A Beacon of Light

“The fog in San Franciscois not just a weather pattern;it’s a living, breathing entity.” Rebecca Solnit It was another one of those July San Francisco days. After thirteen hours of persistent fog, the sun finally emerged… at 7:00 p.m., and for less than five minutes. After that, the fog obscured the solar orb for the…

“One of the most beloved and popular treats was the ice cream sandwich.” Annie Reese It caught me by surprise. Despite the fact that it was 56º, foggy, drizzly, and windy, an ice cream truck, with music blaring, rolled down 48th Avenue yesterday afternoon. An ice cream truck… in San Francisco! I had never heard…

“Life is not alwaysperfect. Like a road,it has many bends,ups and downs,but that’s its beauty.” Amit Ray Interstate 280, between San José and San Francisco, is one of the most beautiful stretches of highway in the United States. The trees, rolling hills, open meadows, mountain views, and, at times, a blanket of fog cascading over the…

“It is only the things wedon’t understand thathave any meaning.” Carl Jung The number 43. I’ve written about it before. I’ve shared my experience with repeatedly seeing it in various places throughout my day. This has been going on for several years, and it continues to this day. It began a few years after my father…

“There can be no vulnerability without risk. There can be nocommunity without vulnerability.”M. Scott Peck I could have simply walked on and minded my own business. Most people, I think, would have chosen that option. I didn’t. I noticed something that concerned me — something that posed a risk to the safety of others, so…

“The future isalready here —it’s just notevenly distributed.”William Gibson William Ford Gibson is a 77-year-old speculative fiction writer from South Carolina. His writings suggest that while technological and societal advancements exist in some places today, they have yet to be widely adopted. When people today speak about the future already being here, it seems that…

“Gratitude turns whatwe have into enough.” Aesop It has been almost eight years since the publication of my first book, A Moment’s Pause for Gratitude. This book launched a series of speaking engagements on the topic of gratitude to high school teachers at The Harker School, nurses at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford, young adults…

“Who is it that can tell me who I am?”  William Shakespeare Meeting new people is a refreshing, energizing experience for me. I’ve always been outgoing, even at a very young age. Some might recall the title bestowed upon me by my elderly neighbor, Sam Young, when I was about ten years old: The Ambassador…

Okay, so I’ve never done this before. Sitting on Caltrain, on my way to San Francisco yesterday, I made the decision that today’s blog post would be one of photos, rather than words. So here’s my PhotoBlog from my 21,000-step walk around The City. I hope you enjoyed your photo-visit to The City. Contrary to…

“If I had only one moreround to play, I wouldchoose to play itat Pebble Beach.” Jack Nicklaus I had my chance. I had the opportunity to play a round of golf at the storied Pebble Beach Golf Course — for free! My good friend, Yoko Hirakado, owned WISH International, the organization that brokered the cultural exchange…