Where are they now?

Posted on February 7, 2020 by leecuesta

The next step in my journey brings me to a town called Tualatin, in the state of Oregon, USA. I’ve gone kayaking on the Tualatin River many times. Nearby, in the marshy ground, the partial skeleton of an ancient mastodon was unearthed in 1962.  These bones are now displayed at the Tualatin Public Library.

This mastodon became the inspiration for a beautiful sculpture that is exhibited outdoors.  This work of art was created by renowned sculptor Brian Keith. Many of his sculptures include children or youngsters, participating in a playful or fanciful moment.  The Tualatin sculpture features a boy gazing at the juvenile mastodon. And as I gazed at the boy who was gazing at the mastodon, I wondered if the time is coming when the only reminder we’ll have of elephants will be a statue like this one.  In other words, when this fictitious boy in the sculpture grows up, will his only image and memory of elephants be a statue?

I am especially concerned about the long-term survival of the Asian elephant population, and its subspecies, the Indian elephants, whose numbers have been receding, and are classified as endangered.  Now, I understand that mastodons are related to modern elephants only insofar as they both belong to the order “Proboscidea,” as follows —

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Proboscidea
After this, mastodons belong to the Family “Mammutidae” and the Genus “Mammut,” whereas Asian elephants belong to the Family “Elephantidae” and the Genus “Elephas.”  In this way, the Asian elephant is more closely related to the mammoths, who likewise belonged to the Family “Elephantidae.”

But my point is this:  Once upon a time, there used to be mammals of the order “Proboscidea” on the North American continent.  Where are they now?
.

The fact that the Indian elephants face possible extinction was confirmed in a conversation I had with Kartick Satyanarayan, co-founder of Wildlife SOS.  I spoke with him while conducting research for my full-length article about Gajraj that I published on my blog in August, 2017, which is available here.  Kartick told me, “So basically, if you look at the whole world, we’ve lost 98 percent of the wild population of the Asian elephants.”  I asked him, “Do you think that it depends upon this generation or the next to prevent their extinction?”

Kartick responded, “Absolutely. It is really this generation or the next that can do something if there is to be hope. Otherwise, in five years, we could have no elephants. Our children and grandchildren might have to be shown elephants on photos and videos and Youtube, and there wouldn’t be any elephants left in the world.  That is not a distant chance; it is a very real possibility if we are not careful.” He added, “It is frightening and it shows how much on the edge we are, and it’s a very fragile system and a very fragile state for this planet and for its denizens.”

I recently watched the Context talk on YouTube by Mr. Avinash Krishnan entitled, “Postcode Elephants,” in which he affirms that the final opportunity for the survival of the Indian elephant population may reside in the Brahmagiri-Niligiri-Eastern Ghats landscape, located in southern India, which includes  Bannerghatta National Park.

For this reason, I will be traveling to southern India this year to conduct firsthand interviews and investigation, probably involving volunteer work.

Although at this time I am not at liberty to divulge the content of the outline for my new book, these themes are central to it:

  • How will the Indian elephants survive and thrive in an increasingly urban landscape (the outskirts of Bangalore in increasing proximity to BNP), and in the face of habitat loss and fragmentation, which leads to human-elephant conflict (including intelligent and strategic crop raiding)?
  • How has the elephant lost its spiritual and sacred status?
  • Since mitigating HEC is elusive, how is it to be achieved?
  • What is being done by groups such as A Rocha, the Elephants and Bees Project, and the Asian Nature Conservation Foundation, in southern India (Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu)?
  • What strategies are successful (such as Beehive Fences; safe migration corridors; etc.)?
  • Why isn’t it possible for elephants to be cared for, treated and trained humanely (target training), like domestic horses are, with love and compassion?

Lee Cuesta

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Chili-Tobacco Elephant Barrier Experiment in Southern India: Ten-Year Update

Posted on December 8, 2019 by leecuesta

By Lee Cuesta

Being the last month of 2019, I’d intended this blog post to be a ten-year update about the Chili-Tobacco Barrier (CTB) mechanism in southern India.  This refers to the Elephant Barrier Experiment that was spearheaded by A Rocha India in 2009; hence, my idea for the ten-year update. In fact, an excellent video about this was published on YouTube on June 18, 2009.  It describes the plight of farmers living close to Bannerghatta National Park whose crops are often raided by Asian elephants (Elephas maximus). These are marginal farmers with less than an acre of land for themselves.  Their principal crop is Ragi, or Finger Millet, which also is a delicacy for the elephants. Ragi is a whole grain that is gluten-free and a staple in South India.*

The Barrier Experiment was conducted in the village of Sollepuradoddi, where human-elephant conflict is at a peak.  The barrier consisted of a mixture of chili and tobacco powders in motor oil that was smeared onto a thick rope, which was suspended around the ragi fields.  For this reason, the workers with A Rocha became known as Haggadavaru (the Rope People).  Based on an elephant’s sense of smell, and thus their strong reactions to chili peppers and tobacco as an alternative, natural deterrent, this barrier mechanism was originally tested in Africa.

It proved very successful where it was implemented around Sollepuradoddi. Elephant footprints (pad marks) and dung deposited by nighttime raiders revealed that elephants would not enter fields surrounded by the CTB mechanism, whereas neighboring fields, unprotected, were ransacked, and full of elephant dung and the pad marks.

Mr. Avinash Krishnan told me, “The farmer in the promo video was one of the chief advocates, as the CTB had nearly 90% efficacy in his farm (test-plots).”  Here is what this farmer says: “Before erecting this chili-tobacco barrier, elephants used to enter my crop fields.  After erecting this fence, the elephants still do come, but because of the smell of chili powder and tobacco powder, the elephants have no chance of entering, all because of the smell.  Even though they come close, they just walk alongside the chili fence and go off. They’ve never entered the crop field.”***

So I contacted A Rocha India via email with specific questions concerning the CTB mechanism and its long-term effectiveness.  However, it’s not the type of ten-year update that I expected. The following information was provided by Mr. Avinash Krishnan, currently the Sr. Research Officer at A Rocha and head of all the Science and Conservation programs.  He began his reply to me by stating: “I’m happy to know of your interest in the CTB mechanism that was piloted in Bannerghatta NP to understand its implications of HEC (human-elephant conflict) resolution.”

But then he writes:  “The project was discontinued after 2010, with a last survey done in the mid of 2009, due to the lack of funds to support the farmers of  the area where the pilot tests were conducted.”

You may be wondering why I wanted to write a ten-year update on a project that was discontinued so soon after its inception.  It is because the website, while upholding the barrier experiment as a success, makes no mention of the fact that it was abandoned soon after it was tested.  So the curious inquirer or the serious researcher assumes that the CTB mechanism is still in use.  But this is not the case.

He continues:  “Therefore the long-term efficacy of this barrier system wasn’t assessed systematically and a few farmers discontinued the barriers due to the lack of resourceful for immanence.  (There are) no data on CTB efficacy, as it was discontinued post the initial survey.

“Sollepuradoddi still remains a high conflict zone for elephant raids; however, through A Rocha’s other conflict mitigation initiatives we have been progressing, trying to resolve crop depredations, mainly reducing human deaths due to retaliation.”

I asked him to identify and explain these “other conflict mitigation initiatives,” and he replied:

“Our latest project using technology to mitigate HEC is testing the long-term efficacy of the MATAM (monitoring and trip alert mechanism) early-warning system for human-elephant conflict management in Bannerghatta NP. This is a novel initiative in Bannerghatta and is aimed at improving the existing system of breach detection. Apart from this we have been consistently assisting the forest department  in identifying conflict hotspots for erection of physical barrier systems, such as the railway fence.”

So I asked him, has HEC been mitigated?  In other words, is there greater harmony between humans and elephants?

He wrote: “There cannot be a fool proof mitigation approach to any human-wildlife conflict scenario. Harmony is very subjective, but needs continued engagement and conservation efforts to increase tolerance of people towards wildlife that causes harm to their life, crop and property.

“Our community-based conservation model ‘Bangaloreans for Bannerghatta,’ a citizen outreach initiative, is aimed at curating programs and monthly events to bring in CBC’s to the farmers of the landscape to look at alternative/supplementary livelihood options and also sensitizing them about importance of forests and wildlife through media such as art, natural history and eco awareness.”

HEC is becoming an increasingly potent issue in this region of India, especially as Bengaluru increases its proximity to Bannerghatta NP.  In fact, Krishnan states during a lecture that was recorded and posted on YouTube: “This is perhaps the only national park in the world (Bannerghatta NP) that has a wild tiger and a wild elephant so close to a metropolitan city.  Nowhere else. Nowhere else in the world will you find these two charismatic animals, that are the flagship for conservation, so close to (an urban area; i.e.,) Bangalore. So we are looking at these two species competing with eight million people; … you can imagine the kind of pressures that could exist on this important landscape, an important ecosystem.”

The CTB mechanism “has been implemented in several regions of India (Tamilnadu, Assam, Karnataka and parts of Kerala adjoining elephant habitats), but due to its limited success and long-term involvement of communities for maintenance, it has been mostly discontinued in most of the elephant conflict zones, for other ‘social’ barrier systems. (The) bee-hive fence is the most popular and sustainable method. Its implication for Bannerghatta NP is currently being explored.”  Bee-hive fences as a barrier mechanism will be the topic of a future blog post.

HEC mitigation must recognize the problems and challenges of both the humans and the Asian elephants.  That is why I will be traveling to India in 2020, for my next book: how will these barrier mechanisms contribute to the Indian elephants’ survival . . . or their extinction?  How do they interface with habitat fragmentation? Or migration corridors?

During the test period for the CTB mechanism in 2009, their source for the chili and tobacco powders was “local markets around Bangalore city.”  In order to properly maintain the rope barriers, “the deterrent mixture should be smeared on the ropes at least once a week for great efficacy as understood by our research.”  However, “We do not have any (photographic) content to show elephants near a CTB fence as camera traps where not in development around Bannerghatta NP during the time of testing.”

Have the villagers become autonomous in implementing this mechanism?

“Nope. And can never unless the costs are sustainable for maintenance.”

Therefore, A Rocha India no longer is known as Haggadavaru (the Rope People), but rather “as ‘elephant people’ in a more generic sense.”

So the ten-year update about the CTB mechanism in southern India is that it was discontinued ten years ago.  You’ll want to keep this in mind if you watch any of the videos in various venues online.

Nevertheless, A Rocha India has been “continuing to monitor and manage Asian elephants in this landscape since 2003, using science, education and outreach methods for conservation. The focus now is to expand our work into other elephant landscapes of the country.”  The primary landscape to which Krishnan is referring is called the Brahmagiri-Niligiri-Eastern Ghats landscape, per his YouTube lecture.**  He states: “This is a very important landscape.  And this is probably the only place in India that can ensure the future survival of elephants.”

(Author’s Note: The purpose of this informal blog post is to spark questions and dialogue.  I acknowledge that this post is very informal compared with my full-fledged, crafted and edited articles.  But I felt vindicated when I read this quote from the book entitled Because Internet: Understanding the New Rules of Language, likewise published in 2019: “It’s not that edited, formal writing has disappeared online [there are plenty of business and news sites that still write much like we did in print], it’s that it’s now surrounded by a vast sea of unedited, unfiltered words that once might have only been spoken.”)

Footnotes:

* https://food.ndtv.com/food-drinks/benefits-of-ragi-a-wonder-grain-1400676

**https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9gHnwMq3iY

***https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3_dXOMcRqM

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Permission is granted to reprint this article in its entirety, or in part, with the condition that its source (this website) and its author (Lee Cuesta) are both acknowledged.

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Lake Roesiger: Like paddling on both a “river” and lakes in one, single outing

Posted on November 20, 2019 by leecuesta

We finally did it!  And this is our last paddling trip for 2019.  It is the last Sunday of October, the perfect autumn day, something we experience almost every year in the Pacific Northwest:  an “Indian summer,” gorgeous summer-like days after the initial rainy autumn storms subside. There is a break in the gloomy weather, and for a week or two, the sunshine and its warmth return. You can depend on it.  Sometimes we go to a solitary beach along the Pacific Ocean.

This year, instead, we finally took our kayaks paddling on Lake Roesiger (pronounced RAW-si-gur).  What a contrast from the last time I was there! It was in January, 2017, and there was thick ice on Lake Roesiger right up to the shoreline and boat ramp, where today we are launching our kayaks. Not the entire lake was frozen over, but the southern section still had thick ice, as you can see in the video that I posted on YouTube.  Here’s the link:

Ice on Lake Roesiger

Today is just the opposite:  60 degrees, clear blue sky; fall colors: red, yellow, orange leaves against the backdrop of mostly evergreens: Douglas firs and cedars.  Because the lake is uniquely configured in three sections, connected by narrower, shallow channels, I am describing today’s outing in terms of “outbound” and “inbound,” rather than merely circling the perimeter of a lake.

OUTBOUND:

The boat launch is secluded; it is actually located on Middle Shore Road, off of S. Lake Roesiger Road, on the eastern side of Lake Roesiger’s southern tip.  This morning, as we launch, the lake is super placid; there is no breeze, and so the lake’s surface provides a bright, clear, colorful reflection. A prominent mountain peak rises in the background, to the north, which I’m not able to identify.  As we approach the northern edge of this southern section, a small house with a bright red metal roof is our landmark to head into the first slender, shallow channel, veering to the west and north.

This outing is like kayaking on both a lake and a river because shallow channels — where it is easy to see the bottom, and the vegetation growing there — connect the three sections of the lake.  We see ducks flying, a bald eagle soaring, and a large flock of geese on somebody’s lawn and sitting on a long fallen log protruding into the water. Nice houses snuggle right up to the lake’s edge; however, the narrower, river-like channels are less densely populated.  In this constricted area, buoys mark the navigable channels and no-wake zones. Also, the lillypads here are dense, even at the end of October; so what would they be like in the summer?

We are the only kayakers on this outbound leg.  Entering the lake’s second section, we encounter a small fishing boat, with two fishermen.  Powered motorcraft are permitted on this lake. The northern part of Lake Roesiger, though, is the largest, and when get out onto this main portion of the northern section, the wind begins to kick up and I wonder two things.  First, what happened to the placid lake with no breeze? And second, are we going to make it safely to the other side? It is a challenge paddling in this wind, and the waves are formidable. I look back to make sure my companion is OK.

We cross all the way to the lake’s northern cove because I couldn’t remember exactly the contour of the lake, and so I don’t know for certain if this is the northernmost segment. There are two coves, to the west and to the north.  Entering this quiet cove, the water is tranquil, with debris such as leaves and fir needles floating on the surface. We can see now that we’ve reached the end of our outbound journey. As we rest here for a few minutes on this still water, we eat some of our protein snack with apple slices.

INBOUND:

Beginning our return trip, I am briefly disoriented at first.  I realize that for some reason, I am paddling due east when I should have headed to my right, or south.  So I wind up almost at the center of the lake. My paddling partner patiently waited for me. While I am out here, though, in the middle of the lake, the darkness of the water stuns me, and I wonder how deep it is.  One website states: “The lake has three distinct areas with the center area being shallow and the northern part of the lake being the deepest, with depths to 115 feet.”

Now I put on my sunglasses, and I feel considerably warmer as we are facing the sun on this inbound leg, headed due south.  We are passed by a couple of speed boats that are going very slowly, causing no wake. I can hear their engines rumbling, and I look back to see them approaching, only crawling.  One man greets us from his house on the shore: “It’s a beautiful day to be on the lake,” he says.

Several families are in their yards along the lake; a couple of guys stand on their deck high above, grilling and laughing.  Low sunlight comes from the south; at one point, we could make out no houses on the shore, only the trees, backlit, almost in silhouette.

Then we notice something very peculiar.  At first, in the distance on the water, I can see something large with a couple of headlights coming slowly toward us. We are nearing one of the narrow channels marked by buoys.  We paddle away from the channel to let it pass. What we are seeing is this: coming in the opposite direction, it is a floating wooden dock with a small outboard motor that’s being controlled by a guy wearing a blue sweatshirt and jeans sitting on a low beach chair with his dog.  He is towing a large flat, gray pontoon party boat with a man and woman coming through this channel in the shallow section of the lake.

We see many fish jumping; earlier it looked like one of the guys in the small fishing boat had one on his line. “The lake holds rainbows, silvers, and spiny rays including bass,” according to the same website cited earlier: Lake Roesiger details

Two women are paddling in separate kayaks on the southern section of Lake Roesiger.  As we beach our kayaks beside the boat ramp, and climb out, one of the speed boats is being pulled onto a trailer.  I realize that, except for the small, fishing boat with two men, the only other boat traffic we encountered has been on this inbound trip; it has been a tranquil, solitary day.

Approximately two miles from south to north, this has been a four to five mile round trip.  We finally did it, after anticipating it for over two years. And this was our last paddling trip for 2019.  Now our kayaks are winterized, one hanging in the garage, and three others under a tarp in the backyard. There they will stay until next spring, and family get-togethers in the summer, when we’ll visit this lake again, and explore Panther Lake for the first time.   As I mentioned earlier, I think Lake Roesiger is really fun because it feels like being both on lakes and a river in the same outing.

Lee  Cuesta

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King of the Elephants Regains His Freedom in India

Posted on August 5, 2017 by leecuesta

By Lee Cuesta

In 1953, a baby boy was born—weighing roughly 176 pounds (80 kilograms)—in the forests of India.  Using their trunks, his mother and the other females assisted him to his feet so that he would begin nursing.  He didn’t know yet how to use his own trunk. It dangled without purpose, and sometimes he tripped over it.

A few years later, this strong, young bull was full of exuberance and imagination.  He was a free soul; he had no name because he belonged to no one.  He enjoyed the dappled sunlight through the forest canopy, and relished the soft cushion of the jungle floor.  His favorite foods were moist, tender roots and dark green leaves.  Now his trunk was a mighty tool that he could wield with precision.  His mother and “aunties” had raised him well, and in several more years he would begin his solitary life, or join together with a few other bachelors. When he was old enough, he would find a matriarchal herd in order to mate and reproduce.

Gajraj takes his first steps of freedom at the Elephant Conservation and Care Center.

But all of this abruptly changed. Suddenly one day he was captured. He heard loud explosions like he’d never heard before. The entire herd began to run in chaotic directions.  He couldn’t keep up.  His eyes expressed the terror and confusion he felt.  What was happening?  Where was his mother?  He wanted to protect her, just as she had protected him many times.

Capture and Training

Kartick Satyanarayan, co-founder of Wildlife SOS in India, confirms the plausibility of this scenario. During a recent interview via Skype, he told me: “The poachers for live elephant trafficking try to target herds where there are female elephants with very young calves. If they have very young calves, they cannot move very far because the calves cannot walk long distances, and their speed is very limited.  So the herd moves very little. The aunts and the mother actually look after the calves; so they move a few kilometers, and they wait there, near a water hole or something. Their movement is rather restricted. So then, the poachers target those herds, and they try to use both firecrackers and loud sounds to drive the herd in a direction where they get separated from the calf.  The calf falls into a pit because he’s not able to keep pace with the rest of the herd. So then they can steal the calf and separate it, and harvest the calf out of that herd, and move away. Of course it leaves the complete herd distraught, highly traumatized. And the calf is also traumatized by being separated from its mother at such a young age.”

Now they gave him a name.  This strong, young bull was no longer free; he belonged to humans.  With cruel irony, they called him Gajraj.  “His name means ‘The King of the Elephants,’” according to Nikki Sharp, Executive Director of Wildlife SOS in the USA.

Kartick continued: “Then these little elephant calves are put through a very brutal, painful, and barbaric process of training.”  The owners tie them up and beat them to teach the calf who’s boss.   The trainers often use spears and sharp objects, and keep the calf chained for several months on end, on hard concrete in order to have the spirit broken, Kartick explained.  “And once the spirit is broken, then the animal is trainable and ridable.”

He added: “When people want to buy an elephant—illegally—they place an order, and then somebody causes the elephant calf to be poached from the wild. And then that elephant calf is tied up in the middle of the jungle somewhere, in a hidden location, beaten for several months, and in about a year it’s trained to do certain, basic things. Then it’s sold off. Wherever it goes, they subject it to further training, which means further cruelty and pain and suffering.”

Spiritual Significance

So Gajraj became a temple elephant.  Kartick said, “And a lot of the public who are devotees or temple visitors, who have faith in these temples, do not understand what is the background of the elephant.  They want a blessing from the elephant, but do not understand that even for the elephant to lift its trunk and give them a blessing, it’s been trained to do so through a very cruel and painful process. Everything is negative reinforcement only, and there’s only two tools that are used in the traditional methods of management in India to train Asian elephants, and that is pain and fear.”

Gajraj was sent to Ujjain, an ancient city beside the Kshipra River in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. An important Hindu pilgrimage destination, the Bade Ganesh Temple is located there, which houses a colorful statue of Ganesh (or Ganesha), the elephant-headed Hindu deity.  When I asked Kartick about the spiritual significance, or value, placed upon the elephants in India, he replied: “Ganesh is our elephant god, and he is the god of good beginnings.  He’s got a human body and an elephant’s head. He can have four, eight, and two arms—sometimes even more.  And in each of those arms he’s probably holding something, or he’s holding it in a certain position; that indicates something spiritual or religious.  Most people in India believe in Lord Ganesh, at least all the Hindus do.  And they think that the elephant itself is an embodiment of that god.”

Kartick continued: “A lot of temples try to get an elephant into the temple, and keep it there, captive, because then it adds to the value of the temple, increases the visitation to the temple, and also increases revenue to a certain extent.”  Kartick agrees that it’s a total contradiction to view the captive elephant as the embodiment of the god, and yet treat it so cruelly and inhumanely.

Then in 1965, at the age of approximately 12 years, Gajraj was given as a wedding present to the Queen of Aundh on the day she married King Bhagwant Rao. So he was made to travel 800 kilometers from Ujjain to Satara, Maharashtra, which took almost a month and a half, according to hindustantimes.com.

As the god of good beginnings, Wikipedia states, Ganesh is honoured at the start of rites and ceremonies, and so as a wedding gift, Gajraj represented a tremendous blessing upon the marriage. Wikipedia also calls Ganesh “Obstacle Remover.” A statement from Wildlife SOS says, “Gajraj played a vital role in the celebration. Ever since, the elephant has been a star attraction at the temple of Aundh, playing an important role during annual festivities and temple processions. Temple devotees see Gajraj as an icon of worship, as explained in the words of the Queen herself.”

Gajraj at Aundh prior to his rescue.

Care During His Captivity

“Often, people offer sweets and other artificial snacks to the elephant to seek blessings. However, for Gajraj, it is no blessing but a curse, as such foods can cause intestinal complications as well,” said PETA’s India director of veterinary affairs, Dr. Manilal Valliyate. Members of PETA (People for Ethical Treatment of Animals) found Gajraj chained near popular tourist spots like the Shri Bhavani Museum and Yamai Devi temple in Aundh, Satara, according to hindustantimes.com.  “Being chained for most of his life has had a detrimental effect on Gajraj’s health. He has lost weight and has nutritional deficiencies,” said Dr. Yaduraj Khadpekar, senior veterinarian with Wildlife SOS.

During his half century in captivity, “standing on unnatural surfaces for long periods of time has led to Gajraj’s footpads wearing out, which can be exceptionally dangerous for an elephant – making him prone to developing wounds and abscesses underfoot,” states a report from Wildlife SOS.

In addition, according to a statement from Save The Elephants, “Gajraj’s tusks have been chopped over a period of time without taking any permission from the forest department under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.”  Kartick commented: “I am not sure of the details of what happened to the ivory, but I do know, I can see—it’s quite visible—that he has had his tusks chopped off.”

His chopped tusks are visible in the photos that accompany this article.  The redness that appears at the ends of his tusks is not an injury, but instead the color of vermilion, which is red paint that was applied by the villagers because he was a temple elephant.  Nikki Sharp told me that “what appears to have happened with this particular elephant is that his tusks were growing and criss-crossing; so he wasn’t able to lift his trunk up. So actually, they were doing the right thing; they shortened the tusks so he could lift up his trunk. But I’m not sure if they did it in a humane way or not.”

According to hindustantimes.com, “Gajraj developed partial blindness and a toenail abscess which could spread to the bone. He also has abscesses in the hip and his foot pads suffered severe degeneration.  In April this year, the state government-appointed veterinarians said that the elephant was suffering from weakness and untreated prolonged abscesses on his hindquarters and elbows, as well as other painful foot conditions, and that his custodian had failed to maintain basic health-care records.”

Retirement for a Geriatric Elephant

Gajraj entering the Wildlife SOS Elephant Ambulance in July.

For these reasons, Gajraj was taken to the Elephant Conservation and Care Center (ECCC) in Mathura, Uttar Pradesh, near Agra.  This occurred last month (July, 2017), with permission from the royal family of Aundh.  The royal family did not protest against any of the removal operation. In fact, they bid Gajraj farewell. “I am happy that the elephant is going to the rescue centre and I am confident that he is in safe hands,” said the Queen of Aundh, Gayatri Devi Pant Pratinidhi (according to hindustantimes.com).  The ECCC is a collaborative project of Wildlife SOS and the Uttar Pradesh Forest Department.

“Gajraj was seen as a religious icon by local devotees, but his removal won’t necessarily cause disruption in the community’s cultural and religious fabric. The temple still exists and so do their religious beliefs,” stated a spokesperson from Wildlife SOS.  “Gajraj (is) suffering from severe ailments and in need of expert veterinary care. The royal family of Aundh willingly handed him over to us for lifetime care as they understood that it was in his best interest to do so. Gajraj was with the royal family for decades and he is still very precious to them; so it is unlikely that he will be replaced by another temple elephant.”  In a way, their relinquishing of Gajraj was a convenient way for the royal family to extricate themselves from an escalating liability.

“With advancing age, Gajraj was found to be suffering from several medical issues like foot and hip abscesses, severe degeneration of foot pads and partial blindness, making him a candidate for geriatric lifetime care.  The Wildlife SOS Elephant Conservation and Care Center is equipped with veterinary facilities for elephant treatment and is currently providing lifetime care for over 20 rehabilitated pachyderms.  Gajraj can now live a retired life for the rest of his life; however long his geriatric body can support him,” according to a statement from Wildlife SOS.

There is some disagreement about Gajraj’s actual age.  A press release from Save The Elephants calls Gajraj “a 63-year-old ailing elephant.”  The writer of a Hindustan Times report is confused: in the first paragraph, the reporter states that Gajraj is “a 70-year-old male elephant;” yet in the next paragraph writes that in 1965 at the age of 12, he was given as a gift to the queen at her wedding—which places the current age of Gajraj at 64 years. Kartick told me, “Our assessment of Gajraj is that he looks like he’s between 70 and 75 years old.”  Either way, this bull elephant is close to the end of his life, with lots of health concerns.

“PETA did a good job with getting the story out there and letting people know about what was happening with that elephant,” Kartick said. “So we’ve had thousands of emails and requests asking us to step in and help. So when the Forest Department finally got to us and asked us if we could help, we did.”

How hard is it to remove an elephant from a temple?  Kartick replied: “It can be excruciatingly painful and challenging, and can be extremely dangerous because contrary to what many people think, a lot of the Indian public is largely ignorant about what happens to an elephant before it becomes a temple elephant. They do not understand that every single elephant in a temple has actually been removed from the wild, separated from its herd as a little calf. And then these little elephant calves are put through a very brutal, painful, and barbaric process of training.”

Now Gajraj safely resides at the ECCC in Mathura. Baiju Raj, Director of Conservation Projects for Wildlife SOS, stated: “It is a tremendous responsibility to take care of a geriatric elephant like Gajraj. We will provide him the best of care.”  Geeta Seshamani, co-founder of Wildlife SOS, said: “Gajraj will be provided long-term medical treatment and lifetime care at the hands of our experienced team at the Elephant Care Center.”

Gajraj takes his first dust bath at the ECCC in Mathura.

Kartick added: “Within a few short minutes of stepping into the centre, we could see a marked change in the behaviour of the elephant. He immediately took to the new surroundings, gorging on fruits and taking dust baths.”  In a July 24 update, Wildlife SOS reported: “Last week we held a ceremony to remove Gajraj’s bell as a symbolic way to complete his journey to our Elephant Conservation and Care Centre (ECCC) in Mathura, ushering in his retirement and fully closing the circle on his previous life.” In a photograph, Kartick smiles for the camera after removing the bell.

Kartick smiles after removing Gajraj's bell.

Soon Gajraj will once again enjoy the dappled sunlight through the forest canopy, and relish the soft cushion of the jungle floor. Of course, it will remind him of his abbreviated childhood in the forests of India, so many years ago. According to a statement from Wildlife SOS: “After his initial period in quarantine, Gajraj will soon start going out on walks with his mahout, and get a chance to explore the sights and sounds of his new home beyond his spacious enclosure. This couldn’t come at a more perfect time, with the rains just beginning in Mathura, and the elephants’ walks covering a vast expanse of lush green vegetation, and an array of exciting flora and fauna for Gajraj to discover and investigate! While the concerns regarding the condition of his feet might keep Gajraj from going on long walks immediately, we know that when the time comes, he will take as much delight in the free space to roam and wander just as much as all our other elephants do.”

Gajraj entering his pool.

Meanwhile, Gajraj has discovered the joy of his very own, private pool in which he can lounge and relax. “Although he was initially wary about entering the water, we eventually managed to coax him in with bananas and muskmelons, and once inside, he was quick to realise just how wonderful it feels to be completely submerged in the pool – not just because the water is cool and soothing, but because of the weightlessness he probably experiences that takes the strain off his legs and extremely worn out feet,” states the Wildlife SOS website. In addition, the vermilion on the ends of his tusks has gradually washed away as a result of these baths.

It continues: “Gajraj is still getting a large amount of the staple diet he was used to in captivity – sugarcane – and we are gradually introducing other varieties of fresh green fodder crops into his diet. He also gets a delicious array of seasonal fruit including mangoes, watermelon and bananas, as well as corn and pumpkin. Gajraj has been prescribed nutritional supplements by our vets that he receives daily to complement his diet and promote his recovery.”

Furthermore, the ECCC staff is “introducing him to the safe and humane process of target training which will in the future allow us to easily treat Gajraj’s feet and carry out a host of other treatments with his happy and willing cooperation. Gajraj is an extremely smart elephant and has taken quickly to the basic stages of target training, so we’re proud to say that we can see him progressing pretty fast in his training – which will soon make it much easier for us to treat the abscesses under his feet.”

A Legacy for the Future

The retirement with the royal family’s permission of one geriatric elephant—and his relocation to a sanctuary—may seem to have little, or merely symbolic, significance.  But Gajraj represents an elephant population that faces extinction, and the young ones continue to be poached for live elephant trafficking.  “So basically, if you look at the whole world, we’ve lost 98 percent of the wild population of the Asian elephants,” Kartick stated.  I asked him, “Do you think that it depends upon this generation or the next to prevent their extinction?”

Kartick responded, “Absolutely. It is really this generation or the next that can do something if there is to be hope. Otherwise, in five years, we could have no elephants. Our children and grandchildren might have to be shown elephants on photos and videos and Youtube, and there wouldn’t be any elephants left in the world.  That is not a distant chance; it is a very real possibility if we are not careful.”  He added, “It is frightening and it shows how much on the edge we are, and it’s a very fragile system and a very fragile state for this planet and for its denizens.”

While Wildlife SOS is not in the business of collecting elephants, as Kartick says, but rather in the business of educating the public concerning conservation for multiple types of Indian wildlife, they are buying land for the sanctuary to accommodate more elephants that they rescue. “Yes, we are in the process of doing that, and it such an uphill battle,” he said.

The land will cost over 1.7 million dollars, and so far, they have raised half that amount with contributions.  I asked, do you need additional funding?  He replied, “Absolutely; it is a tall order that we have. We have to raise a lot of money in order to make this possible.  So if your blog can incorporate some of this and help us attract some investors, because this is a social investment.  If people come forward and understand that we would all live a life, and we would consume and consume and consume all our lives, reproduce, and then die, and be gone. But we will not leave anything behind if we go at this rate. So we really need people to come forward and join us in making this a legacy for the future.”

-30-

Permission is granted to reprint this article in its entirety with the condition that its source (this website) and its author (Lee Cuesta) are both acknowledged.

(All photos are used by permission from Wildlife SOS.)

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Seven Viking Days and Once: Once Are Selling Briskly!

Posted on January 28, 2017 by leecuesta

Bill, my friend and colleague, loves books, and he’s so excited about Seven Viking Days that he is the only person so far who has bought TEN copies!  Also, this is the first time that Bill has bought ten books from the same author!  He also bought a copy of Once: Once.  Both of my books sold very briskly with the Holiday discount before Christmas.  Bill made this comment about Seven Viking Days: “The icons in the book are an inspired idea.  And I think this is a book for Adults and Children: The stories are so thought provoking and the illustrations beautiful, colorful and unusual.”  I already autographed all of the books he bought.  The first, of course, was for Bill himself.  On a Thor’s Day (i.e., Thursday), here’s what Bill texted to me: “FYI, Sold a Seven Viking Days book at dentist today, 2 more will order online, and a third is having her local Viking Lodge order one.  Debbie from my dentist office called to tell me she showed the book to her husband who is chief of the Portland Viking Lodge. He thought it was great & plans to use it for their Cultural Moment at the January Lodge meeting. Debbie will take pictures & get them to me for you.”

My friend, Jorge, got a copy of Seven Viking Days for his preschool daughter, Naila, for Christmas.  I autographed the book for Naila, and she’ll enjoy listening to her papa read it while she gazes at the vibrant, full-color, 3-D illustrations.  My good friend, Lori, took the photo of Jorge with me, and both Lori and Jorge commented that they felt they could actually touch the three-dimensional (3-D) illustrations. In fact, the original illustrations ARE 3-D, which were then photographed for the book.

Lori bought two of my Seven Viking Days books: one for her personal library, and another on her grown daughter’s behalf.  And ALSO she took one to show it to her friends in her Taco Tuesday network!  She’d already told them about it, and so the people in her network wanted to see it in order to buy one.  Word-of-mouth is awesome!

Jon, Stan, and Rebecca also purchased books, which Mia and I signed.  Jon and Stan were both present when I was signing Seven Viking Days and Once: Once for Rebecca.  They were both so excited, they immediately said they wanted them. So the next day, they bought the books, and I signed them.  Stan bought only Seven Viking Days because he already owns Once: Once.  Rebecca had quite a big influence on my book sales!  Besides Stan and Jon (who, by the way, bought another copy of Once: Once), she also told Kelley about my books, and showed them to her, and so Kelley bought one of each.  Kelley was so thrilled and excited to get the books, and she expressed to me such abundant gratitude, that it was really fun to sign my books for her!  Word-of-mouth AND social media are awesome!  And here is what Rebecca wrote to me after giving Seven Viking Days and Once: Once as Christmas presents: “My parents were really excited to read your book.  My mom marveled at the illustrations and is looking forward to reading it tomorrow.”  Thank you, Rebecca!  Thank you so much for spreading the word about my books not only to your family, but also to your friends. I appreciate you!

As you can see, lately there’s been a lot of buzz about my book, Seven Viking Days.  I just got together with the illustrator, Mia Hocking.  We are selling and signing so many books right now, it’s hard to keep up!  The photo shows Mia signing her autograph. Although she is currently a member of the Sequoia Gallery in Oregon, and has her studio there, she used to have her own, called Misfit Studio. There were a number of reasons for this name.  One of them is that Mia’s passion is mixed media — recycled — visual art. She combines these misfit materials, giving them renewed purpose, and creates artwork that is layered, textured and has three-dimensional depth. The result are works of art that don’t fit easily in any category or genre, like misfits.  This is the style of art that brings Seven Viking Days to life. Here are three examples. Of course, one is Thor’s hammer, and the other two are the first and last pages of the book.  Mia gave to me the original art for these two pages, and they are hanging side-by-side on my wall at home.

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November Secrets

Posted on November 6, 2016 by leecuesta

This week, there is a lot of buzz on the Internet about voting machine fraud and manipulation.  In my novel, titled Once: Once (or 11:11), I predicted the use of voting machine fraud to sway an election.  This was published in 2001.  Here is the excerpt:

“The referendums are already on the ballots, correct?”

“Yes, sir,” Javier replied.  “The Plan organizers in each state have seen to it.  But sir, that’s the reason I requested this meeting.  I need to explain….”

“I have no other choice.  Our so-called president is forcing me into it.  I do it for the sake of Mexico.  And you’re sure the referendums will pass in all six states?”

“Absolutely.  We reverse-engineered some state-of-the-art systems from an election management company located near me in California.  This is the kind of high-tech wizardry I love. Fancy gadgets.  You have nothing to worry about.  Our software supports the validation of voter eligibility, which allows us to manipulate it as necessary. So stuffing the electronic ballot box was never easier.  It also interfaces with voter information files and absentee balloting modules.  It permits pseudo-numbering of rural addresses, as well as street aliases. And it fully supports remote functions, such as early voting.  Everything is ready.”

“Very good.  I’ve always known that the best way to outsmart a democracy is through its own institutions.  The election process is like an Achilles heel, its vulnerable spot.  Since one single vote is so insignificant, nobody really believes that his vote helped determine the outcome of an election.  So we can report the results whichever way we want, and the population accepts it.  And our computers will back us up one hundred percent, from the voter registrations to  the ballot tabulations.”

“That’s correct, sir.”

“So then, as soon as the US government refuses to recognize it, I launch my invasion to provide military support to enforce the decision.  And each state that’s represented in the Plan has its own secret militia, already armed, while the rest of the population is restricted by more gun controls.  It’s perfect. My glory.  My son, you are sitting beside the next president of Mexico, a much larger Mexico who has regained her historic boundaries.  I’ve decided that November 11 is the official date for my invasion.”

IN  THE modern era, November 11, or 11.11, is Veterans Day.  And I’ve questioned why Veterans Day is always 11.11, regardless on which day of the week it falls, unlike most other holidays, which got moved to Mondays.  Part of this answer is the fact that Veterans Day began as Armistice Day (also known as Remembrance Day), commemorating the day on which the armistice, or peace agreement, was signed between the Allies of World War I and Germany, for the cessation of hostilities along the Western Front, which took effect at eleven o’clock in the morning — the “eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month” of 1918.

WHY  ISN’T the election on the first Tuesday in November this year?  Simply because Congress stipulated in 1845 that the uniform election day for all states would be “the first Tuesday of November,” but this was amended to state: “the first Tuesday after the first Monday” in November.  This was established to accommodate the meeting of the Electoral College.  And in modern times, even though the Electors now meet in their respective states to cast their votes, the nation has maintained the tradition of “the first Tuesday after the first Monday.”  So this year, since the first Monday in November was the 7th, then the election couldn’t be held until the 8th.

To receive a copy of my novel, Once: Once (Or 11:11), send me an e-mail, or contact me through Facebook.  These photos are of my personal book-signing of my novel for my awesome friend, Mel, and she’s holding her new copy of the book.

An international newspaper based in Manitoba, Canada, called my book “a thrilling novel of the complexities in Mexico … Like a story lifted off the page of today’s newspaper.”

Colorado congressman Tom Tancredo wrote:  “Many thanks.  Great read!”

The novel’s synopsis:  When the independence movement in Chiapas, Mexico, is postponed and a deadly ambush restores the spectre of religious intolerance, Subcomandante Josefa chooses a journey that will enable her to unravel her true identity.  In the process, she discovers an undercover conspiracy not only to recapture territory that once belonged to Mexico, but also to oust Mexico’s current president.  More profoundly, she must face the mystical dimension of this plan, signified by a single moment in time on a digital clock.  This story of epic scale provides a rare and stunning glimpse into the elements that render neighboring cultures so incompatible.

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“Seven Viking Days” already receives its first review!

Posted on July 29, 2015 by leecuesta

Seven Viking Days already has been reviewed!  Its first review is by Midwest Book Review, and I am reprinting it here verbatim, with permission.

Seven Viking Days
Lee Cuesta
Infinity Publishing
1094 New  DeHaven Street, Suite 100
West Conshohocken, PA 19428
LCCN: 2015937660     $29.95
ISBN:  978-1-4958-0584-4
www.infinitypublishing.com

By D. Donovan, Senior Reviewer, Midwest Book Review

Seven Viking Days offers up Viking tales of Thor and others in a hardcover full-color children’s picture book that gathers these tales under one cover and adds vibrant details about Viking lives and history.

It would have been all too easy to just present Viking folklore alone; but the added value of this approach is that it tailors its stories to reveal Viking lives and society and thus takes the folktale format a step further by creating a lively history. The book will be published in October.

Mia Hocking’s lovely illustrations create a collage of images and backgrounds to accompany text that will lend to both parental read-aloud and leisure enjoyment by kids with basic reading skills who have moved beyond the one- or two-line elementary picture book format.

From the origins of Tuesday in ‘Tiu’s Day’ to how other days of the week and Scandinavian roots are still present in modern culture, Seven Viking Days uses repetition, icons for the days, discussions of days’ names and their roots in legend and story, and more.

The result is a gorgeous presentation of Viking vignettes that will interest adults as well as children.

*   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *

This review, along with others that are forthcoming, is the result of obtaining Advance Reading Copies, or ARCs, which I’ve been able to send out in order to receive prepublication reviews.  In fact, you can visit my profile at BookLife, which is a part of Publishers Weekly, by clicking on this link: http://booklife.com/profile/lee-cuesta-7094.  Or you can click on this link to go directly to the BookLife page for Seven Viking Days:  http://booklife.com/project/seven-viking-days-7626. Here is the most recent email message that I received from BookLife:

Dear Lee:

Congratulations! Your BookLife project (Seven Viking Days) been selected for review by Publishers Weekly!

In the coming weeks your review should appear in Publishers Weekly. When it does, you will be able to see it on BookLife’s review page:

http://booklife.com/reviews

Pretty exciting stuff!

In these photos, I am opening the box from the publisher, on the day it arrived, containing the ARCs.

Soon after this, I shared my excitement via email with Mia Hocking, the illustrator of Seven Viking Days.  This is what I wrote:

The books are fantastic!  They were delivered this morning.  They look fabulous, from the glossy front cover, which really pops, all the way through to the last page!  It is a real book!!  In fact, I noticed for the first time two additional, subtle spreads that you created, now that I’ve seen it in book form.  It is an awesome achievement, so full and overflowing with color.  Thank you so much for partnering with me!

Another photo shows my grandchildren holding an ARC, which soon their dad, my son, will present to a famous and prominent bookstore in Tennessee.

Thumbs up for a "cool book"!

Having the ARCs also has enabled Mia to show Seven Viking Days to local bookstores, such as Powells.  Mia told me that an acquaintance of hers “took an ARC to Skagway (Alaska) to give to the owner of the Skagway News Depot.  Mia wrote:  “I don’t know what to expect from this contact, but I do know Skagway and if nothing else, we would have international exposure should he offer to carry the book. Skagway summers are loaded with tourists with money to spend. Who knows, maybe we could take a trip to Skagway for a book signing event.”

She has presented it to other venues as well, where events are already scheduled, including an exhibit at the gallery where Mia is a member, and the events for our Launch Day, which is October 24.  More about these in an upcoming blog post!

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Press release announcing publication date, ISBN, LCCN, price, format and distribution for “Seven Viking Days”

Posted on April 26, 2015 by leecuesta

Here is the press release that will be distributed as soon as I receive the Advance Reading Copies of Seven Viking Days from Infinity Publishing.  It contains all the pertinent data related to the new book.  Feel free to copy and paste from it, or reprint it entirely.  If you have any questions, send me an email.  The address is in this press release.

Headline: New children’s picture book displays the names of our days in context of Viking lifestyle

Blurb: Viking tales of Woden, Thor, Frigg, Saturn and more fill the newest full-color, hardcover children’s picture book from Lee Cuesta Enterprises and Associates, to be published October 24.  Pre-publication Advance Reading Copies and Complimentary Review Copies are now available.

  • Title:  Seven Viking Days

  • Author, Lee Cuesta;  illustrator, Mia Hocking

  • Publication date:  October 24, 2015

  • ISBN:  978-1-4958-0584-4

  • Retail price:  $29.95

  • Pre-order price (before October 24):  $24.99

  • Format: Full-color, hardcover, 8.5 x 11 inches, 32 pages

  • LCCN:  2015937660

  • Worldwide distribution through Ingram, Baker & Taylor, Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com

Viking tales of Woden, Thor, Frigg, Saturn and more fill the newest full-color, hardcover children’s picture book from Lee Cuesta Enterprises and Associates.  From these tales, Vikings named the days of our week.  Seven Viking Days engages children, parents and grandparents with vibrant, unique illustrations while telling these stories in the context of Viking lifestyle and society, including longships, houses with sod roofs, and the sauna.  It is a conversation between Sun and the Viking boy, Canute, and it reinforces with repetition and icons the correct sequence of the days.  The authentic origins of our days’ names resulted solely from the author’s thorough research into ancient Scandinavian myths and legends.  The book’s official publication date will be October 24, 2015.

The striking, intense illustrations are by Mia Hocking, a resourceful professional artist, whose passion is mixed media (recycled) visual art.  This book expresses her abstract style with a specific vision and purpose.  The Sequoia Gallery in Oregon has exhibited her work, which represents core life philosophies of environmental consciousness and personal journeys.

Lee Cuesta composed the text for the book.  One side of Cuesta’s family came from Denmark, sometimes called the “Heartland of Viking society.”  So this book reveals his roots.  An internationally recognized writer and author, he’s been published in periodicals such as World Pulse, Indian Life, and InSite. His novel was  published in 2001. Cuesta says, “I am so glad that Mia teamed up with me, because her style of artwork brings authenticity to the ancient Scandinavian legends.”

A Launch Party will be celebrated on the book’s publication date, featuring a Viking costume contest, free T-shirts, refreshments, book signing, and readings of the book by the author and illustrator.

Review copies:  Reviewers who would like to receive an Advance Reading Copy or a Complimentary Review Copy are invited to request them from leecuesta@gmail.com.  Review copies in eProof format  are also available by contacting  marc@infinitypublishing.com.  Author and illustrator photos, along with a PDF containing the book’s covers, are available upon request.

Pre-orders:  Seven Viking Days may be pre-ordered and prepaid before October 24, for delivery after October 24, for the price of $24.99.  All pre-orders must be sent to sevenvikingdays@gmail.com.  Visit www.leecuesta.com.

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Fundraiser launched at Razoo for publishing our children’s picture book

Posted on January 3, 2015 by leecuesta

This will be the year of a major publishing event in our family.  October 24, 2015 is the official publication date of a children’s picture book with truly unique, vibrant illustrations by the artist, Mia Hocking.  Mia is a very good friend of mine, and that’s why I’m publishing this post on my blog.  She has launched a fundraiser at Razoo.com in order to have the book published.  I want to ask you to consider contributing to her fundraiser.  I just made my own donation, and I invite you to join me!

I wrote the text for this new book.  I’m a journalist and author, as you know, and also a grandparent and Baby Boomer.  For several years, I wanted to create a book that children will enjoy, while helping them learn the days of the week.  I wanted the book to engage their parents  and grandparents as well.  With Mia’s work, we accomplished this.  Entitled Seven Viking Days, this book explains the authentic, Norse origin of each day’s name, along with their correct sequence.  I am so grateful that Mia teamed up with me because her style of artwork brings authenticity to the ancient Scandinavian mythology.  You can see what I mean in the slideshow on our fundraiser page at Razoo.com.  Click on this link:

razoo.com/br/causes/Imaginative-Children-S-Folktale-About-The-Seven-Days-Of-The-Week

You’ll be taken directly to our fundraiser page, where you can see the slideshow and read all the details.  (If you prefer, you can also go to Razoo.com and then search for “Mia Hocking.”)

You can donate any amount when you click on the big, blue “Donate” button, or choose one of the pre-set amounts along the right-hand side of the page.  You could donate once a month through the end of April, or give a one-time gift.  You can see that we’ve already raised $497 with only three donors!  This is a chance to participate in this publishing event!

Also, please spread the news to all your social network!  And ask them to also forward it to all of their social network.  Post it on Facebook — which you have an automatic opportunity to do when you donate.  When you make a donation, then you can tell your friends that you’ve already contributed, and invite them to join you!  Which is exactly what I am doing: I have already contributed, and I invite you to join us!

You’re also invited to the Launch Party for Seven Viking Days on 10.24.15!

Thank you so much,

.      Lee Cuesta .

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Empty Nest Alert: Imminent

Posted on December 3, 2014 by leecuesta

The significance of what I’m sharing in this post is that our empty nest is imminent.  Last month started with Championships.  November 1st was the 2014 NWAPA Marching Band Championships in Hillsboro, Oregon, at which my wife and I were enthusiastic spectators.  Our youngest son is a senior in high school this year, and he performed with the school’s Marching Ensemble, which was his fifth year in a row.  At the Championships, his school’s marching band won first place in their Class A division, and was the only Class A band to advance to finals!  We watched both of their performances that day, and if you’d like to see it, too, then click on this link to YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHNUv7nuwL8&list=UU0RIgF-ALDvMkdyi2yKePvg

Of course, we are very proud of him, and proud of his dedication and his completing five years with the Marching Ensemble.  Among many other qualities, these five years have built into his character tenacity, which means steadfastness, persistence and determination.  My earlier observations on this blog about his school’s marching band were in December, 2010.  Here’s a link:

https://www.leecuesta.com/category/festival-of-bands-2010/

During this year’s championships, I made a couple more, final observations.  First, the band, together with the color guard, make use of distraction in order to set up the surprise flourish.  It’s just like how an illusionist often performs his magic trick. “Misdirection is a form of deception in which the attention of an audience is focused on one thing in order to distract its attention from another.” (1)  In other words, while we (as spectators) are focused on the band as they perform one maneuver on the field, we’re not paying attention to the color guard as they position themselves at another spot.  So when they suddenly wave their huge, colorful banners, it happens as a surprise.  “Managing the audience’s attention is the aim of all Theater, it is the foremost requirement of Theatrical Magic. Whether the Magic is of a ‘pocket trick’ variety, or, a large stage production in Las Vegas, misdirection is the central secret of all Magic.” (1)

Second, in a marching band, each person’s movement is completely unique, yet precise and perfect, which makes the whole perfect.  In other words, each individual’s precision makes the band as a whole, as well as the whole performance, perfect.  (Of course, true perfection is never achieved, but that is the ideal.)

This year’s show title was “My Muse.”  Accordingly, there were several stationary banners on the field containing words such as Nature, Love, Art, Hope, Dance.  As with almost all of his school’s award-winning shows, it included some pre-recorded narration.  The voices of a young woman and a young man alternately stated:  “My muse is power;” “My muse is love;” “My muse is speed;” “My muse is beauty;” “My muse is music.”  At the show’s finale, the woman’s voice concludes: “Whatever your muse is, grab onto it and never let it go.”

And this inspiration leads directly into our next major activity in November:  by the end of the following week, my son and I were on an Amtrak train en route to Campus Preview Day at Oregon Institute of Technology in Klamath Falls.  As I mentioned, my son is a high school senior, and he’s already accepted at OIT.  Did I mention that we’re proud of him?  (Just as we are of all our children.)  So as I stated earlier, this signifies that our empty nest is imminent.

A couple of the themes for my Lee Cuesta Live website are “Adventure” and “Discovery.”  This trip included both.  It was entirely by way of public transportation (almost).  It began on Portland’s transit system; then Amtrak; and finally a taxi to the motel in K Falls.  My son and I agreed that we like Amtrak because there is no TSA; we can walk around while traveling; there are food and rest rooms readily accessible (rather than having to make stops).  On the trip back, we ate lunch in the dining car.  I remembered why I like traveling by train.

As I read, sometimes he transcribed music on his notebook computer.  It was a great father/son trip for male bonding – three days, two nights together.

A text I sent to my wife:  Beautiful sunset north of Eugene!  Passing through gorgeous agricultural lands. So refreshing!

The sky was clear on the way down.  After crossing the mountains, we could see a nearly full moon rising on our side of the train, the left side, which meant we were heading due south.  We were perfectly on schedule until south of Chemult, where the train was delayed nearly one hour.  But the clock read 11:11 when we entered our motel room, which was a confirmation again of God’s blessing. (Any spontaneous 11:11 denotes God’s abundant provision and care, however you choose to define God.)

The next morning, we awoke, ate breakfast at the motel, and walked the short distance to OIT for Preview Day.  The presenters were very articulate in all the sessions we attended (sometimes with parents and students together, other times separate).  The sunshine was beautiful all day, and it’s a very pretty campus, relatively small, with nice facilities.  OIT boasts small class sizes (perhaps 14 or 15 students), with a strong emphasis on learning how to do, not just theory.  It also offers concurrent degrees – the opportunity to obtain two Bachelors degrees within five years, including internships – which my son plans to achieve.  My son said he likes Klamath Falls because it reminds him of Colorado Springs, where he was born and where we lived until he was eleven.  When the Preview Day was over, he was “stoked,” and said that now he can’t wait for fall term 2015.

He also made an awesome friendship that day with a senior from OIT, who gave us a ride to the Amtrak station on the morning of the following day, which started out foggy.  On this return trip, we were able to see in daylight what we passed through in the dark two days earlier.

A text I sent to my wife:  Passing beside rocky canyon with a stream below in a pine forest. Now sunshine.

Some fall colors were still in the leaves.  The train passes directly beside Odell Lake at the summit of the Cascades.  Also quite close to K Falls is Crater Lake, which is the second deepest lake in North America.  And I noticed a couple differences between the east side and the west side of the Cascades.  Of course, there was bright, magnificent sunshine east of the summit; the sky became immediately overcast on the west side. All of the trees on the east side are pines; the forest on the west side consists of fir, hemlock and spruce.

After getting off the train at Union Station, we had perfectly timed connections with the transit system in Portland as we returned home.  An awesome trip!  Which signifies that our empty nest is imminent.

Live in the present, yet do not be present.

Lee Cuesta
Footnote:  1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Misdirection_%28magic%29

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