Category: travel

Peace Corps Fail

Posted in relationships, memoir, teaching, travel, dogs, Venezuela, Midwestern, Spain, Peace Corps, postal service2 Comments

(re-run) It was in the spring of my first year of teaching when the call came. I was at Greenwood Elementary in Greenwood, Nebraska. I had applied to the Peace Corps the year before. They had just seen my application. They wanted to fly me to Chicago for an interview that weekend. They gave me… Continue reading Peace Corps Fail

Loneliest Study Abroad Ever

Posted in church, college, friends, humor, Iowa State University, memoir, relationships, restaurant, Spain, travel, vacation1 Comment

After three months in South America and six weeks of student teaching Catholic high school girls, I headed to Burgos, Spain, with 30 students and a handful of professors from Iowa State and the University of Iowa. It would be my way of earning the final credits of my dual degree. Linda, a high school… Continue reading Loneliest Study Abroad Ever

Don’t Get a Sun Burn

Posted in airforce, California, dating, humor, military, Monterey Bay, relationships, travelLeave a comment

(re-run) You think you know someone. You’ve sat across from your brother in law at countless holiday meals. You raised your kids together, although far enough away that you only saw them four or five times a year. You know George loves Monterey, but you didn’t know the whole story. You knew he’d been in… Continue reading Don’t Get a Sun Burn

Peace Corps Fail

Posted in dogs, memoir, Midwestern, Peace Corps, postal service, relationships, Spain, teaching, travel, VenezuelaLeave a comment

(re-run) It was in the spring of my first year of teaching when the call came. I was at Greenwood Elementary in Greenwood, Nebraska. I had applied to the Peace Corps the year before. They had just seen my application. They wanted to fly me to Chicago for an interview that weekend. They gave me… Continue reading Peace Corps Fail

Grizzly Bear!

Posted in Alaska, Amazon, bears, California, church, friends, grizzly bear, guardian angel, guns, hunting, nature, relationships, travel, vacation, worst1 Comment

(re-run) An Amazon robot punctured a can of Bear Mace, sending 80 employees to the hospital before Christmas. It reminded me of this true account as told to me at a holiday party by a friend’s daughter’s boyfriend’s father figure. His name is Bob. In 2008 you take your wife, Liza, and your teen-aged kids… Continue reading Grizzly Bear!

Brain Fog, Dementia, or Something Else?

Posted in 70s, Andes, balance, brain, dolmas, Machu Picchu, memoir, Middle East, physical therapy, tourists, travelLeave a comment

(re-run) I lay on the physical therapist’s table, running names of L countries from the cubby hole in my brain that held them. Laos, Lichtenstein, Latvia . . . Why couldn’t I think of the name of the country where my youngest had sneaked off to see, the summer after her four months in Jordan?… Continue reading Brain Fog, Dementia, or Something Else?

Leopard in a Tree and OCD

Posted in Africa, antianxiety meds, Howie Mandel, memoir, OCD, retirement, roller coasters, safari, travel, wildlifeLeave a comment

My girlfriend and her husband went on safari in Kenya. “You should do it!” she said. “It’s amazing!  Just try it!” I have to admit that her photos were amazing – lions, lionesses, giraffes, elephants, some taken at very close range.  When I saw the leopard in the tree photo, I had to ask how… Continue reading Leopard in a Tree and OCD

39 Gates and a Water Bottle

Posted in cardio, cardiologist, Denver, flying, May, memoir, memorial service, stress test, travel, water bottleLeave a comment

I only fly once or twice a year. This time it was for a family memorial service in the Midwest.  Tuesday thunderstorms over Denver delayed both the landing of the first leg and the taking off of the second leg of the trip. On my return trip through Denver, we arrived early, but the plane… Continue reading 39 Gates and a Water Bottle