”To move, to breathe, to fly, to float, to gain all while you give, to roam the roads of lands remote: To travel is to live.”
The sun is breaking through the early morning clouds, and I can see the blue. It will be another lovely day in the 70’s and in the 50’s tonight. That’s just about perfect.
My favorite Sunday dinner was roast beef with gravy, mashed potatoes and baby peas. I used to make a crater in the potatoes to hold the gravy. I’d also mix my peas with the potatoes. It wasn’t pretty, but it was tasty. My mother used to put slices of onion on the beef when it was roasting. I’d try to steal an onion, but the oven door was loud, and I always got caught.
When I was a kid, I dreamed of traveling the world. I’d be Nelly Bly. I had no specific destination. I wanted to see the whole world. I don’t know when my dream started. I remember making travel books filled with pictures from brochures and magazines. On each page, I’d write about my travels as if I’d really been there. They were my dream books.
Canada was my first foreign country. We stayed on the Canadian side of Niagara Falls. We didn’t need passports. Everyone spoke English. We ate at McDonald’s for lunch. I loved the falls, but I was disappointed that Canada didn’t seem foreign at all.
I wish I lived in the days of the Pan Am Clipper. I’d be traveling in luxury, crossing oceans and landing in foreign countries, really foreign countries. I’d travel first to Hawaii then on to Asia, exotic Asia. I’d make my way across the continent. I’d fill my travel trunk with souvenirs like a kimono from Japan. I’d write in my journal every night and not have to imagine.
I always think I have been lucky in life. My childhood dreams became real. I got to travel the world, except for Asia. I had a trip booked but bought a house instead. I always sort of joke about living in Asia. I’d still like to go there, but I want to go back to Ghana first. I’m hoping for a trip in three years, a birthday present from me to me. That is when I turn 80. Such a monumental birthday demands a monumental gift.
Explore posts in the same categories: Musings
keepthecoffeecoming.blog 
September 13, 2024 at 4:15 pm
Hi Kat,
Today is sunny with a high temperature predicted of 94°. Earlier in the week we had fake fall 🙂
You were very luck to have traveled the world at a young age. I had to wait until someone else picked up the tab. 😦
My favorite city is Vancouver Canada. It is the most beautiful city in North America and everyone I’ve met there are very nice and polite. The other places were interesting or different, but Vancouver is fabulous. If I could afford to live there I would move tomorrow. Toronto is my next favorite city.
When I was living in New York City as a teenager, Sundays were the one day a week that my aunt wouldn’t cook dinner. We would either go out to eat or bing in food. If we went out we usually went for Chinese food at the King Yum restaurant in Queens. They have since gone out of business because they were a hard working immigrant family who sent their children to college. Their children didn’t want to work in a restaurant. It’s the fate of many immigrants who are successful.
If Trump wins the election, God forbid, and he actually deports the 11 million undocumented people, then who will work as roofers, lawn care workers, hotel maids, and hundreds of other jobs that Americans don’t want to do. Will I hire robots to mow my lawn and clean my pool?
September 13, 2024 at 7:52 pm
Hi Bob,
We are having summer again. It was quite warm today and will be even warmer this weekend. I expect the crowds will be back today as weekends will be busy at least through October.
Well, the US government did pick up the tab for Ghana. I got a living allowance there and $20.00 a month vacation money. They paid that in dollars as Ghanaian Cedis were not accepted out of the country. That money was my travel money during school vacations.
I haven’t traveled through Canada. I always figured I’d do the US and Canada when I was old, but I am old now and that hasn’t happened.
Coincidentally, I had Chinese for lunch today before my concert. It was at a new place for me, one in a different town in a strip mall. It was delicious. After the concert we stopped for ice cream. It was a great day.
Trump is frightening. He has no idea of the import of what he is saying. He has no idea how tariffs work. He has given no thought to the holes which will be created by deporting aliens, even legal aliens.
He is still saying he won the debate. He just said 94% of Republicans agree. That man is frightening.