of the Rockies just south of the Grand Tetons in Wyoming.

That’s me at the top right in this picture.  In fact, this is how we looked at the end of the journey.  Seventy-five miles through some VERY rugged terrain.  Up and down, slippery, steep, unsure footing!  Here is one of the mild parts, a picture of me crossing a shallow stream.

The reason I include this picture is that it was the best illustration of my theme, a continued growth of faith in your next step on uncertain surfaces.  At one point, a gravelly surface gave way under me, leaving me clawing for a hold – only to stop at a ledge with about a 1500 foot drop on the other side!  But, day by day, we all became more fit, more sure-footed.

Then, we hit a point of challenge without choice, the ultimate test for a group of rank amateurs.  We came over a ridge only to discover that the only realistic way down was over a LARGE slope strewn with very big boulders!  It was not feasible to go back and we could see no other realistic way to reach our next destination.

This is where the literal leap of faith came in.  We found that we could not climb from boulder to boulder, we had to jump.  And, further, we found that the gaps were too large to do it without momentum.  So, we did the thing twenty-one year olds feeling their oats do – we ran all the way down, never knowing where the next leap would go until the prior was completed!  One step per boulder became the best way.  Faster, faster, faster.  Ah, the exhilaration.  Confidence grew with every step.  And, finally the bottom, faces split with smiles from ear to ear.

All of this is a true recounting – but, it might as well have been the Metaphor Mountains …

This piece is part of the continuing Blogger’s Consortium series with simultaneous posts on the topic being done by Anu, Ashok, gaelikaa, Ginger, Grannymar, Helen, Judy, Magpie 11, Maria and Ramana.  This is Anu’s first topic suggestion and I tried to do her youthful exuberance justice by recalling a little of my own.

Big Event Coming!

Carly Turns 20!

This is timed to release at the precise minute Carly turns 20.

Happy Birthday Carly!!

The Sequential Mayo Line of Succession

First, there was Mayo – and Sharon, his sane and classy truelove!  They begat Jessie.  And they saw it was good.

But, Jessie said, “Wait, ain’t good enough!”  So, Jessie found Chad and she married him, because we know you don’t want a dangling Chad!  And, the rest is history unfolding:

Turns out Chad and Jessie like each other a lot!

So, they begat Mackenzie.

And, the result was VERY GOOD!

On the seventh day of Labor, Mom rested!

So, Dad stepped up to the plate!

And, finally, we meet the Lady Mayo, known to family as Sharon!

Now, we’re getting some folks in the fold!  Grandma Snyder!

And a rare visit from OGO (Oh, Great One!) himself on the other side of the camera!

Uncle Tyler approves!  I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but EVERYONE in this family is good looking!

And, Mom, Dad and Baby wish everyone a Merry Christmas!!!

Filoli: Fight – Love – Live

Fight for a just cause; Love your fellow man; Live a good life.

The Motto of William Bowers Bourn II, the builder of Filoli Estates

What would you do with the money if you were so damnably rich that it went right off the scale of what we mortals contemplate?  Well, you might start by building the mansion that is used in the opening of the old TV show Dynasty:

Give it a nice ballroom:

And make the rest correspondingly gorgeous.  I have all kinds of pics, but … well, you’d never get this blog to open!

Design gorgeous gardens:

Then, when your daughter decides to get married, buy her an 11,000 acre estate.  In Ireland.  Pictures of it below:

Carol and I went to visit it weekend before last.  It is about 25 miles to the West of us.  And it is nice!

Here are a couple of links if you would like to know more:

Wikipedia entry on Filoli Gardens

Official Filoli Site

Filoli Virtual Tours