Now, back to blogging.

This one is about stages in life. Life is full of surprises but it’s important that we learn to accept change and enjoy the ride.

I came upon these poems today that struck a chord and felt the need to share them. Many friends talk about struggles lately with break-ups and finding the “right one”.  Here are 3 poems by Veronica Shoftshall, 1971.

“AFTER A WHILE”

After a while you learn the subtle difference between holding a hand and chaining a soul
and you learn that love doesn’t mean leaning and company doesn’t always mean security.

And you begin to learn that kisses aren’t contracts and presents aren’t promises
and you begin to accept your defeats with your head up
and your eyes ahead with the grace of woman, not the grief of a child

And you learn to build all your roads on today
because tomorrow’s ground is too uncertain for plans
and futures have a way of falling down in mid-flight.

After a while you learn that even sunshine burns if you get too much
so you plant your own garden and decorate your own soul
instead of waiting for someone to bring you flowers.

And you learn that you really can endure
you really are strong, you really do have worth and you learn and you learn,

with every goodbye, you learn…

AFTER “AFTER A WHILE”

After ‘after a while’, you want to hold a hand not to chain a soul but to enjoy its company,
and you want someone’s lips to kiss, not because you are lonely but because you are
happy, and you want to give presents and you want to make promises.

After ‘after a while’, you begin to accept your defeats like an adult,
but like a child, will want someone to listen and care,
and you want someone who will build roads with you today

so maybe you can pave the way for your future together.

After ‘after a while’, you want someone’s sunshine and warmth,
but also accept the rain and the cold, and you want to give flowers picked from your own garden.

And when your garden is picture perfect, you want it to be more than a picture
even if it means having to be imperfect because you want someone in it to stay and to live.

Then you’ll see that there is such a thing as love…
and that you were made to live in someone else’s garden…
and you’ll know that there is more to life than yourself.

“AND NOW”

You realize that no matter how tightly you hold, if you’re meant to let go, you can
And then you will understand that love gives you reasons to understand
even the most complicated situations And you will grow older believing that just
because you have convictions doesn’t mean you’re always right

You will remember lips because of the smiles that made your day,
the words that touched your soul, not only because of the sweet kisses

And as you graciously accept defeat and absorb the meaning of lessons learned,
You feel that you are finally being the person you never thought you’d be

So, armed with courage, strength and confidence, you will face the world head on…
With or without an army behind you Because you know your worth and that alone is an armor
With more heartbreaks you will cry. But after every heartache, you will rise

-Veronica Shoftshall, 1971

*Beach photos taken with my Blackberry in Puerto Rico. I figure blog posts are always better with visuals. Something about the beach carries an element of romanticism and love so it seemed appropriate!

Health Care Cooperatives exist in countries all over the world. Now, an exclusive peak at NYC’s first Health Care Coop.

Dr. David Ores, MD, also known as Dr. Dave, started a health care reform movement on the Lower East Side of Manhattan after seeing so many of his uninsured patients go without the proper medical care.  In search of a remedy, he came upon an idea that has long been applied to food.  Food cooperatives or “consumer cooperatives” are owned by its members rather than by a third party company.  In applying this model to his health care practice, the Dr. says he hasn’t looked back since. Dr. Dave’s heath care coops cut out insurance companies altogether. He says it makes the transaction between patient and doctor more affordable and direct for patients.

One of the most interesting things I learned from Dr. Dave which I included in this video is when he explained why there are walls or glass dividers that usually separate the patients from the doctor.  This is also why nurses always walk you from the waiting room into the check-up rooms.

Dr. Dave in front of a NYC graffiti wall on Wooster St.

A year ago I wrote a blog about a guest that spoke to our class about his health care cooperative model–his name is Dr. Dave.  David Ores, MD, or Dr. Dave started New York City’s first health care cooperative– coined the Restaurant Workers Health Care Cooperative. Given the latest controversy surrounding President Obama’s Health Care Reform, I thought this would be a great time to cover this story.  He has been a prominent figure in the media over the last decade.  Notorious for taking in new patients with or without insurance, charging as low as $40-dollars for a visit.

MEET DR. DAVE:

A graduate of Columbia Medical School, he has been practicing medicine on the Lower East Side of Manhattan over 15 years.  The youth in the area say they love him because he responds within minutes to text messages about medical issues and takes last-minute patients. Walking side by side through his neighborhood, smiles and waves greet him along the streets–revealing why patients compare him to a “country doctor”.  In the public eye for years, making headlines on the NY Times and CNN, he says his popularity soared with the Restaurant Workers Health Care Cooperative–teaming up with over 20 restaurants now in NYC.

HOW DOES A HEALTH CARE COOP WORK?

An idea inspired by food cooperatives. Dr. Dave decided to apply it to health care–a “not-for-profit business” where there is a pool of money that the doctor uses to treat and diagnose patients.  Visits to the doctor are free for the restaurant worker and instead, the restaurant owner pays out a flat fee per month to Dr. Dave which sits in an account for his restaurant employees.  As the patients come in for visits, he takes money from the account to cover their medical expenses.  Dr. Dave says this health care coop model can be applied to any type of business.

More to come in an upcoming video, including in-depth interviews with the doctor.

Here’s a slide show of Dr. Dave and his practice, he’s quite the character with ideas that are just as unconventional as his style:

It’s almost a quarter past 8:00PM in the Financial District. Oversized architecture, elaborate monuments and little movement—inspiring a feeling of desolation and abandonment. The street lights illuminate no more than a few passersby, walking slowly and quietly along the bare streets.  There is but one building that contradicts the overall sentiments of a neighborhood ready to call it a night.  Right around the corner on 100 Center Street there lies a business that leaves its doors open for the public overnight, a destination that cannot be missed.  A ceremonial and sophisticated façade stands tall juts out with an authoritative stance, a seemingly endless structure that offers an entrance into the world of New York City’s night court.

AN INSIDE LOOK AT NIGHT COURT

Men and women of all ages sit with their cell phones in hand, some consult with attorneys seeking explanations, others with babies and children napping across laps.  Upon entering one of the two Arraignment Courts, the air of mischief and malice is matched only by a routine sense of organization and lawful authority. Like clockwork and in true New York fashion, cases are read in a fast-paced and orderly manner. Without focus, it’s difficult to keep up with the court proceedings.

The judge perched up above the rest, sits only beneath one thing–valiant, gold printed letters reading, “In God We Trust”.  On the right stand, two DA’s, both young men who attentively read the alleged charges for arrest.

RECESS

The night is still young in court, the officer steps forward with an announcement, “At this time the court will take recess until 10:15PM.”

A building that constitutes ‘public housing’ is built, operated, and owned by the city, providing nominal rent fees for those financially challenged or destitute. These housing programs are maintained and expanded through annual funding that is allocated by the Mayor and his administration—namely, NYCHA (New York City Housing Association).

There is roughly $2.7B to budget this fiscal year, including $770M reserved for Section 8 Housing alone, while 33% or $817M of which is from the Federal Stimulus Package.

“Typically about 50-60% is coming from the Feds towards housing stock, so this year it’s really low, a result of 8 years of a Republican administration in the White House,” says Cliff Diaz, veteran Director of the Public Sector Housing Practice and former Finance Budget Advisor for the Mayor’s Office.

Bloomberg dodged campaigning on an interview-style radio show altogether. “I have a talking relationship with Mayor Bloomberg, but right before elections he didn’t come to talk on the show because he didn’t want to take the risk,” says Brian Lehrer of WNYC Public Radio 93.9 FM/ AM 820.

Though not discussed in depth, the topic remains a priority on the Bloomberg agenda. The reverberations of Thompson’s campaign ideas are reflective in Bloomberg’s actions and contributions during the past two terms. “There was no specific proposal in Bloomberg’s manifesto on housing which was a concern,” says Diaz. “But, he always has very sharp appointees. For one, Shaun Donovan formerly worked under Bloomberg before President Obama.”

Appointed directly by the Mayor, Donovan worked for four years as HPD (Housing Preservation Department) Commissioner, developing the NYC Acquisition fund, which combined public and private funds to provide incentive for developers to include more affordable housing in their buildings.

Bloomberg and Donovan worked closely together on such projects and developed a camaraderie, so much so that Bloomberg is quoted in the Dec 14th issue of the NY Daily News as having said, “I think Donovan walks on water…the Obama administration is very lucky to have him.” Donovan has been working as the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development since 2008.

Over the past few years, many new public housing projects have surfaced, most of which have remained out of the public eye and mainstream localized or national media.  With the financially inept population of tenants on the rise, companies such as SMART have been established to improve the entire application process for public housing vouchers and section-8 eligibility. These firms have facilitated a shift from manual systems to automated forms that can be submitted and processed electronically.

“A lot of it is streamlining, we are able to pump people through the system quicker now and allow the index staff to work more effectively,” says Cliff Diaz.

If the past serves as any indication of the future, Bloomberg’s public housing policies will remain at the forefront of his administrative duties. There will certainly be the demand. He and his appointees will have a full plate this upcoming term: leveraging the stimulus funds, sifting through budget issues, organizing money to rehabilitate the aging infrastructure and revamping a dilapidated housing stock.

“You have to give credit, where credit is due. The man is doing a good job,” says Ishmael Randall, President of Fortune Hunter Realty in Harlem .

1 : a thick grooved double disk with a string attached to its center axle that is made to fall and rise to the hand by unwinding and rewinding on the string
2 : a condition or situation marked by regular fluctuations from one extreme to another
3 : a stupid or foolish person

Which of these yo-yo’s came first? Surprising or not, definition #1.

The yo-yo we all know, once loved, but have long forgotten about. That makes me sad, and for that, I’d like to pay a homage.

This blessed contraption has been with us for longer than even some mummies. The evolution of the yo-yo dates back twenty-five hundred years and next in line to the doll, it is the oldest toy in history.

500′s BC+ Yo-Yo=Fun in the Ancient Greek Empire Greeks once painted portraits of their gods on the wooden sides of these circular toys. As a right of passage into adulthood, kids would retire their yo-yos. Hanging ‘em up on the good old family altar, as a way of honoring their lineage and culture.

And for once, the origin of a word is NOT Latin–YoYo’s & the Philippines Filipinos used yo-yos as weaponry for over 400 hundred years! Studs, sharp edges and thick ropes were all used to construct a weapon that would be flung at enemies. Leading us to the origin of a name that we all know today, the “YO-YO”.  In the Phillipines, yo-yo means…”to come back” thus allowing us a title that would appropriately describe the purpose of this innovation.

The Yo-Yo immigrates to America Donald Duncan popularized the yo-yo, introducing it into mainstream culture here in the late 1920′s.  If or when you feel inspired to reminisce about the yo-yo…there’s a day designated just for that! In light of Duncan’s birth date, there’s National Yo-Yo Day on June 6th.

Also, there’s a group called YO-YO NATION, group members do some pretty incredible tricks with Yo-Yo’s, as an art and sport. Breaking records and participating in competitions, this group has video clips all over the web.

Check them out on Facebook: YoYo Nation Fanclub

Luckily, only 2 more stops to go.

A white haired man not quite convinced yet watches on from a distance but slowly inches forward as the bagpiper builds to a climax, increasing the tempo and swiftly gliding his fingers, up and down the keyboard.  The old man, with a thick Irish accent, wearing a traditional yellow baggy raincoat with black rubber boots, now standing merely 3-feet from the band, smiles and says, “ye played just as wonderfully as me father”. With a quick and approving nod he reaches out to offer a sincere hand shake, just before he walks away.

Here are some photos of the group: