The Saturday Morning Post: Reflections

This adventure started three weeks ago today, and we have another ten days or so to go.  We are trying keep a slow measured pace.  Saying, yes, and an honest no to seeing and doing things. We are in Arles France, headed to a Gite about 30 miles north east of here.  That will be home base for a week.  A two bedroom apartment with a kitchen and washing machine in the middle of a greenhouse farm.  Time to do a little laundry. This is our second time renting a Gite. A great way to spend time in rural France.  https://www.gites-de-france.com/fr  

The rental car has a manual transmission, I hadn't driven a manual in 9 years, kind of like riding a bike you never forget.  I did stall it a couple of times.  And we figured out how to get the in dash GPS to talk to us in English. She was much more helpful today. 

Oh and French trains are heavenly.  Comfortable, smooth, efficient.  The SNCF website is easy to navigate, in English. 

We had lunch today in Aigues-Mortes, a walled Medieval city.  Under an umbrella, in the town square, local food, well prepared.  An accordion player set up and started to play.  And I wiped away tears of joy.  It was totally unexpected. It was not something we had planned, or I had fantasies about, but it was that esential small French village experience. Memories created deep inside my psyche.  I am so glad I was there, and open to the experience. It is not the only experience from this trip, but if it was, the entire journey was worth every minute and every dollar.  

100 Ways to Slightly Improve Your Travel Experience: #6 Avoid the Forced March Through The Adventure.

The first time J and I went to England we looked at all of the tour books, and maps and planned out a long route that allowed us to see EVERYTHING in a week.  We sent a copy of the plan to friends who lives in north London, and Duncan responded that it sounded like the "Romans Forced March" though England. His recommendation was to at least cut it in half.  We did, we narrowed it to Bath, Salisbury and Swansea and we had a wonderful week without ever feeling rushed to see it all.  We still have not seen Cheddar Gorge (in search of the cheese mines) but we remember the places we did see.  We generally have a place to go back to see.  Avoid the feeling that "if it is Tuesday this must be Belgium. 

In planning for this May's adventure the initial list of places we "had to see" was about three times as long as the final list.  Everything we are seeing is within 90 minutes of a central point, we won't see everything, but we will have time to enjoy what we see.  Plan some unplanned time, you never know when what you really want to do, is nothing for the day.  

From April 28th, to about May 12th , I will be on a great adventure and on a digital detox, a couple of weeks without access to the internet. I have been told internet access may be available, but it will be very slow and expensive. So, I am going to try to take a couple of weeks off. I have not been without internet access in a couple of in couple of decades, I hope it goes well.  After that, until about May 30th, I will have intermittent internet access. 

I have scheduled posts to keep you all entertained.  These are not my usual posts, that is either a good thing, or a bad thing, depending on your point of view.  As I have opportunity, I will post updates.  I look forward to reading your comments when I have the opportunity. 

Regular service will resume about the 1st of June, with tales from the adventure.    

Thursday Ramble: Floating in air

 I was sitting on a bench on the National Mall and this guy broke into a full on sprint as he went past.  

It reminds me of two things.  

The absolute magic of running.  I ran for about a decade from my late 20s into my late 30s.  There is a moment of floating in the air, when running is magic.  I loved that feeling.  I miss it. 

It also reminds me of one of the first scientific theories confirmed by photographic evidence.  There had been a raging debate for centuries that at a full gallop, all four legs of a horse leave the ground. Many argued that it was impossible, that a horse (or man) would have to fly for that to happen, that at least one foot needed to be on the ground to support the weight of the horse, or when the horse landed it would shatter it's leg. A series of photographic images, at relatively high speed, confirmed that in fact all four feet of a horse are off the ground, just as both feet of this runner are off the ground in a full sprint.  

From April 28th, to about May 12th , I will be on a great adventure and on a digital detox, a couple of weeks without access to the internet. I have been told internet access may be available, but it will be very slow and expensive. So, I am going to try to take a couple of weeks off. I have not been without internet access in a couple of in couple of decades, I hope it goes well.  After that, until about May 30th, I will have intermittent internet access. 

I have scheduled posts to keep you all entertained.  These are not my usual posts, that is either a good thing, or a bad thing, depending on your point of view.  As I have opportunity, I will post updates.  I look forward to reading your comments when I have the opportunity. 

Regular service will resume about the 1st of June, with tales from the adventure.    

The Wednesday Ws My World of Wonders Welcome to France Edition

Where am I?  Carcassonne France, a medieval walled city in the southeast of the country. We are here for a couple of nights, then slightly farther north. 

Where have I been?  We crossed the Atlantic on Royal Caribbean's Explorer of the Seas from Miami to Barcelona. We really enjoyed the stops in the Canary Islands, though we didn't see any canaries. Three days in Barcelona. 

What have I been eating?  We stayed in Barcelona for three nights after the cruise, lots of Tapas. Croquetas, ensalada rusa - with shrimp or tuna, jambone, queso. 

Who have a I seen? Lots of people, no one I know. 

What have I heard? At least a dozen languages, most of which I can identify or at least narrow down to a region.  Few that I know.  Very little English after leaving the ship.  I am surprised at how functional my very basic Spanish is.  

When will I do this again?  I am already looking at Atlantic crossings for next spring?  Want to join us? 

What happened to lunch with Mitchell?  He was not feeling up to the trip (it is easily an hour each way) and our time in port was limited making it difficult for us to get to him and back to the ship on time.  So sadly we missed one another.  Hopefully NYC late this year or early next year.

What was the greatest entertainment on the ship?  Watching the pier runners. These are people late returning to the ship on a port call.  They come running down the pier to the cheers and geers of the peanut gallery gathered along the rail on the ship.  The last couple, on the last port call, were about 1,500 feet from the ship and the police picked them up, lights flashing and tires squeezing he delivered them to the ship. The young police officer was hamming it up for the crowd, urging cheers and boos.  The ship left the dock less than 5 minutes after they boarded.  

How was the digital detox? Good.  I missed my blogs and comments.  98% of the over 200 emails backed up were junk, really a waste of space.  I replaced my morning blog session, with a morning soak on the hot tub on the top deck of the ship  I could get used to that. 

How was the crossing?  Absolutely wonderful.  The weather was just about perfect, the temperature stayed around 20C (70f), the seas were mild. A few windy days.  Just over 5,000 miles in 14 days.  

What have I been reading? I finished three books on the ship and got a good start into a fourth book.  3 out of the 4 were excellent. 

I will do a little posting over the rest of this trip.  Most of my photos from this trip are on the Nikon and not postable until I get home.  The image above is from the National Gallery in DC.  I am posting on Selfie Daily (there is a link in the sidebar.) 

Learning

I remember when I finished high school thinking that I was finished learning.  Mr. Van Hoff, the senior English teacher assured us that we would read more as adults than we ever did as students, I thought he was delusional.  I was.   

Three or four years later I figured out that if I didn't get more education, I was going to be stuck at the bottom of the employment ranks, and started taking college classes in the evenings. I really couldn't afford to stop working full time and go to college.  

I also, at the urging of a professor, addressed my challenges with spelling and proofreading.  Without going into the gorey details, I owe that young professor and a specialist in the library a huge thank you. Spell check finds spelling errors that my brain would never see, and years of spotting and correcting spelling errors has vastly improved my spelling.  Editing remains a work in progress, my brain reads over missing words, and creates weird, but grammatically correct sentence structures. There is a huge difference between my quick drafts, and final edits. Understanding how my brain works, changed me.  

After a couple of years, I moved onto Rollins College.  I continued to take a couple of classes a semester. I was working full time, going to school part time.  One semester I took time off from work and took on a full class load.  I found a connection between what I was studying and the life I was living and the work I was doing.  In essence, I spent 10 years earning and paying for a four-year college degree.  It can be done, it has been done by many people.  A university degree does not have to mean taking on huge debt, or coming from a rich family.  It does require a lot of sacrifice, I put in a lot of 70-80 hour weeks between work and school, I paid for it as I went, diverting money from travel and cars, and a nicer home. It is about setting priorities. 

When I was in my middle 30's I decided I really wanted to move into the "professional class." Medical school was not a viable option for a couple of reasons, but Law School, a Juris Doctor degree was an option.  I started studying and scheduled myself to take the law school admissions test (LSAT.)  Then Jay got a job offer from the University of Kentucky.  We agreed, he said yes,  I sold the house in Orlando, moving out of it on a Friday, taking the LSAT on Saturday and left for Kentucky on Monday.  

I applied to four law schools, and three said yes.  I picked the one that was the best fit for me, and went.  I was concerned, I would be 40 when I finished.  I commented on this, and someone asked me, "do you want to be 40 with the degree, or 40 without the degree?"  An easy decision.  Law school was hard work, but I have never spent so much time with so many bright people.  And for me it was the first time when learning for the sake of learning was my full time occupation.  

And learning continues.  I read, a lot. I read on subjects that interest me, and on things I know nothing about.  To renew my license I need to complete continuing education each year, I usually do at least twice the required amount.  I have taught a lot of continuing education over the past 20 years, I learn so much from preparing and from teaching.  

Zig Ziglar was fond of saying that as long as you are green you are growing, the moment you are ripe you start to rot.  I am still green - still learning.   

From April 28th, to about May 12th , I will be on a great adventure and on a digital detox, a couple of weeks without access to the internet. I have been told internet access may be available, but it will be very slow and expensive. So, I am going to try to take a couple of weeks off. I have not been without internet access in a couple of in couple of decades, I hope it goes well.  After that, until about May 30th, I will have intermittent internet access. 

I have scheduled posts to keep you all entertained.  These are not my usual posts, that is either a good thing, or a bad thing, depending on your point of view.  As I have opportunity, I will post updates.  I look forward to reading your comments when I have the opportunity. 

Regular service will resume about the 1st of June, with tales from the adventure.    

Health Update

Health Update

On May 13, 2015 a talented team is surgeons removed a tumor from my spine and rebuilt a section of it. I am held upright by six titanium plates and 12 screws. If you want the gory details look back at May and June of that year.  Each year on the anniversary I pause to reflect on my health. I had no idea how long I would be recovering from that surgery, it is in many ways still an ongoing process.  My balance and neuro-muscular control continue to improve.  The past few months I have consciously worked on walking farther and longer and I do see improvements.  I continue to have mild to moderate tingling in my feet, probably always will. I am very lucky to have use of my feet and legs, this is a minor inconvenience. There is some other permanent nerve damage that can be painful if I move the wrong way.  Even this is getting better, my core strength has improved. I have much to be thankful for. That experience did factor into my decision to retire when I did.  It was a real wake up call that there are no guarantees, I sometimes wonder when the warranty will run out on the work that was done. Beyond that my blood pressure tends to be a little high, though the good quack made no changes in meds this year.  I will to continue to work on cardiac capacity, it would be nice to be able to climb hills a bit faster and in greater comfort.   

This is my once a year ramble about my health.  I am not one to complain or seek sympathy.  

Please pay attention to your health.  Do the best you can with what you have to work with.  Make your own choices, based on advice from Docs you trust. 

I have scheduled posts to keep you all entertained.  These are not my usual posts, that is either a good thing, or a bad thing, depending on your point of view.  As I have opportunity, I will post updates.  I look forward to reading your comments when I have the opportunity. 

Regular service will resume about the 1st of June, with tales from the adventure.    

Moneyball - a short commentary on professional sports

The salaries paid in professional sports should be embarrassing.  Billions of dollars (or Euros, or Pounds, or Dracmas) are spent in pursuit, of the best players. And yet in a game of win or lose, there can only be one supreme winner, one winner for every 100 or 1,000 also rans.  

Isn't it really all about is entertainment?  The spectator is there for the show, for a diversion, for an escape.  An exciting game is entertainment, but there can be so much more to the show.  

Here is a bold idea. Cap salaries at $200,000 a year per player.  Enough to make a good living, but not enough to create divas.  Hire players that will put on the most entertaining show for the money. Lower the ticket prices and encourage spectators to come for the fun, win or lose, for a good show.  I want to see players who are truly enjoying what they are doing. When the team has fun, so will I. 

Yes, the players have a limited career, they would need to plan for a life after professional sports.  To live a life much more like the person sitting the stands, hoping for a good show today.  

From April 28th, to about May 12th , I will be on a great adventure and on a digital detox, a couple of weeks without access to the internet. I have been told internet access may be available, but it will be very slow and expensive. So, I am going to try to take a couple of weeks off. I have not been without internet access in a couple of in couple of decades, I hope it goes well.  After that, until about May 30th, I will have intermittent internet access. 

I have scheduled posts to keep you all entertained.  These are not my usual posts, that is either a good thing, or a bad thing, depending on your point of view.  As I have opportunity, I will post updates.  I look forward to reading your comments when I have the opportunity. 

Regular service will resume about the 1st of June, with tales from the adventure.    

Greetings from Barcelona Spain.

The ship came in this morning, almost two weeks, slightly over 5,000 miles of travel.  No icebergs or sea monsters.  With hotel WiFi I will be able to read and respond to comments, and edit posts.  Most of the posts through the end of this month were written in advance.  

The break did me good.  It changed my routine.  It helped me to rest.  I did miss seeing what you all post, though I did check in a little at a couple of port calls.  I also realized that 98% of my email, is junk.  

The weather was perfect, about 20c (70f) every day, only a little rain one day.  Relatively smooth seas.  The wind was blowing 50 miles per hour when we passed through the straights of Gibraltar. 

Relax - It Will All Be Okay

I was reading blogs one Sunday evening, and a friend posted that he had spent Sunday, thinking about a meeting with his boss on Monday. He had no idea what the meeting was about.  I can imagine myself in the same position, my brain racing through the options of praise, or more likely problems, even worst case scenario we have decided we don't need your department any longer.  

What a lousy way to spend your day off. Your day away from work should be your time to relax and enjoy life. He is in the position he is in because he is very good at what he does, and he cares about his work.  It is important to have people who give a damn about their work, but it is also important to protect those people and not burn them out. 

The person who schedule the meeting could have done one of two simple things to ease this experience.  If it is bad news, he could have waited until Monday to schedule the meeting and not screwed with someone's weekend.  If it is good news, he could have said what the meeting was about when he scheduled it, to ease everyone's mind over the weekend.  We worry about the worst case scenario, not about being praised or asked to keep up the good work.  

Most of what we worry about, either already has happened and we can't change it, or never will happen so our worry is wasted.  But we worry about it anyway.  

In the end, most of the time, it will all be okay.  

From April 28th, to about May 12th , I will be on a great adventure and on a digital detox, a couple of weeks without access to the internet. I have been told internet access may be available, but it will be very slow and expensive. So, I am going to try to take a couple of weeks off. I have not been without internet access in a couple of in couple of decades, I hope it goes well.  After that, until about May 30th, I will have intermittent internet access. 

I have scheduled posts to keep you all entertained.  These are not my usual posts, that is either a good thing, or a bad thing, depending on your point of view.  As I have opportunity, I will post updates.  I look forward to reading your comments when I have the opportunity. 

Regular service will resume about the 1st of June, with tales from the adventure.    

 

100 Ways to Slightly Improve Your Travel Experience: #5 Take and Wear the Right Shoes

 

I was out at Mt. Vernon the other day, and overheard a teenage boy exclaim, "EWWW I stepped in something, these shoes are ruined!"  I have a simple solution, he was wearing the wrong shoes.  He was more concerned with what his shoes looked like, than if the shoes were comfortable and practical for the trip he was taking.  

Forget about what your shoes look like when you travel, wear shoes that are very comfortable, that you can walk in comfortably, and that you are not overly concerned if they get dirty.  If you are going to be in wet places, waterproof shoes are helpful. And always take a back-up pair of shoes. About 30 years ago, Duncan traveled from London to the USA for a couple of weeks of traveling about. While he was with us, he walked into what he thought was sand, and was actually river mud. He sunk in up to his ankles, wearing a nice pair of leather shoes.  The only shoes he had with him.  

This ties in with always check a bag, then it is easier to squeeze a second pair of shoes in.  

What kind of shoes do I travel in?  Running shoes, often one pair in black with black soles that do just fine if I have something more formal, and one pair in a nice color or pattern that I like, but I am not worried about.  

From April 28th, to about May 12th , I will be on a great adventure and on a digital detox, a couple of weeks without access to the internet. I have been told internet access may be available, but it will be very slow and expensive. So, I am going to try to take a couple of weeks off. I have not been without internet access in a couple of in couple of decades, I hope it goes well.  After that, until about May 30th, I will have intermittent internet access. 

I have scheduled posts to keep you all entertained.  These are not my usual posts, that is either a good thing, or a bad thing, depending on your point of view.  As I have opportunity, I will post updates.  I look forward to reading your comments when I have the opportunity. 

Regular service will resume about the 1st of June, with tales from the adventure.    

Another Uncle Dick

I have written about my Uncle Dick, this is actually a Great Uncle, he was married to my grandmother's youngest sister Florence, or Flossy as she was known. 

Oh they were a colorful couple.  Flossy came of age in the roaring 20's. She was a fashionable and a bit of a wild child. In her late teens she had  a baby out of wedlock who was placed for adoption. 

I don't know much about how or when she met Dick, I am sure his name was Richard, but I only ever heard him referred to as Dick.  I would bet that they met in a bar. Floss liked to party, and so did Dick.  

At the local bar, they had glasses with their names engraved on them. If they didn't show up for a day or two, the bar would send a doctor by the house to check on them.  They were easily not only the life of the party, but the lifeblood of the bars in their area.  

How did they pay for it?  He was a senior manager for US Rubber, better known as Uniroyal.  Apparently he was as good at managing a rubber plant, as he was at downing booze. He was loved at work and very well paid.  Except when he was too hungover to go to work, or even worse showed up still partying from the night before.  

He was beloved, and a problem for his bosses.  He was hospitalized to "dry out." Four or five times,  detox was difficult - he had hallucinations - yes he saw pink elephants, and spiders crawling up the walls.  As he was being released one time, one of the doctors suggested that a change of surroundings might help him stay sober to Dick and his boss who was there to drive him home.  

A change of venue, his boss was inspired. US Rubber had just opened a new plant in Europe.  They would send Dick there, he was a master at making rubber plants grow.  A great idea.  So off Flossy and Dick went, to Scotland.  The first few months went well, then Dick discovered single malt whiskey.  Oh did he like that.  After a year or so, he was sent home and retired on a nice pension. 

I only ever met him late in life.  He was dependent, the medical science at the time was such that he was prescribed booze.  My parents being somewhat protective, limited my contact with Flossy and Dick. They both died younger than they should have.  

From April 28th, to about May 12th , I will be on a great adventure and on a digital detox, a couple of weeks without access to the internet. I have been told internet access may be available, but it will be very slow and expensive. So, I am going to try to take a couple of weeks off. I have not been without internet access in a couple of in couple of decades, I hope it goes well.  After that, until about May 30th, I will have intermittent internet access. 

I have scheduled posts to keep you all entertained.  These are not my usual posts, that is either a good thing, or a bad thing, depending on your point of view.  As I have opportunity, I will post updates.  I look forward to reading your comments when I have the opportunity. 

Regular service will resume about the 1st of June, with tales from the adventure.    

Go to the Iconic Places

I can vividly remember walking the trail along the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, and realizing how iconic it is.  I love visiting places like Times Square in New York, Trafalgar Square in London, the Forum in Rome, and the Mall in Washington DC.  People the world over recognize places.  People relate to having been there, or wanting to be there. Experiences that are iconic to the place. 

I didn't really understand New York City, why people loved it, until I went there for the first time.  It is unique.  It is crowded, dirty, expensive, and one of a kind.  NYC is not the United States, it is New York City.  I am glad I have been there, I look forward to going back.  

I also enjoy going places that few if anyone recognizes.  Out of the way, off the beaten path places.  

From April 28th, to about May 12th , I will be on a great adventure and on a digital detox, a couple of weeks without access to the internet. I have been told internet access may be available, but it will be very slow and expensive. So, I am going to try to take a couple of weeks off. I have not been without internet access in a couple of in couple of decades, I hope it goes well.  After that, until about May 30th, I will have intermittent internet access. 

I have scheduled posts to keep you all entertained.  These are not my usual posts, that is either a good thing, or a bad thing, depending on your point of view.  As I have opportunity, I will post updates.  I look forward to reading your comments when I have the opportunity. 

Regular service will resume about the 1st of June, with tales from the adventure.    

Guarding the Big One

 When I took this photo, I included the guard, standing with her back to me, for scale.  That is one big cock.  I spoke with her, she said it is a very popular art work, people go out of their way to find it on the roof of a museum.  

Have fun in the comments. 

From April 28th, to about May 12th , I will be on a great adventure and on a digital detox, a couple of weeks without access to the internet. I have been told internet access may be available, but it will be very slow and expensive. So, I am going to try to take a couple of weeks off. I have not been without internet access in a couple of in couple of decades, I hope it goes well.  After that, until about May 30th, I will have intermittent internet access. 

I have scheduled posts to keep you all entertained.  These are not my usual posts, that is either a good thing, or a bad thing, depending on your point of view.  As I have opportunity, I will post updates.  I look forward to reading your comments when I have the opportunity. 

Regular service will resume about the 1st of June, with tales from the adventure.    

a quick Hi

We have arrived in the Canary Islands,  I turned on my phone for 24 hours only. We had a delightful crossing. About 3800 miles across the middle Atlantic.  Very relaxing,  surprising smooth.  I will be offline for a few more days. I miss responding to comments. 

So far no sea monsters or Icebergs.