Puttin' on the Ritz!

A touch of elegance, a mind reboot and more

Spring has arrived in Vancouver and the cherry trees are in full bloom. It’s a wonderful time to go for walks in the cool but milder air. Nature is dressing up after months of wearing sweatpants and lying low.

One morning this week I headed south along the Arbutus Greenway, a walking and cycling path built on what used to be a railway line, connecting False Creek in the north with the Fraser River in the south. Originally it was the route of the Vancouver-Steveston interurban tram line, run by the British Columbia Electric company until 1958. Later, it was used by freight trains. Now it’s a popular route for cyclists, joggers and walkers. (I mentioned the Greenway in a previous post, linked here.)

As the name suggests, the Greenway also is a popular location for community gardens that line different sections of the path.

Local residents create scarecrows to keep the birds away.

After a good 45 minutes of walking, I stopped at a coffee shop on West 57th Avenue. I was there for some time reading the news on my phone when I looked up and saw this man sitting outside.

How odd for someone to be wearing a hat like that these days, I thought.

I decided I had to meet this person and ask him about it.

He was very amenable to speaking. His name is Rudolph (Rudy) van den Akker, originally from the Netherlands, a self-described extrovert. He lamented the clothes that men wear these days. “Everything is so casual,” he said, and told me that he enjoys dressing formally. His words reminded me of that Irving Berlin song from the Depression-era celebrating the act of dressing up, “Puttin’ on the Ritz.”

Besides his striking and very-retro felt top hat, Rudy wore a black jacket with matching vest, over a high-collared shirt and elegant bowtie. His pants were brownish-green corduroy and he wore black leather dress shoes.

Rudy van den Akker reminded me of David Letterman

Rudy told me he enjoys riding his two bicycles around town. This one in the photo has an electric-assist motor. He calls it his “Green Machine.”

That hat, popular more than a hundred years ago during the Gilded Age, really stood out. Look at that height! He took it off and showed me the impeccably smooth white silk liner on the inside. “I’m definitely a hat man,” he said. Rudy explained that he collects hats of all kinds. He has one for every occasion and of every dimension; from the theatrical (peaked wizard’s hats) to more practical Irish wool caps. He said his son always lets him know when he spots a bargain around town.

I asked him if he minds that people stare at him. “Not at all,” he said. Actually, he quite enjoys it. He told me that some time ago he wore a shorter beard and no mustache and people yelled, “Hey, Abe!” due to his striking resemblance to Abraham Lincoln.

We left with a handshake just before he put on a pair of riding gloves and rode away on his bike.

Rudy seemed quite happy just being himself. I think we need more folks like him around town to brighten our days, don’t you?

A couple walking under Vancouver’s cherry trees

The only thing that’s real is the present

Vancouver’s English Bay

I want to share a reflection from some time ago, because I keep coming back to it in my notes as a useful reminder.

We run around so much these days, juggling multiple activities, thinking about what we need to get done or analyzing what we did yesterday. We worry. We feel anxiety when we're delayed on our way to an appointment or when something deviates from our plans; when our children are late coming home. We worry when we lose control of our timeline or when things don't jive with our expectations.

When you look at how we go through our days it becomes apparent that we live a great part of the time in the world of our thoughts, in the virtual reality of our minds.

When feeling stressed, and in search of serenity or some tranquility, try turning down the volume in your brain. Many people find it useful to consciously focus on the present, to become aware again of the senses and experience this particular moment in these surroundings.

Sometimes, the mind is like a runaway train. And we make things worse by letting ourselves get further distracted by our devices and virtual worlds. We may be in one place physically, but our minds are too often somewhere else.

A useful technique to improve awareness is highlighted in the book "The Power of Now" by Eckhart Tolle. His suggestion is to visualize your thoughts as if they're a series of images on a screen, to see them as a movie. Don't analyze them, just observe them without judgment.

As you see these disjointed thoughts running on the screen, you come to the realization that the room is filled with another presence -- the watcher. And the watcher is also YOU.

But how can this be? This means there's another "you" that is not a part of those thoughts up on the screen. The more you connect with that "watcher", the more your presence focuses on the "other" you; the you that is set apart from all the mental noise or static. As you practice this, the easier it becomes to disconnect at will from uncontrolled mind activity and the easier it becomes to focus on the present.

There are other techniques to focus on the present, of course, like conscious breathing exercises, yoga, etc.

The bottom line, according to the experts, is that you start to feel better the more your body and mind synchronize with the "now", with the surroundings and situation that defines the present.

Only the present is real; the past is a movie in your mind and the future is also just a series of images, also in your head. As humans, we can only truly live one "here and now'' at a time. The more we can fully experience this, the better we will feel. Sometimes our thoughts are filled with so much junk that this has become difficult to do. But with a little practice, living life a little more "unplugged" can make you feel better.
~~~

Lightness

I like this note from author James Clear, as shared in his April 2nd newsletter:

Remain playful as your responsibilities increase. It's easy to become serious when people and results depend on you, but nearly everyone's performance improves when they proceed lightly through the world.

~~~

Spring quotes

Photo by Yoksel 🌿 Zok on Unsplash

“Spring work is going on with joyful enthusiasm.” John Muir

“Science has never drummed up quite as effective a tranquilizing agent as a sunny spring day.” W. Earl Hall

“April hath put a spirit of youth in everything.” William Shakespeare

~~~

Sketch

My little drawing this week is of a young lady waiting for a bus. Like everyone these days, she was looking at her phone.

Thanks for reading Zanepost. I appreciate you taking the time to connect in this way.

Until next time,

-Renato.

(Those of you who know me from my days in broadcasting will recognize the cap. I wear it with pride.)