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HERE'S TO A GAP YEAR FILLED WITH LOTS OF TRAVEL

4/15/2016

Well, it’s official – 2016 is my gap year; one tooth bites the dust !

Who says gap years have to be devoted to travel alone; which is not to suggest travel is not part of my plans for 2016. We’re headed to Colorado in May, Alaska in July, Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia and the Czech Republic in October. All the other months are still up for grabs. My dentist is going to miss me.

Which reminds me, no Fun Fotos to share today; this past week wasn’t really all that much fun. But I do have 7 Truths to share, one for each day of the week I spent on the bumpy road to recovery.

A SPOOKY CRUSADE TO NURTURE WANDERLUST

3/17/2016

“For every walk is a sort of crusade, preached by some Peter the Hermit in us, to go forth and reconquer this Holy Land from the hands of the Infidels.”
~ Henry Thoreau

This Infidel was certainly feeling the need for a crusade. Weeks, if not months of self-imposed confinement (difficult to make travel a priority in the midst of selling one home and settling into another) had left me feeling restless, at least on the days when I wasn’t feeling overwhelmed and exhausted. The winter months had simply added insult to injury.

It was time to set aside the purging, the packing, the painting, and all the people parading through what had once been our family home for the last 20 years.

It was time to reconquer this Holy Land, time to crusade for that which nurtures the heart and mind and soul, ergo my wanderlust. It was time for a walk in the woods, time for some fresh air to clear the mental fog.

The price was right, the weather just as suitable, albeit a bit windy. Then again, it was March. And so off we went, just me and my shadow, going forth into the wild to reclaim this Holy Land from the hands of Infidels. I’ve been called worse.

Alas, my crusade wasn’t as wild as it was spooky. Then again, I’ve always been one for a vivid imagination.

WHO KNEW? WEIRD, WACKY & WONDERFUL

1/22/2016

No matter what anyone says, stay weird.

Ah, yes, words to live by, at least according to a cute eight-year-old I bumped into earlier this morning, courtesy of CBC Radio. I liked the young man’s sage advice on aging gracefully particularly given time has done such weird things to my body, my mind, and my friends. That's right; no one is immune when it comes to weird.

Click on the Read More Button below to see the adorable eight-year-old (he’s the one wearing the Viking helmet, complete with horns), and people of all ages, offering words of wisdom to their younger counterparts in this endearing farewell video from CBC Radio’s Wire Tap Radio One program.

BRRRRRRRR! IT IS WHAT IT IS

1/18/2016

Hey, you. Old Man Winter.

Can we talk?

I’m freezin’ over here, Man. Can you chill, dude?

No, no, not literally; figuratively.

Sorry. My bad.

You’re cool Man, still the boss, but I gotta tell you, I'm losing all interest in the winter wonderland thing with the single digit temps. And what's with the brutal wind chill? You're adding insult to injury with all the negativity emanating from your numbers.

What! Who told you less is more?

ISN'T THAT SPECIAL

1/13/2016

Photo courtesy of https://diasp.org/tags/infj.

Ah, ha!

I knew I was special.

I’m an INFJ.

A HANDFUL OF HARD-EARNED TRUTHS TO AMAZE & AMUSE

1/4/2016

Every now and then, buried beneath the rubble of ramblings that constitute this blog, a sliver of truth pierces the otherwise banal and the bland.

Wait! That didn’t come out right, particularly given my goal is to amaze and amuse on a regular basis. Banal and bland are the antithesis of amaze and amuse. I will cop to rambling, though. That’s quite evident at this point.

Let’s just say travel is my muse, literary license my ruse for dispensing amazing information and amusing introspection.

There! That sounds better.

Better yet, I’ve assembled a collection of those hard-earned truths you so graciously encouraged me to share via your continued support. What follows, in no particular order, is the best of the wit, wisdom, wonder, and whimsy I dispensed in 2015 via A Place Called Roam.

Sometimes I amaze even myself.

BE THE LIGHT IN THE DARK

12/31/2015

I am physically, emotionally, and financially spent as I prepare to cross the finish line on 2015. Would I have it any other way?

In hindsight, no; I am who I am because of the journey. But that doesn’t mean I readily chose pain, suffering, loss. They chose me, as sure as life chooses the brave and the bold to carry the torch.

We are all Olympians, those of us who choose to be the light against the dark. That is my mantra for 2016.

Happy New Year!

WHO KNEW? HYPE, HOPE & THE HOLIDAYS

12/18/2015

For those of us not fans of the American epic space opera, Star Wars, (obviously the silent minority having to endure all the Disney hype, hope and resulting hoopla with yesterday’s release, finally), can I just say, “Enough already!” without risking condemnation from the near-hysterical rest of the world brandishing lightsabers in the name of Jedi.

Disney, the entertainment conglomerate known for children’s movies, by the way, now owns Lucasfilm (Disney paid $4.06 billion for the franchise in 2012, which is undoubtedly the reason for all the hype, hope and hoopla necessary to recoup their investment). Even I know George Lucas was the mastermind behind the Star Wars franchise that gave birth to enough prequels and sequels to constitute a litter of puerile pups with clumsy plot lines and cardboard characters who don’t know if they’re coming or going in any of the galaxies out there, far, far away.

Of course, fans don’t know if they’re coming or going either. The original trilogy from the 1970s and 1980s are known as episodes 4, 5, and 6. Huh? The prequels, episodes 1, 2, and 3, were released in 1999, 2002, and 2005 respectively.   Even if I wanted to jump on the band wagon/space ship with Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens, where do I begin? Do I opt for Chronological Order (1,2,3,4,5,6), Release Order (4,5,6,1,2,3), or Machete Order (4,5,1,2,3,6)? Whittson Gordon, from Lifehacker.com, offers help for hapless heretics like me more impressed with alliteration than aliens. Or, catch Fran Capo, Guinness record holder for world’s fastest-talking woman recap the first six Star Wars movies (why?) via this link.

Who knew it would come to this? Disney knew; they’re banking on it (literally). After all, the hype may be the best part of Episode VII. I hope for the fans sake that the movie lives up to all the hype and hope and hoopla.

Meanwhile, I think we should move on; to say, Christmas, which premiers in less than a week (OMG!), with much of the same hope, hype and hoopla courtesy of commercialism.

CHICAGO 360: THE LOVERS, THE DREAMERS, & ME

12/16/2015

Looking south from "Big John" across the city of Chicago on a brisk fall day.

I could see order where there was once chaos, mystery where by day innocuous buildings had stood shoulder to shoulder stoically harboring humanity.

Trails of bright light stretched for miles and miles, pulsating with the power and passion of almost three million people breathing life into the concrete jungle 94 stories below.

There was truly no place in the world quite like Chicago’s John Handcock Observatory when the sun was setting on the Windy City, on the lovers, the dreamers, and me.

LIVE LIFE ON THE EDGE EVERY NOW AND THEN

11/11/2015

I'm still surprised my digital rendition of this nostalgic childhood moment didn't involve sepia tones.

The moment was as poignant as it was playful, two kids perched squarely in the middle of childhood doing what kids do best - making the most of the moment.

Oohs and ahs, giggles and gaffaws punctuated the curiosity driving both grandchildren closer and closer to the edge.

"Stay away from the edge," I cautioned, doing battle with old rivals, curiosity and safety.

The two concepts have always been diametrically opposed, at least since parenting became part of the picture.

"Two more minutes," I added, checking the depth of the water as I considered the odds one or the other (or both) might get a little over zealous.

Please, Lord, not on my watch!

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