Planning a great trip

My friend, Denene, made this comment to one of my Facebook posts: “Loving it. So, how did you plan all of this that you’re doing? I mean for places to stay (which btw have been awesome)... did you spend like a year pre-planning it all? It just blows my mind that you are doing all of this... and having a great success with not having much trouble along the way.” I thought that merited a bigger response than a Facebook post.

The answer is that most of my plans are made the day before they are executed. That might sound flippant, but it is fairly true. Let’s start at the beginning.

I woke up one morning three years ago and had this epiphany: I’m an author. I could do this anywhere. So why am I doing it from a basement in Bellevue?

I had no idea at the time how to go about it or what ‘it’ even was. I went to RV shows and truck dealers for three months before I selected my rig. It took three more months to get things together. I left Bellevue on August 10, 2013. I had two weeks of travel planned, as in places that I was going to go and stay. I’ve been gone 32 months. While traveling the country, I visited 44 states and 3 Canadian provinces and drove 55,000 miles.

After three months in Florida last year, which was a solid month too long, I decided to plan to spend the next winter in Hawaii. I shopped around for a while to find a place to stay because Hawaii is a favored winter vacation spot, but I found the Eco-Cabin on the Big Island through VRBO (Vacation Rentals By Owner). I booked it for four months. I bought a one-way ticket to Hawaii because I had no idea where I would go from there.

After the first of the year, I got serious about deciding where to go next. I figured I was this far west and it was silly to turn around, so why not go around the world. I’d often dreamed of doing that and had visions of Tahiti, New Zealand, and a dozen more places to go to. It was very expensive. Rather than give up, I started prioritizing places I really wanted to see. Thailand was one. Greece and Turkey, where I’ve set stories in the past but never visited, Central Europe, Berlin. I found an agent that specialized in booking round the world travel. We tossed things back and forth by email and finally decided that I could make a good trip of it by flying from Hawaii to Thailand, Thailand to Greece, Eurail around Europe, and Amsterdam to Seattle. And, by the way, I could have a three-day layover in Reykjavik, Iceland over Summer Solstice at no additional charge. I bought the ticket.

I still had no idea where I was going to go or stay. I made a couple reservations at different places and then canceled them. About three days before I left, I made a five-night reservation in Bangkok near the airport at a ‘luxury resort’. The pictures looked good and the reviews were good. And at $30 a night, I figured I could afford five nights while I adjusted to the time zone.

I’d been at the Vismaya Luxury Resort for three days before I started thinking about where I’d go next. I’d thought I would go south to the beaches, but everyone I knew told me I simply couldn’t miss Chiang Mai. I had two screens open on my computer. One with Airbnb and one with airfares. The match came with the Enchanted Garden Bungalows and Air Asia. I booked them both based on the availability here. I figured that even if the bungalows were primitive, I’d just spent four months in a tiny cabin where the shower was in the jungle and the toilet was out the back door. I booked ten days and am thrilled. People here have been great and both the staff and other guests are friendly and helpful. Got a lift to go get groceries. Had dinner with a group of eleven last night and am scheduled for a group dinner again tonight. Thai massage scheduled this afternoon. Tomorrow, some of the people are going on a tour to the white temple and I think I’ll join them. I guess that’s in Laos! Who knows what the next day will bring.

I have to leave this little corner of paradise in about eight days. Sometime during that time, I need to decide where I’m going next. Those beaches down south are sounding awfully good again. Several other guests here have been down near Krabi town and I’m collecting the names of different beaches and resorts. I’ll probably stay in Bangkok a couple days again before I head south. My flight out of Thailand is on March 29.

I will spend some time this week finding a place to stay for a few days in Athens. It’s always helpful to have a location when you arrive after several hours of flight time. Fortunately, I arrive about 1:00 in the afternoon, so at least it will be daylight when I arrive there. I have a list of places in Greece, Turkey, and Central Europe that I’d like to visit, but so far no schedule. My daughter is planning to meet me in Berlin the first week of June.

Years of planning? Hardly. I literally don’t have any idea where I’m going. The good part about that is that I’m never lost!

Why Republicans Cannot Launch an Effective Campaign Against Trump

I try—very hard—to remain cut off from all things political in the U.S. and abroad. It’s not that I particularly enjoy being in ignorance, but rather that I don’t trust any of the sources of ‘news’ with which we try to remedy our ignorance. We live in a world of personal choices. We don’t know truth. We can only act on what we believe.

So, it is with great hesitance that I launch this, not as a political discussion so much as an analysis of what has brought us to the point of believing that a man who has been the brunt of our scorn and derision for over two decades can be considered a viable candidate for President of the United States. And it has to do with why there are no effective Republican campaigns against him in the nominating process.

It's an old Biblical adage: You reap what you sow.

For the past twenty years—maybe more—the U.S. political system has systematically focused on the sowing of fear. I do not hold Democrats blameless in this any more than Republicans. Whether we spread the fear of Muslims, gays, climate change, economic disaster, terrorism, the one percent, Wall Street, Mexicans, women’s rights, the loss of our guns, Syrians, or of someone simply taking advantage of our generosity, our modus operandi in the political sphere is fear.

For years, Republicans have fought against anything that threatened their power structure. They have promoted the denial of scientific evidence that the climate is changing, supported the building of a ‘Berlin Wall’ between the U.S. and Mexico (but only in Arizona), painted gay rights as a threat to non-gay marriage, and called for a religious state based on scriptural beliefs—exactly the same message that Muslim states declare.

Now there is Donald Trump. Donald Trump is the embodiment of all we fear.

“So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is...fear itself — nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance.” So said Franklin D. Roosevelt in his inaugural address of 1933. In an odd twist, we have imbued Donald Trump with the title of “Fear”. We fear fear itself. Democrats are futilely combatting the Republican Party with dire predictions of what will happen if someone like Trump is elected. What makes us think that Canada will accept the flood of American refugees that is predicted? When President Obama has been thwarted in every effort to launch progressive legislature by an obstructionist Republican Congress, why do we believe that Trump would be more effective if we placed an equally obstructionist Democratic Congress in office with him? Fear.

And Republicans cannot effectively campaign against Trump because he embodies the very fears they have promoted for two decades. How can they speak out on Trump’s stand on immigration? On women’s rights? On welfare? On a corporate state? On racial equality? On social services? On healthcare? His stance is perfectly in keeping with the established party stance that has so carefully been built by the party.

And imbued with that special touch of hatred and anger.

For fear is only a breath away from those two emotions.

Republicans cannot launch an effective campaign against Trump’s nomination without denying what they have worked so hard to achieve. In for a penny, in for a pound, so to speak. We can’t back out of our stance, so the only thing to do is invest more in our failing endeavor. The only way to keep a murder from being discovered is to murder all who might discover it, and all who might discover them, and all…

Paralyzing our efforts to convert retreat into advance.

I have less interest in the presidential campaigns this year than in the congressional campaigns. The presidency of Barack Obama has shown that Congress can completely prevent the effectiveness of a president’s leadership. Repeatedly dragging the same tired arguments forward that have been tried time and again, refusing to act on such fundamental constitutional issues as affirming a Supreme Court justice, acting with impunity to usurp the power of the President in dealing with foreign powers… If the most idealistic of our presidential candidates is elected without a congress to back him, he will fail just as Barack Obama has failed. If the most horrific of our presidential candidates is elected without a congress to back him, he will fail as well.

I live every day in fear. I am traveling the world alone, an American fluent in only one language traveling where I don’t understand anyone and depend on their understanding of me. I’m traveling to places that are Buddhist, Muslim, Christian, and Secular. I am traveling to where there are volcanoes, terrorists, immigrants and refugees, economic upheaval, and social unrest. I am afraid. But I refuse to let my fears control my actions any longer. I’m sick and tired of being afraid all the time.

Republicans cannot launch an effective campaign against Trump. It is doubtful that Democrats can, simply because they are prey to all the same fears.

And in fearing them, we bring our fears to pass.

Now, here's a pretty picture of my bungalow retreat in Chiang Mai, Thailand where I'm listening to the fountains outside my door and allowing this fear to pass.

Relaxing in Thailand

I left Hilo about 8:30 a.m. on March 1 and arrived in Bangkok about 11:30 p.m. on March 2. In doing so, I crossed the International Date Line so only 22 hours had elapsed but I lost an entire day. On the other hand, I filled out a complete set of Boeing aircraft. Flew a 777 from Honolulu to Tokyo and a 787 from Tokyo to Bangkok. I guess I haven't flown a 717, but I'm not sure a commercial carrier ever put one in service. I did fly a 707 on my first plane trip in 1970. A lot has happened since then, none of which has made flying more comfortable. Nearly broke the screen on my laptop when the dude in front of me slammed his seat back. I swear, the next time someone drops their head in my lap like that, I'd better be getting a blowjob!

I spent all day the third just lounging by the pool at the Vismaya Luxury Resort.

The hotel is kind of in the boondocks about fifteen minutes from the airport by shuttle. But the facility itself is quite lovely. Nice, comfortable room. Quiet. About a fifteen minute walk to the nearest Tesco and an open market where I intend to eat lunch today.

 Large, comfortable, and cool room.

View of the fields from my window. Looking south.

It was so relaxing that I decided to spend a second day by the pool while I made sure I was over jetlag. Well, that didn't work so well. I went up to my room for a little nap before dinner about 4:00 and woke up at half past midnight.

Decided to make a day of it anyway and took a little nap after breakfast, then caught the shuttle to the airport and took the SRT train into the heart of Bangkok. I did a lot of walking around the commercial downtown near Siam Square. Mostly high-end luxury shops. All I had to do was follow the signs.

Of course, this one pointed directly at the river. I managed, however, and ended up window shopping through all the primarily European designer shops. I had a nice sushi lunch.

I took the train back to the airport and decided to just take a taxi to the hotel. The driver told me it would be 200 Baht. I started to object to the high cost. Then I did a little mental calculation and figured out that was about $6.50. I agreed and he got me right to the hotel.

I've eaten several meals at the hotel restaurant and not much elsewhere. I bought instant noodles that I had for breakfast this morning. I'm definitely going to try some of the food vendors in the open market this noon. I have realized that Thai curry and Tom Yum are very spicy--enough to make my brow sweat and give me hiccups. But the food has been very good and all in the under $10 range.

I managed to complete a new story yesterday and get started on the next. I'm a couple thousand words behind goal for the 1 Million Word Challenge, but I think I'll make it up today as I'm working on the new story. I also believe that my next lodging where I'm moving tomorrow will be the long-sought setting for my next Dag Hamar mystery. I'll show you that when I get there. For now, it is 9:15 in the morning, 86 degrees and mostly sunny. Time for another cup of coffee and a trip to the pool!

In Summary

I know I don’t update this site as often as I expected to. I will try to do better over the next four months as there should be a lot of exciting stuff going on. I will be completing my round-the-world trip heading for Thailand, Greece, Turkey, Central Europe, Germany, Sweden, Iceland, and back to Seattle. Some fun!

But I thought I’d spend a few minutes mentioning some of my favorite things from the past four months in Hawaii. It’s been a great trip.

I got into Honolulu on October 26 and spent a couple days wandering around and enjoying Waikiki. Then caught a plane to the Big Island for a couple days in Hilo. Got out to my little cottage on November 1 and settled in quickly, including buying an old car from a neighbor. I was really out a long way away. I met Cathy the first week I was in town and we had fun exploring Hilo on a walking tour. The next weekend, we went up to Volcano Market. Just a start to some of the places we have gone! She has helped make my stay in Hawaii memorable.

Quinne came out to visit for Thanksgiving. We tried to see everything on the island that week! Went to see the volcano (Kilauea), down to the black sands beach, and to the southernmost town in the United States, Na'alehu. That was just a start to our wandering around the island. We went north to Honokaa, Waimea, and Hawi. Found a steep little backroad that got us to Saddle road in a fog and rainstorm. Was amazed that when we got back to Hilo, discovered that old Toyota (’89) got 36 miles per gallon. There were times in Seattle when we only got that with the Prius! We went to the hot ponds, and the Kaimu Market in Kalapana. Then took another long loop around the southern end of the island all the way to Kailua Kona by way of the Puuhonua O Honaunau National Historic Park. It was so cool!

Seemed like the visit was over almost before it began and Quinne had to fly home.

I managed to finish writing a story in December and was well on the way to another in January. Writing was going well in the little Eco Cabin retreat. Cathy invited me to a family Christmas Dinner that was very nice, but even more impressive was going to the Volcano late that night. Full moon above and glowing hot lava below.

I agreed to a 2016 1 Million Word Challenge and was off and running on January 1. Had to finish my long-running serial first and that took about 140,000 words. Then I launched a new story that I’m nearly finished with. These are all stories for the adult website. Shortly, I’ll be starting a new mystery, I think. Of course, in January, I also got books out for Tom Kroll and for Karlene Pettit. Very excited to have these guys in the market with new books.

Two of the things I’ve enjoyed the most over the past four months have been the Kaimu Market every Wednesday night, and sunrise (or any other time) overlooking the ocean at Seaview. The fact that I got to share several of those with Cathy was a big plus. I doubt that I will take more pictures of any one subject in the next four months than I have taken of sunrise and waves crashing on the shore in the past four months. I love being near the ocean. I need to think about that for when I return to the States in June.

Yes, return to the States. Starting tomorrow, I’m off on a new adventure that will include visits to Thailand, Greece, Turkey, and Iceland with several stops between. I will keep this blog updated!

Well, that’s pretty much it, but here are some more of my favorite photos from Hawaii.

Quinne as we headed toward Ne'alehu

 Full moonrise in November

 November sunrise.

 Breakers at the new Kaimu black sand beach.

 The painted church near Kalapana.

Sporting the Santa look at Akala Falls in January.

 One of the little geckos that is always looking for food on the deck.

 Sunrise with clear weather

 Baby gecko on Cathy's finger. Found him on the table.

The native brand of little lizard puffs up his throat.

The Steam Vents. Hot on the right and really hot on the left.

Full Moon in February with Jupiter just above. Woke me up every night shining in through the window.

Kilauea volcano at night. It was talking and very scary.

Vendors at Kaimu Market.

Nicoco and Ashley serving vegan gelato and fresh waffle cones at the market.

Cathy.

Ready for the next adventure!

The sunrise sky on February 29, my last day at Seaview.

You might be part of the problem...

Please don't blame Jeff Foxworthy for this. That incredibly talented comedian came up with the fantastic series "You might be a Redneck..." that I've often laughed at while traveling cross-country in my truck. Many people have posted "You might be..." things crediting Foxworthy, who probably has never even seen them. This one is all mine and he's not to blame for something he could have done a much better job with.

In my exhaustive tests and research, I have determined that I can offend about 95% of my friends and followers with this post. The other 5% can't actually read. If you'd rather not risk it, just scroll down and look at the pretty pictures of Hawaii where I'm spending the winter.

YOU MIGHT BE PART OF THE PROBLEM...

• If you can’t tell the difference between ‘then’ and ‘than’…
• If you think corporations are people…
• If you believe safety is more important than freedom…
• If your religion is better than everyone else’s…
• If you think Ted Cruz is a natural born citizen and Barack Obama isn’t…
• If you believe we would be safer if the weird guy who talks to himself on the bus, the boss who pinches his secretary’s butt, and the 16-year-old hormonally driven teen dating your child were armed…
• If you think ‘gun-free zones’ reduce crime…
• If terrorism is a sensible alternative to you...
• If two guys having a wedding can affect the sanctity of your marriage…
• If you think Obama is coming for your guns…
• If you intend to end homelessness with a ten-year plan…
• If you believe a wall will keep out problems…
• If you think Bernie Sanders is a Democrat…
• If you post clever memes that show how outraged you are…
• If you think everything is binary--yes/no, black/white, good/bad, plus/minus, saved/damned...
• If you can only speak one language (and that, not very well)…
• If you think Donald Trump and Hilary Clinton are opposites…
• If your god is the only one of the 3,000 or so that have been worshiped in human history that is real...
• If you’ve decided the antichrist lives in Washington DC…
• If you think any computer manufacturer or software publisher EVER calls customers to offer help…
• If you've never traveled outside your own country...
• If you believe everyone is equal but you or your group are a little more equal...
• if you think vaccinations pose a greater risk than epidemics...
• If you think drug companies care about curing diseases...
• If you think "The Bible Belt" comes with a quick-draw holster...
• If your Christmas was ruined by someone saying "Happy Holidays"...
• If turning the other cheek means applying makeup...
• If you didn't check the expiration date on the "fact" you are quoting...
• If you'd rather argue than think...
• If you don’t know the difference between a sheik and a Sikh…
• If you think there is a difference between cops killing innocent people and people killing innocent cops...
• If you’ve forgotten (and/or are ignoring) Jeb’s last name…
• If you think school violence didn't occur in the 60s...
• If you think U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan and Iraq are fighting for our freedom…
• If you think Europe is right next door to North America and the Middle East is way over on the other side of the world…
• If you've forgotten all the words of the Pledge of Allegiance except the ones added in the 50s...
• If you believe 'one good man with a gun' will ever help against terrorism...
• If you think Africa is a country…
• If you think Ben Carson is a sensible alternative…
• If you don't think there is 'enough' for everyone...
• If you post pictures of kitties to counteract the evil in the world…
• If you think Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, or the Dalai Lama is going to give you $1,000, $5,000 or $1 Billion if you share his post…
• If you believe Muslims are a bigger threat to freedom than Christians...
• If you think peanut butter and banana sandwiches taste good...
• If nothing in this post offended you...
• If you have a clever, pithy, witty thing to say in response to this blog post…

YOU MIGHT BE PART OF THE PROBLEM!

 Now here's those pretty pictures I promised of life in Hawaii for the past two months.

730 Days

Today is the second anniversary of the day I hitched my wagon and drove out of town.

Wow! Two years. I should say something profound. I have achieved enlightenment. I am one with the world. I hate humanity. Something profound. Well, none of those.

I've written in past posts about what I've learned on this journey. My observations. My adventures. I guess that there are some other things I've discovered.

I have discovered that I can be friends with people who hold vastly different beliefs than mine about the meaning of life, justice, and faith. People I would never have sought out to be my friends. They're nice people. Some of them are even relatives.

I've discovered that regardless of political, religious, and personal beliefs, most people are nice people. There are some who simply hold so firmly to hatred that you can't get to the nice part, but even these have some aspect of love and kindness for someone. I've stopped demonizing people. I just take them as they come.

Fundamental to these discoveries is the discovery that we human beings are capable of holding two or more conflicting beliefs and ideals at the same time and adhering to them equally. Me, too. In the midst of a divorce, I honor no ideal more highly than the love of my wife and child. It's the way we are.

We can expound on patriotism and honor for our soldiers while flying the flag of a defeated enemy of the United States. We can denounce government or church interference in what goes on in the privacy of a bedroom between two consenting adults and demand that the government invade the privacy of individuals to regulate how they keep their guns in their homes. We can espouse love for all humanity, hatred for our enemies, concern for our environment, and denial of global warming at the same time.

We humans are masters of believing whatever we damn-well please and ignoring that the pink blouse simply doesn't go with the fuchsia pants.

We are fundamentally driven by greed. Whatever is good for me at this time is what is right and everyone should adhere to. We are more human than ever before in history.

I have found as I've traveled around the country that we like to erect monuments to events and that those monuments inherently defeat the purpose that we declare for them. The 911 Memorial does less to honor the brave men and women who lost their lives in self-sacrifice to save trapped people that it does to  keep alive the hatred for people who caused the event. The Rebel Battle Flag does less to honor brave men who fought for what they believed than it does to keep alive divisive issues that continue to separate north and south. The longest undefended border in the world is not between The United States and Canada, but between The Union and The Confederacy. We memorialize the holocaust to increase division between Jews and the rest of the world, not to honor people who lost their lives. We memorialized black lives in order to demonize police and honor police in order to demonize the media.

It makes no difference whether we are liberal or conservative, Democrat or Republican, Christian, Jew, or Muslim. We will continue to support the social, political, and religious leaders who give us an outlet for our hatred, a reason that we are suffering, a scapegoat for our pain. We will continue to base our allegiance on anecdotes, soundbites, and slogans.

We will continue to believe that one person's honor, conviction, courage, love, or evil invalidates another's.

That doesn't seem like much to have learned in the past two years. In fact, it seems like I should have learned it in the previous sixty-four.

But I'm only human.

Atheist, Agnostic, or Eh...

Sometimes the characters in my stories speak louder than I can. I excerpt this little gem from a statement by Brian Frost in Living Next Door to Heaven:

"I think that to be an atheist or an agnostic, you have to care. I don’t. I don’t care if there is a god or not, or if there are twenty of them or hundreds. It’s irrelevant. There are good people and there are people who are not as good. I won’t even call them bad, though I do believe that the pain we inflict upon each other is evil."

I Believe the Lies of Handsome Men

Isn’t that beautiful? I’ve been thinking about Cleo a lot recently. I first saw her in concert back in 1975 with the Johnny Dankworth Trio (her husband) at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival in Stratford, Ontario. I’m going back there this summer to see three shows and one at the neighboring Shaw Festival in Niagara-on-the-Lake. I love her bell-like tones and the soft soulful melodies she weaves. Not bad for a 90-year-old.

Of course, this post isn’t about Cleo Laine or Stratford or music.

It’s about believing lies. I think we all (me included) believe the lies of handsome men. Let me define my terms. ‘Handsome’ might also mean beautiful, clever, charismatic, popular, rich, erudite, holy, or whatever else you find attractive. ‘Men’ might also mean women, corporations, churches, books, political parties, schools, philosophies, or any other person, place, or thing that influences our thinking.

After writing thousands of words and discarding them, I finally got it down to one sentence.

We believe not what is true, but what resonates with who we are deep inside.

In fact, we are fundamentally unable to identify truth. In an age of virtual reality, we cannot even trust what we witness with our own eyes. We cannot trust experience, the Internet, ancient holy books, science, the media, or what others say. Not even the person, place, or thing that is most attractive to us—the lies of handsome men—can we know to be true.

This has always been the way of things. Unfortunately, far from fulfilling its promise of giving us instant access to all knowledge, the Internet has obfuscated truth, and has given equal weight to the words and thoughts of everyone. If for no other reason, this in itself has made it impossible to ascertain what is true and what is false. Instead, we have only what is believed and what is not believed. And that is different for every person.

Understanding it is all lies, has caused me to look inside myself at what kind of person I am. When I find myself angry, hateful, bitter, ready to kill, it is a reflection of who I am, not of what is true. When I find myself filled with joy, love, compassion, it is also a reflection of who I am. And the neat part of it is that I can choose what kind of person I am deep inside. I can choose whether I am a hateful, resentful, angry individual, or whether I am a loving, kind, and compassionate individual. I might fail to always live up to that ideal, but I renew it daily.

I am not going to attempt to relate this to current events. The association is too obvious and my analysis would be redundant. Each day, though, I ask myself if my response is the response of the kind of person I choose to be. I choose the lies I will believe based on what resonates within my soul.

I tell lies for a living. It’s called writing fiction. But I will cite two of my characters and the principles they live by as my own code for living. From Tony, “Leave the world a better place than you found it.” From Brian, “Treat everyone with kindness and respect.”

This is all I aspire to. These are the lies I choose to believe.

And here’s another beautiful photo from down in Southern Indiana where I enjoyed the hospitality of my friend and childhood neighbor, Mike Brown.

The Meaning of Life

I have not posted on my travel blog for quite some time. I've been sitting in one spot for the past three months, contemplating Life, The Universe, and Everything. I have not been idle. I have also written nearly 300,000 words on my various books and serials. I've designed three books for authors, have a current eBook project, and am releasing a book a month on Amazon this year. (If I can get this one formatted and out before the end of the month!)

The thing is, I have been doing a lot of deep thinking this year, as well. That has resulted in more than one headache. (Or perhaps it was the wine.) As a result, much of what I want to say is not related to my travels and is also not appropriate for Facebook. At the same time, here's a great picture of my daughter when we went to Fort Myers Beach a few weeks ago. I'm not only contemplating the lint in my navel!

I thought about writing a post that boldly declared that everything we think and believe is based on the fantasies or outright lies of handsome men. I might still write that when I can keep it from becoming too depressing. Instead, I chose to expose you to my thoughts on the meaning of life.

You see, I've come to the end of my search for meaning. I was never very good at it, anyway. I realized, in a conversation with a dear friend this week, that I stopped searching for meaning some time ago. I have, over the course of this journey, discovered contentment in simply being. I am certain there are names for this and that greater minds than mine have discoursed on the topic (Nietzsche, Camus, Sartre, Descartes, Bonhoeffer), but I've either ignored them or shamelessly plagiarized them without knowing.

In case this is getting to be too much, here's a picture of my daughter and me in front of my tiny trailer home. I so loved having her visit!

The essence of the search for meaning is to sow discord. The search assumes there is an answer. Of course, if one has found the answer, then it is within our nature to attempt to convince everyone else that we are right in our answer. If I am right, then you are wrong, and that creates a division between us. The antidote to answers is the lack of questions. I'm simply not asking them any longer.

I certainly consult my GPS and maps when I am going someplace. I ask for recommendations in a restaurant. I inquire about the health and well-being of my friends. I entertain philosophical discussions. It's fun. But it does not affect my acceptance of others or my outlook on life.

Life is the meaning of life.

Really, how could I not end that without a picture of a beautiful sunset in the RV Park where I'm staying?

I am being.