A Second Blog

I've decided to make this blog Riley's blog.  My other writings can now be found at a second blog, Fracking Culture http://frackingculture.blogspot.com/

Please continue to come by here to read about the adventures of my crazy little pup, and please visit Fracking Culture for a look inside our times.

And for your pleasure today, here's a picture of Riley!

Mostly Wordless Wednesday

I've got a dinosaur to protect me!

Giving Thanks, the Fifteenth

Today, I am thankful for my car.  But it's more than just a car, pieces of metal and plastic and wires and who knows what else.  It's a time machine that helps me travel to wonderful places and visit with friends and family and bring back so many memories.  It's a home for a couple days on long road trips to Florida, me at the wheel, Riley in her crate in the back seat, listening to music and watching the world from the front window.  Whether I've driven to Florida, or Georgia, or Rochester, or Fort Wayne, or West Virginia, it's taken me on adventures that I will remember for a long time.  

My car has helped me move from one home to another - you wouldn't believe how much stuff you can get in the back of this little Rav when you need to!  It's been a constant in my life when other things have changed.  It's gotten me to work and back and meetings and back and sat in parking garages, and still started right up for me.  I try to take care of it and it has taken care of me.  

In a mobile world, I am thankful to have my own little car to get me around, city or highway, small town or big city.  Without it, my world would be less interesting, and much smaller.  

Giving Thanks, the Fourteenth

When I was a kid in school, I tried to do the best I could, not for me, but to please those around me - my parents, my teachers.  Like many young children, I liked school, and even played school with friends. I never did get to that point as a slightly older child where I disliked school.  Yes, some days I didn't really want to go, but in my house that wasn't really an option.  But I always liked school, it was a cool place to go everyday.

As I got older and went to high school and college, it became more about being a place with my friends. The 'education' part of it was there, sure, but I was in it for the friends. I did well enough in school, but it wasn't until college that my interest in various subjects started to really take hold - I was not one of those kids who knew early on what they wanted to be when they grew up.

Today, after many years of formal education, I still find myself interested in different topics.  And that's the way it's supposed to be.  Life long learning isn't just a phrase, it's a way of life.  I am thankful for the formal education I received but I am thankful for the ability to learn on my own as well.  Education doesn't stop with a diploma or a cap and gown or even once you've got a job. There's always more to learn in life.  I sometimes wonder what avenue I'll wander down next, what will set off a spark of interest.  It may be just around the next bend.

Giving Thanks, the Thirteenth

If you've ever tried getting around in areas you're not familiar with, maps have perhaps been your friend.  Back in the day, you had a paper map - one that never quite folded back the way it was supposed to - that showed main roads, some towns, and not much else.  If you wanted to know where a certain store or restaurant was when you were traveling, you had to ask someone along the way and hope they knew, or find a local phone book to look it up.

Today, going to unfamiliar areas is easy.  You can google the address, find out what's close by, get directions (with multiple routes) to get there, all with the strike of a few keys.  You can get information as close in as you want, or get a bigger picture by panning out.

I've driven by myself halfway across the country, and up into Canada, by myself, with nobody to read a map and tell me which way to turn.  And I've traveled to unfamiliar areas of the Chicago area without fear of getting hopelessly lost.  I am thankful for the access we have today to online map programs.  They help us navigate, help us find our way, help us connect.

Giving Thanks, the Twelfth

Having a good friend doesn't mean having to see that person every day, or even talk to her.  Friendships can remain strong, even though you're when you're far apart.  In this digital age, friendship can be with people you've never met in person.

I have been fortunate to have 'met' a bunch of good people on a message board and chat room dedicated to a TV show.  We 'talked' sometimes every day; we 'talked' more at times than we talked to real life friends.  There was the introduction (or perhaps I should say interrogation!): where are you (basic location more to know what time zone and temperature zone you're in), how old are you (we tried to keep things clean when the kids were around), what was the episode that drew you into the show and its fandom? And from there, our chats about the characters, the actors, the stories lead to questions about how work was today, about what was on the stove that you said brb to go check, about what plans you had for the weekend besides being online.

After a couple of years, I started to get opportunities to meet some of these friends in person.  It started with a girl from one of the Chicago suburbs (and my asking her online if her mom knew we were going to meet - she was only 16 and I just wanted to cover my bases). I met another when she arrived by train in Chicago and stayed with me for two days.  Even though we had created a 'yearbook' with pictures, I wore a tee shirt from the TV show that brought us together when I went to pick her up.  I met others later and with each meeting it was like seeing an old friend. There are still people I have met online and 'talked' to for years who I haven't met in person, but they are no less my friends than those I have met.

I am thankful for these friends, who started as a name on a screen, with conversations typed far away, who became important people in my life.

Giving Thanks, the Eleventh

The eleventh hour on the eleventh day of the eleventh month 1918 was when hostilities ceased in the First World War, the 'war to end all wars.'  It was called Armistice Day.  Today, we call it Veterans Day and after a brief trial as one of those floating holidays (ones that moved to another date), we honor that eleventh day of the eleventh month.

Since the Great War, as it was called, we have been involved in several conflicts.  As we are losing the 'Greatest Generation' who fought in the Second World War, we are gaining many veterans from the War on Terror.  Whether they served during war or in peacetime, those who have served our country are a special group.   Their sacrifice should not, and will not, be forgotten.

Today I am grateful for those who are willing to step up and serve, the young men and women who put on the uniform and defended our country, who protected our country and who leave their own comfort zone and family to do so.  Thank you.