Great Dane

Two days after posting Sarah's beautiful piece, I found out there was a synchronicity. AJ informed me on our way to acting class that she passed away on April 24, 2009. Just before that entry, I mentioned chrysanthemums as the flower I associate with Sarah. After making that statement, I had been inundated with them. Depicted on my shirts, the tea I drank at Saffron (quite tasty), on a sake pot I have in my front room, and in centerpieces at the Japanese Friendship Garden tea they were holding for members and guests. I realized that she wanted to share and now was the time.

Today I went to a friend's BBQ. I took Sarah's fab glasses as it's the first day of May and a happily sunny day. It was ama-Zing (my grandpa's word for something quite phenomenal originating from a book that I wrote when I was 5 when I accidentally capitalized the Z). My friend's husband is a chef and has other friends with excellent cooking skills. We gorged on Diablo Shrimp, ginger salmon, wilted spinach salad with chili-garlic sauce, turkey burgers, and ribs. Halleluia it was so yummy!!!

I thought of Sarah's last statements in her piece. Just that she loved time with her friend and family. It was all about gathering for the sake of being together ... and eating. I like the eating part because it seals the bond. You just enjoy everything better when there's food involved. Food, conversation, laughter, friends.

There's this word in Danish (pause while I dust off my Global marketing book) hyggeligt ~ which means a "social situation [that is] comfortable, cozy, and intimate." (Understanding Global Cultures by Martin J. Gannon) This is the lifeblood of my social experiences. That's what I aim for and it totally makes sense since I'm a quarter Danish.

My grandma, Lulu (on my mom's side) was a great Dane. I celebrated her just last week by getting a pedicure at Lulu's in South Park. Interestingly enough, one my grandma's ways of creating hyggeligt was to give her grandchildren foot rubs. One day, there was all 7 of us kids spending the night. She filled a large, metal salad bowl full of water and soap. She lined us up. One would be at the soaking station while the other would have their feet in her lap while she lovingly rubbed them with a Costco-sized container of Vaseline lotion. All the while, she'd be solving Wheel of Fortune puzzles or proclaiming the answers to a Jeopardy question. "What is the Hindu Kush? Alex, I'd take 'Topsy Turvy' for $500 please."