Category: Life
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On the Way to Choo Choo Less Chattanooga
My second cross-country rail trip was again spurred by the goal of attending Liberty Con in Chattanooga. I had been to D.C. last year and contemplated what I wanted to do for my side-trip this year. First I planned an extra day in Chattanooga since I didn’t get to do any sight-seeing last year. I…
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Tales of Sweet Melissa
My wife and I have always named our cars. My first car, a white 60 Chevy BelAir—one of those with tail fins—was named Whiskey, and her first car, a giant burgundy Olds 88 was named Gypsy. We were both poor in those days, and when our old cars died one after the other, my father…
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Adventures in Job-Shopping
If you’ve read my posts A Gringo’s Christmas and Arriving in California, you have some hint about the adventures and misadventures of my father that may parallel the stories of many of his generation. My father was born during the twenties and, like most of his contemporaries, served in WWII although, due to circumstances way…
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Adventures in Eating
I often told my wife that I married her to have adventures, and she scoffed at me, “I don’t ski. I don’t bungee jump. I don’t skydive, or drive race cars.” Nonetheless, it was true, and most everything was an adventure with her. Take something as simple as eating. She was an excellent and adventurous…
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Riding the Rails II: The Trip Home
Now for the rest of the story. I talked about boarding the train from DC to Atlanta, and it was a shorter, but nonetheless overnight trip. West of the Mississippi, the views from the train (outside the cities) were quite interesting. On the east of the Mississippi, however 90% of the tracks were bordered by…
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Riding the Rails
This last summer I wanted to go to Liberty-Con in Chattanooga, Tennessee. I haven’t flown in many years, and have heard lots of awful stories about modern air travel. Being retired means I was in no hurry, and both Sharon and I took long train trips when we were younger and really enjoyed them. So…
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Dragon Goes to Phoenix
The odyssey began in the aftermath of the passing of the last of our nine cats, Leopard. His sister, Pirate, had passed several days after Christmas in 2004. Of all our cats, except perhaps his mother, Ginger, his was the longest goodbye. Many people put their animals down at the first sign of illness. We…
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The Meaning of Home
This is an essay that my wife wrote at Christmas time in 2016. I stumbled across it today and want to share it. There are many ways to think about what we mean when we say “home”. It can be an actual place or it can be more of an attitude and perspective on life.…
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The Madness of Crowds
I’ve recently read a number of articles about how people think and make decisions. I’ve been fascinated by this topic for most of my life because I recognize that…, I’m odd. Once when I went to a classical music concert with a friend, she asked me how I liked it. I replied that at first…
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Hurricane Season
It’s hurricane season in San Diego. This is a rare, but periodic occurrence in Southern California. Hurricane season here is nothing like it is along the Gulf Coast or even the East Coast. The only recorded hurricane to actually get to San Diego was in 1858 and barely qualified as a hurricane (wind speeds of…
Musings of a Restless Mind 