I’m going on a field trip!

Posted on August 7, 2015 by Dr. Karen Stephen

CLICK on POSTER to see all the fabulous POSTER ART created for the Concours over the years

The Blackhawk Automotive Museum is sponsoring a trip to the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. The perfect “field trip” for this classic car enthusiast. We’ll meet at the Museum in Danville at the crack of dawn on Sunday, August 16th, and return late that night, riding in a VIP coach with all the amenities. They’ve added a travel fee on top of the regular Concours ticket price of $300, but seeing it just once in my lifetime in person is well worth the tariff. There will even be a Museum docent led tour from someone in the know.

My original plan was to attend the Rolex Motorsports Reunion at Laguna Seca that weekend, but I’ve done that several times. So I’ve chosen quiet elegance over the roar of engines to satisfy my classic car fetish for this year.

For anyone who is jealous and lives in the SF Bay area, there are still some seats left on the bus (there will be pickups in San Jose as well). Just contact the Blackhawk Museum.

The house

The morning view of downtown Oakland and SF Bay beyond from my little patio on the ground floor (behind the lower railing on the house pic

P.S. For those of you who have mentioned my recent lack of posts, I’ve been deep in the throes of a move from Contra Costa County to the Oakland hills, moving in with my daughter and her family so that my bilingual granddaughters can go to kindergarten and preschool at two different French schools in the Oakland/Berkeley area. The little one will attend Ecole Bilingue and the older one the new Francophone Charter School, where her mother will be the curriculum director. A guided tour to the Concours will be a welcome change from all the weeks of packing and unpacking.

Love No One

Posted on July 29, 2015 by Dr. Karen Stephen

A poetic take on unrequited love that bears a truth that begs to be rewritten by a more hopeful heart

DoubleU = W

I don’t blame you

there are no hard feelings

the truth may be a different matter

though I am capable of love

I am not able to love anyone

the way that I love you

I had reserved everything

held it all back for you

it’s not possible to give

that or anything to you now

leaving me with only one choice:

because no one else is you

I will love no one

—————————————————-

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finding a comfort zone

Posted on July 28, 2015 by Dr. Karen Stephen

At a time when my life is in flux big time, these poetic words are a comfort.

J M Lysun

like dust in the wind-
with time, doubts eventually
set on familiar ground

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sad memories

Posted on July 20, 2015 by Dr. Karen Stephen

A few days ago as I packed and sorted through boxes that I have carried, unopened from house to house, town to town, I discovered my mother’s turquoise jewelry box. Inside a jumble of Fifties and Sixties pearls and pendants, I found a locket. I wondered if I would find my photo inside. I found only a photo of my older brother when he was three, the age when I would have been born, and a cold empty, gold space on the other side. These lines from poet JM Lysun say it all.

J M Lysun

hidden deep in dreams
abandoned tears once more
seep into my life

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Calling all Classic and Indy car racing fans

Posted on July 19, 2015 by Dr. Karen Stephen

It’s that time of year again, and I’ll be moved and settled in just in time for my two favorite auto races. First, I’ll do one day, Saturday, August 15th, at Laguna Seca at the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion. Second, I’ll do all three days, Friday, August 28 through Sunday, August 30, at the Go Pro Grand Prix of Sonoma, which will be the last and deciding race for this year’s Verizon INDYCAR series championship. GO, HELIO!

And here’s the exciting part for YOU! I would love to find a race car fan to go with me. Friends and relatives are eligible. Even new friends if you’re the companionable sort. A single ticket (pre-purchased) for Laguna Seca is $80 and you have to be a very early bird willing to drive down at the crack of dawn the morning of the race to get parking. I already have purchased two 3-day tickets for Sonoma and price depends on which day(s) you chose to attend and how close a friend you are (hint, hint!). Friday is practice, Saturday qualifying, and Sunday the race itself. Very exciting track–I’ve done three amazing and very scary charity laps on this track on two different occasions.

Here are some photos and videos from prior years to whet your appetite.

Pit passes enable you to go on the track just before the start.

My “date” last year!

Not quite the real thing

Explore the paddock at Laguna Seca

Name this VERY famous driver!

With my favorite driver. Go Helio!

The vintage cars on the track.

Helio’s pit at Sonoma

Flight of the soul

Posted on July 18, 2015 by Dr. Karen Stephen

Dear Readers: In light of my recent near miss on a Southwest flight to San Diego, I’m publishing a poem I wrote several years ago

my flight lumbers down the runway
a drunken gooney bird
straining for liftoff
then soars into the morning sky
like an eagle
destination San Diego

flight plan prescribed
set altitude
longitude and latitude
predetermined
veering neither left nor right

each passenger
on a mission
mundane or sublime
but all set within earth’s bounds
a friend to visit
a funeral to attend
an elderly mother to care for
a business deal to seal

but what if this is not flight 1765 to
San Diego
what if this is an outbound flight
for my soul

I asked myself on rising this morning
my heart craving what it cannot have
can I discard my habitual moaning
my bitter tears
can I forego my usual recriminations
can I truly head in a new direction

turbines surge
riveted metal shudders
as the plane breaks free of
earth’s gravity
ascends through a gray drizzle
into blinding sunshine above
a sea of white peaked meringue

suddenly a wing dips
our course is altered
anticipation and fear collide in my gut

the captain’s voice echoes in my ears
and mine alone
unfasten your seat belt Karen
feel free to move about in life
rise above your usual attitudes
oxygen masks have been removed
seat cushions no longer float
no safety instructions
no lights to direct you to the nearest exit
no soothing libations
nothing to take the edge off your fear

in fact
there is no exit

leave your baggage behind
no carrying-on allowed
leave that suitcase packed with hair shirts and
sexy lingerie behind
fretting and yearning are prohibited

forget the flight tracker
you don’t need to know your destination,
nor your arrival time
all you need is you

am I ready for this journey into the
heart of me
ready to stop regretting what I lack
open to finding
what I’ve not known about myself
not to uncover a smarter or wiser me
just a hidden me
one seen with non-judgmental eye
explored with gentle steps that
tread lightly on tender places

maybe this world needs a me
who is just me
not a better me
only the created me

jarred back to the present
thudding onto the runway
the captain announces our arrival
light drizzle
temperature sixty-five degrees

I know this is not my journey’s end
but its beginning
this journey of my soul will begin
with each breath in
end with each breath out
transport me to places
beyond my meager imagination

Guest post…The Loss of Mother

Posted on July 17, 2015 by Dr. Karen Stephen


The Loss of Mother
 
What can I say?  I say no more.
I am a closed door.
A dark, dark room.
All gloom and edges squared
Where do I go from here?
Corner to corner,
Edge upon edge
I long for the softness of my mother’s embrace
She is not here.  She is not there.
Corner to corner,
Edge to edge,
The loneliness is locked here inside this door.
 
Out.  Out, I say.
Open the door.
Feel the pain.
Corner to corner,
Edge to edge.
Feel the pain and out the door!

About my friend Marianne in her words:
I am currently employed full-time with County government and work two 
12-step programs.  Most of my free time is spent doing service work 
for my recovery programs, taking walks, swimming, and playing with my 
six year-old grandson. A lifetime lover of literature, music, and all 
things art,  I embrace this opportunity to share my experience, 
strength, and hope with others through this portal of poetry and hope
to learn from the experience, strength , and hopes of others.

How not to think about packing…

Posted on July 12, 2015 by Dr. Karen Stephen

Where’s Scotty when I need him? As the days count down and I’m surrounded by packing boxes, I desperately want to be beamed up to my new home. The best way to distract myself while I’m resting on the couch with various sore muscles being chilled under ice packs is to think back to some of my lovely trips to France. And look forward to another journey to my favorite French destinations next summer.

And, you MUST scroll to the bottom of the photos to see my the abode which I will share with my daughter and her husband and my two delightful granddaughters, ages 3 and 5. I know I’ll enjoy the fabulous view of the entire San Francisco bay from my little private patio. And what better than having two little people prying your eyelids open in the morning, whispering, “Are you awake, Mimi?”