The Thursday Ramble: The Vastness and Diversity of the World

 Last week we flew a little over half way across the country. Looking out the window, I was reminded how vast the country is, three hours in a 737, only covers about half way across the country.  Looking out the window there was fields of snow, small towns, large cities, expressways, railroads, country roads, forests, fields, pastures and waterways. There is an amazing mix of small towns, villages, settlements, small cities and huge cities. I am always surprised by how much open country there is. Miles and miles of fields, grasslands, and forests.  

Day to day, we see the world as it is, where we are. Our little corner of the world. It is easy to fall into the trap of thinking that everyplace, is like where we are. Flying over the country, I see the vastness and diversity of the land, of the world.  

It has been about six months, since my last airline flight. Long enough, maybe too long. 

This is not my best Ramble, it is a replacement for a political rant that I just can't bring myself to suffer through. 

My World of Wonders: February 11, 2026

 

Where have I been this week? The Hilton on the Riverwalk in San Antonio Texas. 

What have I been up to in the kitchen? I made small pizzas last Wednesday, then we left town for the rest of the week.  I miss cooking when I travel. 

So what have I eaten away from home? A nice crispy chicken sandwich with German potato salad in the airport in Charlotte, A Mexican sampler platter on the River Walk in San Antonio. An omelet, steak and shrimp, sliders. Scrambled eggs, enchiladas, seared scallops. A breakfast buffet the highlight of which was scrambled eggs with cream cheese, Mexican street corn, and enchiladas Verde. Eggs Benedict, and a wild boar pasta. A meatball parm sandwich with fried in the airport. 

What is in the photo above?  A couple of weeks ago Doc Spo mentioned lapel pins in his blog and showed a box he has filled with them. For decades I have collected pins, hat pins, lapel pins, collectible pins when I travel. At one time they were all on a hat, with the pins the hat was too heavy to wear. I have them five drawers filled with them, in a wood tool chest. And I will keep adding to the collection.

What was the weather like? Cold and windy in DC, sunny and 80's in San Antonio. It was nice, really nice, to have a few days away from the cold. 

Who have I talked to this week? About a dozen aging lawyer colleagues,  Lorraine, Jack, Al, Bob, Karen, Robert. I had lunch with Amy, my former boss. My sweet bear, who went with me on this trip. 

What did we see in San Antonio? The Briscoe Museum of Western Art. In a converted stone library building it is a compact and amazing collection, there will be a couple of Travel Tuesday posts when we get home. The highlight was an exhibit of the best high school art by students in Texas. The talent in that show, reassures me that the future of art is in brilliant hands.

 

Travel Tuesday: A brief stop in Iceland May 2025

 

Monday Mood: Be Kind to be Remembered

There I am, looking every minute of my age, bearded because shaving is too much bother, grey because that is what happens if we live long enough, fat, a bit flabby, far from a model, more of a bad example of an aging man, and I think to myself, "who cares" as the short video from the young and beautiful guy, says, nobody cares.  

Few people will notice, those that do will think what they want to think. They may think, does he know he is fat? Yes I do. Does he know he would look better with a better haircut and beard trim? Yes I do.  But for the most part they will not notice or remember me. I am a person they see in passing. 

If I am kind, if I say please and thank you, if I hold the door, and let the other person go first, helping in ways I can, they may remember that, but probably not me, not what I look like, or who I am or who I was. People remember the kindness, more than the person who was kind. 

A good number of years ago (before I had my spine repaired and rebuilt) I fell in a subway station, a very kind person helped me to my feet, not an easy task, and walked with me to my car that was parked in the garage. I remember the kindness, but not the person. (I send out into the cosmos a very heartfelt THANK YOU to him.) I also remember that the station manager, 50 feet away sitting in a glass cubicle, didn't do anything to help. He hardly looked up, didn't ask if I needed help, didn't offer to call for help. 

Don't worry about what you look like, or sound like. Be kind, people will remember your kindness. 

The Sunday Five: Seeing ourselves

Happy Blogiversary to Doc Spo 

1: Do you see yourself as your age, younger, older? 

2: How do you feel about fashion? 

3: How much time do you spend on your appearance most days? 

4: What would you tell your younger self about appearances? 

5: How do you really feel about tattoos?

My Answers: 

1: Do you see yourself as your age, younger, older? I have a hard to understanding that I am getting older, in my mind I am 30, in my knees I am 95.

2: How do you feel about fashion? The older I get, the less I care. 

3: How much time do you spend on your appearance most days? I don't always bother to run a brush through what is left of my hair. 

4: What would you tell your younger self about appearances? Those that judge you based on your appearance, don't really like you anyway. 

5: How do you really feel about tattoos? I understand the desire to do something taboo, something forbidden, but I have never wanted anything that permanent. Tattoos on the face, or neck, I find unattractive. 

Please share your answers in the comments. 

 

The Saturday Morning Post: Be Fearless

A couple of months ago someone asked Ken in France how he became so creative in the kitchen, and he responded that he thought of himself as being more fearless in the kitchen than creative, and he is. He is always willing to try something. He is always looking for new ideas, new inspiration, reading about different ways to make great food. Being fearless, makes him very creative. 

I thought about this, and it applies to creativity in all forms. To create art in any form, we must first be fearless.  Willing to try new ways of doing things. Part of practicing is trying new ways of doing the same thing. In painting, try pure colors, try blending colors, use a brush, use a palette knife, finger paint, use paint that flows. When you see or hear something, be fearless and try it. I watched an interview with James Cameron, who will forever be the mastermind that brought the movie Titanic to the big screen. He said when he is "80 years old, with an oxygen tube in his nose", he wants to be "trying do things that he does not know how to do." That is fearlessness, that is a root of creativity. 

In your art, try creating something this week that you don't know how to do, be fearless. 

Foodie Friday: Roll Ups

While the snow was falling, I had a couple of days at home to play in the kitchen. These were inspired by something I read in a cookbook. 

Buy or make a basic pizza dough. 

Pizza dough is easy enough to make. 

Start with one cup of warm water (105f +/-) a sprinkle of sugar, and a tablespoon of dry active yeast. Mix and set aside for 5 minutes, it will start to smell yeasty and bubble a little. 

In the bowl of a stand mixer stir together two cups of flour (bread flour if you have it on hand) a large pinch of salt and a drizzle of olive oil. Stir in the yeast mixture and stir together to form a ball. Knead, by machine for about five minutes on low or medium low, by hand about the same.  Adjust as needed, I added a couple of tablespoons of water. 

Cover and set aside to rise for an hour or two. 

Divide the dough in half, 

Roll out in a rectangle. 

Top with fillings. One of these was tomato sauce, cured Italian ham and shredded mixed Italian cheese (Pizza cheese mix.) The other was softened butter, sugar and cinnamon, then sprinkled with chocolate chips. 

The filling can be whatever you like, what you have handy, or what you want to use up today. 

Roll up, slice into rounds, and bake in a 350-375 (F) oven for 20-30 minutes.  

Store in the refrigerator, reheat in the microwave for 30-45 seconds.