prototype gibbs cultivate my garden essay
TRANSCRIPT
2014
Steve Gibbs
Benicia High
1/1/2014
Cultivating My Garden
Cultivating My Garden
Word Count 5,690
Steve Gibbs
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“If you get to it and you cannot do it,
then there you jolly well are, aren’t you?”
Lord Buckley
Cultivating My Garden
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Steve Gibbs
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Special Thanks to 25 People Who Have Inspired Me
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Table of Contents
Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 4
Chapter 1 ......................................................................................................................................... 6
My Philosophy of Life ................................................................................................................ 6
Chapter 2 ......................................................................................................................................... 8
Financial Security. ...................................................................................................................... 8
Chapter 3 ......................................................................................................................................... 9
Painting ....................................................................................................................................... 9
Chapter 4 ....................................................................................................................................... 10
Writing ...................................................................................................................................... 10
Chapter 5 ....................................................................................................................................... 11
Reading ..................................................................................................................................... 11
Chapter 6 ....................................................................................................................................... 12
Being a Good Grandpa.............................................................................................................. 12
Chapter 7 ....................................................................................................................................... 13
Travel ........................................................................................................................................ 13
Table of Figures Figure 1 Me in my Prime ................................................................................................................ 5
Figure 2 Philosopher D. T. Suzuki helped translate eastern philosophy for the western mind. ..... 6
Figure 3 The contemporary philosopher Alan Watts...................................................................... 6
Figure 4 Herman Melville, one of America's greatest authors, writer of Moby Dick .................... 7
Figure 5 Lord Richard Buckley, a most immaculately hip aristocrat ............................................. 7
Figure 6 My Security Blanket ......................................................................................................... 8
Figure 7 Whoa! - a statement about food corruption ...................................................................... 9
Figure 8 Mr. Big Nose - an exercise in flowing lines ..................................................................... 9
Figure 9 Eager to write more than 800 words............................................................................... 10
Figure 10 An apple a day keeps the bookworms away................................................................. 11
Figure 11 Grandpa hard at work grandpawing ............................................................................. 12
Figure 12 My home state of Pennsylvania.................................................................................... 13
Cultivating My Garden
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Introduction
I am entering a new phase of my life –
retirement. I will no longer have lessons to plan,
concepts to translate, or students to teach. What
will I do with myself? How will I fill that void? I
must cultivate my retirement garden and enter into
it with a plan.
Otherwise, I fear every day will
become like the last and I will be
mired into eternity. I will continue to
live by my philosophy, though it has
changed in many ways over the years.
I won’t be rich, but hopefully money
will not be an obstacle for me if I
chose my activities wisely. For much
of my early life, I considered myself
an artist. I used to paint with oils and
water colors, draw with quill pens and
pastel chalks, sculpt with stone and
wood, do pottery, make jewelry, write
poetry, and build odd contraptions. I
still write creatively, but I haven’t
done much of that other stuff in the
last 30 years and I wish to reclaim my
title as artist. There has never been
enough time for me to read the books
that interest me that I don’t teach. I
want to read for pleasure on a regular
basis. Also, I want to be a good
grandpa. I want my boys to remember
me when I’m gone. I intend to include
them in my bucket list.
Figure 1 Me in my Prime
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Chapter 1
My Philosophy of Life
hilosophy is a topic I spent much of my youth exploring and trying to find ideas I could agree with. For a long time I was an
avowed Pantheist. They believe God is not separate from the universe. God IS the universe. I took several philosophy classes in college and have read many books on my own since then. I have a strong attraction to Eastern philosophy, which I discovered in college. I like the direct simplicity of Zen and Buddhism. I like thinking that I can connect with God the cosmos without doing jumping jacks or putting on a show. However, I like the industry of Christianity. Christians can’t just be good. They have to DO
good. A lot of stuff got build by industrious Christians. I like Judaism for its solidity and its openness to all forms of education. I don’t like theologies that warn people away from certain ideas as dangerous. I don’t think any ideas are dangerous to a person with a well developed, well rounded, rational mind. I’m a big fan to Alan Watts who blends East and West together, and was alive during the Beat Generation and the Hippie Anti-War Eras. He’s got a modern, frank way of putting things that appeals to me. I also recommend only one author if you want to study Zen. Pass by all the other writers and find D. T. Suzuki (Daisetsu Teitaro Suzuki ).
P
Figure 3 The contemporary philosopher Alan Watts Figure 2 Philosopher D. T. Suzuki helped translate eastern
philosophy for the western mind.
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have to say that I my true philosophy of life found me. It hit me one
day while driving to Philadelphia from Penn State. I was chatting with my friend who was driving. We were going to spend spring break at his parents’ house. We were talking philosophy and I asked a puzzling question. I asked if he thought that if every living cell on Earth were to die, would life return? Is it just the
chemistry that creates that spark? On thinking about it myself, I have a revelation. It was wordless, but I could see everything connected. I somehow fell into the center and circumference of space and time and experienced an infinite instant. I knew that whatever happened was the real deal, the real thread of our Gordian Knot. I saw all in each. I have been a changed man ever since. I did not study Eastern philosophy until AFTER my heavy connection with the primary junction. Upon returning to Penn State after break I signed up for a class on Eastern Religions. They talked a lot about having an instantaneous experience of enlightenment. They knew what had happened to me on the road to Philadelphia, so I dug in deep and liked what I found. I did have two other influences in shaping my philosophical paradigm. I
was greatly influenced by the author Hermann Melville and his life’s work. Many of his novels and short stories have the same theme. Because I read several shorter works before tackling Moby Dick, I was better able to understand its cryptic messages. They
were finally reinforced in
Melville’s last story, Billy Budd Sailor. The other person to influence my philosophy was a comedian with a compassionate message about love. Lord Buckley has inspired me in many ways. He has influenced my philosophy, my writing, my speaking habits, and my positive loving outlook on life. To address my current philosophy, it is to
realize that all religions and philosophies have truths to share. I am open to them all. I do not turn away people who come to my door. I do not shun the street corner prophets. I do not make fun. There is great unity being involved in a spiritual community that is essential to our species. Some are able to select one and stick to it. I’m wasn’t raised with any one religion and today I like them all and I never go to church.
I
Figure 4 Herman Melville, one of America's greatest authors,
writer of Moby Dick
Figure 5 Lord Richard Buckley, a most immaculately
hip aristocrat
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Chapter 2
Financial Security.
Figure 6 My Security Blanket
ike pupil in the philosopher Allan Watt’s class answering the question, “What would I do with my life if money was not
an problem?”, I will have a fixed income that should pay my bills and allow me to spend my days as I
please. That’s the plan. I don’t intend to work in retirement. I intend to indulge myself fully in the experience. If a time comes when I want to work because it would make me happy, then I will work in retirement. Otherwise, no.
I have been cultivating this portion of my garden my entire adult life. I have been buying properties and small businesses for many years. I currently have six properties. All but the one we live in, pays us rent. That rent augments our pension and gives us breathing room. I have a little bit of stock, not much. I’m putting most of it into blue chip stocks that pay dividends. I hope to have enough dividend stock by then that the quarterly payments allow for a few wild weekends. I’ve also got a gambling streak, but not a lot of luck. Still, I hold some stock in speculative
companies that if they did hit pay dirt, I’d make a small bundle. For example I own shares in a copper mine in Yerington Nevada where my storage and kennel businesses reside. What other investors in this stock don’t know, that people in Yerington do know, is that the Mason Valley is loaded with copper. It’s just a matter of demand and digging it out of the ground. With pension, rents, and dividends we hope to pay our bills.
Currently, I’m accumulating stock in YELP. I do believe it will be the Yellow Pages of the future.
Pension Investments Odd Jobs
L
Chapter 3
Painting
want to paint. I might want to further study the art of others, but I already did a lot of that in college. Mostly I want to be the
painter. I used to paint in high school and college.
Then I stopped for 20 years. Then I painted for one summer. Then I stopped for 13 more years. Then I painted for one summer. I want to be able to paint for an extended period. I can’t paint very well, and my finished canvases are often a mystery to viewers. My characters look like cartoons, though in my mind I’m trying to make them look real. That’s just what comes out. So, I could either say that I have a unique vision, or I could admit that I kind of suck at it. However, I’ve never painted for an audience nor had that desire. I painted because I liked doing it. I liked mixing the colors, spreading them on canvas and bringing light to white. To think that an idea of mine could become a canvas wall painting always marvels me. To think that I can create my own wall decorations. I think that’s cool. For me painting isn’t something I can do during my regular working life. I couldn’t work all day and then come home and hit the brushes for an hour or two.
For me painting requires solitude, retreat, and
plenty of time. I need to be uninterrupted for extended periods so I build the vision and then hold onto it until I finish whatever I started no matter how
ambitious.
I
So, I could either
say that I have a
unique vision, or I
could admit that I
kind of suck at it.
Figure 8 Mr. Big Nose - an exercise in flowing lines
Figure 7 Whoa! - a statement about food corruption
Chapter 4
Writing
intend to continue writing. I may actually finish a book of memories. It will be my legacy. I enjoy writing when I’m not
pressured by deadlines; however, I also do well under deadline pressure, so I can get something written most any time. I’ve been writing so long, it’s like thinking with my fingers. It just happens whenever I get my hands on a keyboard. I’m wondering if I would muster the energy and desire to tackle something bigger than 800 words. I would hope so.
Figure 9 Eager to write more than 800 words
My characters look like cartoons, though in my mind I’m trying to make them look real. That’s just what comes out. So, I could either say that I have a unique vision, or I could admit that I kind of suck at it. However, I’ve never painted for an audience nor had that desire. I painted because I liked doing it. I liked mixing the colors, spreading them on canvas and bringing light to white. To think that an idea of mine could become a canvas wall painting always marvels me. To think that I can create my own wall decorations. I think that’s cool. For me painting isn’t
something I can do during my regular working life. I couldn’t work all day and then come home and hit the brushes for an hour or two. My characters look like cartoons, though in my mind I’m trying to make them look real. That’s just what comes out. So, I could either say that I have a unique vision, or I could admit that I kind of suck at it. However, I’ve never painted for an audience nor had that desire. I painted because I liked doing it. I liked mixing the colors, spreading them on canvas and bringing light to white. To think that an idea of mine could become a canvas wall painting always marvels me. To think that I can create my own wall decorations. I think that’s cool. For me painting isn’t something I can do during my regular working life. I couldn’t work all day and then come home and hit the brushes for an hour or two. My characters look like cartoons, though in my mind I’m trying to make them look real. That’s just what comes out. So, I could either say that I have a unique vision, or I could admit that I kind of suck at it. However, I’ve never painted for an audience nor had that desire. I painted because I liked doing it. I liked mixing the colors, spreading them on canvas and bringing light to white. To think that an idea of mine could become a canvas wall painting always marvels me. To think that I can create my own wall decorations. I think that’s cool. For me painting isn’t something I can do during my regular working life. I couldn’t work all day and then come home and hit the brushes for an hour or two.
I
Cultivating My Garden
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Steve Gibbs
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Chapter 5
Reading
I wish to continue reading the classics. I like the Russian authors and I would finish my Tolstoy and Gogol and Turgenev. I would like to also find modern authors and follow their books, but there are so darn many writers that I can’t sort them out. Currently I’m working my way through the books of Christopher Moore, but that won’t take much longer. I could finish those books in a few months. I’ll need to begin reading book reviews and visiting book stores more often. I have no problem reading non-fiction. I like the relevancy of journalistic writing. Still, it’s nice to get lost in a story, and I haven’t really done that in volume since my youth. For the last 30 years mostly I’ve just re-read the novels I teach. What’s nice about following a living author is the possibility of someday meeting him or her and hearing them speak. That would be great. I’ll never get a chance to meet and greet Herman Melville, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, or John Steinbeck. I intend to load 1,000 titles onto my Kindle and just while away a month spread over a year simply reading. I have been cultivating this portion of my garden my entire adult life. I have been buying properties and small businesses for many years. I currently have six properties. All but the one
we live in, pays us rent. That rent augments our pension and gives us breathing room. I have a little bit of stock, not much. I’m putting most of it into blue chip stocks that pay dividends. I hope to have enough dividend stock by then that
the quarterly payments allow for a few wild weekends. I’ve also got a gambling streak, but not a lot of luck. I have been cultivating this portion of my garden my entire adult life. I have been buying properties and small businesses for many years. I currently have six properties. All but the one we live in, pays us rent. That rent augments our pension and gives us breathing
room. I have a little bit of stock, not much. I’m putting most of it into blue chip stocks that pay dividends. I hope to have enough dividend stock by then that the quarterly payments allow for a few wild weekends. I’ve also got a gambling streak, but not a lot of luck. I have been cultivating this portion of my garden my entire adult life. I have been buying properties and small businesses for many years. I currently have six properties. All but the one we live in, pays us rent. That rent augments our pension and gives us breathing room. I have a little bit of stock, not much. I’m putting most of it into blue chip stocks that pay dividends. I hope to have enough dividend stock by then that the quarterly payments allow for a few wild weekends. I’ve also got a gambling streak, but not a lot of luck.
Figure 10 An apple a day keeps the bookworms away
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Chapter 6
Being a Good Grandpa
I intend to be a great grandpa. I have grandsons and I want to show them a good time. I want to do my best to reveal to them
the variety of life and a respect for the bare necessities. I want to take them hiking in
Yosemite and strolling Broadway in New York. I want to take them to the theater and to soup kitchens, to monster truck rallies and
the ballet. I want to have quiet conversations with them where I give profound life lesson
advice. I want to be the kind of grandfather that grandsons quote as the go through life. I want to hear Tyler, Jack, and River start
sentences in tough situations that say, “Well, as my grandfather always used to tell me…” I remember the few things said by my
grandfather. I only knew my mother’s father, Richard Riley, who lived in
Oklahoma with the rest of my mother’s family. He was part Apache Indian and part Irish. He married an Irish woman.
Unfortunately, has advice was meager and depressing. With his dark, sunburned,
weathered skin and his perpetual cowboy hat permanently stained beyond the sweat band, he’d sit on the front steps with me and look
out over the flat land. He advised me to never grow old because it hurt too much.
“Everything just starts falling apart when you get old, and it’s a darn pain in the ass.” His arthritis gave him constant agony and he
never went to doctors or took pain pills. His words were not profound, but they stuck with me like glue. I remember every second
of it. I want to now be the grandpa, but hopefully be a bit more philosophical and
didactic. My father’s father was run out of the state of Pennsylvania for making moonshine. I don’t recall any of his words
and barely know his face. I surely don’t want that for myself. I’ll be there.
Figure 11 Grandpa hard at work grandpawing
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Chapter 7
Travel
I want to travel, but global travel isn’t necessary. I’ve been to Europe a few times. It was fun, but unless I have money out the
wazoo, I will be satisfied traveling in the US, Canada, and Mexico. There is a lifetime
of new experiences in our own backyard. I intend to accomplish my travel ambitions by either buying a truck and a camping trailer,
or simply taking hotel rooms and driving a sports car. We would not travel all the time,
but we would plan trips all the time. We would like to visit the high desert of New Mexico. I’ve read many bohemian,
romantic, nomadic stories about the people who live there, basically as squatters on land
no one cares about. I want to see back-road America by taking random left turns as we
drive around America. I also want to visit major cities and live the high life. I have been cultivating this portion of my garden my entire adult life. I have been buying properties and small businesses for many years. I currently have six properties. All but the one we live in, pays us rent. That rent augments our pension and gives us breathing room. I have a little bit of stock, not much. I’m putting most of it into blue chip stocks that pay dividends. I hope to have enough dividend stock by then that the quarterly payments allow for a few wild weekends. I’ve also got a gambling streak, but not a lot of luck. I have been cultivating this portion of my garden my entire adult life. I have been buying properties and small businesses for many years. I currently have six properties. All but the one we live in, pays us rent. That rent augments our
pension and gives us breathing room. I have a little bit of stock, not much. I’m putting most of it into blue chip stocks that pay dividends. I hope to have enough dividend stock by then that the quarterly payments allow for a few wild weekends. I’ve also got a gambling streak, but not a lot of luck. I have been cultivating this portion of my garden my entire adult life. I have been buying
properties and small businesses for many years. I currently have six properties. All but the one we live in, pays us rent. That rent augments our pension and gives us breathing room. I have a little bit of stock, not much. I’m putting most of it into blue chip
stocks that pay dividends. I hope to have enough dividend stock by then that the quarterly payments allow for a few wild weekends. I’ve also got a gambling streak, but not a lot of luck. . All but the one we live in, pays us rent. That rent augments our pension and gives us breathing room. I have a little bit of stock, not much. I’m putting most of it into blue chip stocks that pay dividends. I hope to have enough dividend stock by then that the quarterly payments allow for a few wild of luck.
Figure 12 My home state of Pennsylvania
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