Yeah running down a dream
That never would come to me
Working on a mystery
Going wherever it leads
Running down a dream
Tom Petty
Recently, at the YMCA benefit golf tournament, I was the high bidder on a Wild West Tour Package to the Pinnacles National Monument provided by Jim West. Talk about widening your horizons! We (Jim, Sheril, Dwight and Me) travelled in style in an open Model A .
I love to travel Highway 25 . In fact, one of my favorite drives is from Hollister to it's terminus at Highway 198. The beautiful scenery and isolation helps clear my head. Each time I drive, it's a different view. How much I actually see however, depends both on external conditions, and my state of mind.
That crisp fall day, our destination was the Pinnacles. Once you get up to speed, conversation in an open car is difficult at best. That suited me fine. I just wanted to absorb the experience, not talk about it. I would have grinned the entire way but I was soon reminded that I had no shield from the bugs. So I grinned inwardly, with my mouth closed. OK well most of the time.
Right now, the tarantulas are on the move. And though we saw few that day, this time of year you can see them in packs crossing the road. (Do they call them packs?) We thought there was some major migration/ homing pattern going on. However the ranger at the Pinnacles explained that they were simply looking for mates.
Oh.
Once at the Pinnacles, we had a great lunch catered by Victoria's Italian Deli. Victoria creates wonderful dishes just like Noni used to make. After lunch, Sheril suggested we take a hike and we all agreed. We chose a trail that took us to the caves and reservoir. A decent hike but not too strenuous. It was a perfect day for hiking. not too hot and not too crowded and wonderful, wonderful company. There's a special bond that develops between people when you spend time in nature together. The four of us became fast friends.
On the way home my thoughts drifted toward the Culinary and Hospitality Foundation. People who don't know me are wondering why on earth I am devoting so much time to this Foundation. Old friends and family see this as a really good fit. You see long before painting, there was food. And somehow, I've always worked with kids. Remind me to dig up those photos from back in the day when I taught pre-school and they called me Miss Shannon...
While there are no photos of me with my first painting, there certainly are photos of me with my early culinary creations. I just found a great one of my Grandma with her homemade raviolis. Grandma was quite a character. We had a putting green in our back yard and I can still see her putting in her high heels. But I digress, that's another blog...
Mentoring children is so rewarding. Their fresh approach to life is inspiring. I'm happy to help them gain focus and life skills and am grateful for the Culinary and Hospitality Foundation for providing vehicle to travel that road.
I'm engaged in running down my dreams. I want to show our youth that it's not only possible but vital that they follow their own.
No the dream doesn't come to you. But you can go to it. And listening to it's direction is important. I never could have guessed that the focus of my art business would be licensing, television and books but there you go. My canvas just gets bigger and bigger. The Foundation shows the children that there are infinite possibilities.
Other than sock monkeys, I've done more paintings of food than any other subject. And like the finale in an orchestral piece, I can see all these subjects merge together in my future to create a fresh new symphony.
Enjoy the visual accompaniment...
Me 1977
Yep, I'm a brunette! Think I need some work on my presentation skills!
Grandma and her Ravioli
(Pauline Cordone)
Jim and Sheril
Jim, Sheril and Dwight emerging from the caves.
View from Jim's Model A on Highway 25
Another view of Highway 25 from Jim's Model A
Labels: art, Culinary and Hospitality, Dream, Eric Maisel Ten Zen Seconds Shannon Grissom, Jim West, Painting, Television, The Pinnacles, Tom Petty, YMCA
