A Cozy Little Place
The Liberal Missouri Public Library was our babysitter for a few years when we were young. Our mom worked at Citizens Bank of Liberal, later Farmers State Bank, next door, so my sister and I would walk to the library after school and wait patiently for Mom to drive us home. We greatly preferred this over taking the school bus. Continue reading “Ex Libris”
Liberia. Literally the land of liberty. Africa’s oldest republic. An independent nation since 1847, yet it remains one of the poorest places in the world in per-capita GDP, sandwiched between Tokelau and DR Congo. Don’t worry, I had never heard of Tokelau either. It’s a group of 1,200 Polynesians on a couple of small atolls in the South Pacific. Continue reading “Finding Art and Beauty in Liberia”
I admit that I came to Madagascar with a head full of preconceived notions, which mostly (thankfully) turned out to be false. My first thoughts of this forested island nation were of humidity, bugs and French–three things I dread. Continue reading “Mad about Madagascar”
The sun is shining on this lovely March day in Nairobi–a rare occasion lately, as we have had seemingly nonstop rain for the past 10 or 12 days. But the rain has restored the color green to nature’s palette and the sun is being photosynthesized by a legion of happy plants cranking out rich, luscious oxygen by the bucketload. Continue reading “For the Birds”
Driving in Kenya is a very interesting experience. In theory, I won’t have to take the driving exam to get my Kenyan license, as I hold a valid US license and an international driving license from AAA. But if I did, here’s what I imagine would be on the exam. This is just a taste of what I deal with on my 15 minute commute in the morning. Continue reading “Just a peaceful Sunday drive”
As a white guy, my whole life I have heard comments about white “chicken legs” when shorts make their first appearance of the summer. Comments like “Jesus man, don’t those legs ever see the sun?”
Well no, they don’t, actually. All winter long I wear long trousers to stay warm. And in the summer, I’m careful not to intentionally expose my legs to the sun too much because they burn easily. So no, I don’t expose my skin to the sun just to darken my coloration. Because melanoma is no laughing matter. Continue reading “The Color of Normal”
The human species is incredibly adaptive. We have exploited essentially every ecological niche thanks to our large brains and tool-making abilities. In colonizing various habitats, humans have shown remarkable resiliency to a variety of climates, from hot and wet tropical forests to the cold arctic tundra and everything in between. Continue reading “A Nice Climate is Good to Have”
