MUSA

Slowly we sunk into the depth of the deep aqua colored sea descending about 28 feet for the first sculpture which appeared to be an explosive mind ready to detonate. As I swam north towards Isla Mujeres I came upon what looked to be a group of people frozen in time.

I noticed a small child sitting on an overturned bucket, a woman with her arms above her head as if she had just ran a race and was tired, unable to catch her breath. As I swam closer and deeper towards the silent crowd I witnessed what appeared to be a young man looking upwards in pain.

My scuba tank supplied my air and as I exhaled it almost gave life to some of the statues as bubbles of oxygen swarmed around the heads of the sculptures before me.

English sculptor Jason deCaires Taylor constructed over 500 life sized statues that were lowered into the Caribbean to demonstrate the interaction between art and environment. Each statue is attached to the seabed with material that promotes coral life allowing for the underworld of the sea to inhabit every square inch.

The exhibit is between the coast of Cancun and Isla Mujeres in Mexico. 

The exhibit is called MUSA or Museo Subacuático de Arte. It was founded by Roberto Díaz Abraham, former President of the Cancun Nautical Association and Jaime González Cano, Director of the National Marine Park.

Traveling trash can to trash can

The majority of his day is spent traveling from trash can to trash can in search of food. Even though he is in a bustling tourist area, his food still comes from the trash cans that line lower Broadway in Nashville, TN. 

On this particular day, he found what appeared to be a strawberry daiquiri in a plastic cup, still partially filled. It lasted him the next city block during his walk. 

Helping is as simple as a smile when you can't afford anything else. Mother Teresa once stated, "Spread love everywhere you go. Let no one ever come to you without leaving happier." 

My bicycle holds everything

He was sitting quietly on a bench in downtown Nashville. His life is neatly packed in the bags attached to the rear of his bicycle that lacks working front and rear brakes. A short chain is secured on the handlebars held in place by a master lock that will hold it tight to a tree so that it will not be stolen as darkness falls and he sleeps through the evening. 

Catholic Priest and writer Henri Jozef Machiel Nouwen once stated, "The greatest trap in our life is not success, popularity or power, but self-rejection." One walk down a crowded city street will open your eyes to see the self-rejection that exists in our society. So many people feel downtrodden or victimized by others when in reality, they dislike themselves. 

Professor Nouwen worked with the mentally handicapped on a daily basis. The Priest also researched the lives of many and knew self-rejection well. Before his death he wrote 39 books and taught at  the University of Notre Dame, Yale Divinity School and Harvard Divinity School. 

New York in the Rain

New York is such a fascinating place. Even at midnight in the rain, I still find it mesmerizing. 

American screen writer Truman Capote famously stated,  "New York is the only real city-city." Capote died at the young age of 59 in 1984.  

Yummy pastries

Julia Child once said, "I was 32 when I started cooking; up until then, I just ate."