Tag Archives: Gypsy’s Bakery

The Road to Diamond, Day 281: Competence

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Posted by on in Assistance, collaborating, Community, impediments, Inspiration, Matters of Faith, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving, Travel

September 5,2025- This day was meant for everything, and nothing. There was no agenda, other than an hour or so, listening to the Friday jam group at Gypsy’s, while sipping the first hot apple cider of the season and sharing stories with Hiking Buddy and in the evening, joining Baha’i friends for a Zoom devotional.

After the session ended at Gypsy’s, I walked over to a Verizon store and inquired about new iPhones. Finding out that they could not sell phones without a plan (“Locked” phones), I decided to go later over to Best Buy and see about their offerings. Crab cakes at Uncle Bud’s Cajun & Barbecue boosted my confidence, and I headed back to HB I, to get started on the afternoon.

As it happened, I got a call from the vendor who was supplying the cloth for my soon-to-be reupholstered sofa. The cloth was in, so down to the store I went. While the material was being measured and cut, we swapped stories about previous European travels. He and his wife had made two trips to France, nearly fifty years ago, with minimal language skills, and had gotten on well with the French people, in Haute-Alpes and in the Pyrenees. Long story short, he had skills that were needed in those regions, which made all the difference; plus he and she are congenial.

On the way back, I stopped at Best Buy, settling on a reasonable iPhone 14. After some introductory instructions from the sales guy, I made the purchase, and brought phone, protector and screen cover back to HB, with a plan for getting it up and running later. First came a spaghetti feed and the devotional.

With reassurance from my son, the transfer process from old phone to new got underway, taking about twenty minutes to transfer data, then set up security and decide on a few things like passwords. When it came time to turn the new phone off for the evening, hmmm- I found a different process than just holding the power button in. Power and volume have to be pressed simultaneously, it happens. Then the “slide to turn off” shows up.

Diamond Dog can learn new tricks- and add competence. I’ve heard that each new skill keeps the brain cells from fading out. I will no doubt be picking up several, in what I have set for self, in the weeks ahead.

The Road to Diamond, Day 196: Clarity

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Posted by on in Assistance, collaborating, Community, Family, Inner Struggles, Matters of Faith, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving

June 12, 2025- Angela sang a mix of love songs and reflective ballads, in the corner of Gypsy’s Bakery, where I stopped for a while to enjoy a light lunch. Gypsy’s is just one of several delightful spots that are within walking distance of Home Base I, making it as easy to take a meal out as it is to prepare my own. Angela’s music was an unexpected and soothing bonus.

I had a modest mission besides: Getting a back-up medical monitoring device, as my old one may be just wearing out, after fifteen years. I feel perfectly well, and want to keep it that way. With a potential addition to our family to consider, I need to be “in fighting trim”.

There are tempests swirling around, in other parts of the country and across the globe. These could be mitigated by clear communication, but the trend, for many years, has been to play close to the vest, and to talk in riddles. Another trend has been for people to approach one another like bulls in a china shop, or cannons aimed at mosquitos. Clarity, ahead of action, is the only way to avoid the miscommunication that has led us to our two current impasses, one domestic, the other international.

Some will say that the world is too complex for clarity. Well, we see what obfuscation has brought us: 249 dead in a plane crash in India; mass destruction in Iran; increasing tendency to pre-empt dissent, by merely arresting the possible dissenter(s) ahead of time. Obfuscation comes from ambition gone sideways; as does repression; as does vengeance.

I pray for all those in Israel, Iran, India and across our country, that there is safety and that there is a return to sanity-as well as clarity.

The Road to Diamond, Day 181: Bright and Shiny Surprises

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Posted by on in collaborating, Community, Inspiration, Matters of Faith, Personal Values, Service Activities, Social, Spiritual, Striving

May 28, 2025- I had not been to Olde World Bakery, at the edge of downtown, in over a year. Seeing that there was a new sign, Gypsy’s Bakery, I decided to have a late lunch there. It looked like little had changed, in the food department, and my favourite spinach and cheese croissant was still there. The servers, though, particularly Ana, were effervescent and kindly attentive. There was less of the “serve yourself” format of the previous management, and more of a connection with the patrons. The Gen Z greeting “Welcome in” was in full swing. The new owner, who took over last year, greeted three of us who came in at the same time, then went back to her baking duties. Ana brought everything to each table, checking back with everyone to make sure we were satisfied with the fare. Another bright and shiny surprise was the menu of cold beverages, delicious fruit and tea blends that promise relief, on many a hot summer afternoon.

The energy of youth is always a delight, when put to either the betterment of society or the mirthful relief of tense or harshly oppressive situations. There is always an undertone of “Who am I, in the scheme of things?”, but that is just part of establishing emergence from the chrysalis of adolescence. Gen Alpha uses terms like “Rizz” (charisma) and “Aura Farming” to refer to one’s level of interpersonal skills. Previous generations have used “cool”, “groovy”, “tight” and “heavy” to indicate a person’s level of social acceptability. While the social dictionary of those who are aware keeps growing, the essential search for meaning in life remains the same.

After visiting a fellow Legionnaire in a rehab facility, I headed over to a friend’s house to pick up an order of sunscreen. As she guided me around the grounds of her forever home, I marveled at the sheer volume of work and organizing that she has done, virtually alone, over the past two years. There is much that remains, and I can help with some of this, yet her sense of purpose has undergone an immense boost, with the solo effort. There is relatively scant difference between what a man can accomplish and what a woman can do, using the same skills. Yes, we are “built differently”, in some respects; yet I see only finesse and strength in what any person who sets the mind to doing something actually achieves.

The year is a month shy of being half over. I am inclined to envision more bright and shiny surprises-not from those in power, but from those who are empowered, at the ground level.