Excelsior

“Going for Excelsior” will soon be available on Amazon.com as a print book, complementing the already published electronic version. The product of my third literary effort as a medium and second collaboration with the spirit essence of Rudolph Valentino, this book focuses on the senior experience ~ how to embrace where you’re at in your life, find hidden gems, turn up the voltage. Thriving in “Seniorhood” is about going beyond what’s expected or being directed at you by the host society and GFE provides the reader with the tools and understandings to accomplish that goal ~ a blueprint for active living!

Here is my definition of Excelsior:

Upward and onward, a state of being characterized by a constant striving for greater balance and integration that is predicated on an ever-growing awareness of multiple planes of existence, or the art of negotiating the Cosmos from the highest possible vantage point (encountering the apex.) To be able to do so requires a conscious breaching of the Veil, the demarcation line between the dimensions.

Also, the loose packing material that temporarily shields our souls for the length of each incarnation. Instead of brine, we’re packed in excelsior, what we perceive as skin which, because of its properties as both transmitter and transponder, enables us to transcend. As such, it acts like insulation, protecting us from harm but also allowing for entry and exit, not only for our souls when we are born or die but also for all other manner of vibration. Yes, our light shines through and we feel the light of others as it impinges upon this material. Were it not for excelsior, we would never be able to “be” in the body. Indeed, our skin is a personal version of the Veil, echoing it in form and substance. ‘Going for Excelsior’ is analogous to furthering infinity consciousness. ~ Wayne Hatford

 

Castellaneta: Valentino’s Birthplace

Although it’s been almost eight years since I was there, several things really stand out for me about Castellaneta: its geography, the architecture, and the warm, openhearted nature of the people I encountered.

A town with approx 17K population, Castellaneta is situated on a rolling plain, maybe 35km from the port of Taranto, which is where the Guglielmi family moved to when Rudy was nine. What is unique about it, geographically, is that there are deep ravines that abut, great slashes in the earth. The old part, especially, perches on the side of a giant ravine, and is much higher than the surrounding land.

This was never a rich town like some others in Italy. Nevertheless, there are architectural gems, in particular the churches. Via Roma, the main street, has a lot of 19th century commercial buildings that line it, mostly two and three story, and it is there, at # 116 that Rudy was born, in a second floor flat. In the 1930’s, a Valentino fan club from Cincinnati had a bronze plaque put on the building to commemorate Rudy’s birth place. Farther down Via Roma, there is a monument to Rudy, built in 1961, a statue of him as The Sheik. The Fondazione Valentino, which supports Museo Valentino, is now seeking funds to restore it.

One of the fun facts about Castellaneta is that so many businesses use Valentino in their names. Bar Valentino, Teatro Valentino, Ristorante Valentino, etc. I stayed in Hotel Rudy, for example.

Museo Valentino is great. It’s located in a former convent, 18th century construction with concave ceilings. There are lots of documents, like his report card and birth certificate, a bed he once slept in, a fragment from the tent in “Son of the Sheik,” photos, videos, and much, much more.

All this and the locals are super nice! My experience was that they really went out of their way to be helpful.

Easy to get to Castellaneta by train; it’s on the main line, Bari to Taranto. The station is out in the countryside now, about 2 or 3 km from town. The old station is still there, however, on Via Roma, also the single track that led to the nearby RR bridge designed by Rudy’s engineer grandfather, Pierre Barbin.

Wayne Hatford

 

 

 

 

 

 

Exuberancias Españolas

Luego de un viaje estupendo para España, algunos pensamientos sobre Madrid, ciudad que carece de rascacielos en su centro pero, sin embargo, da al cielo! Las estatuas surtidas, caballos de bronce por ejemplo, los muchos toques decorativos que los arquitectos dispusieron usar para decorar los pisos más altos de casi cada edificio, hacen que uno tiene que levantar los ojos y, al mismo tiempo, perderse en el medio ambiente. Estos detalles ricos que surgen por todas partes: exuberancias españolas! [Read more…]