The Easter Lynx

Posted on April 17, 2011 by leecuesta

Not the Easter Bunny?  That’s right.  With Easter right around the corner, I am providing two lynx – a.k.a. links – that are relevant for the holiday.  First, if you want a new jewelry creation by Enok O that is ideal for the Easter season, then click on this link –

https://www.leecuestalive.com/?page_id=18

This simply takes you to another page of this website, where photos of his medallion can be viewed, along with a drawing that identifies each segment.  The medallion, primarily to be worn as a pendant, is a symbolic, wordless representation of John 3:16. Every portion of the circular pendant, measuring only 3 cm (1.25 inches) in diameter, depicts a separate phrase in the verse. “So my design includes seven segments in all – representing the seven phrases of this Bible verse – which are fully integrated,” says artist and designer Enok O.

Second, if you want to craft a papier-mache “resurrection scene” for your family’s Easter observance, then click on this link –

http://www.ehow.com/how_4860474_papiermache-resurrection-scene-easter-observance.html

In this eHow.com article, I describe how we have created a “resurrection scene” for Easter as a tradition in our family for many years. It helps the children to visualize and experience the death and burial of Jesus on Good Friday, and His resurrection on Easter morning.  It is similar to a nativity scene around Christmastime.  The children participate in constructing the “tomb” in the days preceding Good Friday. Then on Friday evening, we place Jesus’s body inside and put the cover in front of the entrance. When the children awaken on Easter morning, the cover has been moved and Jesus isn’t there! As you proceed with each of my steps at eHow.com to craft your own resurrection scene, you can click on all photos to show enlargements.

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Moustache March Reprise

Posted on April 17, 2011 by leecuesta

Am I Pancho?  Or a crab boat captain?  This is what I looked like at the end of Moustache March.  One Hispanic friend, a woman who prefers to speak Spanish with me, told me that she liked my “bigote” because it made me look like I have a personality.  Maybe Latin women simply prefer men with moustaches.

Another woman friend said she liked it because it made me look distinguished – like her dad.  Her dad had always sported a moustache for as long as she could remember.  But in an odd twist of events, her dad decided to shave off his moustache during Moustache March.  And after he shaved his off, she couldn’t keep from giggling, and she demanded he grow it back.  She told him, “You’re not my dad!”

On April 1, when I shaved mine off, I said it was an April Fool’s joke.  My reflection looked slightly strange to me because I’d grown accustomed to it.  The comment I received was: “What happened to the caterpillar?”

Let me know if you are doing Armpit April.  Or Afro April.

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Going Pancho

Posted on March 15, 2011 by leecuesta

It’s an adventure because it’s something novel to do.  And it demonstrates yet again that our lives are not governed by the monotonous routine.

You may not be aware that this is Moustache March.  And although I’ve grown facial hair before, it’s been a long time since I’ve done it.  The last time was only a narrow goatee, verified by the photo on my Colorado driver’s license.

I was clean-shaven on March 1.  At eight days growth, I began to hear the comments.  They can notice that it’s intentional.  Now, at 15 days, I’ve decided to publish my picture and the Top Fifteen comments I’ve heard, along with some conversations I’ve had.

Growing a moustache has become quite a conversation starter.  Lots of people use the abbreviation ‘stache – pronounced “stash” – when they talk about it.  For instance, one of my friends said:  “Nice ‘stache, bro’.  I can’t grow one; it only comes out so far, and then stops; it gets tired.”  He works for UPS, and he said that the drivers aren’t allowed to grow beards, only ‘staches.  Since he’s a supervisor, he said he would grow a ‘stache if he could.  But he can’t.

Another friend in that conversation commented, “I won’t grow one because it makes me look like a pedophile.  I scare myself when I look in the mirror.”  He added:  “Even though I am one; but it doesn’t mean I have to look like one.”

On the other hand, one person told me: “If I shave, I look 12 years old.”  So he wears a permanent ‘stache.

Here now are the Top Fifteen comments I’ve gotten, rated from most bland to the best –

#15.  “Did you know Lee Cuesta is growing a moustache?”

#14.  “Gettin’ a ‘stache?”

#13.  “Forget to wash?”

#12.  “What’s this?” she asked, placing her finger horizontally beneath her nose.

#11.  “I like men with facial hair.”  Others say they don’t, which is the same principle with almost everything; i.e., everybody has unique preferences.

#10.  “Grow a goatee with it, man; you’re startin’ to look like a creeper.”

#9.  “You got the March Moustache goin’ on?”

#8.  “Ruins the pristine landscape of your face.”

#7.   Three times I heard: “Kind of creeps me out.”  My granddaughter was definitely startled when she saw me.  But one of the people who had said this saw me later with my dark, heavy jacket on.  And he said the moustache looks OK along with my heavy coat – “like you’re working on a crab boat off the coast of Alaska.”

#6.  “Yes sir; thank you for making my day.”

#5.   One of my friends greeted me singing, “Moustache, oh moustache.”  Then he looked up pictures of Tom Selleck and Burt Reynolds on his phone to show me the type of ‘stache I should strive for.  He also Googled “world’s best moustache.”

#4.   When I told him to visit www.moustachemarch.com, he replied:  “It’s spelled with an “o”?  Oh, so you have a moose-tache; no, I think it’s a mouse-tache.”

#3.   My fellow associate, the only one with whom I am growing a moustache, greeted me today with a handshake and saying only “Moustache March.”  No “good morning” nor “hello.”  Then we compared our progress on our upper lips.

#2.   Another associate asked, “You’re going Pancho?” A reference to Pancho Villa, but I immediately wondered if it contained any other connotation.  You can click on this link if you want to see what a Pancho moustache really looks like –

http://www.emnrd.state.nm.us/PRD/PanchoVilla02_000.jpg

#1.  But the best one I heard was that next month should be Armpit April for women.  The Moustache March website states: “A lot of us get our start in the fall with Optional Shave October, No Shave November, Don’t Shave December, Just Grow it January and Facial Hair February.”  So the next natural step in this progression is Armpit April.  Come on, women; let it grow!  If you can’t join us for Moustache March (although some of you can), then join us for Armpit April.  I’m just getting it out there because maybe somebody else already came up with this, but if not, then you heard it here first!  And today is March 15, 2011.

Lee Cuesta

(Also check out my blog at www.leecuesta.com.)

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Middle Age Meets Middle School

Posted on February 28, 2011 by leecuesta

Since I am a Baby Boomer, and my youngest son is almost 14, I have a lot to learn from him.

For instance, he recently informed his mother (my wife of 31 years) and me that both “CD” and “DVD” are to be pronounced as a single word.  He said that persons of my generation pronounce them as if periods still separate the initials, such as C.D. and D.V.D.  What’s even worse, we still occasionally mention V.H.S. 

So in a loving gesture to help us fit in the modern era, our son informed us that “CD” should be pronounced as a single, two-syllable word; and likewise, “DVD” should be pronounced as a single, three-syllable word.

Now, my wife is a well-compensated server in a well-known restaurant.  A while ago, she placed some of her requests regarding her availability in an e-mail to her manager.  Sometime later, her manager told her that those requests had come across as “demanding.”  The solution, according to our 14-year-old son, was to include some emoticons.  You know, some smiley faces.  “That’s why they were invented,” he said.

Actually, emoticons – which is a contraction of the words “emotion” and “icon” – were not invented recently; i.e., with the advent of e-mail.  They have been around since the 1800’s.  Wikipedia documents that “Typographical emoticons were published in 1881 by the U.S. satirical magazine Puck. … An emoticon,” says Wikipedia, “is a facial expression pictorially represented by punctuation and letters, usually to express a writer’s mood.”

But they have found a massive, cultural resurgence due to texting, e-mail, and chatting.  In fact, a couple weeks ago, I was chatting via G-mail with my previously youngest son, who is now 24.  At the beginning of our chat, we had a short, lighthearted interchange about emoticons.  And we discovered that at the bottom of the chat-box, there is another box where you can click to select the type and style of emoticon you want in your message at that moment.

However, later in our chat, we got into a deeper, heavier interchange about spiritual issues, and how my own spiritual condition has changed as I’ve gotten older.  Because of another commitment, our chat came to an abrupt end during this interchange.  And we both felt bad because the conversation was unresolved, and neither of us knew how the other felt about it.  Emoticons cannot replace true emotion, inflection and intention.

So not long after that, my son and his wife drove down to visit us (they live several hours away), and my son and I went to Starbucks together in order to bring closure to our chat.  And we were successful.  We just needed some actual “face-time,” not smiley-face time.

Lee Cuesta

Also check out my blog at www.leecuesta.com.

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Lives not governed by the monotonous routine

Posted on January 25, 2011 by leecuesta

Every adventure demonstrates that our lives are not governed by the monotonous routine.  And every kayak trip is like a good cigar:  one of the most enjoyable parts is the memory of it.

Drifting TualatinBut I found my most recent kayak trip – along the Tualatin River in Oregon between Brown’s Ferry Park and Cook Park – to be very enjoyable even while it was still happening because I was feeling very de-stressed and relaxed.  In fact, as I had my legs stretched out in front, as we were drifting downstream, I closed my eyes and felt like I could take a nap – right there in the middle of the slow-moving river.

Both my wife and I were outfitted in Necky kayaks.  I was in a Rip Ten-Six, and she was in the Manitou Sport.  These are the two “Recreation” kayaks that Necky offers.  Rather than boring you with the Necky kayak specs, simply click on this link to read all about them:

http://www.neckykayaks.com/kayaks/recreation_kayaks/

In short, I love the Necky Rip Ten kayak, especially with the Comfort Flex seat.  I hope I can afford to buy one someday.  In the meantime, we rent our kayaks – which includes the personal flotation device (PFD) – at Alder Creek Kayak & Canoe.

Out on the river, we saw a Great Blue Heron – the very majestic, large, blue and gray bird – not just once, but in two different locations – unless we actually saw two, different herons.  The second time we saw it, he was standing on one leg, on a fallen tree that was overhanging the river.  Without paddling, I drifted very close to him – within eight to ten feet – and he didn’t move at all, and I could see clearly the details of his feathers, legs, beak and eyes.

A female duck swam straight up to us, completely unafraid, also twice (like the heron) – first when we were paddling upriver, and again when we were drifting back.  We wondered if she inadvertently bonded with a kayak when she hatched.  She was probably hungry, looking for a handout.  I made a mental note to bring some bread with me the next time I paddled along this stretch of the river.

When the geese and ducks were landing en masse, we could hear the sound of their wings.  I adore the quietness that permits this kind of auditory experience.

Tualatin 2At one point paddling upstream, we encountered a very shallow and swift spot in the river.  So for a moment, we were paddling very hard, sometimes scraping the rocks on the bottom, but not moving.  With a little extra effort and adrenalin, we soon made it past that obstacle.  And already I was looking forward to this spot on the return trip, when we would be shooting downstream, rather than struggling upstream!

We also practiced exiting and re-entering our kayaks – again twice (like the duck and the heron) at both Tualatin Park and Cook Park.  At both stops, we enjoyed our snacks, which included picking fresh blackberries along the bank.

Many times we saw fish jumping, often clear out of the water.  I thought about the possibility of fishing from a kayak.  Briefly, we felt a slight sprinkle, even though the sun was shining that day.  Just past Tualatin Park, we crossed under a pedestrian/bicycle bridge upon which we once walked and said, looking down at the river, that one day we’d be down there in a kayak, and now we were doing it!

Thus, every adventure demonstrates that our lives are not governed by the monotonous routine. 

Lee Cuesta

(August, 2010)

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A Lunar Eclipse Not Seen Since Before The USA Was Founded

Posted on December 21, 2010 by leecuesta

My son and I stayed up last night (slash) this morning to watch the total eclipse of the moon.  It started at 9:30 PM in my time zone.  So I went outside around ten o’clock, and at my current location, the sky was overcast and raining a little bit.  I started to walk, not seeing the moon. Eventually I turned back, with my hood over my head.  When I was about halfway back to my home, I could see the light of the moon penetrating the cloud cover, and it was about one-third darkened.  I rushed upstairs to tell my son, but when he got outside, the clouds were too dense again.  (Later, fortunately, he did get to briefly, barely see the partially darkened moonlight through the clouds.)

Instead, we watched the total eclipse by way of a live webcam.  It’s awesome how this technology allows us to observe what we otherwise could not see.  It was after 3:00 AM in the webcam’s time zone when the eclipse became total.  And in my time zone, the eclipse continued well past midnight.  This means that this total lunar eclipse coincided with the winter solstice, which is today.  I heard on the radio that this is the first time in 372 years that a total lunar eclipse has occurred on the winter solstice.  And I feel it is incredibly awesome to witness something that has not been witnessed since before the founding of the United States of America.

Three-hundred seventy-two years ago was 1638.  That’s way before George Washington was born.  Before Lincoln.  Before Rockefeller.  Before all of this that we now take for granted.

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You expect to get wet

Posted on November 23, 2010 by leecuesta

I embrace being exposed to the elements.

That’s why, during our return paddle on the Tualatin River, I didn’t mind when a drenching rain cut loose from the clouds. What’s the difference? When you go kayaking, you expect to get wet.

To view my kayaking photos, click here.

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Links to John 3:16 Pendant press release

Posted on March 7, 2008 by leecuesta

URLs of your press release – (Search engine optimized)

Shortcuts to your press release – (The full URLs above are preferred)

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Some Noteworthy References

Posted on February 4, 2008 by leecuesta
  • Congressman Tom Tancredo (2008 presidential candidate), in a handwritten note to me concerning my novel, Once: Once: ““Many thanks. Great read!”
  • Stan Guthrie, Senior Associate Editor, Christianity Today; www.christianitytoday.com/ctmag/. (I wrote for Stan while he was editor of World Pulse): “Thank you for your consistently good work (and good spirit) for Pulse.”
  • Glenn Breazeale, Director, Alpine Camp for Boys (Mentone, Alabama); www.alpinecamp.com – where my InSite cover story is displayed on their homepage: “A huge thank you for a wonderful article. Ours just came in the mail yesterday. I think you captured the essence, spirit, and traditions of Alpine beautifully which is quite impressive having never been here. Thanks for listening to us and expressing our mission so well.”
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Tancredo praises Cuesta’s book exposing hispanic autonomy arising from immigration

Posted on February 4, 2008 by leecuesta

Congressman Tom Tancredo, 2008 Republican presidential candidate, calls the book “Great read!” in a handwritten note to its author, Lee Cuesta. As the rising tide of “illegal immigrants” in the United States demands amnesty, Cuesta’s book relates the self-autonomy movement in the Mexican state of Chiapas, to a similar movement occurring in the American Southwest.

As a speaker and journalist who lived and worked throughout Mexico (and Guatemala) for eight years, Cuesta has met both with leaders in Chiapas, and also with members of Estudiantes Contemporáneos Del Norte (ECDN), at the University of New Mexico, including Dr. Charles Truxillo. Many experts are now predicting that the Southwest shall secede from the US, unite with the northern tier of Mexican states, and create the autonomous “República del Norte.” A professor of Chicano Studies, Dr. Truxillo envisions this new, sovereign nation within this century. He has stated: “I may not live to see the Hispanic homeland, but by the end of the century my students’ kids will live in it, sovereign and free.” As Cuesta’s book predicted, Truxillo also said: “Its creation will be accomplished by the electoral pressure of the future majority Hispanic population in the region.”

Furthermore, Cuesta’s book points out that there is an historic precedent to this current trend. He writes that the document known as “The Plan of San Diego, Texas,” was signed on January 6, 1915, and envisioned an armed uprising against the government and country of the United States on February 20, 1915. The original Plan endeavored to reclaim the territory comprising Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado and California. The uprising failed to materialize, but two years later, in 1917, the German influence in the Plan led to the United States’ entrance into World War I.

Likewise, some modern observers believe that there is a silent conspiracy behind the overwhelming immigration from Mexico. They call it “La Reconquista.” One analyst concluded: “Just as their national plan clearly dictates, the Mexican government is preparing for an attack on America – an attack perpetrated through ideology and assimilation rather than with bullets and blood.” For this reason, an international newspaper based in Manitoba, Canada, described Cuesta’s book, “Like a story lifted off the page of today’s newspaper.”

Cuesta discovered that ECDN’s purpose statement reads: “Dedicated to the Chicanos del Norte in the hope of recovering their lost sovereignty and assuming their place among the independent nations of the world.” Many of the members express their views in an online newsletter called El Norte. A link to this newsletter is provided at www.leecuesta.com. One of them writes in El Norte: “Since 1848 Mexican people have been engaged in a slow process of regaining lands that they lost to the United States as a result of war.” Another one writes: “We seek to re-ignite the embers of self-determination and nationalistic thought and stand in solidarity with all indigenous people of the world in their struggle for sovereignty.”

Besides a link to their newsletter, El Norte, the ECDN website also contains links to essays associated with maps that detail the evolution of the American Southwest (or El Norte) in sequential order from 1000 A.D. through 2080, when it will be known as La República del Norte. The essay for the map of “North America circa 2080 A.D.” is written by Truxillo himself. A link is also provided to Dr. Truxillo’s paper entitled, “The Inevitability of a Mexicano Nation in the American Southwest and Northern Mexico.” In it, Truxillo states: “A new age of nationalism is sweeping the planet. Norteños are like Palestinians, Quebecois and Sri Lanka Tamils – new nationalities.” In fact, when Cuesta visited the campus in Albuquerque, and mentioned his experience in Chiapas, the ECDN members immediately identified the Zapatista movement as a similar phenomenon.

-30-

Copyright (c) 2007 by Lee Cuesta

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