Are you American?

     Recently I saw a news item referring to Marco Rubio as Cuban American standing next to an Indian American and African American supporters.  This description was from a news reporter. I see this often; people identify nationality first, Asian American, Hispanic American, Italian American, etc.  Do you see anything wrong with this?  I get it people are proud of their heritage but if you are born in America, aren't you an American first.  Aren't you proud to be an American?

     It seems that this is more prevalent in the U.S.  If you are a citizen of France, Italy or Spain but with a Cuban, Indian or African heritage would you call yourself Cuban French, Indian Italian or African Spaniard.  That doesn't seem to be the case.

     My roots that are connected to multiple countries, which I think is the case for many people.  My heritage is German, French and Irish, so based on the way some US citizens describe their selves I should call myself German French Irish American.  Pretty ridiculous, don't you agree?  I was born and raised an American but I happen to have a German, French and Irish heritage.

     If you are a citizen of a country you should be proud to take that country as your first designation instead of race or heritage.  If you are running for President of the United States it only makes sense that you would want to be recognized as an American versus a Cuban American or fill-in the blank American.

     Be proud of your heritage but be just as proud of your country.  Your heritage gave you your looks and characteristics but America gives you the freedom to express and practice your beliefs.  Of course there’s danger in referring to yourself as an American despite your heritage, we might end up uniting ourselves instead segregating ourselves.  “Just Saying….”

Our Envelope Home

     Our first house in St. Charles was an envelope home.   What the hell am I talking about, nobody lives in an envelope.  We all know the fairy tail about the little old lady that lives in a shoe but an envelope, really!  Our home would be considered a green home today but back in 1984 when we moved in to our envelope home the word green was just a color not a description.  Another way to describe our home is passive solar but it was more than that.  

     It was a house within a house by that I mean the living quarters were encased by a shell (envelope) with a tempered air to help maintain a comfortable temperature in the living quarters.   Our house had a double wall on the north and south facing walls with a minimum of 12-inch air space between the wall and a solarium with a wall of windows heating the space.  The house also had a double floor in the attic with a fan (thermostat controlled) that circulated air within the envelope by pulling air through the cooling tubes located outside on the east and west side of the house.  When the temperature in the envelope reached 74 degrees the fan would turn on and draw cool air in to the space.  The idea was that by maintaining a lower temperature in the envelope the living quarters would be easier to cool.  In winter the sun would heat the solarium up and as we all know heat rises which would then keep the air in the envelope warmer thereby making it easier to heat the living quarters.

     The basement was built the same way with double walls but much wider than 12 inches.  The cooling tubes entered the basement at the north end of the house right below the envelope space.  We had caps that would close the tubes off in the winter. The space around the basement living area was 5 feet wide on the three sides but only about 2 feet on the north side.  Our kids loved it because it was enough space to roller skate in almost like a track. The basement was big enough to have a playroom, workshop and office in the living area.

     In our kitchen we had a big window that slid open to the solarium and when we turned on the second attic fan with the kitchen window open the cool air rushed in like a strong ocean breeze that would cool of the house quickly.

     The cooling tubes were about 12 inches in diameter with screen covering the opening to keep any critters out and traveled down the foundation entering the basement at the floor level.  This made the air coming into the house very cool, which was great during the summer.

     The foundation was treated wood, which was an initial concern since the foundations in Missouri are almost always concrete but it was never a problem.   It was the driest basement of any house we lived in.

     The main entrance had French doors that separated the living quarters from the entry foyer.  This was also a design of the envelope home and it seal tightly almost like a vacuum.  The house was super quiet because of the double walls and extra insulation so much so that we rarely heard the doorbell inside the entry foyer unless we were in the living room.

     This was a very unique home where we made great memories and you would never know it was different than any other house in the neighborhood other than the wall of windows in the back.

     

Your "Back to the Future" Dream

     If you could travel back in time for just one hour where would you go and whom would you like to meet.  As I think about this I find it's not an easy question to answer for me.  Would you pick a historic moment or a historic figure?  Would you put yourself in danger or try to change history?

     An aviation buff might want to be on the plane with Amelia Earhart (let's say an hour and 15 minutes before the crash), Charles Lindbergh or some other famous aviator.  Someone fascinated by Hollywood may want to spend time with a renowned actor like Douglas Fairbanks or Greta Garbo. Your personal interest (profession) and beliefs would play a big part in your decision. Maybe you want to meet Frank Lloyd Wright or be in an episode with The Three Stooges, these are both interesting and ridiculously fun dreams. That’s all this is just a fun exercise to let your mind wonder.  Here are some ideas in case your stuck; racing fan, historian, humanitarian, comedy buff, UFO encounters, sports enthusiast or religious, well you can see how this could be a never ending list.

     There is no right or wrong answer but it makes me think more deeply about what makes me the way I am.  Whatever inspires or motivates you will likely influence your "Back to the Future" dream decision.  I have had many interests in life.  I laugh a lot which is why I love a good comedy, making wine is also hobby I've had for a while and I like to watch historical shows about ancient times in our world but my most recent interest is writing stories.  

     So after much thought I decided that if I could only choose one "Back to the Future" moment it would be meeting with Mark Twain at the time he was writing "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer".  Why Mark Twain you may ask when there's so many great writers to choose from, well he is down home type of person that had a good sense of humor and an interesting viewpoint on life.  I imagine he would be interesting and easy to talk to with his down to earth attitude.  I have no doubt I would learn something and I would hope to be inspired to a new level of writing.

     Now it’s your turn what where would you go and what would you do in your hour.  Seriously, I really want to know.  I would love to hear your “Back to the Future” dream.

Is Listening a Lost Art?

     It seems like no one listens to others anymore.  Sometimes it appears they are listening but all they are doing is formulating their rebuttal argument.  I know there are many people who are scared, anxious and upset about life in general and this makes many of us angry.  We want to see a change and we feel the answers are obvious.  It's important that we voice our opinion, which is our right but it is everyone's right.  Angry people seem to have zero tolerance to the opinions of others as if other opinions are not worth hearing. 

     There seems to no shortage of angry people, screaming and yelling their opinions, chastising and intimidating anyone that disagrees with them.  It's gotten to the point where people are wary of giving their opinion when they know they have an opposing viewpoint.   This is a sober thought because if you're not listening you're not learning.  If you've only heard one side of an argument you are brainwashed.  How can you form an intelligent opinion about something if don't open your mind to listening to both viewpoints?

     I believe listening is a sign of intelligence, not the only sign but as crucial as any.  There are many hot topics that drive passionate opinions but this is not about any one topic just how we approach others with our opinions.  Many opinions are self-serving and therefore tarnish our ability to listen to others.  Some of our world leaders, politicians and corporate executives are shining examples of people with poor listening skills and self-serving opinions.

     You will never find someone that will agree with you 100% of the time but you may learn something from someone with a different background and opinion but you will need to listen.  “Just Saying….”   

Your Last Meal

     Have you ever wondered about your last meal?  I'm not saying this is if you're on death row.  Let's just say had the strange opportunity to design your last meal, what would be on the menu and who would you be dining with.  I don't mean for this post to be depressing just thought provoking.  Regarding food there are people that overindulge, some that choose to always eat healthy and the rest of us are somewhere in between. 

     When I was younger I was more of an eat to live person versus a live to eat person but as I've aged I have placed certain foods in my favorite category and look forward to a meal of these foods.  I try to maintain healthy weight but I eat unhealthy favorite foods only not or a regular basis.

     I like seafood, BBQ, steak, pasta, bacon, Hey! What about salad?  Well I like salad but not the same as the previous items I mentioned and for my last meal it would just take up extra space so I will opt out on the salad for my last meal.  I don't like the uncomfortable feeling when I overeat and I prefer quality over quantity so may not eat everything on my plate but I will taste everything.  Should this uncomfortable feeling be a concern with your last meal?  Maybe not but it is for me.

     So my perfect last meal would be starting with bacon wrapped BBQ shrimp, surf and turf for the main course would be BBQ Ribs and grilled swordfish (on a bed of pearl couscous).  I know BBQ ribs is not a typical choice for a surf and turf entrée but this is my meal not yours.  My side dish would be a baked potato with butter (no sour cream).  Oh! Let’s not forget about the wine, my choice would be a Cabernet (Napa) or Bordeaux.  Now I would not normally have dessert with a meal but this is a special occasion so I would like to have a caramel cinnamon roll with French vanilla ice cream drizzled in caramel and nuts and a glass of 30-year old port wine.  Sounds yummy but it's way more than I could eat so I would share this meal with family and friends.  Why because breaking bread with friends is the best part of any meal.

     The truth is it is unlikely that you will know when your last meal will be so I have a better idea.  Food is one of the joys of life so why wait until your last meal to enjoy this pleasure.  Life is about balance not about overindulging or starving yourself so make plans to enjoy a special meal with family and friends on occasion without feeling guilty.  Your favorite food will be a treat but the company will be memorable.  “Just Saying….”

Riding the Katy Trail

     Small adventures had always been intriguing for John and I, nothing dangerous just bucket list challenges.  I'm sure many people have similar dreams so one of ours was to ride the Katy trail from beginning to end.  At the time the beginning was in St. Charles (Jean Baptist Point DuSable Park) with the end being Clinton, Missouri, which was about 225 miles not including side trips.

    We rode many training rides throughout the summer to prepare for our Fall adventure.  We knew we would be riding about 60 miles a day so we felt it was necessary to practice riding long distances.  One of our practices rides was from St. Charles to McKittrick, a little over 60 miles, which was a good test ride. Mimi dropped us off at he park for our test ride but when we unloaded our bikes I discovered I forgot my helmet (that’s an amateur move), so John and I set off on the ride and met Mimi at Greens Bottom where I picked up my helmet.

     As we pedaled away from Greens Bottom our plan was to have lunch at a deli in Dutzow.  We made it to the deli had a great sandwich then made our way to Marthasville then to our final destination of McKittrick.  It was a long day but Mimi and Cindy met us at the trailhead and drove us to Herman to have a nice dinner.  Of course dressed on biking clothes wasn’t acceptable attire for dinner so we went to a gas station to change.  We both went into the men’s room to change and walking out in our dinner clothes.  We got a few odd looks from strangers when we both walked out of the gas station bathroom, Oh Well.  We had a nice dinner and confirmed our belief that we were up to the challenge.

     It was September 25^th 2002 at 8:45 when we started out on our trip across Missouri via the Katy trail.  We planned for lunch at the deli in Dutzow just as we did on our practice ride.  We rode a steady but leisurely pace stopping to take pictures and talking to other riders along the way.  The busiest part of the trail is between St. Charles and Augusta, which was a very familiar part of the trail that we rode often.  Our lunch stop at Dutzow would be about half way to our 1^st day’s destination to Meyer’s Hilltop Farm B & B in McKittrick.  Unfortunately, the deli was closed, not sure why but we kinda bummed.

     So we left Dutzow and headed to Marthasville about 3.5 miles down the trail.  We’ll find someplace to eat there. As we rolled in to Marthasville we spotted a bar so we parked our bikes and went in to grab some grub.  What a stroke of luck, they had a special all-you-can-eat of some great comfort food for $5.00, sweet.  This was way better than the deli.  After lunch we felt refreshed and ready to ride to the B & B.  We arrived at Meyer’s late afternoon showered before dinner. The Meyer’s were kind enough to drive us into Herman where we had dinner while they went to church. We rested well that night and had an excellent breakfast. This was a great choice for our first night nice couple with a great sense of humor.

     The next day we rode out of McKittrick headed for our next B & B in Hartsburg at the Globe Hotel. We rode through nine small towns some so small if you missed the sign you wouldn’t have noticed the town.  When we rode in to Mokane we stopped at Mokane Bar and Grill for lunch a very bike friendly bar that had good food. The traffic on the trail almost non-existent once we left Marthasville but the ride was pleasant and relaxing stopping to snap a few pictures when we saw something interesting.  We arrived at the Globe Hotel in Hartsburg after a 53-mile ride to what I would describe as Cowboy hotel right out of an old John Wayne movie. The place was clean but the owner had an odd some may say bizarre personality.  For more info on our night at the Globe Hotel read my post from 11/14/13 titled Katy Trail Ride (2nd Night) Globe Cowboy Hotel and learn about the greatest prank ever. 

     The next morning after a hearty breakfast of a hardboiled egg and spinach muffin, yeah not so much, we headed out toward Pilot Grove (our next B & B).  It was a little chilly when we started out but it warmed up quickly.  Today we would stop at Rocheport for lunch.  This is a bike town everything is geared toward the cyclist.  Friendly people, many B & B’s and restaurants, since this would be the shortest ride of the trip we decided to splurge and eat at Les Bourgeois Winery & Bistro. Rocheport is a great day trip for anyone and it’s very close to Columbia Missouri.  After lunch we pedaled west passing through Boonvillle, stopping to see the western murial on a building next to the trail we headed toward the trailhead.  The Boonville trailhead is near the Isle of Capri Casino, which is where we ran in a very fit older couple (mid-70’s).  They were biking the trail and heading home to Minot North Dakota camping along the way.  They would take the trail to Clinton, Missouri then head north weaving their way home. They decided they needed a nice comfy night and rented a room at the casino for that night, pansies.  They were in training to ride across the country the following spring, ok not pansies, show-offs but quite impressive. We left Boonville to ride the last 12 miles to Pilot Grove, easy peasy, well it turned out to be a long uphill not super steep but very long and tiring, pansies.  We arrived the Pilot Grove Flower Shop and B & B met the owners, got the keys, cleaned up then went to eat at the local bar.  We had burgers and a six-pack of wine coolers.  Real men drink wine coolers with their burgers, LOL.  The room was nice but we were abruptly awoken at 3am when the next-door tenants came barging in not attempting to be the least bit quite, dingbats. 

     We left the next morning after a nice breakfast making as much noise as possible hoping to wake the sleeping beauties next door. Clinton Missouri was a 61-mile ride passing through Sedalia and stopping for lunch in Green Ridge at the bar and grill.  We arrived in Clinton tired but excited that we rode the trail and had some fun experiences meeting many friendly people.  There were some property owners that were not supportive of the trail or cyclist with signs in their yard claiming the Katy trail stole their land. We were cautious when we crossed dirt roads since some yahoo punched the gas as we were crossing the road either to scare us or hit us, we didn’t stick around to find out.

     We counted over 200 people cycling along the trail and talked to many, saw lots of wild life, stay dogs and even passed a ranch with some buffalos roaming the range, Hmm! that sounds like it could be a song. All in all it was a great and memorable trip that I would recommend for anyone that doesn’t mind riding about 240-mile over 4 days.

They're just entertainers

     They have a talent, well at least some of them.  That's it, they don't have any better insight to life than we do.  In any cases they make terrible decisions their life but for some reason people choose to worship them.  People want to be popular so if they pattern their life after a celebrity maybe this will help them achieve their dreams. They are just entertainers, not philosophers, scholars or leaders but some people adore them as if they have the keys to happiness. Look closely and you will see a fragile individual with similar struggles that have only been magnified by their excesses.

     The salaries of well-known entertainers are enormous, but they are dedicated to their craft and love what they do.  Sometimes I wonder if they made an average salary would they be as dedicated to this art form.  Recently, I've read that some black entertainers are boycotting the Oscars because they believe blacks are being snubbed since none are nominated for awards.   I don't know, this could very possibly be true but I have a hard time feeling sorry for someone making multi-million dollars per film and complaining about not receiving an award.

     Doctors go to years of schooling and work at low salaries until they complete their residency and even at their salary high point they can never match what an entertainer makes.  Teachers shape the minds of our youth and spend extra hours preparing and grading papers.  Soldiers fight for our country and protect our citizens suffering physically and mentally, while struggling financially.  There are many people who work hard and are never honored for their dedication, so I'm having a hard time feeling sorry for those in Hollywood that feel slighted because they aren't nominated for an Oscar.  Seems to me making $10 million + per movie is enough of an award.

     People of the world deal with daily struggles throughout life and are rarely recognized for our achievements but they move forward because the only other choice is giving up.  "Just Saying...."