Keswick Sunset, November 12

By Celeste White

These colors and clouds were so gorgeous, I just wanted to share this pic.

With some photographers, their images are more about themselves than it is about their subjects; it is about their talent, their skill, or their cleverness. But Lanker’s work, as Angelou notes, is always “respectful” of his subject. His photographs are all about his subjects, and it is his brilliance that allows him to capture their essence on film, to bring their soul alive on the page. His keen empathy, prodigious imagination, and overwhelming generosity inform every shot he takes.

One of my favorite images in this book is the deeply touching photograph of a college fraternity boy dancing with a 99-year-old resident of an assisted living facility. In his introduction, Lanker notes that he watched as “these vibrant and compassionate young people closely embraced frail, aging strangers and made them feel alive and young again. I looked into the faces of these very senior citizens, some of whom may have been sharing their very last dance, and could clearly tell that they had been transported back in time to a different year, a different dance floor, and a different partner.”

Another example of his generosity of spirit, in my mind, is the spread that presents a color portrait of a former Ziegfeld Follies dancer in the foreground, looking elegant and lovely at age 102, while a ghostly black-and-white picture of her youthful beauty hovers poignantly behind her.

But there are so many diverse and dazzling images in this book, it’s hard to pick favorites: from the gorgeous confection of ballroom dancing in the Grand Prospect Hall in Brooklyn, whose rococo ornateness reminds me of a Fabergé egg, to the striking, exotic makeup and costumes of Cirque du Soleil performers, to the delicate sunset and mysterious landscape that is reflected in the vintage automobile against which Texan James M. White leans in his portrait outside of his famed honky-tonk, the Broken Spoke. Lanker captures the unexpected childlike, mischievous expression of a topless exotic dancer in Las Vegas, and the charming innocence of three-year-old dance student, Talia Peck, in her dance costume which she describes enthusiastically as “a white twirly-up skirt and a puffy tutu.” He turns his camera on the raw, pulsing dance of Spring break in Florida and a clandestine rave in Los Angeles. He documents joyous liturgical dance in a Southern church and the solemn, spiritual dance of several Native American tribes.

Along with the mouth-watering and compelling images, Lanker also includes quotes from dancers, choreographers, and cultural icons, as he delves into the “why” of dance. Why do dancers dance? Why do any of us dance? Lanker considers the research performed by W. S. Condon and L.W. Sander which has found that newborn infants move in precise and movements that are synchronized with their mother’s speech, indicating that the desire to dance is innate and inborn. Derrick “Suwaima” Davis of the Hopi and Choctaw tribes declares, “To watch us dance is to hear our hearts speak.” Stella Boes, a volunteer dancer at the Carousel Lounge in Austin remarks, “Dancing is happiness, it’s togetherness, it’s exercise, and it’s art. When my time comes to leave this earth, I hope I go on a dance floor with a smile on my face.”

Too, Lanker has an uncanny knack for capturing history before it disappears, as he did with several subjects who passed away after he photographed them for his landmark book, I Dream a World: Portraits of Black Women Who Changed America, and his documentary film about World War II artists who chronicled the war on the battlefield, They Drew Fire. Dance Set Caller Richard Jett, who for forty-four years called the weekly summer dances at Kentucky’s Hoedown Island, died in 2006, but not before Lanker was able to photograph him in his home and take pictures of his venue where people gather to participate in traditional Appalachian Clogging dances.

Lanker discusses his decision to document something so clearly defined by movement with still photography, noting that video might have seemed the obvious choice for his subject. And yet, as he points out, “one thing I’ve always loved about still photography is its ability to hold a moment … to take a split second, stop it, and allow us to study, observe, learn, make judgments, and come to a greater understanding of life by focusing on an instant that can sum up and speak for the whole.”

And as Roman Ramos Alayo, Artistic Director for the Alayo Dance Company in San Francisco observes, “I think we get rich when everybody learns from everybody else.”

Anyone who peruses this delectable book, so lovingly and artistically produced, will come away the richer. Even if not a dancer or an aficionado of dance, the reader cannot fail to be moved by the luscious and heartwarming images, by the dancers’ passion, and by the awe that such a primal human activity kindles in us. Dance, Lanker states, is “the rhythm of our soul made manifest through our physical actions.”

Full disclosure: Brian is my much-adored brother-in-law, whom I have been privileged to have in my family for thirty-five years. Despite being one of the world’s foremost photographers, his generosity never falters: He took time out not long ago to give me, a complete neophyte with a point-and-shoot, some rudimentary basics on photography and to introduce me to Photoshop. It was a thrill and utter delight to visit him and my sister as he first worked on his photo essay on dance for National Geographic, and then turned that story into this amazing book.

The above photo is from Shall We Dance, of the Raices Grupo Folklorico of Sacramento performing Viva Jalisco! By using a slow shutter speed, he captures the spirited movement of the dancers and their costumes.

For itchy eyes, you can try some herbal eye drops for allergies by the brand name of Simulasan. (I believe they are available at Orchard Nutrition.) Also, rinsing your eyes with cold water (don’t rub! that will make things worse!) and then using some drops like Allergan lubricant eye drops to moisturize your eyes feels very nice.  And one of my favorite remedies that is available online from originalswissaromatics.com is Myrtle hydrosol. (Hydrosols are the distillates produced from making essential oils.) Soak a cotton pad with cold water and squirt about twelve squirts of the hydrosol on it and then pat or gently (gently!) wipe your eyes with it. It’s very, very soothing. Let me repeat: As much as your eyes might itch, don’t rub them!  Rinse them in cool water or use drops.

An herbal remedy that my acupuncturist turned me onto for sneezing and itchy eyes is Health Concerns’ Xanthium Relieve Surface. Google it on the Internet - several places carry it. You take three tablets three times daily; 90 tablets comes in a bottle, so one bottle is 10 days’ worth.

Also, the allergy drops and tablets I mentioned in February’s article for preventatives work well as symptom relievers, too (Bioenergetics’ Allergy Drops and Unda’s Allergiplex tablets). Another very helpful homeopathic remedy is Heel’s Histamin tablets - homeopathic histamine. It’s available from allnaturalusa.com.

Quercetin and Nettles are tried-and-true remedies for the height of allergy season, recommended by integrative medicine guru, Dr. Andrew Weil.

If your sinuses are totally stopped up, a pleasant, effective herbal nasal spray you can try is Sinusin, formerly called Euphorbium. You can use it without fear of becoming habituated or experiencing rebound effects. This product is also available from AllNaturalUSA. Two sets of acupressure points that help open sinuses are right below your cheekbones in the socket there and right on either side of your nostrils where the bone curves in just a bit. Use your thumbs or index fingers to apply pressure for a couple of minutes or so. You can repeat this as often as necessary.

A few more tips: Pollen counts are higher in the morning than in the afternoon, so doing your outdoor work or exercise in the p.m. is a good strategy. If you work in the yard, wear a dust mask and shower when you come in. Avoid drying your clothes outside this time of year, too, or you’ll coat your clothes with pollen and bring it inside.

Finally, here is a remedy that lots of people swear by: I don’t enjoy it but I will do it when I’m desperate and that is to irrigate your sinuses with warm, dilute salt water. Anyone wanting more details, let me know. It helps to clear out the pollen and gives you a breather. Sorry for the pun - couldn’t resist!

A word about non-drowsy antihistamines: They are lifesavers for those who can use them without experiencing side-effects. But they are very powerful drugs and, unless advised to do so by your physician, you should never double the dose, either the over-the-counter ones (e.g., Zyrtec and Claritin) or prescription ones; there have been cases in which this has proved fatal. Also, some of these drugs interact with grapefruit juice, either by concentrating the dose (which can have the same effect as doubling the dose or more) or lessening their effectiveness. Check with your physician or pharmacist to see if your antihistamine is one that is affected by grapefruit juice if you are a grapefruit or grapefruit juice aficionado.

Oh, yeah - and when it’s really windy? The best thing to do is get out that old Hazmat suit that you bought for the anthrax scare/SARS outbreak/bird flu flap, put it on, and don’t take it off until the winds die down.

Celeste White is a writer and artist who lives in Redding. She is the  author of the books, “Natural Asthma and Allergy Management” and “The Natural Remedies for Common Ailments Handbook.”

Quercetin, for example, is a flavonoid found in citrus, onions and buckwheat and can be purchased in capsule form.  It inhibits the production and release of histamine, which is what makes us all so miserable.  It acts similarly to antihistamines, but is milder.  At the same time, it’s cheaper and has very few side effects, if any.  Quercetin possesses anti-inflammatory properties as well, which also help mitigate allergies and asthma — and as a side bennie, can perhaps give a little boost to helping heal that sports injury you may have unfortunately sustained in your laudable efforts to stay fit.  One more benefit: The compounds in quercetin may help lower cholesterol.

Quercetin works best, however, if you start taking it before allergy season actually begins.  So, if you start taking it two to four weeks before you usually experience symptoms, you could find that your symptoms are much less troublesome in March, April and May.

Other supplements you can take are pine bark extract (commercially marketed as Pycnogenol) and curcumin, which is found in the spice turmeric (turmeric in capsules can be found at health food stores and some grocery stores).  Both have potent anti-inflammatory properties, and inflammation is the main culprit behind the unpleasant effects of having too much histamine in our systems.

The other strategy you can employ, though a controversial one in this country, is to take homeopathic remedies.  Homeopathic remedies are widely used and prescribed in Great Britain and Europe, even by medical doctors, but they have not found favor with the medical establishment in the U.S.  Part of the problem is that no definitive explanation has been established for the way in which homeopathic substances might work.

I myself looked askance at homeopathy for quite some time, as I had a master’s degree with an emphasis in molecular biology, and I couldn’t figure out how it could possibly work, given my understanding of biochemistry.  But when I finally tried a high-quality homeopathic remedy for my hay fever symptoms, I found that it worked really well, despite my skepticism, without the side effects that my antihistamines gave me.  Being an empiricist, I figured it didn’t matter whether I could figure out how they worked if they worked.

Like everything, however, these remedies won’t work for everyone.  (This is true of many human health conditions; many people, for example, have to try a number of different blood pressure medications before they find the ones that work for them.)

As an interesting aside, one promising theory involves the unique crystal structures that water forms in response to different dissolved substances.  To see a beautiful rendition of the shape of a pure H20 crystal, check out the water sculpture in Turtle Bay’s Mediterranean gardens.  You’ll find a colossal one carved in stone.

With respect to treating allergies, it’s possible that they may work similarly to allergy shots, where exposure to minute
amounts of allergens desensitizes our immune systems to them.  For those who want to try this approach, there are several high quality homeopathic remedies available.  Some good brands are Unda, BHI and Bioenergetics.

All of these remedies can be continued throughout allergy season for palliative effects.  As always, check with your doctor before taking new supplements; for example, quercetin may interact with a certain class of antibiotics or other drugs.

And when allergy season descends with a vengeance, there are additional home remedies that you can add to your medicine cabinet for itchy eyes, stuffy sinuses, wheezing and other miseries.  Redding’s allergy season is long and intense, and there’s no reason to suffer more than necessary!

Celeste White is a writer and artist who lives in Redding. She is the  author of the books, “Natural Asthma and Allergy Management” and “The Natural Remedies for Common Ailments Handbook.”

Well, that was OK, I told myself. Who needs wild storms when you have mountains? And not just mountains, but volcanoes! And wilderness! And cougars and bears! And people who live next door who build replicas of Civil War cannons and shoot them off when you least expect it! And for the first few years that I lived here, the storms tended to be rather mild-mannered. At their worst, days of pouring, sodden, vertical sheets.

Soon, though, I learned that no two years here were ever the same. And one year my husband and I decided to splurge and spend a romantic weekend in a B&B on the northern California coast, paying extra for a room with a view of the ocean. And we decided that it would be fun to wind our way to the coast on one of those hair-raising tertiary highways that unfortunate, unsuspecting city people are always somehow getting themselves onto during the worst winter storm of the century. As we drove, we noticed a lot of downed limbs. Gee, we said, there must have been some really high winds come through here! Then we drove past a car on the side of the road, its front windshield smashed in by a fallen tree limb that measured about three feet in diameter. Wow, we exclaimed—really really high winds!

We finally arrived on the coast and began looking for the sign to the B&B. Dusk was settling and the landscape beginning to darken, but oddly, no lights appeared in any of the dwellings we spotted. Richard decided that we had missed the turn-off and so turned around and took the road he deemed most likely. And as we turned, we saw the sign for the B&B lying in the grass.

Arriving at the inn, we learned that a hurricane had wandered up the coast from the South Pacific and that all the power was out for a hundred miles up and down the coast. The storm had bounced off the coast back out to sea, but it was expected to return in the night. All the restaurants were closed so the owners served a cozy dinner of bacon and potato soup, crusty bread and red wine. And when they sent us off to bed with a snifter of brandy, things were feeling snug.

However. In the middle of the night, the hurricane did indeed return. The storm shutters had been fastened, and this inn had successfully occupied this spot for almost a hundred years. Even so, the minute the hurricane made landfall, I never slept another second. The wind roared. It whined. It whistled and screamed like a banshee. It beat on those storm shutters like a possessed ax-murderer. I fully expected the storm shutters to blow off into the night and the wind to explode through the windows, spraying us with a slurry of water and broken glass.

This storm, hands-down, was absolutely the most exciting storm I have ever experienced!

And we made it safely to morning, when we headed back inland as soon as the eye of the hurricane gave us an opening.

Of course, since then, I have experienced several exciting storms. There was the storm that hit in the wee hours of the morning and tore the rolled roofing off our guest house. There was the storm that wrenched the cap off the stovepipe to our woodstove, our sole source of heat, sending torrents of water gushing down the creosoted innards of the stovepipe and into the fire itself, extinguishing it immediately and filling the house with a stench like rancid ham burned to a crisp in a skillet. As anyone might have predicted, this happened at midnight on a Saturday night. And then there was the time we got caught on I-80 when the levees broke.

So, now I realize I get to have it all; mountains, cougars, wilderness and exciting storms. It’s paradise here, isn’t it? Aren’t we lucky?

Celeste White is a writer and artist who lives in Redding.