“Adventure is worthwhile.”
I’m late again, but this time I have a good reason. I went to the dentist. Two of my teeth broke. I have no memory of them breaking so it was probably at night. My dentist has decided to bond one and put a cap on the other. That will be on Monday.
Today is an ugly day. On my way back from the dentist, I could see a giant black cloud moving closer. Soon enough the rain started. It came slowly at first, intermittent wiper rain, then the rain got heavier, full blown wiper rain. Finally, just as I got home, it poured. I got wet.
Henry ran outside, turned around and came right back inside. He got soaked. Poor Henry!
Peace Corps owned a couple of Land Rovers, the same sort you’d see in National Geographic crossing the desert in a sort of safari. Even as a kid, I always thought of them as vehicles of adventure. Whenever we could, we’d hitch a ride with Peace Corps staff. I remember sitting in the back of the Rover as we drove through Accra and rounded Ring Road Circle. I took a picture. It was blurry and lopsided. Another time I rode in the Rover back to Accra from Dixcove after our mid-year conference. I had lived in Africa one whole year. Bolga, my town, was as familiar to me as the town where I grew up. I could bargain in the market speaking Hausa. I rode a camel in the desert. I was an adventurer in a Land Rover.
When I was a kid, the pictures in my geography book were the best part. I got to see other places, other countries. I remember the picture of Christ the Redeemer in Rio. The statue looked almost other worldly standing there atop a hill with his arms outspread and his head looking down at the city. I stood below that statue on my trip to Rio.
When I was eleven, I vowed to travel the world. Given that the only person in my family who had traveled was my father during World War II, this vow, this promise, seemed farfetched, but I don’t take promises lightly. Ten years later, I was in Africa, fulfilling that promise.
Explore posts in the same categories: Musings
November 5, 2019 at 1:49 pm
Its Guy Fawkes Day otherwise known as Bonfire Night.
Back in the early 60s, a large wood pyre would be assembled in a back garden and a dummy of Guy Fawkes place on the top. The neighbors and the kids would assemble and ritualistically the bonfire would be lit. To accompany the flames a series of fireworks would be let off, roman candles, jumping jacks, catherine wheels and rockets all designed to go haywire and do serious damage.
To offset the cold, most were armed with a cup of tomato soup (Heinz or Campbells were fine) and sparklers were refreshed as the kids waved patterns in to the cold November skies.
It was a ritualistic time beginning with children asking for “a penny for the guy” so they could buy fireworks and ending with the community enjoying a display of whatever they could afford. The firework of choice ? Standard Fireworks with the never to be forgotten slogan “Light up the skies with Standard Fireworks”
See you on Thursday for Joni-Lenny Day
November 5, 2019 at 2:29 pm
My Dear Hedley,
I would have loved Guy Fawkes Day. I still ooh and aah at fireworks. In my summer deck basket are a couple of boxes of sparklers. We light them up every now and then on movie night, sort of a deck red carpet event.
We too did patterns with our sparklers. My usual was a circle. It was easy with a sparkler.
Thursday? What about Thursday?
November 5, 2019 at 6:34 pm
Several years ago I was in London on Guy Fawkes night and rode the giant Ferris wheel across from Westminster to see the fireworks. Wasn’t Guy Fawkes a traitor who wanted to blow up the Parliament and was hung, drawn and quartered with his head displayed on a stick?
November 5, 2019 at 8:18 pm
November 5 was declared a national day of thanksgiving because the Gunpowder Plot was found out about and Guy Fawkes was captured the night before the planned uprising.
Remember, remember, the fifth of November
Gunpowder treason and plot
We see no reason
Why Gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot….
November 5, 2019 at 6:52 pm
Hi Kat,
The saga continues but the WiFi and cable TV seem to hold steady. My 22 year old son made a comment the other night that small things don’t matter when the roofs have been blown off the houses less than 800 ft. from our door and we suffered one broken window.
Land Rovers of the 1960s have been replaced in modern times in the ‘bush’ by the more reliable Toyota Land cruisers. The British made wonderful sports cars in the 1960s except for their Lucas Electrial parts that failed regularly. “Why do the British drink their beer warm”? “Because all their refrigerators are made by Lucas”. 🙂 “Lucas was the Roman god of darkness”. 🙂 Unfortunately, Land Rovers today score at the bottom of Consumer Reports car reliability surveys.
Today was foggy with low ceilings and mist all day long. I thought I was transported to London but I was driving on the correct side of the road or to Seattle. The high today was 60 degrees.
November 5, 2019 at 8:09 pm
Hi Bob,
Your son is right. You were lucky. The loss of cable and wifi is a horrid inconvenience in this world, but losing a roof is heavy duty damage.
It is the look of the Land Rover I used to love. With its body color, it always looked adventure worn. The spare tire gave hint of danger on the road. If I were rich, I’d buy the body of the old Rover and use a new motor. I’d love tooling around in that.
I’m sure Lucas Electrical was not at all pleased with the humor.
It rained all day here. It has stopped, but it feels as if it may rain a little more. It was in the low 60’s today despite the rain.
November 5, 2019 at 11:33 pm
Lucas electric in the UK has been bought by the international conglomerate TRW.
Some other Lucas Electrical jokes:
The Lucas motto: “Get home before dark.”
Lucas is the patent holder for the short circuit.
Lucas – Inventor of the first intermittent wiper.
Lucas – Inventor of the self-dimming headlamp.
The three position Lucas switch – Dim, Flicker and Off.
The Original Anti-Theft Device – Lucas Electrics.
November 6, 2019 at 11:07 am
I’m sure Lucas Electric is none too pleased with the funny barbs given how many neat things the company has invented.
November 5, 2019 at 8:10 pm
Ukulele adventures are worthwhile too, have fun tomorrow!
(How can I get the earworm Ukulele Lady out of my head now?)
November 5, 2019 at 8:12 pm
Birgit,
I checked and my first lesson is on Thursday morning. I’ll recount how it goes. I just hope there is more than just me.
Good luck on deafening that ear worm.
November 6, 2019 at 6:05 am
Gadzooks—two teeth! I hope it wasn’t too horrific. You sound fairly calm about it.
Another swell theme, and again the Sam Cooke was a standout.
November 6, 2019 at 11:12 am
Rowen,
As long as the teeth don’t hurt I’m just fine. My tongue, though, keeps going right to those teeth.
The Sam Cooke was a surprise to me. I hadn’t heard him sing that before though I have heard other versions I really like including Bing. Standout is a perfect description.
November 6, 2019 at 12:23 pm
Last year the old filling in one tooth just fell off, I realised that when I swallowed it 🙂 🙂 I was lucky to get an appointment the next day and get it fixed.
I was so happy to read about the results in Virginia and Kentucky! Soprt of gives hope for the future 🙂
Have fun tomorrow!
Christer.
November 8, 2019 at 12:10 pm
Christer,
I hate that it was 2 teeth that broke. He was able to fill one and the other has a temporary crown. I go back in two weeks for the crown.
Kentucky made me really happy. Trump held a rally for the governor who lost, and it made no difference!!