Category Archives: Through Space

Observations from trips to Guatemala (2003, 2004), Scotland (2012), the Antipodes (2014), and numerous trips in and around the USA: language, food, culture, geography, people.

Did You Ever Wonder?

Seeing books used as props, anywhere other than on a theatre stage, baffles and annoys me simultaneously. Books, dagnab it, are not meant to to complement the wallpaper, but to inform, teach, divert, or elevate. Continue reading

Posted in Laughing Frequently, Through Space | Tagged | 8 Comments

Working This Weekend?

Now, you can argue about the wisdom of messing with the environment on any scale. But what hit me was his sense of working on — of belonging to — a noble and enduring endeavour that would last well beyond his lifetime. Continue reading

Posted in Thinking Broadly, Through Space | Tagged , , | 8 Comments

Mind the Hole

Holes in the desert, ranging from the Grand Canyon to burrows for tiny rodents, inspire awe, albeit short-lived. Skunks, on the other hand, inspire a more focused mindfulness. Standing on the edge of a hole in the ground, I take … Continue reading

Posted in Through Space | Tagged , | 4 Comments

The Place Where

A trip back to my place of birth and home for a few decades leads to ruminations on home – what it has been for deep thinkers and poets, and what it is for me. Home is the place where, … Continue reading

Posted in Feeling Clearly, Through Space | Tagged | 12 Comments

We Got a Few of My Favourite Things

The last of eight observations on a recent Caribbean cruise, with apologies to both Toby Keith and Oscar Hammerstein II. Favourite question and answer on an island tour: Fellow traveller: Are the roads always busy like this? Guide: Not sometimes. … Continue reading

Posted in Thinking Broadly, Through Space | Tagged | 8 Comments

We Got Buyers, We Got Accosters

As we move through the Caribbean, the view changes with the location, but two things stay the same. The wind keeps blowing, and the crew keeps selling. Continue reading

Posted in Thinking Broadly, Through Space | Tagged | 4 Comments

We Got Rich Folks, We Got Poor Folks

The sixth of eight observations on a recent Caribbean cruise. In my own mind, I’m not rich: I work for a living, I make trade-offs, I watch my budget. But the Caribbean islands make me feel as uncomfortably rich as … Continue reading

Posted in Thinking Broadly, Through Space | Tagged | 4 Comments

We Got Photo Takers, and Music Makers

The fifth of eight observations on a recent Caribbean cruise. Brring, brring. It’s oh-six-hundred and something-or-other. The automated wake-up phone call startles me awake, as it has every morning since we sailed. We always seem to be (over)eating at sunset, … Continue reading

Posted in Appreciating Deeply, Through Space | Tagged | 2 Comments

We Got Shoppers, We Got Sellers

The fourth of eight observations on a recent Caribbean cruise. Making my still-uncertain way from cabin to, well, anywhere on this ship, I pass shops selling cruise line souvenirs, jewelry, fine timepieces (aka ‘watches’), specialty liquors, leather accessories, and modern … Continue reading

Posted in Thinking Broadly, Through Space | Tagged | 4 Comments