I left San Francisco and drove a couple of hours inland to Napa Valley.

I stayed in St. Helena with the Jaffe family. I know the Jaffes as a result of my mother’s work as a professional organizer. My mother worked for this family over the course of several years, and as a result we have remained family friends.

I stayed in the guest house at the Jaffes’ incredible estate. The Jaffe property includes all kinds of features which I would like to have in my own home. These features include such things as…

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a fruit and vegetable garden…

a vineyard…

a swimming pool… an observatory!!...

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which of course includes an enormous telescope!

The Jaffes are perhaps the most refined people I have ever known. They are also incredibly warm and welcoming.

The story of how Pam and Gary met is a beautiful story. They met in a class for serious collectors of fine art. It’s almost like they were meant for each other.

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A couple of samples from their collection are pictured above.

I aspire to be a refined gentleman, but I often find myself falling short. So I spent my time with the Jaffes taking careful notes. I observed that this family has an intense dedication to knowledge and learning. The two girls, Lauren and Vida, were constantly teaching me about the history and culture of St. Helena.

Vida even helped me perform some video interviews. I cannot wait to share these fun and interesting interviews! Of all the people I have ever met, Vida Jaffe is the person who most closely resembles the main character of the book “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close,” by Jonathan Safran Foer.

I was amazed to learn about the detailed and intricate process involved in the creation of fine wines. Gary and Pam are currently preparing to launch a wine label, using grapes grown on their property. The label is called Metamorphosis. The Jaffes explained to me that they chose this name becauase of the importance of the grapes in the wine-making process.

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The grapes go through several different stages of color before reaching their final destination in the wine bottle. During this process of maturation, the fruit must be cared for and preserved. The Jaffes explained to me that the quality of the grapes is of utmost importance. You can only make high quality wine if you have high quality fruit, they explained.

Because I was so interested to learn about wine-making, the Jaffes invited me to meet their wine-maker, a brilliant man named David DeSantos. DeSantos had finished medical school before deciding to pursue his dream of being a wine-maker. I asked David how long it takes to create a fine wine.

David told me in great detail how a fine wine starts with high quality fruit, grown in good soil, with good water and care. The grapes are harvested and crushed. The grape juice goes through an intricate process and ends up in large barrels. The wine spends three years in these barrels. Then it is transferred to bottles.

When the wine is transferred to the bottles, it experiences “bottle shock,” and so it must remain in the bottles for nine months before it is ready for drinking. Four years after the harvest, the metamorphosis in complete, and the wine is ready for drinking.

David also explained to me that the grapes contain the taste and flavor of the summer when they were grown. Creating wine is the art of capturing summer in a bottle. If you are interested to find out what Summer 2006 in St. Helena was like, you’ll have to wait until 2010, when bottles of 2006 Metamorphosis will be available at fine wine retailers.

I had an amazing visit to St. Helena, and I enjoyed every minute I spent with the Jaffe family. As a result of the experience, I am one step closer to becoming a truly refined gentleman.

Everything in this community reflects a sense of hard work and dedication. Everyone I met in this town was passionate about their work. The chocolate in this town is not just chocolate, it is a masterpiece.

Even the English muffins reflect an attitude of perfectionism.

The people here have an appreciation for the Earth and the good things it provides.

I am so impressed with Pam and Gary, who go to great lengths to understand the wonder and mystery of the world around them.

A few weeks before my visit, the Jaffes had caught a caterpillar in their garden. They cared for it in a special box and watched it create a cocoon. The morning that I left a butterfly emerged from the cocoon. So we went out and set it free in a nearby tree.

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I felt that we had all experienced a small miracle. This little bug had grown beautiful wings. Vida set it loose and it climbed onto the branches of the tree and stayed there while its wings dried. It is incredible to think about the change that occured during the time while that caterpillar was in its cocoon. That little bug experienced an amazing process of transformation.

As I left Napa Valley I thought about the process of change. I thought about the beautiful results of change. I thought about the intense efforts needed to bring about truly significant changes.

I thought about our world, and all the humans in it. I thought to myself that the world is like a little caterpillar, looking for a good spot to form into a cocoon. How long will it take for the world to change? When will we finish our transformation and spread our beautful wings?

One of the main purposes of my blog is to raise awareness about poverty and world issues. I will promote awareness by the use of thorough documentation of the appearance and living standards of the many people I meet throughout my trip. Additionally, I will conduct interviews with professors, activists, politicians, and other people involved in social causes.

My first interview was with a woman named Dona Spring, who is a member of the Berkeley City Council and a long-time member of the activist community. Dona was involved in protests and rallies as a student at UC Berkely in the 1970s. She later developed a progressive immune system disorder which causes her body’s immune system to attack her own body. As a result of this disability Dona has spent years in a wheelchair.

Dona has been active in local and national politics since her college years. Dona explained to me that as a progressive city, Berkeley was the first city in the U.S. to cut down curbs at street intersections to allow better access for wheelchairs. Dona was a major proponent of rights for disabled people during the 70s and 80s, and continues to work for fair treatment of various minority groups. A list of some of Dona’s past achievements can be found here in a May 2002 article from the Berkeley Daily Planet.

I found Dona to be an extremely strong-minded, independent woman. We had a wonderful discussion about topics ranging from Vegetarianism to the Arms Race, from Ghandi to George Bush.

I was caught completely off guard when Dona told me about the virtues of vegetarianism. She did not appeal to my sense of disgust at animal cruelty, nor to my sense of a need for personal health. Rather, she made an extremely reasonable request.

She told me that whenever you eat lower on the food chain, you use less of the Earth’s energy and resources than when you eat higher on the food chain. She did not try to convert me to vegetarianism, but rather she urged me to make small, ongoing efforts to eat lower on the food chain.

Another concept which impacted me was Dona’s idea that U.S. cities have the ability to cause change on a national level. The City of Berkeley is spearheading a national City Council-based effort to pass a significant national initiative. The initiative has not gained support in D.C. with either the House or the Senate, and therefore Berkeley and other cities are pursuing the initiative through other resources. I will be interested to see how the initiative progresses. I am a firm believer in the power of cities and local communities to cause major economic and political changes.

There were many other enjoyable aspects of my interview with Dona Spring. I will edit and post video footage before the end of September. I am quite sure that visitors to this site will find her to be an insightful, energetic political figure.

Somehow I forgot to include this last photo when I originally made the post…

Following are photos taken in the Haight-Ashbury district in San Francisco.

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This guy’s name is Chris. He and I talked for a while about the importance of showing respect to people regardless of their physical appearance. I felt that he was uniqueliy suited to discuss this topic.

This group was friendly mostly because I gave them two dollars.

Unfortunately, I didn’t get a chance to talk with these two guys.

This girl’s name is Rainbow. Her fingernails and toenails were in bad shape, but she was friendly to talk to.

A fun little gift shop.

The best photo I took there was of a completely normal guy.

Teddy acquired some new accessories in San Francisco.

Teddy got the accessories from this charming store in the historic Haight-Ashbury district.

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I felt that these accessories really captured a certain part of the San Francisco spirit.

In related news, I have been keeping a running tally of the votes for Teddy’s name. There have been two external votes, in addition to my personal vote for “The Tempest.” The following chart details voting activity thus far:

Yes friends, it is an intense race! The votes are exactly equal for each of the three names, Frederick, Ernesto, and The Tempest. Which name will ultimately be chosen? It is up to you to decide. Cast your vote by leaving a comment.

I spent my last evening in San Francisco with Dee and Judy Lemmon.

Dee is my second cousin, and Judy is his wife which I guess makes her my second cousin as well. I am related to Dee through our common ancestor, Lafayette Lemmon, whose photo can be found in a recent post.

I had never met Dee until November 2005. He and Judy had been out of touch with my grandparents for several years, but they made contact again in summer 2005 when they heard about the late Don Curtis’s failing health.

Even though I only recently met these relatives, I feel a special closeness to them. We had many things to talk about. We ate hors d’oeuvres while Dee told me stories about my family’s past.

These relatives of mine treated me warmly. We ate a lovely dinner together in the evening and had breakfast together in the morning. All the time we were talking and sharing stories and ideas.

Judy was such a gracious host!

I was amazed to learn how much my Cousin Dee and I have in common. We have had no contact over the course of the past 29 years, and yet we share many of the same personal quirks.

Like myself, Cousin Dee is a prolific story-teller, who uses his hands to help explain his ideas. The photo on the left was taken a few months ago, when I was talking with my friend, Brian, in Salt Lake City.

Dee and Judy recently remodeled their house, so Dee gave me a tour. When we got upstairs I discovered something remarkable.

Dee Lemmon collects books, just like me!! My friend, Brigham, and I often comment to each other how much we would like to have libraries in our homes.

I admit I am quite jealous of Dee’s library.

Before I left I gave Dee and Judy a copy of my favorite book, The End of Poverty, by Jeffrey Sachs. I think the book will be in good hands with this couple. I had a wonderful time with Dee and Judy, and I was amazed to discover how much we have in common. Thanks Dee and Judy for a wonderful visit!