Welcome to Buffalo!

Buffalo is a gateway city whose fortunes have fallen just lately. In a world where steel mills and heavy industry are not the bread winning guarantee they once where.
Buffalo is gamely looking for a new shtick to bring her up to date.

Once called the Queen City, in her hay day she was a booming town filled with promise, brilliant architecture and thriving industry and a transportation hub for lakes, canals and rail.

Some of the enduring marvels in Buffalo are the amazing mansions, and even some of the upper middle class homes which seem so wonderfully preserved despite being well over a hundred years old. Fine wooden painted homes so bright and cheery with their intricate woodwork.





The city was laid out in a careful and delightful way. In the late 1800s, visionary citizens brought Frederick Law Olmsted to Buffalo. It was here that Olmsted, inspired by Joseph Ellicott's radial street layout, designed his first system of parks and parkways, and proclaimed Buffalo to be "the best designed city in the country, if not the world." During the 1901 Pan American Exposition, Buffalo was celebrated not only as the City of Light, but the City of Trees.





Buffalo is also famous for it's snowy winter weather, located at the north eastern corner of Lake Erie the area is frequently treated to "Lake Effect" snow.



I have included a picture of the Buffalo Main Lighthouse. This architecturally stunning tower sits at the entrance to the Erie Canal, and was built in 1833 when the original light was deemed inadequate for the increased ship traffic entering and exiting the Buffalo River. The 66 foot tower was only active until 1914, when another breakwater light took over. That breakwater light was rammed several times by ships, and nearly destroyed by a major blow in 1958. The Buffalo Main Light was restored in the 1980's.



Since I'm very keen on shipwrecks, I am happy to report there are plenty of them in the local underwater vicinity.

The history of Buffalo is fascinating and rich, and there are certainly no lack of websites, books, museums and archives with a wealth of information to mine on the subject.



Yesterday afternoon on a mild and sunny day we walked along the break wall between the Canal and the Niagara River going under the Peacebridge to where it opens out to the lake. Needless to say I was daydreaming of drift dives to come, but also fascinated by this new view and outlook on the city.



While this is only a tiny look at Buffalo, it is a start. A new beginning.

Optimism and other messages the world is trying to send.

"Most of us swimming against the tides of troubles the world knows nothing about, need only a bit of encouragement - and we will make the goal."
-Jerome P. Fleishman.

Driving home yesterday morning from a doctors appointment, the sun shinning brightly, almost blindingly on the snow with a fine salt mist spray a-flutter in the air making my windshield a little hazy I was inspired: I resolved to write a new blog entry.

The shores of the lake: ice bound. The sky: bright and brilliant. The air: bitterly cold. The day was full of promise.

Ever have those moments? You find insight, crystal clear, the words fall in place; You know you have something Fantastic right there at that moment?!

Optimism has been knocking at my door with a firm clear message to keep looking, and have Hope! Yes there are days when gloom pervades. However, with just a little effort, (maybe a bit more than just a little), and persistence the plan will unfold, and things will work out just fine - I will reach my goal!

Every year I set goals for myself, simple things, things that I sincerely want, and I keep track of how I'm doing, some progress is always good. Small steps work well.

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.
- Lao-tzu (604 BC - 531 BC), The Way of Lao-tzu

As I was driving I was thinking, if I take stock at this particular moment in time; the picture may not be perfect, but I am moving forward, towards my goal as well as along the highway.

We saw the documentary film 'An Unreasonable Man' the other day, about Ralph Nader - Now there is an optimist! He is not alone. There are many optimists out there: Jean-Michel Cousteau, David Suzuki - these are people who have devoted their lives to achieving goals, which may seem far fetched at first, but if you look closely: they are making headway.

These guys are famous sure, but they started out with an idea and kept believing in it and working at it. Now that is optimism at work.

The reason most people never reach their goals is that they don't define them, or ever seriously consider them as believable or achievable. Winners can tell you where they are going, what they plan to do along the way, and who will be sharing the adventure with them.
- Denis Watley

AHA!

The first step is of course to define a goal!


In the absence of clearly-defined goals, we become strangely loyal to performing daily trivia until ultimately we become enslaved by it.
Robert Heinlein (1907 - 1988)

The victory of success is half won when one gains the habit of setting goals and achieving them. Even the most tedious chore will become endurable as you parade through each day convinced that every task, no matter how menial or boring, brings you closer to fulfilling your dreams.
Og Mandino (1923 - 1996)

The thing always happens that you really believe in; and the belief in a thing makes it happen.
Frank Lloyd Wright (1869 - 1959)

Earlier in the day at the doctor's, the time came to schedule a follow up, when I was offered the date I said "Sorry that date won't work for me: I'll be in the Bahamas" and I realized that I was on my way, right there, right then. I will be going to the Bahamas again this summer!

Be Optimistic! it's a lot of fun.

NOTE:
The image featured is a painting titled: "Optimism"
used with permission from the Artist
Visit Carol Marine and see her art at
http://www.bluecloudstudios.com/default.htm

Ocean Futures - An evening with Jean-Michel Cousteau

This week I had the great good fortune to attend a lecture by Jean-Michel Cousteau at the University of Buffalo, as part of their Distinguished Speakers Series.

Some of you may remember the IMAX film presentation of Coral Reef a film by Michele and Howard Hall? I had a wonderful evening with their presentation at Toronto's Science Centre a couple of winters ago. I was expecting that sort of an intimate setting with Jean-Michel.

Wow was I in for a surprise! The event was sold out - there were just a few empty seats in view of the awful weather that night. The Centre for the Arts at UB's North Campus is HUGE! The Auditorium probably seats over a thousand people. It was packed!

Jean-Michel is a wonderful speaker - did you know he was a recipient of the Legends of Diving Award in 2003? Just to name one of his many distinguished awards. I could have listened to Jean-Michel's stories all night, but then they were all diving related.

He showed several film clips from his Ocean Adventures documentaries, the longest was about the Hawaiian Northwestern Islands. The sequence with the Humpback whales was breathtaking.

Jean-Michel had a sense of fun, was engaging, charming and above all persuasive.
The message that night was "Protect the Ocean and you protect yourself". One of his vignettes was that he wins his goals not so much by arguing, pleading or even negotiation; he wins by showing people his films and images. I could not agree more.

I left last night's presentation with a renewed passion for the ocean (including our beloved Great Lakes), and of sharing that passion with as many people as I can.

Jean-Michel Cousteau heads a foundation called Ocean Futures at http://www.oceanfutures.org/default.asp where you can learn more, or even sign up for free to receive newsletters or offer support.

If you ever have an opportunity to watch his documentaries or, even better, see him in person, take the time to see him! You won't be disappointed.