Monday Musings

Summer is the perfect time for a road trip. We had the opportunity for a long weekend drive from NC to Maryland when we traveled for a family wedding. The journey en route to the event had to be accomplished on a timetable to ensure we arrived on time for the festivities, but the return trip was leisurely. Fortunately, we avoided any automobile mishaps but had prepared by getting our vehicle serviced beforehand. Neither did our trip end in a drive off a cliff like Thelma and Louise. There was no college debauchery or zombie horror crisis. And Chevy Chase and the Muppets did not make an appearance. We passed Harpers Ferry, where abolitionist John Brown led a raid on the US Armory in 1859. Traveling requires refueling not only the car but also the occupants. Rather than consuming a steady diet of fast food, we took the time for a sit-down lunch at the iconic Pink Cadillac Diner. It was indeed a typical greasy spoon replete with kitschy 50s decorations. I had the “Happy Waitress,” a grill

What do you see when presented with a block of marble, a tree trunk, a blank canvas, or a fresh journal page? Would you have seen the trapped angel begging to be released? Some people see nothing but a stone, a slab of wood, or an unblemished surface. Their mind misses the curve of a new shape, a pattern winding through the grain, colors dancing, or a story or poem beginning to take form. You can’t depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus . ~ Mark Twain Dare to be inconsistent. Reach beyond the obvious and towards a different vision. I treasure the glint of strangeness, the extraordinary, and the unexpected that brews in my brain. I’m happy to see the world through a different kaleidoscope. Do you envision places and things like everyone else, or can you add your own spin or twist?  You can follow the Author on her  Website  or  Twitter . 

Oh no! I can already hear you begin to yawn, and see you stretch, get ready to hit delete on this blog post. History…boring… Does the subject conjure dusty books, antiquated items, and archaic thoughts? Perhaps long, monotone lectures in stuffy classrooms. Bells, whistles, sirens, and other alerts sound in the pages of history. From today’s perspective, it is easy to look back and say, “What the heck were they thinking when they made that decision?” But if we haven’t studied the actions of our forebears, how can we avoid repeating their errors? What do you recall of your history lessons? The evolution of art and music? The dichotomy and enmity of different religious teachings? Famous people or wars? Forced migrations of cultural groups? Or do you draw a total blank? Perhaps you learned dates, names, and other facts to regurgitate on exams but, in the process, failed to see and understand the larger processes at play which were the root cause of the rise and fall of great nations. There

July is chock full of National “cold summer drink” Days. The dog days of summer are the perfect time to sip a refreshing icy beverage. Today, July 10th is National Pina Colada Day. The drink, a blend of rum, pineapple juice, and coconut cream blended with ice, was developed in 1954 by Ramon Marrero of the Caribe Hilton in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Tomorrow, the 11th, is National Mojito Day-my personal favorite. Here is a photo of a mojito I enjoyed on board a sailboat cruise of San Juan, Puerto Rico. The concoction is white rum, lime juice, soda water, muddled mint, and sugar. Our captain’s creation utilized brown cane sugar. The drink history refers to the 1650s in Barbados vs a more recent highball creation in Havana, Cuba. The 15th is Strawberry-Rhubarb Wine Day. Reminiscent of strawberry-rhubarb pie with sweet and sour notes. Rhubarb is a vegetable recognized in the US as a fruit; its origin is China, where the stalks were used as medicine. The leaves, however, are poisonous in large