Not that it matters really. Sometimes life boils down to either 'getting it' or 'not getting it'. Besides some of my favorite heroes never seemed to feel the need for explanation at all. They just Live. As we all perhaps should. Sometimes an explanation is like an excuse to try to make up for something. I get to hear a lot of those actually. I probably give a lot of them too. In such a busy time, things are bound to be forgotten.

I think, however, that I have been fully honest vocally with anyone who's ever asked me about the cultural center. I'll say it's my mid-life crisis. And perhaps people should have them sooner. To me, this is my little red sport car or the younger romantic interest or the fad diet or fake tan. In the end everyone who has what is called a mid-life crisis is just trying to be accepted or decipher who they really are. We spend so much time trying to be who we should be, or what others want us to be. In time we’ve forgotten ourselves. We get out of alignment with ourselves, so to speak. Or perhaps, I should say, that's what happened to me.

So I conceived and opened up this little place that I hoped many could enjoy. I thought that if I felt this way about this absence of identity, maybe other did too.

The thing is... the identity is Beautiful, and Fun, and Dynamic... it's difficult to explain. It's complex ... a paradox... like a mandala: reflective, an ever changing maze, a stream of consciousness.

My simple thought for the future. The dream is not fully realized. Wouldn’t it be nice to see a permanent multi-cultural hands on art exhibit be present. It could consist of things for younger children like dress-up clothes, or plastic foods, or art activities. For those who want to show their children the world without getting on an airplane.

And for older kids (like me), renditions of paintings or sculpture with descriptions could be displayed on the walls or pedestals. They could be touched, walked around, and read about. The Anasazi cliff paintings, for example, or Anagama Zen pottery, or cool sleek trends of popular culture throughout history, or images from world celebrations and what they symbolize.

Where are you from? What about your parents? Grandparents? How far back do you have to go back in time before you find your family in another country? What was it like then? What is it like now? What an amazing world we do live in.

This could be complemented with traveling exhibitions to keep the center current. And the exhibitions could be paired with film, or discussions, or books.

I have a few in mind. But I’d love to hear from others as well!

I remember when I worked at the Peace Museum in Chicago. I would ride the train and subway to get to Erie Street and walk all the way to the teeny weeny little place all the way at the desolate end of the road. It was adjacent to what were Cabrini Green housing projects at the time. I remember the little boys from there used to come in to ask to sweep for a dime or a quarter. A pretty sketchy neighborhood.

I remember when someone told me that Yoko Ono gave them $20,000 that they were really doing well - because That was a Lot of Money! Well, yes that may be a lot of money. But when rent is $10,000 a month and you have to pay staff, and get new walls made for changing exhibits, and all that...$20,000 became a Symbol of Support... for an idea that was loved and cherished... This idea was living art...not a single sculpture, or a single painting, but a collection that indicated a movement, a shift in the paradigm.

Later the museum grew. It attracted more famous supporters. It moved around. It inspired me. It taught me. It helped me grow as a person.

Inspire. Teach. Grow. A simple thought for the future.