

About Us
-David Bartholomew- The Originator
-Thank You's/Hall of Fame
David Bartholomew- The Originator
I was born...

Nah, you don't want to hear all that. So I'll put it this way--
Throughout this first 56+ years in this body, and a whole variety of seemingly unrelated (from the outside) events, activities, jobs, and places of residence... I have
known pretty consistently that everything was happening for a reason, and that everything fit.
Whether as a... TV Writer/Stuntman/Houston Police Officer/Bullrider/Lighting Technician/ Cameraman/Midshipman at the U.S. Naval Academy/Graduate of Ohio State/Documentary
Filmmaker... resident of Ohio/Maryland/Texas/California/Kansas... working basically anywhere... traveling/road tripping/sight-seeing/people-watching... personal-growth-measuring
seminar junkie... insomniac of the dark night of the soul (please visit H-Y-P-H-E-N-A-T-E Productions for more details on my other (hopefully) inspiring
work!)
     

... lover/ex-fighter/hero/coward/deliverer of babies/friend to animals/spinner of yarns... or what have you... I usually knew this to be true. And as I forgot, the gods were never too shy to slap me silly until I remembered again. And I don't see any sign of them letting up anytime soon.
So when this One World Flag thing cropped up I rolled with it. And I continue to roll with it.
I see it as the current playing field on which to test my life skills... the theories I have been seeking to prove, disprove, run up the flagpole, or gauge whether they hold any water... and the issues I've been needing to work out this time around... like patience and communication and fear, gratitude, remembering, love... and those lists of things we generally agree upon would be good to master-- like the 10 Commandments, the 12 points of the Scout Law, and the names of the 7 Dwarfs (just seeing if you were still with me).
In the past, I acted from two distinctive sides
"what I do" and "who I am". Then I chose to awaken and synthesize the two.
A few guiding principles of my life have been, and are:
If I say I can do it, I can do it.
Who I am, is the possibility of bringing forth the essence and passion in people, such that they fully acknowledge it in themselves.
Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is not our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous. Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn't serve the world. There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you.
We were born to manifest the glory of God within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others
(--an Oriah Mountain Dreamer quote used by Nelson Mandela in his inaugural speech).
The Invitation. by Oriah Mountain Dreamer, Canadian Woman/Teacher/Writer
It doesn't interest me what you do for a living. I want to know what you ache for, and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart's longing.
It doesn't interest me how old you are. I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool for love, for your dreams, for the adventure of being alive.
It doesn't interest me what planets are squaring your moon. I want to know if you have touched the center of your sorrow, if you have been opened by life's betrayals, or have become shriveled and closed from fear of further pain! I want to know if you can sit with pain, mine and your own, without moving to hide it or fade it or fix it. I want to know if you can be with JOY, mine or your own: if you can dance with wildness and let the ecstasy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes without cautioning us to be careful, to be realistic, or to remember the limitations of being human.
It doesn't interest me if the story you are telling me is true. I want to know if you can disappoint another to be true to yourself: if you can bear the accusation of betrayal and not betray your own soul. I want to know if you can see beauty even when it is not pretty, everyday, and if you can source your life from its presence. I want to know if you can live with failure, yours or mine, and still stand on the edge of a lake and shout to the silver of the full moon, "YES!"
It doesn't interest me who you are, or how you came to be here. I want to know if you will stand in the center of the fire with me and not shrink back.
It doesn't interest me where or what or with whom you have studied. I want to know what sustains you from the inside when all else falls away. I want to know if you can be
alone with yourself, and if you truly like the company you keep in the empty moments.
Namaste'- "I acknowledge the light within you." [top]
Thanks You's/Hall of Fame
There is something about this flag and the energy behind it that gets people excited... and donating time and effort, and extending beyond anything they would have ever planned or believed possible from themselves. I have made lasting friends out of vendors who don't know the meaning of the phrase, "I just work here". I have seen strangers and acquaintances step forward and show their powerful, purposeful selves. I have been recognized by kids from schools where I had spoken. I have been validated and blessed by many, many people in the short time that this flag took to get off the ground. And I can feel the momentum growing.
So it only seems appropriate that before things begin moving even faster than they are now, that I take the time to thank those who have been here since the beginning... who exhibit no signs of being able to be shaken... and on whose wings the One World Flag flies (don't worry, I won't launch into a Bette Midler song!).
-J.C. Logan- Web Designer/Graphic Designer. J.C. was an original supporter who, along with Christopher Mayes, helped immensely and pulled many hours getting the first batches of One World Flag print materials ready for the printer. J.C. also put in intense time and effort designing this current version of the website. And he was the talented one who painted the circle on the 12' by 16' handball wall at the Country School (see pictures). The rest of us could only do straight lines! J.C. has had lines of his products and inventions sold worldwide, and is a premier special effects makeup artist, production designer, and fine artist as well.
-Christopher Mayes- Graphic Artist/Designer/Illustrator. Chris, friend of 17 years, and nationally recognized graphic artist/designer/illustrator/fine artist/musician (I hate him!) split duty with J.C. on getting first batches of materials ready for the printer. He developed the logos for the One World Kids program, designed the coloring sheets, and is preparing to be hard at work on bringing the One World Kids curriculum to life. He has forgotten more about art and design than most people will know (and still retained enough to help me out).
-Tecia Layson- Ace Networker/Link-Seeking Volunteer. Tecia has been a major networker, has introduced the flag to many people worldwide, including Steve Sugarman of SEE, who became fiscal agent for the flag; the folks at "Visions for the Millenium: A World Congress who offered me the opportunity to open that event with the unveiling of the flag; and her sister Carolina Goodman who you can read about below. Tecia was the first to volunteer time seeking links on the internet, the first outside of me to incorporate the flag into her e-mail signature, and one of the amazing handball wall painters. She is a priestess trained in more than one goddess tradition, and sees a significant part of her purpose as catalyst by way of introducing and networking people together to see what may develop.
-Flemming Funch- Internet Service Provider/Visionary. Flemming, founder of the New Civilization Network (www.worldtrans.org) procured the domain name www.oneworldflag.org for me, kept it up and linked to my Hyphenate Productions home page at almost no cost... and, figuring that he wasn't going to get much money off of me, just upped and donated the space for this current site, and threw in a lot of time in getting it up and running with some pretty spectacular bells and whistles besides.
-Carolina Goodman- Vehement Supporter/One World Kids curriculum team. Carolina was elementary school principal of The Country School in L.A. and is now with PS One in Santa Monica. This distinguished educator got hooked on the idea of the flag after being introduced to it by her sister Tecia... and invited me to speak to the entire school the week of Earth Day (in April '98), about 6 months prior to the event, and only a couple weeks after meeting me. She must have known that it'd take me 6 months to get my act together and my nerve up! She also took a chapter from Tom Sawyer and asked if I wouldn't like to paint the One World Flag on a 12' by 16' handball wall on the playground (more below). And she is notable as one who has proofed and revised and nurtured the One World Kids program from the moment I voiced it as a possibility. Currently Carolina is at work on an amazing accredited course of study on mathematics to be released via the internet.
-Stuart Cropley, Derek Voy, and Nils Hanson. Puchasers of the flag when there was no flag. These 3 people spurred on the evolution of the flag more than they will know. When it was not much more than an idea that had come through me and had me babbling about all these great plans, Stuart and Derek (in L.A.), and Nils (from New York) each gave me a check earmarked for a flag. As far as I'm concerned, my heart opened wider at their gestures than did the Grinch's over the kindness of Cindy Lou Who of Whoville. And where unconditional love and support like that can cause one to blush or flee... thankfully I did not flee. Instead I have used the memory of their acts to push on and bring me back on track many a time when I lost track of why I was doing all of this.
-The Handball Wall Painting Team-- J.C. Logan, Tecia Layson, Robin Skelton, Melissa Greenspan... and video crew Josh Blyden and Kimberly Dusenberry. Talk about a blast! Take a blank 12' by 16' wall, spend time scaling the flag up from about 3" by 5", add some paint, a couple ladders, tunes, and snacks... and about 4 hours later you have a wall that looks too perfect to have been painted-- the pictures of which have been accused of being altered in Photoshop. Each of these folks have surfaced anytime a request has been made of them with respect to the flag. And I don't doubt that a freeway underpass near you may be the next location a flag pops up.
-The Vendors/Friends... Frendors. Roberto Quezadas of Model Printing for much input, assistance, technical expertise, and friendship through the printing process. From the streets of Mexico as a shoeshine boy... His business card reads head janitor... And on any given day he might be spotted tooling around in a Rolls or Benz. Many companies won't go anywhere else for their printing needs or make a move before hearing a voice answer the phone, "Handsome Roberto speaking". Jack Tchan of Summit Travelware who got caught up in the spirit and went the extra mile in bringing the enameled pins to fruition. Bill Reich of LeClub Bag Company who pulled out all the stops bringing in the first batch of flags. The day I drove these signature items home was a very proud day for me. And I am proud to have them available to fly anywhere. Terry, Ben, Craig and the folks at LCA Promotions for a great 4-color silk screening job on the shirts. Stephen Byrens of Bevmar for a great, good-ole broken-in looking hat. Etc. Etc.
-The One World Kids Curriculum Team-- Carolina Goodman, Deb Bartholme, Dave Rowe, Pat Kinderman, Nancy Delancey. These educators, besides any number of letters following their names, are uniquely qualified to have helped create the upcoming One World Kids unit of study, etc., by virtue of never having forgotten what it is to be a kid!
-The Translators- Sandrine (French), Suzanne Bernard (French), Svetlana Gladkova (Russian), Martin Heimann (German), Michael Doudoroff (Spanish), Maria Alejandra Funes (Spanish editing). It would be hard for most to imagine how many hours go into a translation that conveys exactly the text within this site. These volunteers came through after many before them gave up on the task, and in each case made the experience easy and thoroughly enjoyable for me. Some of these people do this for a living. Should you ever need such work done I would heartily recommend any of these extremely conscientious souls (note: you can read some biographical information on each translator at the top and/or bottom of their respective page).
-those co-workers at my occasional straight jobs who allowed me to sneak off to the computer or phone and handle One World Flag business, and covered me until I got back.
-and all those who support my original vision, add theirs to it, and put their energy behind the idea that we can always continue to "Think Bigger!"
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