Appetizers for the Brain

My son just finished a soduko puzzle book and came up to me expressing his excitement about finishing the puzzles.  I have to admit the little guy is pretty smart.  I only started playing these puzzles a few years ago and seem to do well.  But I love what he said about these puzzles.  He said these kinds of problems were “appetizers for the brain”.  How true is this statement!  I was absolutely floored when he said that because I felt it took a special thought process for him to even think about it.  Its funny how a child’s mind works and the things that come out when you least expect it.  He seems more full and content when his brain is going which leads me to believe that the more we do to satisfy our brain appetite, the more happy and full us as people will be.  I think today I’ll work on a crossword or perhaps a soduko puzzle.  I figure a little food for thought doesn’t hurt and my brain could certainly use an appetizer rather than a full-blown meal!

Valley of the Flowers

This town isn’t as great as some make it out to be.  In fact, I’m not particularly sure I enjoy it here.  They call it Florissant, “Valley of the Flowers”.  Last time I checked, I saw more soda bottles and fast food wrappers scattered around rather than flowers.  Maybe it’s a play on words and I don’t get the joke.  The streets are old and beaten and it’s amazing how anyone can use an automobile around here.  Most of the homes are close together and there is a sense of community although you have to live on a great street to have this form of togetherness.  Plus I reckon you need to be here for 10+ before you can fully be accepted.  We’ve been here for 3 years and hopefully we’ll be getting out of this town in the future.  In the meantime, I’ll live up to the “Valley of the Flowers” and get our flower garden going.  Someone has to have some sort of pride around here and keep the history alive.

Macro flower experiment (Photo credit: @Doug88888)

Looking Plainly Plain!

Don’t come to me with fashion sense because I have none.  I’m sitting here in my nice paint stained black jean shorts and a beat up black t-shirt.  To top it off, I’m wearing some “fashionable” blue crocs.  I aim for comfort and not look.  I basically wear the same kind of outfit throughout the week.  Granted if I’m going somewhere that needs to be a bit dressy, I’ll certainly make an effort and can clean up nice.  But as far as I’m concerned, I embrace the casual nature of fashion and proudly wear it with gusto.  This shirt I’m wearing today was actually a nice shirt starting out.  But in time, the black has faded to a nice ash color along with a few holes as an added bonus.  My jean shorts have always been kind of ratty but they fit me well and despite the look of them, they are incredibly uncomfortable.  My croc’s have a tear in them but still conform to my feet so why bother getting something new?  I just say they have personality.  Some get my humor while others don’t but I do my best to please.

Immediate Satisfaction

I’m a dreamer and always will be.  I would like to think that my dreams and desires are feasible and could happen one day.  But, if my current desire could just fall in my lap in the blink of an eye it would be a 4×4 Ford F150.  I love pickup trucks and have always had a truck but certainly not as nice as this one.  I want a black pickup with leather interior, state of the art sound system, GPS navigation and all the room in the world so my family can enjoy the truck on long road trips.  There’s a sense of pride owning a pickup truck that I haven’t found in any other vehicle.  I love stick shifts too and the power to move from gear to gear as I hear that engine hum with power.  Nothing short of awesome!

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My Xbox360

I’m passionate about a lot of things but I’m especially passionate about gaming.  Specifically, I love my Xbox 360.  I’m not ashamed to say that I keep it dusted, I keep it ventilated, and I catalog my library of games.  I remember having enough money saved to buy this and how much joy I felt when I unboxed the system.  This particular gizmo means a lot to me for one simple reason.  I worked incredibly hard to get it.  I didn’t rely on credit cards to make this purchase.  I did manual labor on the side and came home half dead in order to sock money away for it.  Amazingly I survived all the hard labor but the payoff was immense.  Cold hard cash plunked down at the register was a very empowering and satisfying feeling.  I take care of this Xbox as I hope to pass it down to my kids.  Well, that is if they do well in school!

Musings of a 10 Year Old

Certain places create a comfort level for a child that cannot be reproduced or recaptured.  We had a hill that overlooked a field that my buddies and I used to play in.  I remember being upset about a video game that my parents refused to buy me.  I decided to storm out of the house and sit on this hill and stew about my issue.  What I didn’t realize is that in the span of minutes, I would capture something so personal and beautiful to me that it would stay with me for the rest of my life.  I remember feeling a calming peace as the breeze tussled my hair.  I vividly recall how the grass felt as I ran my fingers through it and the sense of happiness I had.  I forgot about the videogame and focused more on what I was feeling and why.  I sat on that hill for hours enjoying the weather and the ambience of birds and wind.  To this day I have never recaptured that feeling and hope that every child gets to feel that peace the way I did so many years ago.

LOS ANGELES, CA - DECEMBER 10: Video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto accepts the Video Game Hall of Fame inductee award for 'The Legend of Zelda' onstage at Spike TV's '2011 Video Game Awards' at Sony Studios on December 10, 2011 in Los Angeles, California. (Image credit: Getty Images via @daylife)

Coconut smell

The coconut smell of my tanning lotion with the sounds of sprinklers spraying pellets of water screams summertime fun.  Laughter of my children can be heard as they jump in the sprinkling water splashing each other and occasionally spraying me!  I love the summer and I love spending these sweltering days with my kids.  We get out the water guns and squirt each other unmercifully.  Sometimes I’ll even get some water balloons and fill them to the brim while madly chucking them hoping to douse my target.  I’ll them jump in the sprinkler with them and see who can run the fastest through it.  When we’re all exhausted and need a break, we’ll sit on the patio with a cool drink and just take a breather or maybe have a sandwich or two.  I love spending time with my kids and especially enjoy being a kid again.

The Race Issue As A Non-Issue For The Human Race

The major change that I would make in the world for people to get along better would be to make race a non-issue. The color of people’s skin and ethnic cleansing issues would no longer exist for anyone. This might prevent a lot of wars and massacres if everyone felt that we are all equal no matter what our origins, color, ethnic background or place of birth. The appreciation and celebration of diversity without separation by differences would make a more peaceful world where we come together and pull together for the betterment of all mankind. This is an idea that needs to be adopted by all people for the sake of developing a legacy of peace and unity for the future.

A Love Affair With Music That Is A Magnificent Diversity

The love of music is the embodiment of diversity for me since I am emotionally attached to all types and all genres. I am most fond of rhythm and blues, jazz, hip-hop, gospel, rock and country. I also like concert, big band, and easy rock. All music is pleasant to my ear and causes me to be sooth, passionate, aroused and melancholy. The only music I have any difficulty understanding and connecting with is heavy metal and acid rock. These two musical art forms are rather harsh on my hearing and have no melodious tune. I realize that they are pleasant to others and that is fine. I strongly feel that everyone must find their own musical genre and be happy with its emotional connection for them.

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A Visit To Italy For A Culinary Delight

My trip to Italy was for pleasure and a mission of culinary discovery. It is the furthest that I have ever been from home and was well worth the travel. I found a wonderful world of new ways to cook and delight the taste buds with tantalizing spices, cooking techniques and creative recipes. The observance of chefs at work with a delicate touch, measuring sense, blending of flavors, textures, fusion of tastes, colors and magnificent drinks and desserts made me focus on the instructions, notes and methods of preparation. The final products were excellent in taste and will forever remain a memory of delight and discovery.

chef's table - dessert (Photo credit: greyloch)