Easy As Riding a Bicycle

Do you remember people saying to you "It's as easy as riding a bicycle"? That's all fine and good if you were coordinated and had all of your brain waves functioning as indicated. But, remember kids, I was from Idaho. While there were plenty of bicycle-riding potato farmers there, there were a few of us who couldn't get the hang of it and would rather have been.....well, I just can't say it here. I tried and tried....up and down the streets and dirt roads of my quiet neighborhood. And here's the really cool, masculine part: I pushed myself along while I sat on the extra passenger seat on the very back. (Do you remember those seats? It's where your cute boy friends (not BOYFRIENDS....."boy" friends) would ride....and you were so happy when they had their arms wrapped around you...and it especially brought a smile to your face when their hands fell lower than they should have). So, there I was happier than a clam. Riding around on the pumper seat, pushing myself along with my feet. That regular seat was just plain old too scary WAY up there.....plus, you had to balance at the same time. (This is where I'll pause for laughter, finger pointing, and snickering.....go ahead, I had a lot of that growing up......I can stand it.) The pic I've posted along with this post is a letter that my dad sent to me while he was away on his two-week Navy assignment in the late 1960s. As you know, I'm preparing a three-part series to run at the end of this week on my father. While I was researching for it, I found several letters including this one. As much as I cried while reading the letters, I laughed when I found this paragraph about learning to ride my bike. I'll never forget the day when it finally happened. I grinned from big-pokey-out ear to the other. Then you just couldn't stop me from riding as fast as I could, wind in my hair, and the little plastic rainbow-colored fringe flapping from my handlebars. Ah, things were so much more simple then.

I'm in the middle of packing for my trip to Orlando: tight-fitting jeans--check; slinky shirt to show off my small, tiny guns--check; no shoes (hey, it's Florida!)--check. I hope they don't all gang up on me (I do crazy things under pressure). I've already been instructed not to ride in the front seat of Sorted's car for some reason....I don't think I want to know. I fly all night tonight, arrive there early Tuesday morning, take a little nap, and then prepare to meet up with all of the boys for dinner: Sorted, Spider, Actorschmactor, I Deal With It, Mid-Afternoon Snack and hopefully even a few more. I will definitely have to find time to apply some Preparation H to my eyes.....it shrinks the tissues, you know....and after being up all night, there will be plenty of shrinking necessary. Seriously, I can hardly wait.....this is going to be an excellent time, I can just feel it. It almost makes me tingle and get goosebumps....oh, wait, that's something else. Anybody else in Orlando tomorrow? Get a hold of us soon for details on joining us!

The series on my father will run starting at the end of the week and over next weekend. The posts will be long--adapted from the book I started a few years back. But I'm pretty excited for you to read them.

Wishing you health and happiness in your journeys today and always.

The Boys and Me.....(Shh! Don't Tell.....)

Shh! This is just between us kids, okay? Nobody can know. I'm just going to sneak down the hallway to my sister's room....last room on the right.....but the hallway floor is wood and a little creaky....so it's going to be a little tricky. I don't want mom or dad to know. Here we go.

Step by step, quietly as possible, carefully and calculated. I had to make sure that no one was nearby or expected to come over to this end of the house. Now, where did she put the latest copy of her Teen Beat Magazine? (What an appropriate name.) Ah, there it is. Do you think she'll mind if I slip out with the older copies for a little time in my own room? I promise I'm going to return them. Maybe a little less pretty than they started out. Oh my god, Scott Baio is on the cover this month! What a great smile. Last month was Leif Garrett with those long, curly blond locks of beautiful hair. And I think there's a hot Andy Gibb centerfold in here somewhere. Hum....now I have to get back down the hallway and into my room. Open the door ever so carefully, can't have anyone finding out my little secret. (Now, what was it that my Sunday School teacher was saying this morning about "boys liking boys"????)

I especially like the huge posters she has posted on her walls....with all of the aforementioned on them. Bell bottom trousers, long hair, wide belts, big shoes, sexy and so 1970s-teenage-like. Nearly life size, especially when I was shorter. But I did this so many times that I grew taller and the boys on the poster stayed the same size.

Little Voices in the Elevator

In the elevator at work, on my way to a meeting with several coworkers. I'm in the front of the elevator, up against the doors....just staring at the crack in between the two halves....just thinking about, oh, you know, not much.....like, "how long is this going to take" or "I wonder if they serve cocktails at this meeting." A couple of people I know are behind me.....the elevator is moving between the floors.....when, out of nowhere, I hear:

Voice #1: Whose teddy bear did you get that backpack off of?

Voice #2: It's not very manly, is it?

So, now my thoughts have progressed onto other more essential matters like "Would you like me to slap the right or left side of your head first." Or how about "Do they make a feminine deodorant spray to cover up that smell your're emitting?"

It's a small Eddie Bauer backpack. Not the full-sized one. A small one. Gray with black piping. (The meeting was a total bore. Completely and thoroughly.)

I am in the middle of writing a three-part series on my dad. I'm planning on publishing them in fairly rapid succession between the 15-19th of March. The posts will be longer than usual which I know isn't popular for some readers. I'm hoping that you'll take the time to read them....maybe even print them off for reading at a future point if they are too lengthy to get through online. I also hope you'll share them with those in your lives that may benefit from them.

I'm working all of Friday and will be attending a pretty large blogger get-together on Saturday night here in Portland. Monday night will find me on my way to Orlando for a huge Tuesday rendezvous with the gang in central Florida. I return to a visit from a good friend after the Orlando trip. It's going to be busy. I wish you all wellness, health, and much happiness in your comings and going.

Meeting of the Blogs

It's official! The very first meeting of The Spirit of Saint Lewis with another blogger has occurred! Tonight, my honey and I had dinner with David from Just David! We enjoyed drinks and dinner at LaBuca in Portland. We laughed and talked movies, family, life, and travel all evening. He is an amazing guy with such a great smile and zest for life. Full of positive energy and a good spirit. We drove him on a quick evening tour to show him Portland's beautiful skyline at night. David, it was our pleasure. Seriously....Thank You!

Victim or Volunteer?

Victim:

"One who is harmed by or made to suffer from an act or circumstance; a person who suffers injury or loss as a result of a voluntary undertaking; a person who is tricked, swindled, or taken advantage of."

Volunteer:

"A person who renders aid, performs a service, or assumes an obligation voluntarily in and off his/her own free will."

I've gone through much of my own life using the saying "There are no victims, only volunteers." I can't stand the "victim" mentality -- where we assume no responsibility for our inaction or action (depending on the situation). I believe that each of us should raise our hand and say "Yep, it was me." "I did it." "It's my fault." Gosh, that's a tough thing to do sometimes.

And, please, don't let me mislead you into believing that all of what I do is strictly of the volunteer mentality...because it's not. But I do try not to slip into that frame of mind. Our world is full of people and groups who believe that they've "been taken advantage of" or that "it's someone else's fault" when it's actually as a direct result of their making poor decisions....or even putting off making good decisions. It's created a real mess for our society and social structure and order.

So, which one are you? Victim or Volunteer? Do you enjoy being where you are now? Are you happy being a victim? Happy being a volunteer?

Here's a link to a video I made this morning while crossing the Willamette River in downtown Portland on the Fremont Bridge. Enjoy the tour!

Don't forget that I have an updated audio greeting in the upper left-hand corner for the month of March.

Tomorrow, I get to meet David from Just David!

Putting a Face With a Name

**Check out the new audio greeting for March to your left side**


In the next eight days I'm going to be meeting at least six fellow bloggers….and maybe even a couple more. It seems to have all come together….in a really cool way. I love life sometimes…where the individual journeys of many lead to a common place of sensation…..where gut-busting giggles and laughter, smiles from ear to ear, teasing and poking good fun at each other all add up to one of those times in life that just make it worth living. I know you know what I mean. This Wednesday, we're meeting David from Just David (Houston). He's coming to the Northwest to visit friends. And he made the mistake of mentioning it in his post. So, I've commandeered his trip and talked him into a quickie…..quickie trip to Portland, that is. We're having dinner together Wednesday evening with some of our friends (I wonder if he knows what he's in for……I'll be he saw the Margaritaville video on my post a few days back.) I love how this impromptu meeting has come together so beautifully. The spontaneity of the moment got a hold of both he and I…..and now it's all set! We're trying to decide on one of Portland's MANY delicious restaurants in one of our zillion nifty neighborhoods……Irvington, Laurelhurst, Belmont, Hawthorne, Fremont, Beaumont/Wilshire….and the list goes on.


Then, on Saturday March 10th, I'm joining in with LSL and a group of her blogger friends for drinks at the Kennedy School in Northeast Portland. If you're in the Portland area and would like to attend, you'll find an email RSVP in this post.

Then, on Tuesday, March 13, I'm going to be in Orlando on a working trip. I arrive at 07:25am on Tuesday morning (doesn't that sound like a lot of fun). After I catch a few ZZZs and try to conceal the huge bags under my eyes from flying all night and not getting too much sleep (I'll be way too excited to sleep), Keith from Sorted Lives has so graciously offered to pick me up for a little afternoon tour of the area. After that, we're returning to my hotel near Universal Studios to clean up, brush our teeth, reapply the rouge and foundation, and pull out any unsightly chin hairs, before we join Brett a.k.a. Spider, MiKell from I Deal With It, Kevin from Actorschmactor, and Eric from Mid-Afternoon Snack. And, there's a remote possibility that I've talked Ryan and his boyfriend Mike from Boys Are So Ugly But So Cute into driving over from Tampa for a little chow with us. (Do you think that the state of Florida actually allows that many "of our type” together all in the same place at the same time……I ’ll have to write Jeb and find out.....or maybe Katherine Harris....oh, wait, she's been booted out). We're going to a place called Tu Tu Tango for dinner. I can't decide which two I'll sit between…..hum. Maybe we can all get of our butts on the same chair so that we're all cozy. That way, there will be no fighting about who gets to sit by this old goat…..I hate it when girls end up in a cat fight. They are all so good about blogging, emailing, and chatting……and their writing skills are, of course, excellent. You can bet that the cameras will be all charged up and snapping evidence of "Orlando Mardi Gras 2007.” I couldn't be more happy about this whole thing. I mean, I've been blogging since late October and now I'm going to be able to put some funny blogosphere names together with the faces of some wonderful, handsome men. How many times in life does that happen? I'm thankful. I'm grateful. Another of our time on this earth's finest opportunities. To smile with -- and pat on the back -- some of the world's top-notch friends.

Anybody else going to be in Orlando then? Dinner anyone?

My Collision With the Easy Bake Oven

My younger sister and a friend of hers are visiting us for a few days from the throws of southern Idaho. Last night before we indulged ourselves heavily in some of the best Cuban food ever at Pambiche, we were reminiscing about growing up, when I first knew I liked boys (some things never change), and other nutty childhood memories. I reminded her of the Christmas that I took her out to the proverbial hiding spot for all of our presents. I always knew right where they were and never passed up an opportunity take a peek (or six). I found the box with her Easy Bake Oven in it. I think that was one of the earliest points where I knew there was something amiss with me.....I was more fired up than she was about that oven! With my young brown eyes all glazed over with glee and dilating like a snake coming into the daylight, I said "There it is!" I could hardly wait for Christmas morning. Soon as the wrapping paper was dutifully shredded and tossed from one end of the room to the other, we had that thing out of the box and fired her up. Complete with the included 75 watt bulb. Whoo whee! We're cooking now! It came with a couple of little boxes of cookie or cake mix which cooked okay. But for some reason, my creative and twisted (young gay Idaho) mind went to work thinking of how we could kick it up a notch (I was doing it a long time before Emeril was). I dug through the refrigerator and found a pack of Hormel bacon and snuck it back down the hallway to the bedroom where the oven was. We slapped a few pieces of the bacon into the oven and turned it on. And waited...and waited...and waited. Hum. What's wrong? Three and one-half hours later, sis and me staring and staring and staring, with the bacon barely glistening from just being semi heated up, it still lay there....wobbly, flimsy pig fat doing it's best to perform (we've all been there, haven't we??). I still claim to be more into the art of cooking...not the science (science requires education). 75 watts never was going to cut it. I think that someone should have been able to easily identify my SI at that point. They were probably too busy trying to figure out how to make me wear a hunter's vest and get a fishing pole or rifle to look good on me.

So now that you all are getting sassy and thinking you're more masculine that I ever was (you probably are), take this little masculinity test from Old Spice. My score was 58% which Old Spice calls "Atrocious." Can you imagine? Me being called atrocious on the masculinity scale. I can't either. But who knew some of that crap. If they'd had questions about which color pillows to put with which sofa fabric, or how to get a size 34 waist nicely into a pair of size 30 Abercrombie and Fitch jeans, I could have performed marvelously, not atrociously. You'll see what I mean.

SI = Sexual Orientation

Good Times in Margaritaville

There's just nothing like good times with friends, food, and drinks. Cutting loose, living right, having fun. And we did, last night, with our friends T and S. As you'll see, they are crazy folk. Take a look and enjoy. Hope you're having as much fun. The photos from the evening are here.


My sister arrives with a friend for a six-day visit from Idaho. She's always a hoot and up for anything--so who knows what we'll end up doing.

By the way, I dropped my dirty little secret (see the end paragraph of the Feb. 26th post) on the floor at Target today (yes, we were back at Target). That sucker just slithered down my leg like a rattler going down a pine tree and hit the floor....right in between the women's clothing and the mailing envelopes. Ker-plunk. Like any good self-face-preserving girl would do, I grabbed that little piece of leather and stashed it away quietly and quickly. There, all better now.

PS: I've given up my leg warmers (see the last post) for Lent.

Me, Irene Cara, and the Leg Warmers

What is so wrong with wearing leg warmers? You know, those knitted devices that fit nicely between your knees and feet? They do a good job of keeping your calves and ankles toasty warm. Irene Cara made them horribly popular years ago in Flashdance. And nothing would have it but that I had to have a pair (or several). A girl can't just keep wearing the same pair over and over, you know. A coworker and I were reminiscing today and we ended up in total hysterics with tears running down our faces from laughing so hard. I was telling her about coming from Idaho where we spent all of our time "helping the sheep over the fence." I mean, what else was there to do? Well, there was one other thing. In Idaho, we were really excited when we could get away to one of the big cities nearby....Portland, Seattle, Vancouver BC. On this particular trip to Vancouver BC, I had it in my mind that I needed a couple of pair of leg warmers.....don't ask me why or what I was thinking....because it's quite obvious that I wasn't. I remember telling the girl that I went with on this trip that I just had to have a pair and that "everyone was wearing them nowadays." (I'm sure that the words freak, twisted, and weirdo probably crossed her mind.) So, I stood there....in front of the wall of leggings....hum....which ones...which color. (Did it really matter.....I mean, they were going to think the same thing about me....whether I had green, red or blue.....Fag!....but in those days, we were called "light in the loafers.") I picked out a pair of blue ones and a brownish/tan color....hoping to ease the laughter with a semi-masculine hue. And I wore them. Proudly. There are probably a few incriminating pictures floating around for evidence in the Court of Gay No-No's. I took those things right back to Idaho, stretched them across my feet, positioned them just-so over the ankle area....and went right out to go and help the sheep over the fence. No one ever said a word. Do you think they knew then what I know now?

You Won't Believe Everything I've Got to Say Today

A fantastic afternoon here in Portland. Late winter days turn me on....I love the daffodils and tulips pushing their way out of the cold, dark ground...The flowering cherry trees bursting into their pink shades against the black trunks of their trees....And the sky....it keeps on changing, black, blue, white clouds, rain, sunshine.

Hubby and I went to Target this morning and I attacked him as any proper self-serving perverted husband would do. We entered the elevator and pressed "1" to go to the first floor (yes, we have multi-level Target stores). The door closed and I pressed him up against the elevator wall, lifted up his shirt, and ran my hands up underneath to cop a feel. Well, he jumped a little, giggled like a school girl, and then the bells and whistles started going off. Apparently, he had pressed his perfectly-shaped bubble butt up against the emergency call button on the elevator control panel. The door opens back up and my hands come back out from underneath his shirt. The ringing finally stopped when he moved away from the wall. Oops. We tee-hee'd about that one for the rest of the day.

Here are a couple of birthday cards that I received from nothing but the best of friends. I simply had to share them.....knowing that you, my dear whacked out wonderful readers, would want to see them:




The first one is nothing short of perfect....especially with the hat on the ground and the fact that we love to tent camp. In case you can't see the verbiage in the second one, it says "Susan's talent for charming wieners always made her popular." And isn't that the truth? These are classics.

A friend of mine has just informed me that I've been carrying around a straight man's product in my suitcase for quite some time now. I had absolutely no idea. It may be time to rethink being seen with such contraband. You'll see it here:















I've been fooling around a little lately. With Windows Movie Maker, that is. You'll see the byproduct of my feeble efforts here:

You'll see that I've added a "My Videos" Link on the left-hand sidebar below the pictures link. Check it out from time to time for new videos that I'll definitely be making.

Did I mention the awesome Coconut Chicken that I made the other night? Topped with a yummy sauce of coconut milk, pineapple juice, red peppers, onions, and pineapple. Asparagus with garlic and zest of lime and lemon alongside. Fantastic! You all are going to have to come to Portland for dinner....that's all there is to it. Get busy making your plans.

Saturday-Monday will find me in San Diego, Los Cabos, Seattle, Orange County, Oakland, and San Jose. It's going to be a busy one....but I'm always thankful for a job that provides such good working conditions, benefits, and pay. And that, my dear friends, will end today's posting. Happy Weekend to you all.

(That's actually not all that we did today....but if you want to be let in on a naughty secret and know the dirt, you'll have to email me. It's just too much to publish on "the internets" as the village idiot (GW Bush) has been quoted as saying.)

The Aftermath

Whew. I'm tired. Worn out from celebrating and having an unbelievable time this week. I finished six long days of work (16 flights) on Monday afternoon just in time to race home where my wonderful hubby had a spotless house, incense burning, and a gift bag full of goodies for my birthday. A bottle of Chateau Ste. Michelle Riesling, a Target gift card, and a beautiful glass candle holder. We went to dinner at Savoy with my brother-in-law, Bert and Alan....But not before we had a nice bottle of red wine at Alan's house. Ate some great food and returned to Alan's house for coffee, cake, and the customary "Happy Birthday" singing which ended up in this video. Keeping with a "cruising" and "sailor" theme, A gave me Russell Crowe's movie Master and Commander along with, you won't believe this, an official U.S. Navy uniform shirt. My mom had sent me Josh Groban's "With You" CD which is going to be opened and enjoyed this afternoon. Thank you for birthday phone calls to: my hubby, mom, Aunt Ruth, Sorted Lives, and friends Alex and Bert. Thanks for text messages goes to: Darin, David, One 3y3 Open, Secrets of the Red Seven, D-Tour, Days of Our Sorted Lives, Actorschmactor, Nathan Exposed (got an e-card from Nathan too!), and Matterday's cousin Jo. Nik-in-Paris sent me a really cool pic of the Eiffel Tower which made my day complete. Along with all of that, I received numerous comments from many others to help round out the party. You'll see the birthday pics here. You guys and girls rock! I don't think a guy could have had a better birthday.

After a pretty late night after a long day, I flew to Los Angeles to meet up with a new buddy of mine, Izzy. He was in LA on a layover and I decided to spend it with him. He treated me like royalty and bought me a yummy gin and tonic, appetizers, cookies, and a great dinner. We enjoyed a beautiful walk in the sunshine and breeze around Manhattan Beach, listened to some awesome Israeli music, and had a hot cup of tea. We are going with he and his partner on their next cruise. We're stoked to have found these new friends (god knows we can use any friends that will stick by us!). So, many many thanks to Izzy for his hospitality and friendship. Pics from Manhattan Beach are here.

Seasons of Change

Does anybody truly LOVE change? I guess there are probably a few....but I'm not one of them. I am in total love with consistency, organization, order, repeat. Boring, I know, but true. I enjoy the comfort that consistency brings: Always knowing exactly where the toothpaste is (squeezed from the bottom, by the way), charging the mobile phone on the same plug-in each night (but I do have an alternate when my husband is charging his), key and wallet in the same drawer each night, and the list goes on and on. I think I'm getting old (half-way to 90 tomorrow)...but I've been this way forever. Maybe it's written in the stars somewhere (see Pisces below). I just know what works and what doesn't for me. And I can't stand doing things that don't work over and over expecting better results. But, somewhere in the back of my mind, I want something different. I want to be more carefree, less structured, more whimsical. I want my always-thinking mind to turn off and choose a different path occasionally. I often speak to others of my Mom and step father. They are always up for something new and different. A new restaurant or coffee shop? They'll go. A different movie or store to shop in? They are there. Meeting new people? Yep, they love it. (I think I've tested them severely sometimes when meeting some of my friends....but they have always played along like good sports). I wonder if I'm going to be like them when I get to be near 80. I hope so, but I'm not so sure. I'd like to think that I will be...but I've got some work to do. Today, reading the February issue of Men's Health, I came across the entire back part of this issue that is totally dedicated to making life better for all of us. I had what Oprah would call an Ah-Ha Moment. If you haven't seen it, you should. Full of great ideas for losing weight, gaining better perspectives in life, dealing with depression, reducing debt, quitting smoking, and making people smile. It's called 2007: The Complete Instructions (page 119). Seriously, you need a copy. So, I see this quote:

They must often change who would be constant in happiness or wisdom (Confucius).

Ouch. I think I'm a pretty flexible person but not a person who loves change. When I come home from a trip, I like the furniture to be in the same place as when I left (hint to hubby). I like knowing that my "castle" is the way I left it. I love the peace of consistency and order. In some ways, I need it. In other ways, I don't think I need it at all. I do know that 2007 must be a different year for me. I must be a better man by this time next year. I must be a better lover and partner too. I've got my work cut out for me.

Checking out Spider's site, I ran across his posting on the zodiac. Since I'm celebrating my 45th birthday tomorrow including a nice dinner with some top-notch friends, I thought it would be a hoot to include this below....I know I'm on the cusp (some sites say I'm an Aquarius)...but most use Pisces.

PISCES: The Piece of ass. Caring and kind. Smart. Center of attention. Too Sexy, DAMN IT. Very high ### appeal. Has the last word. The best to find, hardest to keep. Fun to be around. Freak in the sheets. Extremely weird but in a good way. Super good in bed. Good Sense of Humor!!! Thoughtful. A partner for life. Always gets what he or she wants. Loves to joke. Very popular. Silly, fun and sweet.

Whether it's true or not, I don't know. Maybe some of it. You'll have to ask those who know me well. Lots of love to you guys. I appreciate all of you so much. Your virtual friendships, emails, and comments all mean the world to me. I count on them. I look for them. I need them. And, I seriously appreciate them. As I celebrate my birthday tomorrow, I celebrate a special life with each of you and, especially, with my lover and best friend. He's amazing....I mean, to put up with me....he has to be. Cheers to you all.

VD and The Busy Week

It's been a busy week kids. Had a little cold on top of Valentine's Day (not to be confused with VD which carries a much higher level of attention). But I managed to squeak out a nice dinner for the two of us:

* * * Thin Cut Pork Chops Marinated in Orange Juice,

Garlic, Soy Sauce Resting Gently on a Bed of Braised

Sweet White Onion
* * * Tomato-Basil Risotto With Fresh Asparagus and Red Pepper
* * * Fresh Avocado Diced with Sweet Red Peppers,
With Olive Oil and Fresh-Cracked Black Pepper
* * * Delicious Rich Dark Chocolate-Coated Crispy Pretzels

Finished a three-day trip with took me on nine flights in and out of San Diego, Los Cabos Mexico, Orange County, Seattle, San Jose, and Oakland. I'm tired! Having dinner out tonight at the Alameda Brewhouse with some good friends that we haven't seen in a while. And tomorrow, I'm off on another three-day trip which will take me to Vancouver, BC, on both Saturday and Sunday nights. I return on my birthday afternoon, Monday; and we have dinner plans with another good friend that evening. Whew. But, it continues......on Tuesday I'm going to Los Angeles to hook up with another good buddy that we just met on the cruise. We're going to have some good food and get to know each other a little better. AND, speaking of cruises.....are you ready?...........We've booked yet another cruise! This whole deal started back when we were on board the Westerdam and our friends mentioned to us that they were going on a 15-night Hawaii cruise.....long story short, we're going with them.

Wishing you all a cool holiday weekend....full of rest and relaxation....some good food, friends, and family. Make it count!

It's All In Your Perspective

If we could shrink the earth's population to a village of precisely 100 people, with all the existing human ratios remaining the same, it would look something like this. There would be:

57 Asians
21 Europeans
14 from the Western Hemisphere, both north and south
8 Africans

52 would be female
48 would be male

70 would be non-white
30 would be white

70 would be non-Christian
30 would be Christian

89 would be heterosexual
11 would be homosexual (and we'd be the ones with pretty drapes, nice furniture and artistically-created food!)

6 people would possess 59% of the entire world's wealth (and all 6 would be from the United States).

80 would live in substandard housing
70 would be unable to read
50 would suffer from malnutrition
1 would be near death; 1 would be near birth
1 (yes, only 1) would have a college education
1 would own a computer

When one considers our world from such a compressed perspective, the need
for acceptance, understanding and education becomes glaringly apparent.

The following is also something to ponder...
If you woke up this morning with more health than illness...you are more
blessed than the million who will not survive this week.

If you have never experienced the danger of battle, the loneliness of
imprisonment, the agony of torture, or the pangs of starvation, you are
ahead of 500 million people in the world.

If you can attend a church meeting without fear of harassment, arrest,
torture, or death...you are more blessed than three billion people in the
world.

If you have food in the refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof
overhead and a place to sleep...you are richer than 75% of this world.

If you have money in the bank, in your wallet, and spare change in a dish
someplace ... you are among the top 8% of the world's wealthy.

If your parents are still alive and still married ... you are very rare,
even in the United States and Canada.

If you can read this message, you
are luckier than over two billion people in the world that
cannot read at all.

Videos, The Queen, Reading, and Anger Management

All of my cruise videos have now been uploaded into YouTube. I'm learning, so give me a break, boys. A couple of the most cool things we did all week on the cruise: (1) In the ocean water with Annie, the dolphin. Literally, we got to hold her, kiss on her cute little nose and all of that....It was truly an amazing experience. (2) Cooking class for 10 people with the Executive Chef of the Westerdam. We cooked right up in the ship's kitchen! (3) The food each evening in the dining room can't be described. It's quality and presentation were nothing short of works of art. I hope you'll take a look. It's been a nice week to get back into the swing of things...I worked two days....and will work all weekend. Going to be spending every Saturday and Sunday night this month in one of my very favorite world cities....Vancouver, BC. But, hey, it's a hotel room....and a very very nice one at that.

Went to see The Queen last night (well, it was more like five queens going to see The Queen) at our favorite neighborhood theater, The Roseway. We went with my brother-in-law and two good friends. Everyone enjoyed it. Amazing those royalty emotions, or lack thereof. I am always into seeing how other groups of people feel/don't feel, do things/don't do things. Hopefully, it provide me with a more well-rounded insight into the world we live in.



Here's my latest in hilarious discoveries of books. I picked it out before the cruise because I didn't want anything heavy or something that made me think to much for vacation. It's a really funny book filled with extremely short chapters. You'll definitely see yourself numerous times in these chapters loaded with poking fun at our crazy selves.









Did you ever have one of these days? Things just seem to put you right on the precipice of flipping out and going off on someone. I know that Nathan blogged about this recently....but I'm sure that all of us can relate! (Being a flight attendant, I think I especially got a tee-hee out of it.) Enjoy.....We laughed ourselves to death over this one. Happy weekend everybody. (PS...There's a new audio greeting at the top of the page for the month of February.)