A friend of mine recently posted the following on Facebook:

“I hate paper straws! They don’t make a single bit of difference in the plastics problem we are facing today!”

He was frustrated that his paper straw was collapsing as he drank and he was angry he had to use a crappy paper straw in the first place. From his perspective, using paper straws really doesn’t make a big difference anyway.

On one level, he is right. It’s not drastically reducing the amount of plastic in the ocean, compared to the 300,000+ tons of plastic that are currently there. …

While listening to a friend today, recite her beautiful poem
She used a word I’ve never heard, but apparently known by some
A friend mentioned a famous poet, Edgar Allen Poe
Had used the word once in a poem, so off to google I go

I looked around and couldn’t find a thing that Poe had written
But William Wordsworth did, one hundred sixty lines, I’m smitten

In sleep She sometimes walked abroad,
Deep sighs with quick words blending,
Like that pale Queen whose hands are seen
With fancied spots contending;

So with this poem no longer think my nose…

Que sera, sera, she said to me, as we sailed away from shore
Sailing north from Walvis Bay on that frigid Easter morn
The southerly winds blew cold and hard, pushing our ketch along
We knew we’d come across the Skeleton Coast before too long

Namibia has a horrid past of grasping passing boats
And sinking them along her coast, aye many a written note
Has told the tale of various ships who sunk or lost their way
Being pulled or pushed by wind or fog or nighttime clear as day

So when you plan to sail along Namibia’s rugged…

Cooking is something I enjoy
It brings me lots of pleasure
Concocting meals from recipes
Or sometimes not, a treasure

For I have learned that sometimes when
I throw some things together
That I provide my friends and I
Enjoyment without measure

Something I must now confess
I love a bit of spiciness
In all I cook I cannot rest
Until I’ve added heat — the best

But there’s a burn I do enjoy
Most of all — I do employ
Them in almost every dish
They’re green and spicy and delish!

Of course, I mean the jalapeno Sent to…

Driving south to Key West on US Route 1 should be on your bucket list! US Route 1 to Key West, also known as the Overseas Highway, is one of the coolest things you can do while traveling in Florida. With so many little islands or keys to see along the way, you never get bored. The picture above is a shot of the old Route 1, taken from the new Route 1. The old Route 1 was a 2 lane road, the new one is a mixture of 2 and 4 lane roads.

Don’t miss out on this wonderful…

As a boy, I was always
Running, running, running
From one place to another
Red-hair trailing behind me
From trailer to house and back again
Trees, bushes, bricks, and other obstacles
Lay strewn along the path
Impending danger awaiting with every rushed step
Four-year-olds only know one speed

Finally, it happens
Tripped up by a cement cinder-block
Falling flatly on my chin
With tongue extended
Teeth snapping shut
Biting through my tongue
Blood gushing from my mouth

Up I jump and run again Not back, but forward to my destination Screaming in fear and pain To grandma’s house Red, now…