In Times of Change Learners Inherit the Each

While the Learned are Perfectly Prepared for a World that No Longer Exists

That quote by Eric Hoffer was once displayed prominently at the front of my classroom

It also became the main graphic of my webpage, created in 1996, way before most people even heard of the Internet and continually updated for 25 years.

Hoffer’s philosophy always served me well.

It emphasized to my students that education should not end upon graduation or attainment of particular employment or position in life.
“Become Lifelong Learners” was not just for the students but my challenge to my colleagues as I led professional development sessions in the new technology that would continue to change our lives. 

It helped that being born in 1947, the excuse of “I’m too old to learn new stuff” was irrelevant. 
It’s a function of desire to learn, being open to new ideas and resources and plain persistence. 
Speed doesn’t matter.  This graphic was posted on the new blog site of a Spark friend.

This was significant to me since I realize that I am no longer immediately an expert at new technology and that’s OK!  Sometimes I even ask for help.  That’s OK too.

In my healthy living journey my progress was always gradual – in weight loss and in my fitness goals
That’s why I chose a turtle for my ticker icon here on Spark.   11 years of maintenance and moving forward day by day.

I’ve been watching Downton Abbey reruns with my DD Hayburner1969 and DGD Carrie, age 19.

The approach of 2 characters to the changes of their world interested me.

Mrs Patmore the cook – the initial resistor to anything electric.

Mrs Hughes the head housekeeper who ordered an electric toaster. She burned a lot of toast but persisted and eventually got the hang of it.

I hope I will always be a Mrs Hughes.

Sharing Family Stories Prompted by a Hindenberg Documentary

The Hindenberg Zeppelin airship exploded on its landing approach in New Jersey in 1937 after a transatlantic trip.  

Background:  The news broadcast of the explosion was widely shared and horrified the public unaccustomed to real time broadcast of a tragic event.
However, all video was taken from the same location by official news cameramen. 
So analysis did not yield any explanation of how and why the explosion occurred. All videos showed a fire already in progress.

80 years later the discovery of am 8mm home movie made by an ordinary citizen watching from an airplane hangar revealed more clues as to what actually happened.
The different vantage point gave investigators the data they needed to do experiments and reach a conclusion.

Much of the program was devoted to the movie camera that was used.  A Kodak Eight – Model 10 and the remarkable fact that the camera and film still existed.

It was marketed to the public at the time encouraging them to record not only personal experiences but “IMPORTANT PUBLIC EVENTS”
The precursor of ‘youtube?”  See something happening? Record it on your phone!

As I watched the documentary with my granddaughter, I told her I HAVE that exact same movie cameras.
I even know where it is!

This is my granddaughter learning how home movies were made 80 years ago
No batteries required.  You turned a crank to get it ready to use and when it "ran down" you cranked it up again.

That’s my Dad’s picture next to mine at age 14 displayed on my grandma’s treadle sewing machine.

 

Dad also bought a still camera to record life in the 1930s and later his experiences during WWII. 
Dad was the youngest of 4 brothers to enlist.  He joined the Navy on the advice of his brothers to avoid THEIR choice of the army.
By the time the sailors went ashore, no one was shooting at them so Dad compliled quite an album.

In 2007 I created a website as a tribute to my Dad and all those who served in the USS Philadelphia CL-41

USS Philadelphia CL-41

The crew held annual reunions from 1964 – 2019. 
Over the years I became the repository of everyone’s mementos and my website grew.
Finally time caught up with old sailors and Covid put an end to that era.

Amazingly I am still regularly contacted by people who saw a picture of a loved one or themselves.
The “Philly” is sailing on in cyberspace forever 

The lesson of all this, keep taking those photos and videos.  You never know who will be interested in them.

One caution however:  Don't get SO caught up in recording every event that you neglect to really experience it yourself.  Balance is key!

 

Trekking the World with Friends

Joe & I returned from 1 month in South America on March 1, 2020
Then the world closed down.

Still I wanted to see where all my daily steps would take me if laid out end to end.

How about a place I’ve never been?  How about walking the route of the Nile?
That journey is 1700 miles long.  How about inviting some friends along?
Let’s add our steps together and see that part of the world

We began in Khartoum in the Sudan

Walked through the desert to explore many sights not well known

like Meroe

And Jebel Barkal

And the better known Abu Simbel Temples

Aswan

Luzor

Giza

Finally, our destination:
The Nile Delta where the river drains into the Mediterranean Sea from Alexandria to Port Said.
That trip took the 7 of us 10 weeks to complete.

Where to next?  How about a short hop over to Jerusalem?

Then we can walk to London through some of the most iconic cities of the world. 
Lovely countryside too.

Our journey has just begun. 
If you would like to join us, leave a comment or send me email and I’ll send you an invitation

As we learned in our Spark life, any journey is easier with friends.

My Final Blog on SparkPeople - "I have always adapted well to change"

 Under the banner of the Bridge that defined my life I wrote 766 blogs

Below is the full text of my last Spark blog as I move on to a new URL

I attended 3 high schools back when "leaving one's friends" meant REALLY LEAVING them unless we wrote letters. In 2021 we have so many alternatives to stay connected to the friends we have made here 

The Spark community is what made this place special. That was our strength. The name said it all – SparkPEOPLE.  As individuals, we could have found tools anywhere and advice from experts has always been just a google search away.

Instead we were one tapestry woven with the threads of our individual journeys.
One quilt composed of a multiple “squares” of special focus teams
We each had our own journey but settled into personalized niches under one large umbrella.

Our strength is still evident as Sparkers are stepping up to link us together through websites, google groups, FB special interest groups or just plain sharing email addresses.

I’m very glad that Chris is healthy and this change was to pursue the more lucrative corporate model rather than because of a health issue

I will always be grateful for his book that turned my husband into the “Stealth Sparker” and ultimately saved his life.

Joe’s doctors were quite clear that if he hadn’t been “in good shape” he never would have survived his emergency brain surgery in 2016, let alone made a full recovery at age 71.

Ironically, Spark Guy echoed that same advice in his blog regarding his own brain surgery in 2018. 

My Brain Tumor Story 

As for the shut down, I saw the writing on the wall quite awhile ago.
In my life I’ve seen enough “benign neglect” of buildings, companies, organizations and websites to know something must be in the works 

I have maintained my own website since 1997 and now all my blogs are located there as well.
They are a record of my wonderful 12 year Spark Journey, a very important part of my life. 

When I joined SP in 2009, I was a hermit.
It took me 3 years to write my first blog and as I wrote then, my only friend was the “guy whose job it is to be my friend.” Yes, Spark Guy.

Suddenly, MJZHERE added me as a friend. Little by little I learned the power of this community.
I never deleted a friend. Even when they fell silent, I always hoped they would return.
Now I see one page after another “going dark”

Next Tuesday will be my 74th birthday and I will celebrate the fact that SP set me on a healthy path and 11 years of maintaining my goal weight

I often wrote that I logged in every morning for my “daily dose of motivation”
My motivation came from connecting with individuals but in the end motivation must come from within. 

We are all an “Experiment of One.” May you all find the path that is right for you

Eileen

My Spark Blogs  (My 766 blogs arranged by year (2012 - June 17, 2021)
http://www.brigs.us/portfolio/index-blogs-2021.htm
The link there to my home page gives more information