page contents Google

AGING UP, NOT OUT

For aging up, you need a good role model. This is mine, my mother in law. She aged up well right until the end.

FOLLOWING FOOTSTEPS ACROSS ANCIENT LANDS

Travelers specialize in following footsteps laid down before them. It’s unavoidable. Sometimes it’s part of a larger plan and sometimes we don’t realize we’re treading ancient paths walked for thousands of years. Take a stroll down unknown history with a walk along any river bank. A travel plan for ancient land should include Paris because […]

RICK STEVES SAYS TRAVEL IS A POLITICAL ACT

Is Rick Steves right about travel? He ought to know after all the traveling he’s done. From all over Europe, to Paris, he’s been around. So why is travel a political act?

THE WORLD STOPS FOR NO ONE. HOW DO I KNOW?

The world stops for you, and you, and you, because you need a break? And it stops for the rest of us because things are moving a little too fast? Hold that thought. Hold the next one, too. Hold it tight.

DAILY WALK CLEARS THE MIND? “PENNY FOR YOUR THOUGHTS? A FRANC?”

A daily walk in Paris is different than a walk in Tigard, Oregon. This man is walking toward the Invalides. The Pont Alexandre III bridge is behind him and connects the Invalides on the Left Bank to the Grand Palais and Petit Palais museums on the Right Bank. I saw him and thought, ‘This is […]

MAP LIFE STARTS WITH FOLLOWING A PLAN

A map life starts with an idea, then a list. The idea is to see more than the usual, the every day, the mundane. A list compiles those magical places. You should have a list. If you have a travel partner and they make a list, make one anyway. Show some interest even if you […]

GIFT GIVING? HOLD MY BEER SIGN

Gift giving is such a mixed bag of emotions. From the funny: “Oh thank you, thank you, thank you, this is just what I wanted.” To the sad: “I didn’t know what to give you, so…” For reference, no one wants a beer sign after college, at least that’s the common adult thing. Beer sign […]

ALBANY CAROUSEL INSIDE AND OUT

The Albany, Oregon Carousel is stunning, but a different sort of stunning. Instead of cute, like nice effort for a small town cute, it’s a world class art installation. You could pick it up and transport the building and all of its contents to any museum or amusement park in the world and it would […]

BLOG TOOLS: HOW TO ORGANIZE TIME AND SPACE

Blog tools help writers get where they’re going, and as any writer will tell you, they are going to fill up a page. Sometimes it’s a long, long, loooooong haul to fill up one page, then another, then another. Look at a stack of printer paper some time and imagine filling them all. From the […]

EVIL HISTORY IS TOO PAINFUL FOR STUDENT READING?

Evil history includes a list of everything you wish you’d never heard of. It’s the story of man’s injustice to his fellow man, and woman, and non-binary person. If you’ve lived long enough, you’ve heard some evil history; add a few more years and you’ve lived some of it, and the aftermath. Everyone has a […]