LUMA in Binghamton

About six months ago I learned a color and light festival would be taking place in Asbury Park, NJ. The organizers really lucked out with the weather as that March weekend temperatures were in the 50s, my notes say it was windy and felt colder than that, but that time of year in New Jersey it is just as likely to be raining or *gasp* snowing.

We got talking to a man at the event. He was soaking it up. He made his family, including toddler, travel to the land of Springsteen to stare at the light projections on the side of the Paramount Theater/Convention Hall. Between showings he explained this was the first time his Binghamton, NY group had taken their projections on the road. Normally the only time they get together to do light mapping projections is the weekend after Labor Day for the LUMA Projection Arts Festival.

I made a mental note: go to Binghamton, NY the weekend after Labor Day.

Oh look -- that's my birthday weekend!

With Don working at REI, I wasn't sure if we would make it. Saturday was scheduled to be the Full Moon Bike Ride -- an event he has volunteered at for most of the ten years it has been around. In the end, the event was postponed due to rain, a storm that passed through Binghamton in time for their event.

LUMA in Binghamton is different than it was in Asbury Park. In March, all of the artists designed work for the same building. Each show was a few minutes long, and ran back to back for just over a half an hour. I later learned 12,000 people attended those two days. It did not feel crowded in the field. A stranger said "just imagine how crowded this would have been had it been held in the summer." 

Yup, just imagine.

Six months later we attended LUMA wearing summer attire, carrying a light jacket in case it got cooler once the sun set. 

Binghamton's event is soon after the beginning of the school year. Downtown went from empty streets thirty minutes before starting to packed two hours later. There were families with small children, teens, college age students, people our age, older couples, people with walkers and crutches. Though I saw a few Black people, the vast majority were white. I don't know what they could do to make it more diverse.

There were had six "main stages," buildings, within a few blocks of each other. They were spaced just far enough apart that you couldn't hear the music from one while at another. Each had a countdown to when their show would start, included tastefully thanking the local politicians as well as their sponsors. 

One of the six buildings displayed artwork created by nine local school children. That one seemed to have parents camped out videotaping their little Rembrandt's paintings made bigger than life. 

There were also eight smaller venues that fit in the "nooks and crannies" of Binghamton. The entire event is FREE! Donations are encouraged to off-set expenses. 

My favorite projections were when the buildings were transformed to the point where it seemed as if the actual building was altered, especially on the Culinary Arts building which gave the illusion of a marble circling down their giant columns. Don preferred when stories unfolded on the buildings.

I'm impressed with the sorcery that is used to make the images fit the buildings. Each story has a unique style. The evening unfolded at a pace that it was easy to see all six buildings, and visit the vendors. We left at 10 pm knowing we still had a three-hour drive ahead of us. The event had "tens of thousands" of people attend. Their main street was wall to wall people.

LUMA posted on Facebook that next they were heading to Bucharest for an international competition September 20 and 21. I wish them all the best.

A hearty thank you to the volunteers and security team that made this event a success.

Birthday Baking

This blog is about what I want to share, and not about Don and Ashley's secrets. 

This blog is also about me preserving memories. A few years from now I'll wonder when did I bake with Ashley? This post will answer that question. 

It is also about trying out words and phrases. Ever since I could remember I wanted to be a writer. This blog is as close as I have gotten to writing for myself. Someday posts may be turned into chapters of a book. You'll be able to say you read it here first.

Ashley is busy. When she backed out of birthday dinner at my parents' house because she was busy I understood. Disappointed, because I love seeing her, but I understood. 

When she offered to spend time with me a few days later I was thrilled.  

My parents gave me a book about the history of chocolate complete with recipes and a bar of Special Dark chocolate to get me started. I asked Ashley if we could bake one of the recipes together.

I chose the macaron recipe because it was something I never made before.

Ashley took over the role of head pastry chef. 

I was her sous chef. I bought the ingredients, supplied the kitchen, the pans, the equipment, washed the dishes, and tried to solve problems.

Mostly I smiled to myself. Happy to be able to spend one-on-one time with my 23 year old. Proud of the woman she is becoming -- one who knows that making macarons is a huge time commitment that starts the night before (when I separated eight eggs in anticipation of our day of baking), and required less humidity than is possible on a warm late summer day in New Jersey. 

We had some starts and stops to making the recipe. I didn't realize the eggs needed to warm up to room temperature for two hours. Though I thought I had checked all the ingredients, I did not have enough confectioner's sugar. I also did not have enough cookie sheets so I started improvising. 

There was a lot of improvising. 

Hopefully Ashley will remember the fun. We didn't throw almond flour on each other like they do on TV. I'm not even sure she saw my happiness in spending time with her.

My hope is we can spend more time together. Just the two of us. Just for fun.

Labor Day Protests

Monday was the latest national day of protest. It feels absurd we have to keep gathering to express our displeasure at the government. Each day they (hate to call them "leaders") do more to destroy decades of progress, so here we are.

In June millions protested. I heard this Labor Day the national number was closer to 500,000. Still a lot of people, but nowhere close to the numbers needed to really push for progress.

Why the lower turnout?

This movement got much less publicity than No Kings Day on June 14.

We are told by Indivisible and other groups that organize these events that the use of the word "protest" is being flagged by Facebook algorithms therefore they are not reaching as many people. Instead use the phrase: music festival, or community picnic. Words that don't generate the same fire that protest burns.

There was not a cute symbol. There are so many injustices, the day splintered into different directions. Not everyone has the same fire, so the protest closest to you might not attract you.

I went to two protests that day, or "gatherings" as I called them on my FB page. One in Trenton against billionaires and pay inequality. The other in Princeton organized by a Spanish speaking group against ICE. Both good causes. Neither one that hits me at my core.

I stayed about an hour at each. Long enough to be counted, but not long enough to form lasting memories.

At least it wasn't raining.

Trenton pictures:

Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman

Princeton pictures:

Einstein lived in Princeton,
so it was fitting to include him on a sign

Two sided signs is the way to go

Facebook Birthday Reminder

Facebook is reminding me that since I have a birthday coming up I have the opportunity to do a Facebook charity fundraiser. It is actually one of the sweetest parts of Facebook.

I first learned about this opportunity nearly six years ago as I was getting ready to celebrate a half a century. I was the director of development for The Bridge Academy. Nearly a year after starting the position, I was still in the honeymoon period where I loved the organization, and I felt loved. It was the fall of 2019 and pieces of my life had fallen into place in a way I could not have imagined even a year earlier when I was applying for jobs, being ghosted for those jobs, and not feeling I would ever be enough for someone to take a chance on me again. When I left my job in 2002 I slid from having a career to being on the mommy track. I told myself I was lucky, even blessed. We could afford to do this. Not everyone can stay home to raise a child. Years passed and suddenly our little girl was in high school and getting ready to leave the nest on her own life path. 

I wanted to return to my own life path.

As a new director of development I was curious how the Facebook fundraiser worked. As the birthday girl, I would see who donated. I wondered as the non-profit contact, what would I see?

I posted how happy I was at Bridge, and how they transform lives -- including mine. 

All truthful. 

At least it was at the time.

Friends donated. 

Facebook sent a bulk check once a month, but without the names of who donated. There was no way to thank them. More importantly, there was no way to thank the birthday girl or boy for creating a birthday fundraiser. 

Six years later I am gearing up to celebrate a non-milestone birthday. The excitement I felt working at Bridge fell off with the pandemic. I made mistakes. They made mistakes. I no longer felt part of the team that made the school a success. It is a vicious cycle. The less valued I felt, the less valued I became. 

It became easy for me to believe I had no value. The longer this went on, the more it became clear I had to leave. Two years later I still struggle with being able to give my heart to an organization.

I realized this as another birthday rolls around and there is not one organization I want to support publicly. There are still some I support quietly. 

I miss how I felt six years ago when I created that first birthday fundraiser and raised nearly a thousand dollars to help The Bridge Academy with their mission of helping students with language-based learning disabilities bridge the gap from potential to success. May I feel that way again

Kuser Manion

A decade ago I toured Kuser Mansion with the express purpose of seeing my mom's wedding dress on display. That year the exhibit was held in June, a month traditionally thought of as a good month for weddings (though I'm partial to May, and mom is partial to December). This year it was held in August.

The mansion was once the summer home of the Kuser family. The Kusers owned of Twentieth Century Fox and were local celebrities. They dabbled in many expensive hobbies, including owning the Mercer Automobile Company, and had lots of wealthy fans. If you are in the area, the Queen Anne style mansion is open for tours on most weekends, just not in the six weeks leading up to the annual Winter Festival. Tours are free and led by county employees well versed in the history.

Mom's dress has been well preserved. This year they added a couple of pictures from their 1967 wedding. Mom returned to give them the history of the bridal party. I recognized my aunts and uncles, but not the other people in the picture. The curator at Kuser is happy to learn the background.

The day I went the docent said my mom's dress was her favorite because it reminded her of Jackie Kennedy. It evokes the era of the 1960s. Perhaps I should donate my my 1993 gown as it screams the 1990s, now considered an historic time.

In addition to my mom's gown on display in the dining room, there were other stunning gowns. I wish the docent had let me look at them instead of filling my quiet admiration with unrelated words. It is a tough balancing act.

While there a mom and daughter were visiting. It was the mom's birthday. She did not give her age, but said she lived in London during World War II and remembers the nightly bombings. She is living history! She told us about some glass that survived and she brought with her to the United States when she moved here. Her daughter was visiting from Canada. 

Downtown Trenton Walks Two Park: Cadwalder to Stacy

My third Trenton Walks tour in three weeks took me on a 3.7 mile journey from the Frederick Law Olmsted, Sr. Cadwalader Park across Route 29 to the lesser used Stacy Park.

Cadwalader Park has the distinction of being the only public park in New Jersey designed by the famous Frederick Law Olmsted, as well as the last urban park he designed. It has the characteristics of other famous parks designed by Olmsted (New York City's Central Park and San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge come to mind) including a circular drive, a pond, lawns, and groves. 

We met in front of Ellerslie Museum. Walked past the gazebo where I go roller skating some, and won Lovers Lane where we passed Trenton Mayor Reed Gusciora hanging out while a softball game was taking place and families were enjoying the perfect weather. As I passed a group of teens one commented to her friends "there are a lot of white people here." I couldn't help but laugh. I did not mean to embarrass her, and apologized. Two hours later as we walked back to our cars a subset of the group asked if they could join us.

We used a footpath to cross over Route 29. Less than a century ago the space was a canal. On the return walk we passed houses, many boarded up, others in obvious disrepair and mused if the canal had been allowed to stay instead of giving way to the mighty car, these homes would be sitting on waterfront property and be worth a small fortune. Instead they face the drone of the highway.

Stacy Park runs the length of Trenton along the Delaware River. If it were not for Route 29 and the lack of parking, this park would have been packed on this low humidity summer day. Instead our group of 20 white people were the only people, with the exception of a couple of cyclists zipping through. 

For me the highlight of the walk was The Shaky Bridge. Built from 1904-1911 by Roebling and Sons it is a 1/11th model of the Niagara River Suspension Bridge (1857-1896) and was used to show that suspension bridges are safe. It was recently touched up to its present day glamour.

Most of the group walks are only an hour. At 2.5 hours, this was an anomoly.

BAPS Revisited

A couple of months ago I revisited BAPS Swamanarayan Akshardham in Robbinsville, NJ. I walked around the grounds, and took a lot of pictures. According to the literature found in the lobby of their welcome center, this campus is dedicated to Bhagwam Swaminarayan (1781-1830), the Parabrahma (God) and founder of the Swaminarayan Hindu tradition. Through his divine life and the transformative teachings, he revitalized the core tenets of Hinduism, emphasizing moral, personal, and social betterment. His life and work inspired a rekindling of faith, virtue, and integrity in millions around the world over generations.

After parking our car in a lot reminiscent of Walt Disney World with its labeled parking lots, our eyes were drawn to the 49-foot sacred image (again, according to their pamphlet) of teenage Bhagwam Swaminarayan. We later learned the height represents a foot for each year of his life. Laura, Nancy, and I went on a rainy day so we did not pause to take a picture of ourselves. I saw plenty of people in a wide range of ages posing like him with their arms thrust towards the heavens, face forward, the left foot firmly rooted on the ground, and the right leg bent with the foot raised towards their waists. My favorite was an Indian man about 65 with a huge grin on his face as his wife took his picture. Also amusing are children younger than the statue. You can't help but smile as you do this pose in public, even if the smile is to hide a bit of embarrassment as you wobble.

We met for the 1 pm tour to learn more about their faith and the work that went into creating this center. The tour is only an hour long, including handing out headsets and collecting them at the end. Laura and I are Presbyterians. Nancy is a Jew. There were about 20 people in our group, most older than us. Two-thirds were Indian, likely Hindu, though the question never came up. We kept a respectful silence as we absorbed the accented words of our tour guide.

"The basic tenets of Hinduism," he explains (paraphrasing) are to see God in everyone, non-violence, everyone needs a guru in your life, karma, and yoga. A guru could be a coach, or professor. Someone who guides you in your life. Every month has a festival, with Diwali (the festival of lights) being the biggest one. 

The lobby of the Welcome Center has 3,000 lights in it to make people feel welcome. The wood is teak. The paintings and carpet are also to make you feel welcome. The paintings on the upper level are to represent people who in the old days would have used music and flowers to welcome you.

Outside we stay covered as we learned about the Parikrama (colonnade) surrounding the courtyard. The pink sandstone paths "remind you to always keep God at the center of our pursuits and our existence." 

Our guide tells us there are 100 different factions of Hinduism. I try to remember how many there are of Christianity. I ask Nancy how many there are of Judaism, and she shrugs and guesses many. Hindus follow four different books. 

On either side of the mandir (place of worship) are statues of elephants. The ones to the left each have one trunk. The ones on the right each have seven trunks. Elephants have always held a special place in ancient texts. Both sets of elephants look more than happy, they look joyful. I do not know the significance of why one sent has one trunk, and the other seven. 

The mandir was made without a single nail, or piece of steel, meaning it will never corrode. Over300 of their monks are engineers and they designed the building.

Before construction began, a prayer was made as an apology to the earth for destroying it.

We walk closer to the mandir. The lowest level, the foundation, is the Wisdom Plinth. Here are universal truths as told through scriptures and wise people. Included with the wise words are Albert Einstein and Martin Luther King, Jr. Hard to argue with a faith that builds its foundation on the best of all traditions. "The world is one family," adds our guide.

Before continuing inside we went to the "shoe house" where we left our shoes in cubbyholes. The ground is too sacred for outside dirt.

We met up at the golden doors depicting Bhagwam Swaminarayan's life, I thought back to being in Florence and studying Pisano and Ghiberti's Gates of Paradise doors on the baptistry next to the duomo. 

In 1792, 11 year old Bhagwam Swaminarayan had already read and learned everything there was for him to understand about Hinduism. He left on a journey throughout India in search of a guru. He walked 12,000 kilometers in seven years. His travels are depicted on the panels in the center. 

In the midpoint of our tour are cabinets containing the clothes Bhagwam Swaminarayan wore on his walk.

The inside of the mandir (place of worship) is filled with marble statues depicting stories important to their faith. Most were carved in India and shipped around the globe to Robbinsville, NJ. There are 130 statues of rhishis (sages) who have "greatly contributed to Hindu wisdom." All 108 poses of Bharatnatyam, a classical Indian dance form, are also depicted. My favorites, though, are hte musicians playing a variety of instruments. Similar statues are outside in the parikrama and outside the Welcome Center.

Look up at the domes. In one are the zodiac signs, in another the sacred rivers.

There are also statues of each of the six gurus. The fifth one had the vision to build this campus. It was completed in 2023 and the sixth one came to dedicate it. Each guru has a message that would benefit everyone. The third guru said "keep no record of bad that has happened to you. Forget. Move forward." If only it was that easy.

The fourth guru, Yogii Maharaj, had the foresight to know technology would play a big role in their future. He encouraged engineers to join. "Life is an elevator. Good times up and down. Take life as it is." He traveled to Africa when he was 70 becoming the first leader to travel overseas.

The fifth guru, Pramulch Swami, met global leaders, including Bill Clinton and Pope John Paul II. In 1997 he made the goal of a building this mandir. He also traveled to Abu Dhabi and made the goal of a Hindu temple in a Muslim territory. 

The largest mandir is in New Delhi, India. New Jersey's mandir boasts the deepest carvings. 

Construction nearly ground to a halt in 2020. At the time they thought it would take another 15 years to finish, which compared to the iconic cathedrals in the world is not that long. Instead the guru put out a call for 4,000 volunteers to help finish. Over 12,500 volunteers came from all over the United States and Canada. People of all ages and skills came to work together. All were needed. By 2023 it was dedicated.

We swapped our headsets for our IDs, put our shoes back on, and went outside. The campus boasts a delicious, and reasonably priced, cafeteria. I was grateful the menu included pictures of the food. I swapped my initial choice for something completely different. The food was described as gentle on the stomach and came with a big scoop of yogurt. Both Nancy and I ordered the same and were grateful for the calming yogurt as the main meal was spicier than we assumed. It was just the right ratio of yogurt to main meal.

Nancy and I doubled back to see the movies about the building of the mandir, and of the history Bhagwam Swaminarayan. 

Some life lessons from the gurus.

Bhagaji Maharaj (1829-1897): importance of seva (selfless service) to God and guru.

Yogiji Maharaj (1892-1971): selfless love and the profound joy of seeing goodness in everyone.

Pramukh Swami Maharaj (1921-2016): his philosophy is "in the joy of others lies our own."

Quick facts:

Constructed between 2011-2023

20,000 statues, carvings of ancient Indian musical instruments, and dance forms

The largest elliptical dome ever constructed from stone