Improving with Age

I got curious today about a family club we used to frequent in Brazil.

It was called the Clube de Campo Do Castelo, or the Country Club of the Castle.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=er-a0JkRf0c

The club looks like it's still going strong, changing very little of the landscape, tennis courts, pool, gymnasium, restaurant and meeting areas. I see a new gym and the boats on the lake are up to date.

It was so much fun to go out there on Thursday afternoons. Our mothers shared carpooling, and would come out to get us after school in a big group to take us to the clube. Some of us would play tennis with our fathers, who had been out there most of the day already.

Some of the mothers played tennis as well. The other mothers in our mission group hung out under the canopy of trees. There was always conversation, some women crafted and others relaxed!

We kids could rent hammocks, ride paddle boats, play on the play sets, run around the large acreage playing all kinds of games, swim, play clay court tennis, or play on the tennis backboard to get some practice.

The clube was a place of respite, where we could catch our breath and look forward to the weekend.

I recall my Uncle Allen and Aunt Lucia joining us. They were always in the pool with us kids, and Allen taught me how to do the side crawl, on both sides! We loved throwing coins into the pool and racing to grab them! We would race as well, among so many other aquatic games; many of which were made up.

There was also a walkway over the pool, dividing the shallow end of the pool from the deep end. There was something magical about that bridge. It could be anything we wanted it to be, from a bridge over a mote, to water washing under a cave.

During American Holidays, we'd have cookouts on the grills and our mothers would spread a feast on the picnic tables! We'd sing the US National Anthem, America the Beautiful, and other folk songs. If it was World Cup season, we might throw in a song to celebrate our beloved Brazil!

I am imagining all the fun the country club is still having with a newer generation of families! May you be around a long time dear clube!

Beatles Memories

My first connection with the Beetles was hearing about "those boys with the long hair"!

As a child of about four or five, all I recall were four guys with hair cuts like my little brother. Richard had the cutest bowl haircuts, though his was a tad shorter. I guess Rich's passed the dress code. Later in life I learned that "long hair" was anything that grazed the back of a collar.

Meanwhile, the Beetles became a part of our family.

Though we loved Brazil, my parents got homesick and often "killed homesickness" - as we'd say in Portuguese - by listening to American music. In prior posts, I've mentioned the sounds of Peter, Paul & Mary, Trini Lopez, Richard Anthony, along with mom's high school collegue, Roger Miller.

One of my favorite memories with Mom was going to all of the Beetles' movies when they came out. Mom's habit at the movies was to wait until the lights went down, then pull out her cat eye glasses.

This was the closest version I could find. Picture them in silver. I always thought they were so cool, but mom really didn't like being seen in them. (She has since been okay with this knowledge being shared and is now a part of her legendary portfolio of stories).

We'd get transported to another word with the songs. On the way home we'd attempt to sing some of the songs, since this was the age before cassettes. For those of you who don't know what cassettes are, they preceded the 8-track and then the higher quality cassette, and eventually, in the 90s, the CD...which now is a thing of the past with XM Radio, Blue tooth and so many more amazing options.

So when I saw this Carpool Karaoke with Sir Paul McCartney, it drew me in the same way, and transported me back to a wonderful time of music and family togetherness.

Enjoy!

Happy Birthday America, Your Pot Continues to Melt Over!

"The ground of liberty is to be gained by inches, that we must be contented to secure what we can get from time to time, and eternally press forward for what is yet to get."

-Thomas Jefferson to Charles Clay Monticello Jan. 27. 1790.
Web Source: http://tjrs.monticello.org/letter/123

Like Yakov Smirnoff used to say, "America, what a country"! It is an amazing country, for in it's ideal state, opposing opinions should enrich one another. Left and Right can meet with a kiss of peace, educating and bringing the extreme views into a more balanced state.


Two thanksgivings come to mind on this day.

The first is that I am blessed with friends in so many sectors and philosophies of Americana, and am the richer for it. There is something beautiful in everyone. Celebrating the good is the only way to give birth to more good.

Secondly, I have been fortunate enough to celebrate the 4th of July in many places, including overseas.

Growing up in Brazil, my parents and other Americans living abroad remembered our roots together. We celebrated with our friends, who were our overseas family, with the traditional cookout of hot dogs, hamburgers, potato salad, apple pie, and usually brigadeiros were thrown in. They're known as chocolate Brazilian truffles, and in my opinion, the national dessert!

We sang the traditional songs, the American National Anthem, America The Beautiful, My Country 'Tis of Thee, and then might throw some camp songs in, both in English and Portuguese.

I recall also celebrating in Japan while there during one summer in college. One of my college mates Melanie and I spent the fourth with an American family, the Rays. We had a cookout, of course. I looked out the window and spied a large car below, that though parallel parked, seemed to take up one lane of the road. At this point, I had been in Japan so long I was used to the diminutive size of everything. When we left, we walked by the car and realized it was a Trans Am! Straight from America to Japan!

And finally, in honor of the World Cup...24 years ago we married in the Boston area, and honeymooned in Florida. That was the year the World Cup was being held in America! Both of us being soccer fans - you could say soccer even brought us together - we so wanted to see one of the games. But the closest we got were the stadiums in Boston and Orlando, but no dice! TV was our salvation! We spent the 4th with some friends, Boston "ex-pats," and watched...wait for it...USA V. Brazil! Brazil won 1-0.

This country is a gift not only to its citizens, but to the world. When we are humble, thank God and put our minds and hearts to work, the world becomes a better place. I believe in American diplomacy, not only via diplomats, but the everyday citizen. My parents taught me diplomacy, and it has come in handy when entering new cultures and sub-cultures. Today I am learning to live in the 21st century culture, and its a new breed of nearly everything. But I am hopeful. I love the next generation, particularly since our daughter is a part of this culture of force for good.

I believe that the USA will not decline, as other great nations have, after 200-250 years. Based upon our roots, I see it flourishing as a great tree shading not only its citizens, but those of other countries through polite diplomacy, citizen cooperation and a constant curiosity for learning and passing along the important to the next generation. We may be in a slump, but not for long! We are resilient, loving, strong and kind. I see new generations being more grateful for their ancestors; we all stand on the shoulders of giants!

So America, Happy Birthday, and may these beautiful colors never flag, may they stand strong with the deepest love for country and all humanity, and may we all know how loved and blessed we are each day God gives us life!

1812 Overture FlashMob! 

Written by a Russian, Tchaikovsky, and played at the Placa del Mercat, Algemeci, Valencia, Spain!
And claimed by Americans as one of our Patriotic pieces of music!

Enjoy!

This post is dedicated to all of those who have served in our armed forces, missionaries, public servants, entrepreneurs, employees, artists, entertainers, believers, non-believers, families, the childless, singles, the dreamers, successful, non-successful, the in-progress, the "don't-give'uppers," liberals, conservatives, hippies, baby boomers, gen-Xers, gen-futures, professors, students, the marginalized; all who call themselves Americans, and those who have given the ultimate gift of their lives. To those who have been wounded or are going through difficulty and are hurting, may your healing come quickly, for we honor your life as well.

God bless you and God bless America!