Ice Ice Baby Too

Concrete, Ice, Concrete, Fence
March 2015

Hope the winter blues don't have you down. Next up for March GBC reading:  A Passage to India by E.M. Forster.

Big Sky

I read two and half books this last week.

I think it's the weather.

Somewhere between Tucson and Phoenix
February 2015

Wires Crossed

Somewhere on the coast of New Brunswick
September 2011

A friend of mine and I went on a journey into New Brunswick from Maine and had it in our minds to find a lighthouse inspired by a little blue sign and an arrow.  As it turned out, we never found the lighthouse, but we had a really interesting drive along the coast and a lot of fun buying ice cream at a tiny gas station in a town whose name I can't remember.

Sometimes it's a good idea to bring a map.

Sometimes it's just good to have the ice cream.

Shiny Tree-ts

Sometimes life with no filter is extremely colorful and a little blurry.  Still it makes me smile.

O'Hare through the Windshield
Pre-Christmas 2014

I Walk and See Lines

Sometimes one needs to have a hiatus from something to determine whether or not that thing brings joy or whether it has become a habit to fill time and pass the present.  Since my last city move, I've done this annually with reading water, periodically with music, occasionally with dating, and this year with writing.

As I was cleaning out old boxes last weekend, I found journals from the late 80s and thumbed through a few.  Even then, I had pages each day to write.  [Content of course was a little mundane but how much excitement can one have in high school in rural america pre-cell phone? But oh my, at the bubble cursive!]

I've also been working on being in the present.  I have found this has reduced quite a bit of anxiety and my lung capacity has likely increased by at least one-third from all the random deep breaths.  I now notice a bit more on random walks, like colors projected on a building with a hint of a moon in the background.

So here we are, Friday.  I hope yours carries the color of happy.

Downtown Rocket City
(via unfiltered iphone)
January 2015

Have a Ball

May your weekend be shiny and bright!

Happy Thanksgiving to all.

O'Hare International Airport
November 2014

On My Way to a Hotel in California

If a picture contains two words, is it still worth a thousand?

Grafiti, Somewhere between Carlsbad & Encinitas
October 2014

Hope your Friday is Super Awesome.

Ode to a Samsonite

Samsonite
2006-2014

Dear Samsonite red bag of courage,

You've been my trusty companion for nearly nine years of travel.  We've been through countless cities, you've helped me increase my checklist to 47 states, we've hit four continents, and you survived my most expensive airline ticket ever for the around the world trek.  (Sadly, our book didn't make it due to that unfortunate seat incident that involved Airline attendant extraction.)

You were wheeled through parking lots, security cues, gravel roads, snow, and puddles without complaint.  You were satisfactory for an overnight adventure but capable enough for a two week carry-on to Australia.  You lost zipper handles and had one unused pocket in the back (that had to be a design flaw).  Still you were with me.  You were my footrest for overnight sleeping in LGA and cat naps in DCA.  You handled the weight of my backpack tirelessly and somehow we made it through those tight little metal cylinders on the Chicago CTA.

You were content with repeat journeys and were alongside me for the  new ones which required fearlessness.  Even when stranded in Solvang, we found a way to make friends.  You weren't mocking when we arrived to an important meeting without suit pants (though clearly there was plenty of room to pack them).  You helped me build arm strength up and down stairs, lifting into overheads and carrying you over things that I couldn't wheel through.

You were unique, never to be confused with various plane-checked luggage and easy to spot on those few times you rested in the hold and had to be retrieved from a carousel.  You fit in every trunk or backseat.  You were never a burden, even when technology rapidly advanced to lighter weights and the wheels got a little loud at the end.

My relationship with you lasted longer than any I've had with a man.

I was a bit sad not to use you on yesterday's flight.

Thank you for memorable journeys and for keeping me safe.
LD

Circle, Column, Square

It's a small world after all.

Epcot
September 2014

Hope you've had a good week.

I Wander

"Not all those who wander are lost.”

― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

BNA
August 2014

I've been wandering more and writing a bit less.  

Reading more and talking a bit less. 

Walking with music more and driving a bit less.

Savoring more and questioning a bit less. 

A Fly By

"It is a lovely language,but it takes a very long time to say anything in it,unless it is worth taking a long time to say,and to listen to." - J.R.R. Tolkien, The Two Towers

Towers from a Cab
Toronto, July 2014

Hope your Friday is a great one!

Climb Every Mountain

Humphrey's Peak, AZ
June 2012

"Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop away from you like the leaves of Autumn.”

― John Muir, The Mountains of California

Word Up

Postcards Near the Edge
(of my table)

Happy Friday!

The OED is adding new words to bindings.  Here's a fun little Guardian quiz to test your knowledge.  I hit seven out of ten so a few of my word choices are now validated.  (I'm not sure if that's a good thing.)

The Band Elwood, The Band

The Ryman,
June 2014

This Friday photo brought to you by:

• a 10 person band
• hearing your name shouted across a parking lot five minutes after arriving to the city
• free parking as a result of the above
• one desperation hot dog, three reading waters, a soda, and caramel corn (though maybe not in that order)
• an opening act which reminded you of Hardly Strictly (without the Solvang Strand)
• feet with dancing blisters
• four hours in the car for four hours not in the car
• a 2:00 a.m. Hey Jude singalong and a 7:30 a.m. conference call
• choosing memories over spreadsheets

Have a great weekend!  Happy reading! 

I Play Chicken with a ...

“The train is a small world moving through a larger world.”

― Elisha Cooper, Train

Arm out window stopped at the tracks
Americana, IL May 2014

On this particular Saturday, I had two moments with a train.  The above was taken en route to a BBQ festival* and the other while stopping for a minute to sit along Lakeshore for a break during a run.  A gentleman stopped by, asked if he could sit with my friend and me and said he rode trains.  He had been in Birmingham (beaten by the police), Memphis (didn't like) and Chicago (his favorite).  "Look at this view" he said while sweeping his left hand.  "Just keep doing what you're doing" his parting words before stepping away.

*Nothing beats Southern BBQ.  Sorry, Chitown.

60 seconds

I hope you have a nice long weekend and have the opportunity to take pause for those fallen. The holiday dates back to 1868 with the idea to decorate graves for those lost in war.  Three p.m. local is the recommended time for a minute of silence by the National Moment of Remembrance.

Union Station, May 2014
Chicago, IL 

Green Goddess II

Any fool can get into an ocean
But it takes a Goddess
To get out of one.
What’s true of oceans is true, of course,
Of labyrinths and poems.

Opening lines from "Any fool can get into an ocean" by Jack Spicer.

Gulf at sunset off the coast of Tampa
May 2014

Happy weekend - happy reading!

From Sea to Shining

...
I leave, imagining myself on the stern of a ship
nosing into Ellis Island, looking back at
the green lady, looking back, back at the sea.

from Ellis Island by J.R. Solonche

Looking back at Ellis Island
April 2014

I Didn't Hear a Peep

"For Children: You will need to know the difference between Friday and a fried egg. It's quite a simple difference, but an important one. Friday comes at the end of the week, whereas a fried egg comes out of a chicken. Like most things, of course, it isn't quite that simple. The fried egg isn't properly a fried egg until it's been put in a frying pan and fried. This is something you wouldn't do to a Friday, of course, though you might do it on a Friday. You can also fry eggs on a Thursday, if you like, or on a cooker. It's all rather complicated, but it makes a kind of sense if you think about it for a while." 

- Douglas Adams, Salmon of Doubt

Author's note: I had a fried egg on a Friday.  I think I'll think about it for a little while.

Piping Hot

A few weeks ago, I was lost in Space (Center).  Hope you find yourself lost (in a good way) this weekend.

"Like most astronauts, I'm pretty sure that I can deal with what life throws at me because I've thought about what to do if things go wrong, as well as right. That's the power of negative thinking.”

Chris Hadfield, An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth

Space and Rockets
March 2014