Tuesday, October 31, 2023 (Samhain/Hallowe’en); from Jinny in San Diego, CA to Sally in Taneytown, MD
Dear Sal,
Happy Hallowe’en! This year we did have trick or treaters—a quartet of teenagers dressed as…teenagers. I gave each of them a granola bar and a quarter. We had deliberately avoided getting candy for our place, instead chipping in to contribute to the abundance of candy that the next generation of Battersons require each year for the hundreds of preschool and elementary school costumed kids who show up at their door.
It’s been a busy few months since I last wrote. In late August Jim and I drove north toward another edition of “Consultants’ Camp,” a gathering of small-scale consultants that’s been happening most years during the week around Labor Day since 1988. Especially since the start of the pandemic, the two of us have been divided about whether or not to attend. Neither of us has done any active consulting for over a decade, even if you count some of our China teaching adventures as “consulting.”
Many other camp attendees are also retired or semi-retired. What constitutes consulting has changed substantially as deindustrialization continues, as large firms further consolidate, as the economy changes and government regulations rarely keep pace. Because of covid, “Camp 2021” had been virtual rather than in person. “Camp 2022,” held in person in a small town along California’s Monterey peninsula, had been overshadowed by concerns about the virus. Last year’s camp leader was a 60-something diabetic for whom a covid infection would have been extra risky. Our leader, Lisa, had stocked up on masks and covid tests in advance of camp. We all did our best to keep everyone safe. Each of us tested ourselves several times during the weeklong event, all tests fortunately coming back negative. We also spent as much time as practical outdoors. (Complicated by an unseasonably hot early September and an older inn complex with limited air conditioning.)
Jim was more enthused about Camp 2023, also to be held near Monterey, than I was. I agreed to go, too, mostly to visit with long-distance friends I don’t get to see very often. I lobbied to avoid plane rides and to incorporate sightseeing along our way in both directions. We decided on a car trip incorporating visits to some former Spanish missions. Starting with San Diego in 1769, Franciscan friars sent north from Mexico eventually created 21 missions near the California coast, stretching as far north as Sonoma, north of San Francisco. Between San Diego and Carmel-by-the-Sea, the nearest mission to our camp venue, there are nearly a dozen missions, so we could pick and choose and still see several.
California’s initial colonial identity had been Spanish, rather than English, French, or Russian. However, after a Spaniard claimed much of the Pacific coast for his country in the sixteenth century, Spain pursued more lucrative adventures among the Aztecs, the Incas, and the varied inhabitants of the Caribbean and generally ignored what later became California. It wasn’t until other European colonizers began to show interest in the Pacific coast that Spain sent Franciscan missionaries north from near what is now Mexico City. (The welfare of the indigenous area inhabitants was not a major concern. If considered at all, they were mostly viewed as potential converts to Christianity.)
On our way north, we saw missions at Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, and San Miguel in various stages of activity or disrepair. On our southbound journey after camp, we checked out Carmel, Santa Ynez and, nearly back to San Diego, a large, well-appointed mission called “San Luis Rey” on a hill at the edge of the town of Oceanside. We also got to do some beach walking at various places closer to the coastline—Morro Bay and Carpinteria both had appealing, accessible beaches.
During camp, Jim hosted a session about aging, the first time I’d heard him explicitly admit that getting older can bring health challenges. I sat in, mostly listening. What heartened me most was learning from a slightly younger camper that her 90-something father has opted to frame the eye, ear, and mobility aids that help him to stay semi-independent as “tools” rather than as embarrassments. A day or two after Jim did his session, he experienced an extended period of dizziness and being unsteady on his feet. With help from a friend and a walking stick we found in town, he adapted. He later got back to “normal,” which we’re learning does change over time.
When we’re in San Diego, I’ve gotten increasingly involved in volunteer activities at our local public library branch. As an “author,” I’ve received a few dollars in sales for the essay book. I enjoy writing blog posts on a somewhat irregular schedule. Jim and I are usually able to backstop the younger generations when they travel, typically over school vacations. They do the same for us, collecting mail if needed, tending to pets and plantings.
At the end of September, I attended a potluck at the giving garden, along with grandson Parker. Most of us incorporated some of our garden produce into our supper dishes. Two of the guys had a portable pizza oven where they created crispy, small pizzas quickly and in quantity. Especially popular with the younger attendees.
We’re gradually adapting our house and yard to be both more energy efficient and more “elder friendly.” A younger member of the UU church gave us the “home elder safety assessment” I’d won at our most recent church services auction. She suggested moving our living room sofa against a wall rather than alongside the front entrance. There it would present less of a tripping hazard. She also recommended installing “grab bars” in our tub/shower. Both changes have since been made. We got a gardener that a friend recommended to replace the former brick walkway in our back yard with a granite paver and decomposed granite path that will be friendlier for wheelchairs or walkers should the need arise. We’ve gotten “honeycomb” blinds for all our windows, supposedly more energy efficient than the plastic Venetian “slat” blinds they’ve replaced. The ones in our bedroom and the office/guest bedroom even have “darkroom” mode, which makes sleeping easier amid city street lights.
Not all work, though. In October, we went to hear a mini-concert at an area home overlooking one of our more beautiful canyons. Our Village friend, Marc, and his octogenarian piano partner, Barbara, did a program of both classical and popular music as a four-handed duo. A younger vocalist added some pizzazz on several of the more modern numbers.
Miss you. Please take good care. Hope you have plenty of wood and fuel for the colder months. Lots of virtual hugs!
Love, Jin
