Category: My life

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Thought and beliefs

Was taking a walk on this very beautiful early fall day and thinking about some of my core concepts. I took a few minutes to write them down in my notebook. Will try to refine them. I do not say that they are original. (I put in quotes when I think it is direct.) In fact, one of my aphorisms is that nothing is original. A good education means that we can borrow or steal from superior minds. They are not in any special order but as they came to mind, so they are sometimes related to those near.

  • All success starts with failure
  • All greatness is based on contradictions
  • Diversity is not compatible with equality
  • Nobody has a really original idea
  • All history & culture is the common heritage of humanity
  • Avoidance & denial are valid strategies
  • Your past does not determine your future
  • You cannot control what happens to you but you can control your response.
  • If you want to do something for the long term, make haste slowly
  • Don’t care what people were. Ask what they are now and what they can do in future.
  • You do not always need to know where you are going to get there.
  • A good process is better than a detailed plan
  • Most people are good, but all people are flawed. Reach for their better angels
  • Lighten up
  • “You cannot step twice into the same stream”
  • You know less than you think but usually enough
  • Don’t spend a dollar to make a dime decision
  • Act decisively even when in doubt
  • Make decisions iteratively – think, do, reflect, do better
  • Resilience is better than strength
  • History has no direction. It emerges.

Will think of more later, but would welcome suggestions.

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Paulo Agustoni

Paulo Agustoni had been working for the USG for more forty years by the time I started in the FS and he was waiting from me when I took up my post in Porto Alegre. All counted, Paulo would spend more than fifty (50) years in the service of the United States of America. He showed me his service pins from ten, twenty, thirty and forty years of service. They evidently do not have one for fifty. It so rarely comes up.

I went to visit Paulo during my visit to Porto Alegre. He is now ninety-one years old. People often say that old people still “sharp.” In Paulo’s case, they are telling the truth.

Paulo has a big book of pictures, letter and personnel actions. I was happy that I wrote his EER competently back in 1987, because he still has it.

He was a typical Gaucho when he was born in Passo Fundo, RS back ninety-one years ago, i.e. he was the son of immigrants. His father came from nearby Uruguay. His mother came from farther away in Naples.

Paulo’s daughter pointed out that her grandmother immigrated directly to Porto Alegre. I learned that this was unusual for the time. Most Italian immigrants headed for “the colony,” which was the land of the Italians in the RGS mountains where they came to predominate in cities like Caixias do Sul or Bento Gonçalves, and in the countryside around where they established vineyards and small farms. There is town called Antonio Prato much loved by Romance language linguists, since that is where they go to study Italian dialects no longer extant in the old country.

This area of Rio Grande do Sul and neighboring state of Santa Catarina is one of the most pleasant landscapes on earth. The climate is moderate, since it has higher altitudes and lower latitudes. It gets enough rain to keep it green all year around and immigrants from Italy and Germany constructed neat communities among the majestic araucaria trees (sometimes called Parana pine).

In 1944, Paulo started to work for the USG at the predecessor of the USIA. His job was to show films in the interior of the state. From there he worked his way up and made a good life for himself and his family.

Paulo helped me when I was a green young officer and it was great to see him again.
My first picture shows Paulo and me. Next three are from the Cathedral Square in POA. Picture # 4 shows Theatro Sao Pedro. Back when I first came to POA, it was a ruin. Some people wanted to tear it down and build one of those steel and concrete monstrosities that passed for modern architecture – like the the thing you see at the edge of the picture. It was saved largely though the efforts of Eva Sopher. Her family fled Hitler and found refuge in RGS. She paid pack the kindness by saving this landmark. I met her a couple times. Remarkable woman, the kind of person who is the epitome of culture and kindness. Her work lives on.

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Doves

The doves colonize Chrissy’s flower box every year. This has been going on for at least ten years. The doves are unafraid of us. I suppose the flower box on the house provides a relatively safe – “cliff side” environment.

The chicks hatched last week.

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Gentleman of Leisure

Ben Franklin is the patron saint of American diplomats and his statue sits at FSI.

My favorite Founding Father is Thomas Jefferson. I like his intellect and his love of nature. But Franklin is maybe a better role model, or at least template for my current “Gentleman of Leisure” job.

Franklin became a gentleman of leisure when he was only around forty years old. Much of what he is best know for today came after that.

Leisure today usually means laying around, maybe drinking beer in your underwear after sleeping late. When I chose my title “gentleman of leisure” I knew I would contend with that definition. I welcome the ambiguity because it gives me a chance to explain.

The word leisure comes from Latin Licere – to be allowed. It comes through middle French where it means “permission”. This is what I mean. A gentleman of leisure has to permission/capacity to choose what he will do.

Gentleman of leisure does not mean I do little or nothing. It means I am as active as ever but I am choosing the activities that are meaningful to me. I am no Ben Franklin, but that is what he did.

My first picture shows Ben Franklin in his thoughtful pose. The second is my own leisure pose.

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Great Day in Washington

People grumble about Washington weather and about Washington in general, but they are wrong. The weather is glorious in spring and fall. Winters are usually mild and even during hot & humid July we have some really nice days. Today was one of them and tomorrow is supposed to be too.

So it was a joy to ride my bike today to FSI and Washington. I stopped at FSI to use the State computers. FSI has lots of good attributes. One that is useful to me is that it is right near the bike trail, so I can ride there almost w/o going on streets. My trip to Brazil is almost set, and I can do most of my business on the home computer, but sometimes not. FSI is closer than HST. After that, I went down to Brookings for a program on sustainable development goals and just enjoyed being.

My first picture is from FSI. They have done a really good job and made the landscape more natural. That used to be a simple mowed hill. Nicer now. Next is the fountain at the botanical garden. I like to sit there and read my book. Next picture is looking the other direction. Picture #4 is a panorama from where I had lunch near the Reagan building. It was just a nice moment. Last is a less happy scene. Sometimes you see where somebody has locked a bike but it didn’t work the way they hoped.

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Gentrification is Good at National Wharf

I didn’t recognize the place. We lived in around here when we were studying Norwegian. It was not very nice. There were a few restaurants, but the area was seedy – vaguely troubling during the day and dangerous after dark.

Now it is great. They call it District Wharf or Southwest Waterfront. I have to come down here with Chrissy. There are lots of nice restaurants with outdoor seating, places to drink beer in pleasant surroundings.

The pictures are from District Wharf. Notice the nice pub and new buildings. There is also a bike path. Notice the newly planted trees. They are American elm and should be great in a decade an magnificent in a two. The last picture shows a planter. The planters feature longleaf pines, just coming out of the grass stage. Of course, they are just decorative. In its natural environment, a longleaf pine that size will have roots reaching 10-12 feet.

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Monumental Democracy

Thought I would visit some of the monuments and think about our democracy on a beautiful, low humidity Washington day.

I have mixed feelings about monuments to flawed humans. We revere and remember great individual because of one or a few great ideas or deeds. The man himself is less important but it is too easy to slip into hagiography when in these temple-like monuments. Still and all, the mark makes a memory, so I seek them out.

Starting with Jefferson. Thomas Jefferson did not want a monument. He wanted to be remembered for his work and mentioned only three things, but they were good ones – “Author of the Declaration of Independence [and] of the Statute of Virginia for religious freedom & Father of the University of Virginia.” Jefferson is my favorite founding father. He was interested in everything and appreciated nature. I would have been great to talk to Jefferson, although I understand that he was a little shy.

John F. Kennedy’s Remarked at a Dinner Honoring Nobel Prize Winners of the Western Hemisphere. “I think this is the most extraordinary collection of talent, of human knowledge, that has ever been gathered together at the White House, with the possible exception of when Thomas Jefferson dined alone.”

Next I visited FDR. Like Jefferson, FDR did not want a memorial, at least not a big one. He wanted a monument no bigger than his desk and that is what he had for a long time. There is a 3x7x4 block of marble near the National Archives. That is appropriate, but subsequent generations wanted something more.

I have probably read more books about FDR than about anybody else and I made the pilgrimage to his house in Hyde Park. I appreciate his complex leadership style and his political genius and I really like his love of nature. He was a great conservationist and often described his profession as grower of trees. His establishment of the CCC was a great move. On the personal level, the CCC probably saved my father from delinquency and so made me possible, so say what you want about FDR, I have to like a guy so committed to conservation.

Next around the Tidal Basin is Martin Luther King. This is a new memorial. Jefferson was one of the founders of freedom; FDR protected it; Martin Luther King reminded the country that it freedom was for all Americans. His non-violent method used moral suasion, appealing to the better angels of American natures and so created a lasting legacy. I am not very fond of the statute, however. It is too stern & has that mid-century monumental feel. It was made in China and kind of looks like it was made in China.

Of course, I have not forgotten Washington and Lincoln, but I tend to ride past their monuments very often on my way to other places in Washington. I have to make a special side trip to see Jefferson, Roosevelt and King.

One more thing about monuments. We should be careful as lovers of democracy in creating monuments to individuals, both in stone and in our minds. IMO, we should construct no monuments to anybody until they have been dead for at least twenty-five years and certainly not to any living politician.

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Mosaic District on a Nice July Day

When we moved here, the “Mosaic District” was a big parking lot from a defunct drive in movie theater. There were a few businesses, including a tailor shop in a shack. It sits at about the same place today, but now it is part of a trendy new neighborhood.

The weather was unusually nice for this time of year – sunny with low humidity & high about 80. We thought it nice to walk over to Mosaic. Lots of other people had the same idea.
It is amazing how fast a “town” can spring up. Seems like it has been like this for ages.
My first two picture are the usual drinking pictures, but no beer this time. I had Fanta and Chrissy just had diet Coke along with BBQ chicken & Masala at Choolaah Indian BBQ, the only place they had open tables outside. Next is the open area. I suppose that is a kind of Mosaic square. They replaced the real glass with AstroTurf a while back. I suppose it is better given all the traffic. Last is a group of Asian break dancers. Is that cultural appropriation?

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Day in the Life July 6, 2018

Went to pick up my Brazilian visa in anticipation of my upcoming São Paulo adventure. Looking forward to it.
The weather was good enough (a little humid, but only a light and intermittent rain) to ride the bike to Washington. It is more rewarding than taking the Metro. I really enjoy riding the bike, but I like it better if I have a destination. Just riding from and back lacks something.

I am very happy with my “new” bike. All the moving parts are new, but the frame, handlebars and seat are the old and beat up originals. With all the scratches and lost paint, I am hoping that it is less attractive to bike thieves.

Washington has lots of nice bike trails The one on 15th Street (in the picture) is not wonderfully beautiful, but it is convenient. I can take it up to AEI or Brookings, and the Brazilian Consulate in right there in 15th. The danger is that it is a two-way trail along one side of the street. Drivers are sometimes not looking for you coming the other way. It is also dangerous coming onto Massachusetts and New Hampshire Avenues going south, since 15th becomes a one-way street going north and you cannot see the traffic light. The solution is to only cross when the walk light is with you. Next picture shows my half-new bike.

Last three pictures are from the botanical gardens. It is not really on the way, but I make it so. I am trying to get familiar with some of the wildflowers that we are encouraging on the farms. They have interesting names like rattlesnake master in the first picture and star tickseed in the second. I forgot to get the name of the one in the third picture.

Maybe Mariza is worried about not treating Boomer right. We are indeed treating him like a dog, but you can see that he is doing okay. That is a big dog.

Mariza – your mother is getting very much attached to Boomer. He knows how get what he wants.