The leaves are all down now

I don't have news about life in Fort Wayne, because I bugged out for Thanksgiving. It was time to use the terrific Fort Wayne International Airport and head west. Traffic was fairly light at the first rate sky port, even on the busy travel Wednesday before Turkey Day.

A connection through O'Hare was uneventful, and gave us travelers some shopping opportunities. But alas, moving on to our connection, we found ourselves seated in the very last row of the plane. This means last service for food and beverages (which really is not a problem). The worst, of course, is we are right by the bathrooms - and the line-up queue for same. For much of the flight to Phoenix, we had people standing in the aisle right by us, leaning over us, bumping into us.

The best part was I had rented and downloaded the movie Super 8 on my IPad, and could watch it on the flight. It really is a fun movie. The child actors are outstanding. The movie captures the excitement and freshness of being a kid, the wonder and social angst it means. The story involves kids in 1979 making their own movie when something quite unexpected occurs. One breakout performance is by the lovely Elle Fanning, whose skill at the craft of acting just puts most adult actresses to shame. I think many of them could take notes from the versatile Elle.

Landing in Sky Harbor in Phoenix, I felt like a mole coming out of a tunnel. The sun is so bright, and in Fort Wayne I had not seen much of it for days. All we had for the previous week was rain, overcast skies, or fog, so the brightness of Phoenix was almost blinding. The diversity of our nation is so striking on a trip such as this, where the change of landscape is like switching countries. Dramatic pink rocks and mountains at stark ankles, desert vegetation, horizons stretching across hundreds of miles. What a wonderful nation we have. We are so lucky to live here.

Phoenix has a beautiful, clean airport, spacious and full of regional shopping. Jewelry made by native Americans, art, hand crafted items. Then on to a final connection to San Luis Obispo. This small airport in central California is nestled between hills and near the ocean, which means pilots have a lot of factors to consider - ocean fog and winds, thermals off the mountains, a short runway. We circle around for an approach from over the ocean, seeing the huge rock (one of the Seven Sisters, a volcanic formation) out in Morro Bay.

We drop in, land, and stop short - the captain really had to hit the brakes. But all is well, and here we are in yet another land. There will be a time to see the large Elephant Seals, hundreds of them along the beach at San Simeon. Also a delightful dessert at the eclectic Madonna Inn, featuring plush pink decor, ornate carpets and woodwork, and themed rooms such as a cave rock room and a jungle room. It takes a whole day to fly from Fort Wayne to California, but it's doable. Tomorrow I will do the return. California, so fair, so fragile. Come on, United States, it's time to pull together instead of pulling apart. It's time to see how lucky we have it here, put aside our egos and differences and find some common ground to work from. It's time to focus and pull it together as the great nation we are.

Rich Pacula the jeweler

Rich Pacula started working in the jewelry business when he was 18, and eventually became the manager of a profitable store in Fort Wayne. Many Fort Wayne natives (and transplants) remember the Pacula and Gough jewelry business located in the Southtown Mall for years. The two men who made that partnership now run separate shops, both good places to go.

But what Rich did is unique. In 2002 he designed a business and worked from the Three Rivers offices in downtown Fort Wayne, near the confluence of the three local rivers. It was a private, "buzz you in" deal for security, and the place was intimate, awesome. The customer experienced a one-on-one meeting with Mr. Pacula. Then around 2005 Pacula moved into the lobby office of the 1st Source Center on Main Street.

Click on his website, www.paculadesigns.com, to see works of gorgeous diamonds, unique settings, and really original material. The shop does custom designs and will work with pictures, drawings, or will do sketches with the customer. I am fond of the modern look to much of his work; the boldness, clean strong lines.

I have seen his works displayed at the Castle Gallery in Fort Wayne as well. One signature thing he turns out is large colored stones mounted at rakish angles, cocktail rings, in big stainless steel settings. They catch the light brilliantly.

He likes geometric shapes, and simple brilliant necklaces suspended from wire. His pieces almost speak, have humor. Yes, I am a fan.

It's fun to meet with the attractive Rich and his assistant, who fetches pieces or other requests from the back. You have an old fashioned conversation, a rare thing in our virtual world.

Take your pick from unusual things he carries. Stainless steel shapes curved like large letters, suspending a diamond or zirconium in space. Shapes of wood inlaid with simple clear and colored stones, again on wire. Rings that float with moons and planets of stones. Earrings that hang and turn boldly.

The bracelet pictured above reminds me of a unique piece of jewelry I had in high school: it was a bicycle chain coated in a polished metal and cut to wrist length, with a toggle fastener. I swear I set it down in a music rehearsal room when practicing there one morning at the high school: when I remembered it later in the day it was gone. Too bad, but I always really missed it.

He bought a bicycle built for two

We have talked about getting a tandem bike over the years, but it seemed like an impractical toy that might just wind up taking space. You know, like the exercise equipment bought with good intentions but now just taking up room in the garage or basement? I know you have it. Yes, you.

My husband, however, likes bicycles and shopped around a little. Expensive new, it was hard to justify - but then at Summit City Bicycles a clerk said they had a used one in the back - for $250. Pretty soon he was talked down to $200, and that was reasonable for this bike in good shape. Long story short, my husband brought home the understated black bike - brand Crestline - with new tires, and black saddle seats, and 18 gears.

Handbrakes can be operated by the person in front. The two sets of pedals are connected by a single chain both riders crank. So when one person stops pedaling, the other person must also stop. It's not like say, canoeing, in which one person can operate independently. It's impossible to see the driving path from the rear seat - it takes a bit of trust of one's partner in front. I found myself becoming sea sick from not being able to see the road from the rear seat. I would have been okay, but for a while I looked down at the chain and then the ground below, and when I looked up I had motion sickness. A lesson learned.

In the movie The Quiet Man, John Wayne's character steals a tandem bike when walking with his lady friend, and the two take off down some Irish county lanes. With The Duke at the helm, the ride stays upright, yet madcap and exciting. Myself, I found laughing out loud, giggling, shrieking - as a grown up, I don't find myself actually really doing the 'lol' every day. So the tandem bike ended up being a great amount of fun, besides the exercise bonus. A little teamwork, a little couples' therapy. The question is, as the smaller person, do I dare try to steer from the front seat sometime? I think I do dare. Turnabout is fair play. And must get photos for the blog!

Saarinen's work lives on in Fort Wayne

When the World Series of baseball was televised recently from St. Louis, MO (home of the Cardinals) I was mesmerized when they would broadcast shots of the fabulous Gateway Arch, one of the most amazing pieces of architecture in this country. Is is art or architecture? It is so enormous, people travel to the top in science fiction-like elevator capsules. Four million people visit it every year. Soaring to a height of 630 feet, it is the United States' tallest man made monument.

The inspired Gateway Arch was designed by architect Eero Saarinen. This American of Finnish descent is known for many acclaimed projects, but I will focus in on his baby in Fort Wayne - the Concordia Lutheran Seminary, off North Clinton near Auburn Road.

The campus is his interpretation of a Scandinavian village. A forested, winding drive takes one past a large statue of Martin Luther. Then the plains and view open to a drive among classrooms, administration offices, dorms and library: A-shaped buildings which seem to colonize together with a fairy-tale uniformity.

A focal point of the 180-acre campus is the chapel with its strikingly steeply-sloped roof. There are diamond-patterned surfaces of brick everywhere, tying the buildings together. Minimalistic, futuristic, there is use of open space that makes sense at a school used for teaching of theology. A thoughtful pond, a beautifully thin waterfall - then one discovers a surprise, such as a large ornate mosaic of a beautiful crowned figure - the King of Kings -behind a glassed entrance way.

I will post some photos of the place when I can take some - it's been raining for two days here. In 2007, Concordia Seminary celebrated its 50th anniversary. A new library expansion was begun at that time, meticulously conforming to the vision and designs of Saarinen. The new library received an occupancy permit in September, but the 45,000 square-foot library addition is still not complete.

So as to maintain the low profile and keep from overwhelming the chapel, most of the library's floor space is below grade. Lower-level windows are at pond level to let in the light. I haven't seen the new library yet, but I want to soon. The seminary is still trying to raise private donations to complete the project. I don't think many people around the country know this place exists. So nestled in off the road, yet minutes from anywhere around Fort Wayne, it's definitely worth a stop.