Author: Fred D
-
Sentimental Gratitude
Having witnessed over 8 decades of the final days of another year ticking off, 2024 is departing with a comforting aura of sentimental gratitude. Sentimental because I’ve somehow survived to attain the stage of life where the trails seem a tad longer; my steps a tad shorter; other hikers a lot younger; and odds…
-
Christmas Journeys
Christmas and Thanksgiving are America’s most family-oriented holidays. The latest Christmas travel statistics predict over 115 million Americans will travel at least 50 miles during Christmas, with 59% visiting family. Some two decades ago a single Dad and his two young sons embarked on a Christmas journey to visit family. Zooming through the skies at…
-
Thanksgiving Thank You
To my family, friends, those of you I may have only ever met in cyberspace, and all others who have crossed my life’s path ever so briefly . . . Thank You! for . . . that word … your text … that note … the smile … that hug ……
-
A.I. Road Trip
The Cherahola Parkway is a scenic, mile-high, two-lane highway winding over the Smokies between Tellico Plains, TN and Robbinsville, NC. Earlier this week Ellie decided to take a road trip along it before the forests shed their spectacular, multi-hued fall display of color. Somehow, I had managed to cajole my permanent girlfriend to explore a…
-
Open Gates
Every individual is a divinely designed, one-of-a-kind creation. We each enjoy living life at a certain, custom designed pace. From methodical, planned-out steps, to spur-of-the-moment, impulsive leaps, each tends to regard the other’s life modus operandi as a bit strange. Either way, it’s the stuff which makes life an exciting adventure to be shared .…
-
Happy Place
Each of us has our special ‘Happy Place’ where our soul is most at peace. For some it’s walking along a beach, feeling the warm sand beneath your feet, listening to the surf’s rhythmic beat. For others, it’s being immersed in a city’s bright lights, activities and cacophony of sounds . . . never quiet…
-
Age Delusional Dyslexia
Being off the charts ADHD, I’ve often pondered if the AD stands for Age Dyslexia, and the HD for Highly Delusional. Not sure, but I’ve found that practicing age delusional dyslexia is a definite plus in delaying aging . . . it works like this . . . I’m not actually 81, I’m 18! That…
-
Masked Messenger
“Parting is such sweet sorrow” . . . Juliet’s poignant words to Romeo from the balcony echo mine from the Greatland’s snow-capped cathedrals as we pack-up to board high speed aluminum tubing on Monday, soaring through the skies for the Great Smoky Mountains. Lord willing, however, as Arnold often touted . . . “I’ll be…
-
Peace on High
‘Invigorating’, below freezing wake-up temps have dramatically increased our wood stove’s log appetite; added windshield ice scraping to the car’s start-up routine; and nixed shorts and T-shirts as hiking attire . . . welcome to the Last Frontier 😊 From my admittedly, rural biased perspective, Anchorage, like all urban areas, is peacefully appealing . .…