Category: Life Lessons
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Confessions of a Serial Monogamist
I have a confession to make. I am a serial monogamist. I know you’re shocked. If you’ve seen my profile picture, your first thought was probably “Is that Brad Pitt?” Of course, your second thought was probably “Wow, he’s really let himself go!” But it’s true, all of this good stuff is being wasted on…
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Tips for Driving in Ecuador
Rita and I just returned from an 8-day road trip through part of southern Ecuador (hence the gap in blog posts), and we had a really wonderful time. We saw some of the most beautiful landscapes on the planet, and met interesting people in some great cities and towns. We know several people who have…
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Masters of Distraction
There was a cartoon I saw once on the Internet, and I just spent a fruitless 2 hours trying to find it again. This was during a time when talking heads on cable “news” programs were explaining that a large part of the blame for our economic woes was the fact that teachers in Chicago…
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Facebook, Midwife of the Idiocracy
Facebook is good for a lot of things. You can stay in touch with friends and family around the world, you can share pictures and experiences, and you can find out about different places before you visit. Recently their “Safety Check” feature was very helpful in finding out how our friends were doing after the…
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Are You Going To Stay In Ecuador?
It is a question many people are asking themselves right now. For my wife and I, our answer is yes, we are staying. This is our home. Maybe we would feel differently if we were in one of the areas of destruction. Our hearts go out to those who are struggling to survive. We recently…
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Aftershocks and Aftermath – Ecuador Earthquake, April 2016
Things are very quiet here in Salinas, Ecuador today. As you can see in the picture, the beach is nearly deserted, only a few boats and jet skis out. This is a resort town for Ecuadorians, and most of them have left to go check on their homes and families in other parts of the…
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Whole Lot of Shakin’ Going On
The picture above was taken at 6:55PM last night, local time here in Salinas. I stepped out on our balcony and took a quick picture, just to see if it would capture the colors, which were truly spectacular. Three minutes later, 210 miles away and 12 miles down, a sudden shift occured. Have you ever…
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How I Got Here, or 20/20 Hindsight
There are events that can have profound effects on your life, in ways you cannot not possible see while they are happening. It is only the perspective that time gives you that allows you to see their significance. Looking over my life, one of the things that affected me most seems a little mundane. I’m thinking…
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Hunger for Home?
Recently I wrote an article for International Living dealing with the issue of homesickness. Someday, they may even publish it – if not, it will eventually find it’s way here. Anyway, homesickness can be a very real issue for expats. For those of you not familiar with the malady, homesickness is not missing your friends and family,…