You may have seen the Volvo commercial on TV. This guy is talking about the open road and soon a little fox appears as he speeds by in his Volvo. The little fox is quaking in the wake of the wind waves behind the speeding car. I love this commercial. Its how I'm feeling these days. Maybe I need a Volvo. But I drive a Suburu. And a Suburu is love. Love. Its what makes a Suburu, a Suburu. Now I'm torn. Open road? Adventure? Little fox watching me speed by. Or love: it is a Suburu. So torn. What's in your garage? (to co-opt the Capital One credit card commercial).
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I remember this moment vividly. We came to the end of an alley of shops and restaurants and suddenly, there it was: the Pantheon. I kept staring at it. It didn't seem real. I looked like a giant mural behind all the tourists and outdoor cafes. I was so imposing it took my breath away for a moment. I kept waiting for something to show it was real, not just a figment of my overactive imagination.
But it was real. Lifted from Google, " The Roman Pantheon is the most preserved and influential building of ancient Rome. It is a Roman temple dedicated to all the gods of pagan Rome. As the brick stamps on the side of the building reveal it was built and dedicated between A.D 118 and 125." That's old. And its still here. Somethings are built to last. It outlasted the Roman Empire and Mussolini. It stands today in defiance of tourist onslaughts and political upheavals. Inside, it is gorgeous. But, to lift from Google again, "The Pantheon is still discussed today as a building clouded in mystery. The original purpose of the building is unknown. Although the temple is dedicated to all Greek gods the scale and size of the temple emphasized power and Roman duty." It strikes me how it was with such hubris the Romans built these temples to their gods. It is not unlike us today, only our gods have changed. I am not speaking of the God of religion. I am referring to the gods of hubris, greed, self-aggrandizement and the like. Temples are big box stores and stadiums, cineplexes and shopping malls. Some of those are beginning to crumble, just like so many of the grand buildings of the Greeks and Romans. The Colosseum is not nearly as well preserved. So when I looked at this picture again today that is what came to mind. The ghosts of the Romans are within these walls and everywhere in Rome. And as evidenced by the hoards of visitors in this picture alone, the times have changed. And yet somethings remain unchanged, looking so very surreal in this modern, crazy world. 6/7/2017 1 Comment When the Muse is Busy ElsewhereI'm about to give up on writing this blog. Well, at least for tonight. No matter what I write down, it just doesn't seem to be worth sharing. Or the thought behind it hasn't "jelled" (or is it "gelled"?) Sometimes you just want everything that flows from your thoughts to your fingers to the keyboard or pen & paper to be golden. Well, surprise, it isn't always. Sometimes your muse has left the building. Sometimes the muse is busy doing other things...like telling the dogs to stop barking at the darkness outside. Sometimes a car alarm goes off and, well, you get the picture. Well, that's when you begin to wonder if it will ever happen again. Will inspiration ever return? Will you write anything worth a hoot? Who wants to read your thoughts and musings anyway? Okay, it really isn't that much of a crisis. Days come and days goes. Some have magical properties that ignite the flames of creativity. Other days just remind you to do the laundry. That's called life I guess. So here you have it. Today's thoughts and musings about...about...well, about nothing really. I know it is just temporary. There are blogs and stories and thoughts and musings just waiting to percolate up and out like coffee into a cup. It will taste so good with just a dash of creamer. Mmmm. Until then, I continue my resolve not to give up. If nothing else, there is a sense of accomplishment in maintaining my commitment herein. Even if it is nothing more than a writer's lament. This too shall pass. LOL I'm not feeling myself tonight and the muse is nowhere to be found.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, German writer and author of the Faust books There’s this new thing on Facebook now that shows you on a map the places you visited. Don’t worry, FB cynics and conspiracy theorists, we are assured only we, the owners of our page, can see this. Well, really, who cares? I think its interesting and the bottom line for me is, who cares who knows where in the world I have been? Me, of course. I looked at the map and it had recorded my visits to Rome, Florence, Portovenere and Venice in Italy in May. Really? I was in Italy? I visited all those places? Me? Really? I find it hard to believe. It all seems a bit like a dream. And on the other hand, the trip made Italy seem very real. It is not just an imagined place. It really exists and it really can be visited. Imagine that. So I started thinking about all the places I have been fortunate enough to visit. There are very few states I have not been to over the years. Alaska, Maine, Alabama, Mississippi, oh, ya, Vermont and New Hampshire. But I have been to most, or at least driven through. And many I want to go back to to explore more. Can anyone imagine a motor trip? Have Suburu will travel...dogs in tow...it could happen. As far as outside the States, well, there is Canada and Mexico. Eastern Australia. The British Isles. The Bahamas. That’s pretty much it. And those were trips with long travel gaps between. Each time I’ve gone, I’ve come back wanting to go more. Travel, they say, is broadening. It makes what seems to be a huge world somehow smaller, more accessible. And people are people no matter where you are. They may look and dress and speak differently, so differently you may not understand them or they you, but the bottom line is, people are people are people. When I don’t travel for a while, even just a year or so, I slip into hodophobia. Hodophobia? Ha, no, I didn’t know that term either. I had to google “fear of traveling” to find the term for it. It comes from the greek word for “path” or “journey”. Hmm. Look it up. The symptoms can be quite severe including panic attacks, sweats, anxiety, stomache distress and more. Oh my. I actually do experience some of those conditions. But thank goodness I rally myself and move on. At least most of the time. So glad I didn’t let hodophobia keep me from Italy. That would have been a shame. And now that I have a name for it, I can deal with it better. And the cure, of course, it more travel! I told several people to be careful encouraging me to go. It might unleash the itchy foot. I might find it hard to stay “down on the farm”. Just sayin’, it’s big world out there. It would be a shame not to see more of it. 6/5/2017 2 Comments Monday's Out a HereSome blogs are short. This is one of them. Its Monday. This too shall pass. Image captured at the Long Beach Aquarium of the Pacific
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Rob McMurray,
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