Escape Adulthood Summit 2017

Today has been a very long day, as it was day 1 of the 2017 Escape Adulthood Summit. This is an annual conference hosted and put on by my friends Kim and Jason Kotecki. Jason is an artist and motivational speaker, and he and his wife Kim have a passion for helping others to become more childlike, realize their potential in life, and follow their dreams and passions. There are so many unwritten (and nonexistent) rules that adults often tend to follow, and they tend to hold us back if taken too far. We let fear, hurt and other things stand in the way of following our dreams. What if people don't like what I have to say? What if? What if? Children don't have many of these inhibitions, and we can learn a lot from them on how to live life.

The day started yesterday evening when I caught the airport shuttle, and then a red eye flight out of Seattle bound for Minneapolis. The Minneapolis airport is quite large, so I got quite the workout walking to my connecting flight to Madison, Wisconsin. Upon arrival in Madison, I was picked up by Dan, a new friend who, like me, showed interest in sharing a hotel room. Since I arrived several hours before the summit was set to start, we drove around Madison. I got to see the Wisconsin Capitol building, which is spectacular, and we stopped at the lake, where I got some pictures. We walked out on a dock, and I commented that the dock rocked! Literally!

We then proceeded to the nearby town of Poynette, where the conference is being held. Still early, we drove around the area and saw some buffalos grazing, and we passed a pleasant farm. We then went to the conference location, but they weren't ready to let us in yet, so Kim sent us on an errand to get some whimsical flowers and come back closer to the starting time. We found a nearby country store that advertised selling asparagus and flowers.

Once we explained what we needed, the helpful lady who owned the shop proceeded to arrange a bouquet. Once we had paid for it, they invited us to sit down and chat. Country life is slower and friendlier than I'm used to in Seattle. The lady who helped us was at the table with a couple elderly women, and they asked what we did, and told us a bit about themselves. One of the older women told us about how her husband was a pilot and flew a two-seater aircraft. They flew that plane up and down the coast, around the US, and then proceeded to fly around the world, mainly stopping to refuel and rest. She mentioned stopping in Adelaide, Australia, where they have opal mines. She was wearing an opal ring that they got there. They had a landing strip on their farm in Wisconsin, and after her husband passed away, she donated the plane to Wings of Hope. She feels her husband would have approved. I'm probably not doing the story justice, but it was fascinating, and I appreciated her sharing her story. We were probably at the store for an hour or two, chatting most of the time. By the time we left, it was closer to the starting time.

When we got back to the farm where the conference is held, we had fun playing with bubbles while we waited for the doors to open.

The conference started out with lunch. They had enlisted the services of two food trucks, and there was also lemonade and other drinks. I selected the food truck with tater tots covered in a variety of different toppings. Mine were poutine tots. They were delicious, though Mia, a Canadian fellow attendee, took one look at them and informed me they were not authentic (I asked).

As we entered, there were personalized goody bags on the table by the door, which included everyone's nametag (which is how the bags were labeled) and a bunch of supplies for the summit. There were little Lego people, t-shirts, a small notebook, some of those pens we had when we were little that have something like 15 colors in one pen, and more.

As the talks began, I made a point of writing every line of my notes in a different color. I felt at first this was a fun childlike way of writing notes. As the summit went on, I realized the choice of colors was getting harder, and rather than childlike, it was becoming symptomatic of adultitis, as I started missing things due to the choice of color taking place in my head. Lesson: Trying too hard to be childlike can be a symptom of adultitis.

The theme for this summit was: "EVERY DAY IS AN ADVENTURE"

Jason quoted Helen Keller: "Life is either a grand adventure or nothing." He pointed out that we often don't do something because we're afraid it won't work. Instead, we should ask ourselves, "What if it does work?"

From my notes:

The best adventures follow no maps.
"I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious." - Albert Einstein
What is one thing I can do to make this a little better?
Live like someone left the tank open. (This was inspired by an octopus who escaped its tank.)
"And the day came when the risk to remain tight in the bud became more painful than the risk it took to bloom." - Anaïs Nin
"This is not rocket surgery here."

They suggested shouting things like "You rock!" out your window at passersby. We need to hoard memories rather than things. We need to be more ridiculous.

Jason recommended tinker projects, which he has started doing. (He explains that in the link better than I could.)

Instead of saying "Here goes nothing" when trying something out, we should say, "Here goes something!"

For one of our activities, we made ugly cakes. We were given pre-made cakes with frosting and all kinds of random items to put on them. Each table formed a team, and we were to be as creative as possible. Our team's cake was "New York Zombie Apocalypse" (or something to that effect). We ripped the cake into several pieces and built structures on it. There were zombies involved. There was even a zombie penguin. It was pretty impressive, if I do say so myself!

Before dinner, we broke into teams and did improv games with an improv troupe from Wisconsin called Mojo Dojo. They were impressed with our improv chops, and we had a great deal of fun. After dinner, they did a show.

The weather was stormy off and on. At times it was sunny, and at other times, the clouds rolled in, the rain dumped, and they had some seriously epic lightning strikes. I was wishing I was fast enough with a camera to get pictures!

To be continued...

The Christmas Song

The summer of 1944 was particularly eventful. On June 6, Allied troops stormed the beaches of Normandy on what would become known as D-Day. It was a turning point in World War II.

Meanwhile, back in the US, it was a particularly hot summer. Musicians Mel Tormé and Bob Wells needed to cool down, and thinking about winter seemed just the thing. Wells wrote a few notes in his notebook, and Tormé took those words and set them to music. So if you are ever sweltering in the blistering heat of summer, just remember these words:

Chestnuts roasting on an open fire!
Jack Frost nipping at your nose
Yuletide carols being sung by a choir
With folks dressed up like Eskimos 

Everybody knows a turkey and some mistletoe
Help to make the season bright
Tiny tots with their eyes all aglow
Will find it hard to sleep tonight. 

They know that Santa's on his way.
He's loaded lots of toys and goodies on his sleigh
And every mother's child is gonna spy
To see if reindeer really know how to fly 

And so I'm offering this simple phrase
For kids from one to ninety-two:
Although it's been said many times, many ways,
Merry Christmas to you!

Nat King Cole was the first to record it:



I'm not sure why they couldn't find a more imaginative title for the song, such as, oh, I don't know, "Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire"? But no. It's called "The Christmas Song". But then, Keith Green wrote The Easter Song (more recently)...so I guess that kind of thing isn't unheard of.
The song is a great way of thinking wintery thoughts on a warm day. In fact, I might try singing it next summer if it gets especially hot. It covers a lot of things that people do in the winter. Roasting chestnuts brings to mind the crackle of the fire that helps to warm someone up on a freezing night, as Jack Frost nips at your nose (i.e., your nose is freezing). So you come a little closer to the fire to warm up, and sing yuletide carols. Parkas, such as Eskimos (or more properly, Inuits) are known to wear, also help to keep people warm in the snow. At Thanksgiving, people typically eat turkey, and near Christmas, people have been known to kiss under the mistletoe. Children experience the wonder of the season, waiting with excited glee for Santa to come down their chimney and deliver their presents Christmas Eve. So all that's left is to wish everyone a Merry Christmas! If that doesn't psychologically cool a person down in a hot summer, I don't know what will. Maybe singing Sleigh Ride, which was born out of a heatwave two years later, would help.
I love the line about "kids from one to ninety-two." I think far too many people "grow up" and contract adultitis. If you have that, the best cure I've found is to consult the doctors Kim & Jason. But it's important to keep a child-like spirit and attitude. Sure, we need to remember the difference between child-like and childish, but we need to be careful not to "grow up" so much that we lose our sense of wonder, adventure, curiosity and silliness. When my grandpa turned 93, I pointed out that he had finally grown up, since the song says "kids from one to ninety-two." At that point, I decided it should be "kids from one to one oh two" because my grandpa still has a child-like spirit, and I think that is one thing that has kept him alive for 97 years and counting. He may need a walker now (or as he calls it, his horse), but his mind is still active, and he is one of the youngest 97-year-olds I've ever met. In fact, I will be helping him to publish his autobiography, My First 76 Years, next year. He wrote it a few years ago, but has recently been hard at work revising and improving it. Remember how I mentioned that the Allied troops stormed the beaches on D-Day the same summer Wells and Tormé wrote The Christmas Song? He wasn't among those troops, but he fought in the war, and he was in France on V-E Day (Victory in Europe Day), May 8, 1945. He is my hero.
If you want to know more about the song, you can check here and here. I especially enjoyed this account of the author seeing Mel Tormé and indirectly brightening Tormé's day.
I leave you with the aptly-named Il Volo (Italian for "The Flight"), some of my all-time favorite singers, singing one of my all-time favorite songs.

Susan's Fate

*WARNING: If you have not read The Chronicles of Narnia, do not read on. SPOILER!*

Authors have a big task when constructing a novel or series of novels, and many show their brilliance in what they write and how they explain. In my opinion, one mark of a truly great author is what he leaves open to the imagination of the reader, rather than explaining.

Such is the fate of Susan Pevensie, one of the important characters of C.S. Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia. Very few characters actually survive the series. We witness the deaths of the White Witch, Miraz, Caspian, the Lady of the Green Kirtle, even Aslan. We see Reepicheep go up the wave in his coracle to Aslan's Country. We hear about the death of Caspian's beloved Queen in a flashback. We see Prince Rabadash of Calormen transformed into a donkey, and he has to be transported to Tashbaan where he is transformed back into a man in the temple of his god Tash. He reforms and leads a peaceful reign, but we read that he eventually dies, and his people proceed to call him Rabadash the Ridiculous. Some characters die during the time between books. We don't know how, but for example, thousands of years have passed in Narnia between The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and Prince Caspian. By virtue of the passage of time, we know that the Beavers, Tumnus and all the others have long since died by the time Prince Caspian starts. In The Last Battle, we see Ginger the Cat get overconfident, take one look at Tash, and shoot out of the stable like a bullet, unable to speak. Tash grabs Rishda Tarkaan and Shift and takes them away.

However, perhaps the most heartbreaking fate is that of Susan...and she is one of the few characters that actually survives.

After King Tirian pulls Rishda Tarkaan through the stable door in The Last Battle, Tirian finds himself in a beautiful paradise, and Rishda finds himself face-to-face with the reality that the evil god he has not believed but has pretended to worship all his life is very real and is not happy. Tirian turns to find before him nearly all of the Friends of Narnia that we have met throughout the series. Jill and Eustace, with whom he just fought the Last Battle, are there, along with Peter, Edmund, Lucy, Polly and Digory. Tirian is amazed to be before so many heroes from throughout Narnia's history, and he is mystified when he realizes that Queen Susan is not there. When he asks where she is, Peter explains that she is no longer a friend of Narnia. It turns out that she has decided that Narnia was child's play, and she doesn't understand how her siblings can still think it's real. In other words, she has contracted a serious case of adultitis. She is more concerned with the superficial trappings of being a woman and going to parties than she is with spending quality time with her loved ones and remembering the lessons she learned not so long ago.

As we read on, we find out that the Friends of Narnia have been trying to return. Peter and Edmund went to retrieve the rings that transported Polly and Digory to Narnia, and they were waiting at the train station for the others to arrive. The train rounded the bend too fast, crashing into the station and probably derailing, killing those on board and in the station. Peter, Edmund, Lucy, Polly and Digory suddenly found themselves in the New Narnia, and Eustace and Jill found themselves in the Old Narnia with a task to help King Tirian to defend their nation to the end. Oh yeah, forgot to mention that the Pevensies' parents are also on board the ill-fated train. They suddenly find themselves in a New London.

Beyond what is told above, we don't know what happened to Susan. When a child asked Lewis about it, he had this to say:

Dear Martin,

The books don't tell us what happened to Susan. She is left alive in this world at the end, having by then turned into a rather silly, conceited young woman. But there is plenty of time for her to mend, and perhaps she will get to Aslan's country in the end--in her own way. I think that whatever she had seen in Narnia she could (if she was the sort that wanted to) persuade herself, as she grew up, that it was "all nonsense".

Congratulations on your good marks. I wish I was good at Maths! Love to all,
Yours,
C.S. Lewis

Letters to Children, Letter of 22 January 1957

Think about it: Susan has just lost her ENTIRE family. Her nearest living relatives that we know of are her Aunt Alberta and Uncle Harold, who have also lost a son. All three of her siblings, her parents, her cousin, even the respected Professor who took her in during the war, have all died in one train crash. If that isn't enough to shake a person to their senses, I don't know what is. I've lost family members, but only one at a time--and none as close as a sibling or parent. I can't imagine what it would be like to lose so much at once. Not to mention that she's only 21 at this point. She has her whole life ahead of her, and she has to live it without the ones who have been closest to her growing up.

Susan's fate is both heartbreaking and hopeful. As Lewis pointed out to young Martin, Susan has a chance to remember the lessons she learned from Aslan and let go of her selfish pride and adultitis. As Aslan pointed out in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, he has another name in this world. On January 22, 1952, Lewis explained in a letter to a child named Carrol that the word Aslan "is Turkish for lion ... And of course I meant the Lion of Judah." He likely expected Carrol to understand that the Lion of Judah is a name for Jesus in the Bible. Thus, Susan has a choice. She can continue to reject the hope that has been given to her in the form of Christ appearing to her in the form of a lion, or she can put her trust in Christ, who died to save her from her sin. (She saw this reenacted only a few years earlier as Aslan gave his life on the Stone Table to save Edmund from death, and then the Stone Table cracked and Aslan rose from the dead and defeated the White Witch).

Susan has a choice. Which did she choose? We'll never know, because she's a fictional character...but each of us has the same choice. We can choose to follow Christ and one day find ourselves in His presence, or we can reject Him and find ourselves in the presence of someone worse than Tash.