Charles & I

I have a Love affair with Charles, he is robust, daring, at times,calming and seductive.  He serves as my best friend who helps me reflect when the complexities of life leave me twisted; like a person who discovers they made a bad career choice as a contortionist, when they climb into a box and discover they are claustrophobic.

No I'm no more gay than I am homophobic, I just happen to be passionate about the Charles River.  It is my favorite refuge in Boston, with which I have a life long relationship.   Locally known as The Charles, it would be easy for anyone, at first glance, to misinterpret my relationship with The Charles; but my intimate experience stems from a long history.  I would venture to guess that I am not alone in this affinity that exists between us.  I like to believe that there are thousands of others who share a similar passion, they just have not come out of the closet as of yet.

Though I don't know how many can claim as meaningful a relationship as myself with Charles, I encourage visitors and residents alike to explore.

When I was but four years old, my family use to make weekly trips to The Charles.  I  am certain that this was a declaration of my relationship early in life with Him.

From Highland Park in Roxbury, my mom strapped me into the plaid cushioned seat,  metal arm rests unfolded, and back rest settled upon the rear frame of the bike-- off we went.  The preparation alone was enough to raise the anticipation of a child.  Whisking down the steep hills from Highland Park, cruising down Mass Ave. and onto the Charles! In those days the traffic on the streets was a mere inconvenience, nothing like today.  Yep those memories go back nearly 35 years. It would be an interesting experiment to measure the brain activity then and compare it to my response today to see how they measure up against each other, in terms of my pleasure.  Special events like the 4th-of-July, were among the most memorable, but any excuse to head to The Charles was sufficient.

Fast forward 35 years and like a stroke of good fortune, I began sailing on The Charles in 1997, after receiving a membership to Community Boating Inc.,  for lessons from my mother- always taking care of me in one way or another.  This experience allowed me to renew my commitment; The Charles provided me with a new set of lenses with which to appreciate his greatness.  And as only a best friend could do, He chided me all along the way, right through to my helmsman- and beyond.  No anxiety, never any threat of personal welfare and complete and utter happiness.  No more than six years later I convinced myself to purchase a sailboat.  Reticent in my decision, I questioned my abandonment of my long time friend, my confidant, my soul mate.

I came to the resolve that our relationship was far to substantive for such a decision to plague our history, which had allowed me to overcome many barriers internally and externally.  Despite my moving away, or gaining weight, or purchasing a boat, somehow we always managed to realign ourselves to each other.  But I know The Charles bare the brunt of burden as I did little more than advocate for his cleanliness and utility to others in the city- perhaps that is all he requires.

Driven by the need to be near his body of water; as a runner, I would race toward him during my best running years; following a path similar to the cycling route I recall my family taking when I was but a child.  There is a lot more traffic now, so I have found new strategies to avoid over stimulation of these evolving changes.  Sometimes I would go early in the morning, other times late at night; if I could not resist, and it was the middle of the day, the Southwest Corridor was the best route.  Dartmouth was always my favorite transition though.  Northwest on Dartmouth and my adrenaline would shift into overdrive.  On a good day, I could almost smell the Charles.   Over the years that has not changed


The challenge was never whether or not to go but rather which route can I take that will extend the time I can afford to spend here.  Yeah, across Dartmouth, up the Storrow Dr. side, over the John Weeks Bridge, down Memorial Drive to the Longfellow and back around towards the overpass.  A pause on a reward day to absorb the offerings of The Charles- at the Aurthur Fiedler monument; OK back to Dartmouth, and I was off again- see you tomorrow.


The Charles was and always will be my pinnacle destination, regardless of where I reside or what lifestyle changes occur for me.  Over the past few years, I have taken over 700 photographs of The Charles; he is always posing, always ready, providing yet another function for my form-- inspired.

Through every season I recognize his long list of defining characteristics, consulate, artist of the city, ice sculptor, mariner, advisor, model, laureate, care taker, dog walker, well wisher; a ubiquitous and ominous list to be sure.

Often I find myself wishing I could just bottle up all the great moments and times we spend together because it is so fulfilling.  Not every day can be perfect, but every day I spend on The Charles is at least that.

Winter Is Receding

Sings of winter are receding as people can be seen emerging from their dins in greater numbers- in a more casual manner than what the necessities of Winter require.  They head out to embrace a break in the weather, signaling the change in season once again.  Though buds of trees waiting to bloom, are not all at once apparent, a hint that their presence will be felt soon enough, is sufficient.  Some are jogging, other have decided to share the experience with their partners on this dry 9 -10 degrees Celsius (51.8' ish Fahrenheit) day.  All share a like reasoning- to expose themselves to the outdoors, a vulnerability we can embrace.

It is a commonality that if explored by any one of these courageous individuals, they might stumble on to a new friendship- if they are open to it.  Not so much because they like doing the same tings, but because commonality allows them to do something that a mere introduction doesn't achieve.

While winter is receding like a bad hair line, new opportunities are abound as less inclement weather fosters the best opportunities to engage with others.  Good weather also helps bring out the best in us, thus increasing the odds of a more positive outcome, should we decide to explore a new relationship outside of our convention.

And don't get stuck in finding your soul mate or the events that can lead up to that; such as the notorious biological clock; pursuit of the money match maker, and perfect cultural fits.  Be adventurous, find someone who might be like that good weather day and bring out the best in you.

Winter is receding, we should too, and try something new.

Happy Spring!

Earthquake Tsunami video overtaking airport

This video was taken from inside the airport in Japan.

It is said that this is the first earthquake of this magnitude in 140 years for Japan.  How do we prepare for something like this?  The reality is we can prepare but it is likely that it will not be "enough".  Will we continue to tilt the scale moving the needle on "enough", forcing us to redefine what "enough" is; if enough is measured by the loss of life that is "acceptable", will we have to continuously redefine acceptable because of our reluctance to manage climate change issues.

Although this is not necessarily a climate change issue, it could potentially be a consumption issue.  As we burrow deeper into the earth for the natural resources, do the formation in the earth by default, have more wiggle room?  I don't know (I'm not a seismologist) but interesting question to postulate.  

Japan Earthquake: Signs of Climate Change

An 8.9 scale earth quake rocked Japan generating a tsunami that is moving homes, cars, planes and having an earth shattering office buildings.

This is obviously a terribly disturbing event as hundreds are already reported dead; at what point do we recognize the correlation between what is occurring in the natural environment as a result of the accelerated impact of human activity?

Condolences and well wishes for those who are experiencing a significant loss- it is unimaginable.

Here the ocean moves large boats and vehicles as though they were leaves in a stream.

Climate change: ask yourself, what am I doing

by Scotland Willis

A path to climate consciousness can be a long one.  Some don't necessarily know where to begin, others may believe  they are doing enough.  Still some people may just believe that they have too much baggage they are carrying around to add anything else to their "to do" list is just too much.

To be certain, getting to where I am today was not an overnight decision or process.  Each step along the way I was certain others would see it as a major psychological challenge.  But the further I got into this path of sustainability the more I wanted it.  Once you are committed to climate change issues, two things are very difficult 1) understanding why others don't buy into it; even if you don't believe in the seriousness of climate change, you could say at a fundamental level that polluting is worse than not polluting- right?  Sure!  2) and turning back- I have no interest in doing so.  So where do we go from here?

My goal is to get more people to understand what they can become more climate conscious; understand climate change in a way that they can apply it to their own lives; and to lead by example.  So I would like to share a few things about my own habits over the last few years.  For simplicity purposes I will number them and you can email me if you would like a more in depth response.  It is not about bragging rights, rather it is to present some practical steps towards achieving your own personal climate goals.

1) I stopped driving ( I sold my car and motor cycle in less than a 6 month period)
2) I hang dry my close in the warm and cold months.  The winter is very dry so hanging your clothes inside works great!  I have not used my dryer in more than 2 years.  Machine drying your clothes removes more of the fiber that your clothes are made of or burns the fabric a little each time.
3) I take public transportation
4) I cycle more often than I take public transportation (whenever possible)
5) I compost; using my nitrogen and carbon rich products to contribute to my soil for gardening each season
6) I recycle: 90-95%  of the products we send to the dump / land fill, can be recycled
7) I keep my hot water heater on low most of the time.  If it were my choice, I would recommend that a temperature control for the hot water heater was placed in an accessible place to have more control over when it was on or off
8) I collect the water from my shower in a container while the water is getting warmer so I don't waste the water, I can use it on my house plants
9)  I do the same thing when I wash dishes
10) When I am at Board meetings, I try to use my computer rather than printing up documents for the meeting.
11) I do not use additional heat at night because I have sufficient blankets
12) I purchase jeans from a second-hand store, you cannot tell that they are not brand new.  It requires about 1500 gallons or 6819 liters to make a 1.5 pounds (.68 kg) of cotton.

This is really just the beginning of what you and I can do.  Individuals make the difference.  By demonstrating what we are willing to do we also influence what business and governments do.

Consume less and reuse more; the philosophy is pretty simple.  Figure out how to use what you already have better.  In less developed nations, they are already doing a better job of conserving sometimes because they do not have a choice- we in developed nations could learn from them in many ways.

Most importantly "learn", as much as you can about how to make a difference.  In the United States we are just starting to take a deep look at overlapping services (listen to this broadcast from  npr).  I believe we can change from a culture of excessive consumption to a world of cooperative consumption.

Look for organizations, groups, stores and other resources that are already doing something.  Most entities are very welcoming and will encourage you to get started.  Not only that, in some instances you will enjoy yourself so much you may not even realize you are doing something climate conscious.

Each of us has a responsibility to the other in response to humanity and ecosystem.  

Thanks!
And let's do something environmental.