During the Clinton Administration there was a move to green up the national parks. One of the mandates was to source food locally. Today one of the most successful examples of this is Yosemite National Park. All the concessions are run by Delaware North and it has chosen not to go with commodities but rather to buy the produce, meats, eggs and dairy from local … Continue reading Earth Day: From Farm to Table at Yosemite
In June 2009 I posted a blog about the dire condition of the River Jordan and how a unique collaboration of Israelis, Palestinians and Jordanians are cooperating to save it and care for the needs of a parched region. National Geographic Magazine has done the story “Parting the Waters” for its April edition on Water. It showcases the environmental dilemma, the political issues that have led to it, and … Continue reading River Jordan Redux
Chag Sameach. It means “joyous festival” and is a popular greeting during Passover. With the Jewish celebration of freedom here again I recall our very special Passover seder in Kampala, Uganda. I posted this as the very first story on my blog back in May 2008. My story also ran in the Denver Post in spring 2007. http://www.denverpost.com/search/ci_5534210 Cinematographer Paul Hillman and I are heading back to Kampala, Uganda again in June to do … Continue reading Passover in Kampala
New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof, who is one of the great advocates for women and the eradication of extreme poverty in the world, has written an article about BeadforLife and how people can get involved in the fight against global poverty. It is so exciting to have him as part of the bead circle. Hosting a bead party is a wonderful way to make a … Continue reading BeadforLife in New York Times
This month’s “More” magazine has a series of essays, by influential women authors, about the meaning of home. “A Wanderer’s Retreat” by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni really speaks to me. Her writing is flavorful and evocative as chai. Her story about first loving her grandfather’s home, connecting with landscapes after his loss, then finally finding home in her own heart resonates with the wanderer in me and perhaps would even … Continue reading Some Thoughts on Home
Just another couple of days and I’ll be heading home from Vancouver. Didn’t want to leave the Olympic city without sharing this commercial with you. Over the course of the games, out of the corner of my eye, I kept joining this television ad in progress. I never quite grasped what it was about because I didn’t see it in its entirety until tonight. It … Continue reading Tim Horton’s Coffee Commercial
It’s hard to believe that the Olympics are almost at an end. It is already Day 15. Soon the closing ceremony will be here and the torch will be extinguished and it’s all over. Vancouver will be back to its old self with perhaps a wicked Olympic hangover. It happens every time a city returns to normal after being the center of the sporting universe. … Continue reading Olympic Moments
I was in a beer garden in Vancouver’s Yaletown when a guy draped in an American flag strutted in. He was carrying on like Superman, all layered up in red, white and blue and making lots of noise. Boy, did he rile up the Canadians. After all today is the Canada versus USA men’s hockey match and as friendly as we are with our neighbors to the north, this … Continue reading Hockey Night in Canada
Walking down Granville Street in Vancouver tonight I saw something you hardly ever see in the United States. Twenty something girls playfully singing and strutting to their national anthem. They were on the crosswalk and at the top of their lungs they were singing “Oh, Canada, our home and native land…” Of course patriotism and spirit are running high at the Olympics but the Canadians also have a very singable … Continue reading Oh Canada
Immediately after the opening ceremony people began to run. They hoofed it to the International Broadcast Centre to see the after party. Wayne Gretzky rode in a flatebed truck with the Olympic torch aloft to light an external flame outside the building. The crowd went wild, shouting “Gretzky, Gretzky, Gretzky.” Amazing to see how Canadians adore The Great One. A Shaun White look alike and his sidekicks led the crowd in the … Continue reading Gretzky Lights the Flame
Vicky Collins Online 