Friday, November 23, 2018

SPANISH, then ENGLISH: La Nación de Costa Rica: 17 de Agosto, 1988: Don Camilo Lobo cumple 102 años y no acepta bordón! Gerardo Chaves corresponsal de La Nación

SPANISH, then ENGLISH: 

La Nación de Costa Rica: 17 de Agosto, 1988: 
Don Camilo Lobo cumple 102 años y no acepta bordón! 
Gerardo Chaves corresponsal de La Nación 



Camilo Lobo y Fulvia Arce de Lobo


(Mayra, Gonzalo, Gerardo y su padre y abuelo Camilo Lobo de la edicion La Nacion)
(Familia Lobo Avila - mi padre Gerardo en su infancia, nieto de Camilo Lobo)

FIRST IN SPANISH, THEN IN ENGLISH

" No, no, van a creer que estoy muy viejo si me ven con eso" manifesto don Camilo Lobo Esquivel, quien el 18 de julio pasado cumplio 102 anos, ante la sugerencia de su nieta Mayra Lobo respecto a que utilice un bordón para caminar con mas seguridad.


(Mayra Lobo, nieta de Camilo y Fulvia Lobo)

"Asi es papa" dice dona Mayra respecto al abuelo paterno que la crio.  "Pregunta por una señora  que tiene 80 anos y se refiere a ella como "la viejita", le gusta estar cerca de las ventanas para ver pasar a las muchachas, pues no ha perdido su gusto por las mujeres, come muy bien y pasa muy risueno.

Hoy la memoria ya falla y en la conversación  con don Camilo, pese a lo agradable que results, faltan los detalles de casi un siglo de experiencia , de los que muy pocos datos se conservan.

Cuando logra romper el velo del olvido, don Camilo habla de su San Rafael de Heredia natal, donde siendo pequeño tenia que ir a recoger las vacas, colaborar en el ordeno y luego ir a la Ciudad de las Flores a entregar la leche, ademas de que al regreso llevaba alguna compras. "Había muy poca gente alli,  en San Rafael, "ahora hay mucha", comenta, y luego salta a su viaje a El Cacao de Alajuela, a los 15 anos, junto con sus tios.
(Horacio Lobo, nieto de Camilo Lobo con la hija de Camilo Lobo, Dona Marina)

De pronto surge otro nombre: Santa Clara, algún punto situado hacia el este de la Cordillera Central, al que se dirigio siendo pequeno , atravesando la selva, para ir a "tapar frijoles. Eso alla por Guapiles". 

"Si Fulvia, la recuerdo, era mi mujer", comenta don Camilo de su esposa, dona Fulvia Arce Saenz, originada de Santo Domingo de Heredia, con quien se caso cuando vivían en El Cacao  y con quien procreo 18 hijos, de los cuales 11 murieron a temprana edad. 

Los recuerdos incluyen el momento en que se hizo acompañar por un tio para ir a solicitar a don Blas, quien se convertiria en su suegro, la mano de dona Fulvia. El suegro en ciernes hizo a don Camilo picar una carreta de lena y cumplir otras labores que lo convencieron de la valia del futuro yerno y alli quedo finiquitado el asunto. 

Dona Fulvia tocaba la guitarra , pero en una situación economica muy dificil don Camilo cambio el instrumento por una cajuela de frijoles, semilla de la cual derivo una cosecha tab buena que le permitio adquirir una finquita en El Cacao de Alajuela, la que seria fuente de sosten y la residencia para la familia. 

Claro que pudo recurrir a su suegro para que le facilitara algún dinero, pero preferio es sacrificio a doblegar el orgullo, y al final de cuentas no salio malo el cambio de una guitarra por una finca. 


LA CARRETA



Le cupo a don Camilo participar en las largas jornadas carreteras a que obligaban el transporte del cafe a Puntarenas, viajes duros que forjaron el desarrollo agrícola y economico del pais. 

De igual manera, era la carreta el medio al que recurría para sacar al mercado josefino la produccion de pina de su finca, lo que requeria de un viaje en el que habia que hacer una parada de sesteo en El Barrial de Heredia.

Don Gonzalo Lobo Arce, uno de los hijos de don Camilo, recuerda que acompañaba a su padre en los viajes a San Jose, el retorno de los cuales llevaba algunas de las cosas basicas.

(Gonzalo y Oscar Lobo, hijos de Don Camilo con sus familia)
También fue la carreta el vehiculo para transportar buena parte de  loas materiales del primer templo catolico de El Cacao, obra que don Camilo tiene dentro de las mas importantes que desarrollo para la comunidad.

Le correspondió al hoy centenario anciano fungir tambien como mayordomo del templo que ayudo a construir. 

Coger cafe con mateado, utilizando una tela pegada con cuatro estacas y tirando los granos sobre ella, forma parte de los recuerdos de don Camilo, quien ahora, con muy buen espíritu  lleva una vida sana, dedicada la mayor parte del tiempo a comer y dormir, como afirma dona Mayra, a quien el anciano ha confiado que va a vivir "104 anos"  una meta que no parece lejana para quien a los 102 anos se rehusa a emplear ayudas para caminar.  





(Familia de Gerardo y Marta Lobo y sus hijos Martha, Mark,  el finado Roberto, Carlos y Luis)

IN ENGLISH

"No, no, they're going to believe I'm too old if they see me with that," said Don Camilo Lobo Esquivel, who turned 102 on July 18, at the suggestion of his granddaughter Mayra Lobo about using a walking stick for more security.

"That's the way he is," says Mayra, referring to the paternal grandfather who raised her. "He asked about a lady who is 80 years old and refers to her as "the old lady",  he likes to be near the windows to watch the girls go by, he has not lost his taste for women, he eats very well and is always very positive.

Today the memory begins to fail and in the conversation with Don Camilo, in spite of how pleasant it is, the details of almost a century of experience are missing, of which very few are conserved.

When he manages to break the veil of oblivion, Don Camilo speaks of his native San Rafael de Heredia, where as a child he had to go to collect the cows, milk the cows, and then go to the City of Flowers to deliver the milk, in addition to that, on his return, he made some purchases. "There were very few people there, in San Rafael, there is now a lot", he says, and then he jumps on to his trip to El Cacao de Alajuela, at 15, along with his uncles.


And soon another name arises: Santa Clara, a point located towards the east of the Central Mountain Range, to which he was directed being small, crossing the jungle, to go to "cover beans, from there for Guapiles".

"Yes Fulvia, I remember her, was my wife," says Don Camilo of his wife, Fulvia Arce Saenz, a native of Santo Domingo de Heredia, with whom she married when they lived in El Cacao and with whom she procreated 18 children, of whom 11 died at an early age.

The memories include the moment when he was accompanied by an uncle to go and ask Don Blas, who would become his father-in-law, for the hand of dona Fulvia. The future father-in-law made Don Camilo chop a cart of firewood and perform other tasks that convinced him of the worth of the future son-in-law and there the matter was settled.

Dona Fulvia played the guitar, but in a very difficult economic situation Don Camilo exchanged the instrument for a barrel of beans, seed from which derived a crop so good that it allowed him to acquire a small farm in El Cacao de Alajuela, which would be a source of sustenance and residence for the family.

Of course, he could have asked his father-in-law to provide him with some money, but he preferred to save face, and at the end of the day the exchange of a guitar for a farm was a good one!


THE OX CART



Don Camilo took part in the long journeys that transported coffee to the port of Puntarenas, difficult trips that forged the agricultural and economic development of the country.

Similarly, the ox cart was the means to which he resorted to take the production of pineapple from his farm to the Josefino market, which required a trip in which he had to make a stop at El Barrial de Heredia.

Don Gonzalo Lobo Arce (my grandfather), one of Don Camilo's sons, remembers accompanying his father on trips to San Jose, the return of which brought basics back home.

The ox cart was also the vehicle to transport a good part of the materials of the first catholic temple of El Cacao, a work that Don Camilo has among the most important that he developed for the community.

He also served as steward of the temple that he helped to build.

Harvesting coffee with broad-cloth, using a cloth stuck with four stakes and throwing the grains on it, is part of the memories of Don Camilo, who now, with a very good spirit leads a healthy life, dedicated most of the time to eating and sleeping, as Dona Mayra affirms, to whom the older gentleman has confided that he will live "104 years" a goal that does not seem far away for those who, at the age of 102, refuse to use walking aids.








In the final analysis, your attitude determines your effectiveness in everything, every time! LGL www.LuisLobo.Biz

Saturday, June 30, 2018

Order of the Longleaf Pine

https://www.lincolntimesnews.com/news/luis-lobo-receives-order-of-the-long-leaf-pine/article_e5f3033e-843f-11e8-bdbe-2ba03758a9a3.html

Many hands have been a part of this over many years. It started with a great immigrant in 1964, Luis Gerardo Lobo Avila. In life he was my father.



In the final analysis, your attitude determines your effectiveness in everything, every time! LGL www.LuisLobo.Biz

Friday, May 04, 2018

On Leadership.......





Question 1


- What is the book or books you’ve given most as a gift and why? What are 1 to 3 books that have greatly influenced your life?  How/Why have they influenced your life?


 


  1. Over time:   A Nation of Immigrants by President JFK – tells the immigrant story we all shared and share.
  2. Many times: Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand – it was a primer for my immersion into Objectivism.
  3. ALL time:    Get the Best from Yourself by Nido Qubein (1983)


 


Recently “Brown is the New White” – only distributed to RMBO’s:  Political parties need to focus on the brown population instead of democratic white voters (they are no longer the swing voters); also a great up to date on race in America.


 


Of course, my book “It IS Your Attitude” has been widely distributed over the last 10 years.  I have gifted the book to YMCA’s  Latino Achiever groups at WSPS and individuals being naturalized when I have given the address.


 


Question 2


How has a failure, or an apparent failure, set you up for later success? Do you have a "favorite failure" of yours? How did you use it to learn and improve?


 


My entire life has been to throw myself at the unknown and learn along the way (Failing UP).  DC was very hard, notably after 2007.  I took the chance on my career failing as opposed to my family suffering by not moving into the district (commute 5:30 AM home 8:30 for 6 years). Looking back, I realize that what we built was a BB&T cultured region; after I left came the collapsing of NOVA and FFX into GWDC Region. Huge learning experience that DC was no different than any other market, just bigger; I would have begun dealing with non-performance during year one.


 


Question 3


- If you could have a gigantic billboard anywhere with anything on it -- metaphorically speaking getting a message out to millions of people -- what would it say and why? 


 


“Say good morning, or hello, and/or thank you to everyone you come into contact with every day – you will feel more engaged and so will THEY”.


 


Question 4


- In the last five years, what new belief, behavior, or habit has most improved your life? How has it improved your life?  How did you make time to put it into place in your life?


 


7 years has been a complete submission to my physical health.  I do not miss a workout, every day first thing in the morning.  It has reduced needless anxiety, proved that I can control something, and allows me to think more clearly, I think….


 
Question 5


- When you feel overwhelmed or unfocused, or have lost your focus temporarily, what do you do? (If helpful, what questions do you ask yourself?) How did you discover that this was helpful?


 


My Dad taught me: 


 


God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference


Niebuhr


 


In other words:  Smash into the things you can change, now.  Those I can-not change, maybe I can influence….


 


 Luis G. Lobo




In the final analysis, your attitude determines your effectiveness in everything, every time! LGL www.LuisLobo.Biz

Sunday, March 11, 2018

EVERYTHING worth doing takes a minute....



MY NEW OLD BOOK

What a long strange trip it's been.....said the Grateful Dead

The idea entered my mind about 10 years ago.

Values are practical truths that when utilized create better outcomes. i.e. the value of honesty (it is the best policy) is the first step in creating trusting relationships and therefore allows us to interact, integrate and share ideas that ultimately solve big and small problems. Without honesty there can be no trusting relationships and therefore no collaboration.

There are tomes on values, principles, and commandments that span man's existence on this small planet.  An example is the philosophy of Objectivism.  Leonard Peikoff, the high priest of the philosophy of Ayn Rand,  has helped sustain a following with many in the intellectual, business, and natural sciences as advocates.  I also do not think there is much more to add by way of the underlying principles that shape a person's character and virtue (another objectivist principle).

The book by Carnegie: "How to Win Friends an Influence People", is a collection of stories and I learned that people like to read short stories as opposed to tomes on philosophy; therefore I took this as my model.

Thus was born the idea of collaborating with a host of individuals, accomplished in their respective fields, who would make a written contribution, by way of a story, on a value or principle that helped shape their life.

I will describe the experience as like "trying to herd cats".  100 or so were invited to contribute, all known to me throughout my career and various interests. Fifty percent responded to my invitation enthusiastically, with 30 contributing.  There were 20 or so that wanted to do it, but life and priorities, in that moment, made it a lesser goal.

It did not help that along the way I transferred back to NC after 15 years on the road. I was now responsible for an area which required time, ideas and innovation so as to reach more people by which to expand our business.  However, the idea would not perish; even as the flame at times weakened, I believed that the sharing of these short stories would help others.  There has to be a benefit to someone for an idea to "get legs".

In the last year the compilation was complete, until I ran into a buzzsaw!  Then I had to shed contributions and replace these from other individuals, none of which had been in my scope at the start.

Sometimes something may seem like a disaster, but it is really salvation in disguise. I had asked permission to include graphics that clearly spelled out the use of values/principles; which would have made for a wonderful appendix. I am reasonably sure the response, earlier in the project, would have been in the affirmative; but time had "changed things".  Undeterred, over a weekend I made a list of replacement essayists. Viewed from a different time and place, the names came to me quickly, as did the agreements to contribute.  New themes were breathed into the work given the diversity of the new contributions.

Finally, I have had to request a release form from every contributor; none refused but that also took a minute. So here I am, finished again.

I am very enthusiastic about the content of each contribution given the high ethics and behaviors of the authors.  There are some national figures, but for the most part each is an accomplished individual that contributes above and beyond the requirements of their profession, and by doing so has changed reality for many. I am also proud of our friendships.

When I wrote "It IS Your Attitude", published in 2004,  I had probably three years invested in the project.    I am also convinced it is easier to write than to ask others to write. This new one has been a labor of love.

Luis G. Lobo


My Mom looking out at the Mediterranean from Tel Aviv 2011









In the final analysis, your attitude determines your effectiveness in everything, every time! LGL www.LuisLobo.Biz