My First International Taoist Tai Chi Workshop

DENVER, CO

The Taoist Tai Chi Society of which I am a member is an international organization founded and headquartered in Toronto, Canada.  Throughout the year there are numerous opportunities to improve our Tai Chi by attending weekend Workshops or Intensives.  Typically led by a visiting instructor, they involve A LOT of Tai Chi practice.  The annual International Workshop in Denver is one of the bigger-deal events, and this year was led by the senior instructor of the Society, Tony Kwan.  

One of the many nice things about the Society is how supportive members are of each other.  It is a normal practice that visiting members are picked up and dropped off at the airport, transported wherever they need to be, and if requested, billeted at a member's home.  I chose both transportation and billeting.

Once again I flew without incident, and was met by Maria at the Denver airport.  DIA is about an hour east of Denver proper, and Maria picked up three of us who arrived at approximately the same time.   The other two wanted to go directly to the Tai Chi center, but it being my first visit to Denver, I readily agreed to Maria's offer of a short sight-seeing tour of the area.

Like Flagstaff, Denver had received late and bountiful rains this spring.  Maria and other members who are residents of Denver commented on how unusually green it was.

Our first stop was at the Red Rocks State Park and Amphitheater, a natural outdoor setting for concerts.  The band Widespread Panic was playing that night, so we couldn't get into the amphitheater itself.  The amphitheater is tucked in on the right.

This is some of the surrounding area.  Very Sedona-like.

Our drive continued on a winding highway with great scenery, 

including this overview of the Golden's claim to fame.

 With 350 members, the local club can support a Society-owned building located in Denver's revitalized downtown.  They hold a full slate of classes and workshops, community support events, and members-only events.  The renovated building includes a small and busy commercial grade kitchen and spotless restrooms decorated with this yin-yang quilt.

  Each week a dinner is held for members to socialize.  Members who are restaurant grade chefs were busy the whole weekend preparing food for the workshop.  This is the interior of the building. 

The Society offers what they call a Health Recovery component, which is classes for anyone with any challenges.  The woman sitting above did Tai Chi in her chair the whole weekend.

Friday night we enjoyed the first of our delicious meals, then practiced the 108-move set twice. I was   then transported by one generous member to another generous member's home for billeting.

Our hostess Teri is in the middle with her home in the background.  Fellow workshop attendees Jane and Bryson are standing beside her. 

The morning session Saturday started at 10:00.  We were under the direction of the Society's senior instructor, Tony Kwan.  Tony is about 70, small, and has terrific Confucius-style eyebrows that come out over his eyes.  He has quite a bit of English, but Chinese is his first language and he travels to workshops with an interpreter.   We practiced steadily, with one short break, for about 3 hours.  Tony would demonstrate we were to work on, then we separated into small groups led by advanced instructors.  We broke for a fabulous lunch, which was organized into set-up (tables & chairs),
 serving, take-down and doing dishes.  Many hands made short work.  Our afternoon session followed the structure of the morning.  The beauty of this type of training is that we worked on only a few moves with very high repetitions in small groups.  That gave us time to do the given move enough times to really get a feel for it, plus the instructors were able to offer suggestions and corrections more than once to each of us.  I found it highly effective.  During the small group practice Tony would choose someone to work with (never me, thank goodness!).  Since he was correcting physical form and hands-on is problematic, he use a dowel about 15" long with a ball on the end for him to hold.  He then -very gently and minutely-touched arms, hands, knees, etc. until the person's form was as close to perfect as it was going to get that day.  Yep, he made them SWEAT!  As the day progressed, the rest of us would stop our own practice to watch, both giving us a break and a chance to watch one of the best.

We broke for dinner, then started the evening session.  More and more practice.  We ended at 9:30, and by that time I could hardly stumble out the door, let alone form a sentence!  Teri was chatty and wanted to hear about our day; I shortly had to excuse myself to bed.

The Society has roots in Chinese philosophical/religious beliefs, and the Denver center included this altar set up to show respect to historical leaders of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism.

In keeping with my "try everything" mindset, Sunday morning before the workshop started, I joined a group who participated in Chanting, which consisted of about a 30 minute recitation of chants in Chinese.  Booklets with phonetic pronunciation but no translation were provided.

Before the Sunday morning session began, we took photos.  Arizona was well represented with this large contingent from Flagstaff and Phoenix. 

The Sunday morning session began at 10:00 and we took up where we had left off the night before.  I was glad to see I wasn't the only one feeling the effects of the day before, as many people showed evidence of their fatigue.  I practiced two more hours, missing the afternoon session to be able to catch my flight home on time.  Yes, another generous member transported me back to DIA.

I really enjoyed this workshop.  I have found the intensity has both improved my practice and allowed me to be able to remember much of what I practiced.  Will do it again?  You bet!

"I hear and I forget.  I see and I remember.  I do and I understand."

 ------Confucius

NEBRASKA TIME

This year's trip to Nebraska was timed for the Wallace Family Reunion, my Dad's side of the family.  Ron and I chose to try flying this year.  We did the math and figured flying would save us about 30 hours of driving.  Though 10 hours of driving were still required, to and from airports, it was a significant savings.   Besides the obvious time savings, it saved a lot of wear and tear on us.  

We flew out of Phoenix Mesa-Gateway Airport (no, that's not our limo)

via Allegiant Airlines.  I know it's cheesy, but I still find it a thrill to walk the gangplank to get into the plane.

We flew into the Central Nebraska Regional Airport in Grand Island, where we enjoyed this historical overview.

A rental car provided us the means to drive the hour and a half to Scott's home in Sumner.

Brother Mike and wife Karen were able to come this year, and brought their four grandboys, ages 8-13.  They arrived the next evening, so that day we spent helping Scott with some last-minute preparations to the house(s), grocery shopping, and visiting, of course.  Scott owns another house across the alley from his house.  He's currently using it as storage, and was able to clean a bedroom and the bathroom for use by Mike's family.  Ron and I stayed in Scott's house.  Scott is doing a major renovation to his house, and it will be a beauty when it's finished.  

The four grandboys were a pleasure. They were consistently well-behaved. We walked the four short blocks the park the next morning, and they delighted in the simple playground equipment.

 

Mike and Karen's dogs Puggles and Zoey enjoyed the park, too.

Ron visited with this stereotypical retired farmer who was in charge of park maintenance.

Sammy played with this water pump in the park.

Jonathan found the gymnastic rings a blast.

Scott hung his hammock in the yard, and the boys all spent time laying and playing.  Here's Angel enjoying some lounging time.

Nicholas at 13 found his niche when Scott turned him loose on a riding mower.

He found this living ornament in Scott's yard.

Scott's pergola in the back yard is a perfect venue for visiting.

 

With nine people to feed, I found taking charge of the kitchen right up my organizational alley.  The boys were not only willing helpers when asked, they asked to help.  Jonathan and Sammy helped with food prep in the kitchen; Angel and Jonathan each took turns helping Ron at the grill.   Jonathan ended up doing the bulk of the prep for the 7-Layer Salad we took to the reunion, and was deservedly proud of his creation.

Our Uncle Dwane, Mom's brother, lives a 10-minute walk from Scott in Sumner.  He invited Mike and the boys over for some gardening work, and once again, they delighted in everything.  Dwane showed them the difference between garden plants and weeds, and they got plenty of practice weed-pulling.  Nicholas once again found rapture with Dwane's riding mower.  Dwane generously shared plenty of lettuce from his garden, and it was the basis for the above-mentioned 7-Layer Salad.

Dwane was growing a beard for a local contest.  We all agreed it gave him a Santa Claus look.  He and Mike struck this family-resemblance pose.

 

The day of the reunion arrived.  Cousin Deb did a wonderful job organizing the event at a local park in Kearney.  She arranged for delicious smoked pork from a caterer, and potluck was provided by participants.  She and her husband brought several yard games, which young and not-as-young enjoyed throughout the day.

Our grandparents lived in a sod house in a local area called Buzzard's Roost.  Deb had this terrific banner made with the amusing nod to our family history.

 

Here's Deb during one of the few moments she sat down.

My only photo with all of Dad's sibilings:

Jim is in the red t-shirt on the left, Chuck in the gray t-shirt in the center, Norma beside Chuck, and Ruth in the gold t-shirt on the right.

Here's a close up of Ruth and Norma

 

and a picture of Dad..can you see another family resemblance?

We had decided that this year families could wear the same colored t-shirts.  Ron and I worked on a really nice design for our t-shirts that said "Bob's Branch" and had the lion from the Wallace Family Crest.  Unfortunately the black I chose for the design, which showed up nicely on the computer, didn't show up at all on the t-shirts.  Oh, well; the purple still looked good!

The days passed quickly, and before we knew it, it was time to say goodbye.

"I still can't shake the Nebraska off of me."

-----Andrew Rannells

MERRY MAY, JOYFUL JUNE

                                                                            

We all know how time flies...and it's had wings the last couple of months!  

In early May we enjoyed our trip to Arches and Canyonlands National Parks, detailed in the previous post.  

The day after we returned from this trip, our neighbor Megan and I participated in the first of the six runs scheduled for the annual Flagstaff Summer Running Series.  You may recall from the previous post that it was snowing as we came back from Arches...well, it continued to snow, and the "Run For the Mountain" the next morning was a snowy, sloppy, fun mess for those of us who braved it anyway. 

I'm #457, Megan is #486.  Yep, that's snow on the ground.

Our dog Maggie has a no-holds-barred quality, and it's especially prevalent during the spring, aka squirrel season.  The Abert's squirrel is the local species. 

 

The youngsters chase each other up and down the trees, and if there happens to be a dog in the vicinity who thinks they might catch them, so much the better!  After a certain amount of fruitless but intensely enjoyable squirrel chasing, Maggie showed up with a shoulder injury.  Some time of waiting and seeing passed with no improvement.  I took her to the vet, who prescribed an anti-inflammatory and said if that didn't work bring her back in for some treatment with his newest treatment toy:  laser.  The AKC Canine Health Foundation describes it this way:

Often called low-level laser therapy, cold laser therapy or Class IV laser therapy, by any name, is still a relatively new concept that is being used more recently to treat dogs with arthritis, tendon or soft tissue injuries and to promote wound healing. - See more at: http://www.akcchf.org/canine-health/your-dogs-health/caring-for-your-dog/laser-therapy-for-dogs.html#sthash.vlwbxXXG.dpuf

Often called low-level laser therapy, cold laser therapy or Class IV laser therapy, by any name, is still a relatively new concept that is being used more recently to treat dogs with arthritis, tendon or soft tissue injuries and to promote wound healing. - See more at: http://www.akcchf.org/canine-health/your-dogs-health/caring-for-your-dog/laser-therapy-for-dogs.html#sthash.vlwbxXXG.dpuf

Often called low-level laser therapy, cold laser therapy or Class IV laser therapy, by any name, is still a relatively new concept that is being used more recently to treat dogs with arthritis, tendon or soft tissue injuries and to promote wound healing. - See more at: http://www.akcchf.org/canine-health/your-dogs-health/caring-for-your-dog/laser-therapy-for-dogs.html#sthash.vlwbxXXG.dpuf

"Often called low-level laser therapy, cold laser therapy or Class IV laser therapy, by any name, is still a relatively new concept that is being used more recently to treat dogs with arthritis, tendon or soft tissue injuries and to promote wound healing."  You'd be correct if you guessed the anti-inflammatory didn't do the job as well as I'd like. Maggie had her 4th laser treatment today, and is showing improvement.  However, she's been left at home when lots of fun stuff is happening.  She takes it well, but often looks like this:

Kinda sad.

That being the case, Maggie was left behind when Lea and I, with our dogs Rue and Gypsy respectively, enjoyed a nice hike up Davenport Hill near Williams.

 "The world's favorite season is the spring.
All things seem possible in May."
-  Edwin Way Teale





 

 June opened with a trip to Nebraska to visit brother Scott and the bi-annual

A separate post will follow for that trip.

While I was in NE, Megan ran the "Sacred Mountain Prayer Run", the second event of the Summer Running Series, without me:

Though neither Ron nor I claim to be savvy fans of Shakespeare, we enjoyed the comedic chaos of the Theatrikos production of "Much Ado About Nothing".

The last weekend of June, I attended my first International Taoist Tai Chi Workshop in Denver, CO.  

 
 A separate post will follow for that trip as well.  

While I was in Denver, Megan ran the "Run For Life", the third event of the Summer Running Series, without my company

On June 30, Ron and I celebrated our 37th





We were both committed on the actual day, and celebrated a couple days later.  First, breakfast at this long-time local hang-out:

Ron picked this beautiful bouquet from his garden:

We ended the day with grilled salmon, corn, potatoes and tomatoes enjoyed outside on the gazebo.

The late snows and early rains have given us a glorious garden a month early this year.  These clematis are representative:

"Spring being a tough act to follow,
God created June."
-  Al Bernstein