Box Of Eggs..
Sometimes creative things sneak up on you. That was the case when I came across this picture in an Des Moine museum a few ago. I don’t know who put this box of eggs together but they were genius. Continue reading Box Of Eggs..
Religion Does More Harm Than Good..
It is interesting to see another country where the majority thinks religion does more harm than good, especially since this one is our neighbor. I’m not sure what the statistics in Europe are but I suspect that they are similar … Continue reading Religion Does More Harm Than Good..
It’s Nice To Know Where You Came From, But…
It’s nice to know where you came from but it is more important to know where you are going and we as a world and especially a country don’t seem to have any idea about our future. We need … Continue reading It’s Nice To Know Where You Came From, But…
Nauvoo IL – Mormon Settlement
Nauvoo Village was one of several settlements established and then all but abandoned by Mormons due to battles with their neighbors. The first was in Ohio, the second in Missouri, and then came Nauvoo in Illinois. This was the site that it’s founder Joseph Smith was killed and Brigham Young took over the leadership. Mauvoo has recently been been called the “Williamsburg of the Midwest” and to some degree they deserve that title but in others they fall short. Many of the building have been restored to the 1840s but many are still in private hands. Unlike Williamsburg there … Continue reading Nauvoo IL – Mormon Settlement
$600 Billion, But….
Annually we spend in excess of $600 billion on our military to protect us from foreign invaders at the same time the GOP is not willing to spend $20 billion to keep millions of us from dying of treatable diseases and ailments. I don’t know maybe it is just me but I don’t see an ounce of logic in that fact. For one thing, we have not been invaded by more than a handful of discontents since 1812. Yes, I admit that by some fluke in structural design a handful of USA haters managed to kill three thousand or so … Continue reading $600 Billion, But….
More & More.. and then the Chinese Way..
I guess I shouldn’t be surprised since our American culture is now almost totally geared around consumer spending. We simply can’t keep the paradigm going if we spend less this year than we did last. It seems that houses today MUST have master suites with at least 150 square foot closets and 200 square foot bathrooms. The general rule is that the family now needs 1,000 square foot of house for every member. Two kids = 4,000 SF minimum. But a point of this post is one of the items that kind of sneaked up on me was that … Continue reading More & More.. and then the Chinese Way..
Caterpillar Tractors..
Caterpillar Tractors and such are very much a part of my search of America. So, when I was near Peoria Illinois recently I had to stop in at their museum at the headquarters building. What I found amazed me. I never realized the size of much of their equipment. Peoria is a wonderful city to tour and this exhibit is one of the prime destinations. If you are ever in the area stop by the city and this museum. Continue reading Caterpillar Tractors..
Just Because You Can Doesn’t Mean You Have To…
Slow down you’re moving too fast, got to make the morning last… The above words come from an old Simon and Garfunkel song entitled “59th Street Bridge Song” otherwise known as Feelin Groovy. Even in the 1960s many … Continue reading Just Because You Can Doesn’t Mean You Have To…
Quincy Illinois – Villa Kathrine
I will admit up front here that I didn’t spend as much time in Quincy IL as I planned. There are about a thousand historical homes in this small town but I will only feature one of them in … Continue reading Quincy Illinois – Villa Kathrine
This Is In Indiana???
It is hard for many to believe that the pictures below and above were taken in Indiana. I don’t really know the history of why Indiana got the southern most tip of Lake Michigan within its boundries but it is … Continue reading This Is In Indiana???
I Know, I Know…
I know it’s been awhile since I posted here. As I have said before, Spring/Summer are my busiest times. I am about to go on my second uRV trip of the year and then there is the 2 1/2 acre … Continue reading I Know, I Know…
Religion In America – Bishop Hill
This week’s Religion in America post will be about Bishop Hill in central Illinois. Like last week’s post it is about a group who escaped a State sanctioned Lutheran system of belief in the mid 1800s. This time it is … Continue reading Religion In America – Bishop Hill
The Good Old Days??
Everything has two sides, a good side and a dark side, a happy side and a sad side, but nothing is totally black and white. How’s that for an opening sentence. :) The main crux for this post is about all those who want the “good old days” back as to mean when we didn’t have so much technology in our lives. They constantly complain about how so many people seem to be glued to their cell phones and such. But if they thought it through would they really like to go back fifty year or more? Would they … Continue reading The Good Old Days??
RV Museum..
On my most recent uRV trip I visited the RV Museum in Elkhart Indiana. Being that I have spent the last three years converting my twenty-five year old pickup truck with a six foot cap into a rat-rod micro-RV I wanted to learn a little more about the beginnings of that idea. John Steinbeck, who as one of my favorite authors when I was growing, up wrote a book entitled “Travels with Charley” about when he custom built a pickup truck into an RV he named Rocinante (Don Quixote’s horse) and traveled around the country with it. I have read that … Continue reading RV Museum..
Religion In America – Zoar Village Ohio
I will start off this series of religion in America with the latest place I visited and that is Zoar Village in central Ohio. I visited here last summer on one of my frequent micro-RV trips. As is … Continue reading Religion In America – Zoar Village Ohio
Celebrating Bad Grammar??
I ran across a blog site today that celebrates bad grammar. The author claimed that using proper grammar was just too conformist. He wants to be a radical so he uses bad grammar. I kinda think that he has a deeper underlying reason? Celebrating our mistakes in life leads to nothing more than going deeper and deeper down the well. Eventually we run out of light to even find our way back. It’s kind of like that cable show that celebrates obesity. I think it is called something like “My Big Beautiful Life”. The star dances around, at least … Continue reading Celebrating Bad Grammar??
Simple Yet Evocative
I came across a blog site (The Drabble) the other day that spoke to my heart. Actually the site came across me by “liking” one of my very short posts. The words simple, yet evocative pieces that capture what it means to be human described the purpose of the site. Simple yet evocative says it all for me. It is hard to do both but when it is done successfully it is genius and many of the posts I reviewed on that blog did just that. I have been on a “Simplicity” binge for about 5 years now. For me … Continue reading Simple Yet Evocative
They Come And Go..
Spring is my absolute favorite season. Everything springs to life after a cold and often cruel winter. The menagerie of flowers that quickly come and go is sometimes breathtaking. Click on the picture to see a larger version Continue reading They Come And Go..
Creativity and Age..
Let’s face it, most people believe that old people just can’t be creative. Of course, the definition of old varies widely among those with that belief. Some think if you are past 30 you are drained of creativity. You can call this bias if you want since it is pretty much ingrained into our society. I think the average age of the employees of Silicon Valley tech companies is about 30. But in reality, some people get more creative as they grow older. A 2016 Information Technology and Innovation Foundation study found that inventors peak in their late 40s … Continue reading Creativity and Age..
High Tech/High Touch And The Good Old Days
Back in the beginnings of this technology race we are currently in there was a saying “High Tech/High Touch” meaning that as technology becomes more prevalent we need to also be exposed to more real thing we can feel and touch. That saying, along with so much more seems to have been lost on the ash heap of time. But I personally kind of enjoy seeing and visiting the time when we weren’t so dependant on our techie stuff. Continue reading High Tech/High Touch And The Good Old Days
Making For A Better Life
I have been spending some serious time lately trying to come up with better ways to spend the remaining time of my life here on earth. How can I be happier and less stressful about my life in particular and in general the world today? Several reasons probably prompted this search. One is that I turned 70 not long ago. This birthday hit me much harder than any other. I don’t think I really had a mid-life crisis so maybe this is my version of it to be called late-life crisis. The other primary reason is my recent … Continue reading Making For A Better Life
RJ's Corner 