Photo-of-the-Week #134 - The Changing New York City Skyline, Alpine, New Jersey, October 2013

In my lifetime, I have seen this section of the Manhattan Island (New York City) skyline change three times. Where I was born and raised in northern New Jersey I could clearly see the New York City skyline. For the 22 1/2 years I called New Jersey my home, there were no giant skyscrapers at the south end of Manhattan Island. A few years after I moved away from that region, first one, then a second giant tower became the prominent landmarks of that part of the island. I was in one of the towers around 1980 and up to about the 80th floor. After 2011 the southern part of Manhattan looked much like it did when I grew up in the region. Now, 2013, the skyline has changed a third time.

Here is the new World Trade Tower. It is now, including its antenna spire on the top, the tallest building structure in the United States at 1776 feet tall. I took this photo shortly after the structure was completed, though it's still not officially open for occupancy, yet. So, I have this photo of the new tower shortly before it's official dedication. I also have photos of the twin towers I took from a boat on the Hudson River three months before their tragic destruction.

Once again, I have to express my amazement at modern digital technology. I took this photo with the new "point and shoot" Samsung digital camera I purchased earlier this year. I was actually located about fifteen miles, line of sight, from the new tower when I shot this photo. Believe it or not, this is a handheld shot steadied on a rock. For those of you familiar with that region, I took the photo from a scenic overlook off the Palisades Interstate Parkway near Alpine, New Jersey.

This little camera has an excellent Schneider zoom lens with an additional 4X digital zoom. This photo was taken using the equivalent of approximately a 1,700mm telephoto 35mm lens. I'm sure a large sensor camera with a huge, heavy 1,700mm fixed focal length lens on a solid tripod base would deliver a significantly better photo. But, for a mere $179.95, I'm quite thrilled with the capabilities of this little camera. And the best part is that I've only been using this camera on its automatic mode. I can also change to manual mode with the turn of a dial and I can adjust all the camera's functions manually.

By the way, the bridge you see in the foreground is the George Washington Bridge that I had crossed only a couple days earlier when returning from Long Island on my way to meet up with my college buddy, Greg and his wife, Mary, for a late lunch, not far from the GW bridge.  

Five Great Regrets

Sometimes inspiration just jumps up and smacks you in the face, like this morning. I've been working on ideas for posts on "Conspicuous Consumption," "To Be Free or Not To Be Free," "Extravagant Frugality" and "Positivism vs. Negativism." Yes! I often am working on more than one idea at a time for posts. This morning as I was glancing over my email on my smartphone before jumping out of the sack (I get a lot of reading done very early this way), I noted a post on one of the Vandwelling forums I'm active on from my, yet to meet in-person, friend, VWRob. Rob travels these United States in his version of a van. Well, from what I can gather, it's actually a motorhome, but vandwelling is as much about philosophy and attitude as it is about the kind of vehicle one chooses to enjoy the lifestyle with. Rob is also a Living Free reader and offers excellent thoughts to me from time to time.

This morning, he included a link to a Facebook post from a nurse who has spent part of her recent career (and may still be) caring for those individuals facing the end of life, typically within a relatively short period of time, like weeks. Here's the direct link if you're interested in looking at it yourself: http://bit.ly/1i4qxb2. Thanks for the inspiration, Rob.

Regrets 

The dictionary says that a regret is a feeling of sadness or disappointment about something that you did or did not do. Now, I don't think I've actually every met someone who hasn't expressed some kind of regrets at one time or another. We all do things we regret doing after the fact or have missed opportunities to do one or more things and we live to regret it. So, it's not like any of us are unfamiliar with the word, the manifestation or the feeling of regret.

But, why do we have these regrets? It's because everything we do in life is about choices. The only things we have no choice over are the involuntary functions of our mind and body. Everything else, even as simple as getting out of bed (or not) when we wake up, whether we will eat and what we will eat, to when and if we'll go to bed at the end of the day is a choice. It's likely we'll experience one or (most likely) more regrets everyday. We ordered the hamburger, but when you smelled the chicken sandwich someone near you was eating, you regretted not getting the chicken sandwich. That's a pretty simple example. But, it could be that you never made your true feelings known to that gal or guy you went to the college or high school prom with and you later realized that you missed the person you should have been spending your life with. Or, you studied in college or vocational or technical school and after completing your studies and receiving your degree or certification, you realized that what you spent the time learning is not what you really want to do with your life. The list of regrets can go on forever.

Here's the reality, some regrets are benign and will be forgotten quickly as a new day begins. Others are more important and may be with you for a lifetime. The regrets expressed by the dying patients to the nurse from this article are probably the worst kind. They are the regrets that you will go to your grave with and no longer have the opportunity to change the course of your life to alleviate the sting of these regrets. I'm calling them Five Great Regrets. It was these regrets, though I hadn't actually articulated them or even realized they were motivating forces, that were the major reasons I made the dramatic and, to some people, drastic change in my life and lifestyle in 2008. Five years earlier I dealt with my own mortality when I dealt with the prostate cancer I was diagnosed with. I took time for myself that year and realized that life wasn't as serious as I had been making it all my life. I was committed and driven. I, subconsciously, believed that I was going to change the world through my entrepreneurial endeavors. The bottom line finally began to hit home. A very tiny, fraction of a fraction of the people who have, do and will walk on this planet will make those Earth changing contributions. If I were destined to be one of them, then something should have already have manifest itself. Now, that's not to say that I may still make an Earth changing contribution between now and the time I take my last breath. I'm a firm believer in saying, "never say never." But, now I'm focused on not having to face these Five Great Regrets (or at least all of them) when it's my time to go.

So here they are as reported by the nurse, Sina Anvari

Five Great Regrets

#1. Wishing one had the courage to live a life true to himself or herself instead of living the life others expected of them.

This seems to be the biggest regret of all those reported. I've quoted Shakespeare several times in this blog, specifically from Hamlet, "To thine own self be true . . ." What amazes me, as I think about this, is that this is not a new discovery or some modern revelation. Shakespeare was speaking about this some 500 years ago. And, if you search back, you'll find references going back to the ancient Greek, Roman and Chinese philosophers among others.

The biggest part of this regret was that most people die having not lived out even half of their dreams. I dare say that a large percentage of those lived out only a very small number of their dreams. Instead, they lived up to the expectation of others including parents, siblings, spouses and, yes, even offspring. I always refer to all those who know what's right for you as the "Committee of They." They know better. They may not know your dreams, but even if they do know them, they will make sure you know that your dreams are impractical or unrealistic.

The worst part seems to be when the individuals realize that they have this regret because of their own choices. I can completely relate to this because I can recall any number of choices that I've made that actually curtailed my personal dreams. What's even worse is when you do follow your dreams and heart and then feel guilty because others feel you didn't respect their advice or wishes.

#2.  Wishing one hadn't worked so hard.

Wow! This is a real guilt trip. We of the Greatest Generation and the Baby Boomer Generation were taught and had it drilled into us that hard work would insure us of success in life - at least, at some level. Think about it. We nominally have a 40-hour workweek. Add roughly an hour for lunch and a couple breaks and between a half hour and an hour a day each way for commuting to and from work. On the five-day workweek schedule, that accounts, nominally, for 60 hours a week. Deduct another 45 hours for rest/sleep and now 105 hours of our week are gone. That leaves approximately 63 hours and 35 of those are the balance of the weekend. So, there are approximately 5.5 hours per day to spend time with the kids and spouse, prepare and eat meals, help with homework and get ready for work in the morning. Of course, the weekend is typically spent taking care of laundry, cleaning the house, fixing the house and car, shopping and other utilitarian things. Viola! There goes another week.

After spending about 40 years of my life in business working 10 to 16 hour days, six and seven days a week, seldom taking any recreational time off, I really understand what this is all about. Now, in my case, I did make a choice to work from my home for all but about ten years of my life. I did that so I could be around for my son and spend time with my wife. Of course, she worked about as hard as I did since we both worked together in our businesses. So, for me, this regret will be a little less than for others.

But, really, were we really blessed with the bounty of this planet and all the beauty it offers and given a finite amount of time, more for some, less for others - just to work most of that time away? I think not. There's something wrong with the picture and this model.

#3. Wishing one had the courage to express one's feelings.

This is another big one. I don't know why we have so much trouble telling each other we love each other - sincerely. Or I guess, if we're being honest and expressing our feelings, we should be able to tell someone that we dislike or despise them, do or don't agree with them, accept or reject their philosophies or whatever it might be. Actually, many people may shorten their lives or endure illnesses of various kinds due to carrying around unresolved resentments and bitterness throughout, what can often end up being, the majority of their lifetimes.

So, instead of carrying that burden, why can't we simply be honest with those we have unresolved issues with? Sure, it is going to change the relationship, most likely, but maybe that's what should be. Either opening doors of honesty can develop new levels of trust, respect and appreciation for one another or, maybe, it will just end a relationship that's been toxic for too long and is poisoning you and shortening your life. It's too late to find out on your deathbed.

#4. Wishing one had stayed in touch with his or her friends.

How often do you find yourself going through old photos or yearbooks or letters or memorabilia and recalling memories of old friends and great times? Well, I'll tell you, now that I'm considered a "senior citizen," I find myself doing this fairly frequently. I might be traveling through a town I haven't been to in decades. Perhaps, as I did recently, one will return home to a hometown that was left behind decades before. As you drive past your own homes and those of your friends from childhood, school, church or other religious institution, college, restaurants, movie theaters, etc., what memories arise? Do you remember the people you hung out with, the guys or gals you dated, the sporting events, movies, church retreats, etc.? Whatever happened to all those people?

Okay, with the Internet and services like Facebook, Google+ and even LinkedIn, to mention a few, you may be able to reconnect with some of these old friends. Perhaps, some were very close friends. Others may have simply been part of the group you hung out with. All these years have gone by. You know what's happened in your life. In most cases, it's been an eventful life you couldn't have imagined when you knew these people. But, what's happened in their lives. I have one friend I was in the Air Force with in San Antonio, Texas. I left Texas for my assignment in Washington, DC. My friend was first assigned to Thailand and then to Korea. We kept in contact by letter for a year or so. Then we went our ways and on with our lives. Interestingly, both of us wondered whatever happened to the other. Then, a quarter century later, with the help of a new thing called the Internet, we reconnected. It turns out we'd only been separated by distances of between 35 to 70 miles all those years. Since we reconnected in 1996 we've been there for each other, helped each other through many life challenges, have traveled around the U.S. and some international places and we just count on each other being there through good times and bad.

I've been reconnecting with many old friends over the past few years. Some were high school, college and graduate school friends. Some worked for me as employees. Some were business partners. The list of connections and friendships from a lifetime is very long. It doesn't take much to do some searching and hopefully locate them through the various Internet services now available. Drop a card in the old snail mail if you can't find an email address, but have a street address. Send an email if they do have an email address. Connect with them on the social networks. Pick up the phone and call them and just chat for a while. Don't wait until it's too late and regret it. One of my high school buddies whose email address I had and had planned to connect one day, died rather suddenly at age 65 a couple months before he planned to retire at 66. I now regret that I never made the effort to contact him.

#5. Wishing one had allowed himself or herself be happier.

This is very common according to the nurse who wrote the article. And, I guess you could say that I've harped on this being happy idea for several years on the blog. As the nurse pointed out and so have I, happiness is a choice we can all make. It's a state of mind, an attitude, if you will. Why do so many people wait so long to realize this and then regret they hadn't spent most of their lives happy? Why do we feel we must be like Job from the book of Job in the Bible? Why do we feel like we have to carry the burdens of the world on our shoulders? If our brother or sister or adult children or living, aged parents or close friends or professional co-workers or employees or employers are unhappy, why do we feel we have to carry all, part or any of their burden? Lots of questions here, but this is what so many of us do, I dare say, for at least part of our lifetime, if not most of it.

Believe me when I tell you, you and I cannot, let me add emphasis to that - CANNOT - make anyone else happy. Everyone has their own lot in life and their own burdens to bear. Money doesn't solve it. Taking the responsibility for someone else's actions does not solve it. We can try our hardest to show others the answers, solutions, alternate routes or whatever to their ultimate happiness, but if the individual chooses to remain in their own situation, muck and mire, you and I will not make them happy. And, certainly, by us putting on our own sack cloth and ashes and being miserable (as the saying goes, misery loves company) we don't do anything to change their attitude or state of mind, we're simply making twice as many people miserable and unhappy.

Interestingly, some of the happiest people are those with the least amount of money and material possessions. Once they accept what they actually have and choose to be happy about what they do have, they change their attitude and state of mind. On the other hand, those who have very large amounts of money, even fortunes and material possessions, often are some of the unhappiest people because they have all kinds of concerns and worries about what they have, keeping it and getting more. I still don't get people who use drugs, alcohol, shopping, eating, gambling and other addictions to numb their unhappy state. None of these things will provide happiness, only misery down the road. And, I'm sorry. I refuse to consider any of these things "diseases." You don't get an alcohol or drug or gambling - name your addiction - bacteria or virus. You make a conscious choice to partake in this dangerous game. Few win, many lose, many hurt or destroy other lives and then they want society to fix them because they are "sick." Wrong and I don't care what the AMA or American Psychological Association says.

BE HAPPY - NOW! Don't wait until you're lying there thinking of all the things you allowed to pass you by and regret it now. Simply make a decision to be happy. Think happy thoughts. Stop watching the news. Stop listening to all the political claptrap. Don't take life or yourself seriously. Don't bear your employer's burdens - if you choose to work for someone else (yes, it's another choice), do it joyfully and do the best job you can, but don't take on the employer's responsibility. That's his or her choice. Life is way, way too short (and some have it cut off very prematurely) to not be happy most of the time. It's an attitude, a state of mind and YOUR CHOICE!

So, there you have it. My take on Five Great Regrets. Everyone will have some regrets when they die. There are some things that it's just too late to do anything about, even now. And, please, if you haven't realized it, understand that virtually everyone dies with "unfinished business." But, why not make your death bed regrets small ones and work on eliminating these Five Great Regrets now while you still have, hopefully, plenty of time. 

Photo-of-the-Week #133 - The First Home (I Remember), Clifton, New Jersey, September 2013

34 Stanley Street, Clifton, New Jersey

Some people never leave their hometown or the area they were raised. Some people leave the area, but return home frequently to spend time with their parents, family and friends. Some people are raised in families where the parents occupation requires them to move frequently, like the military, and they never establish deep roots. And some people just leave, ultimately sever all ties with their hometown and never look back. I am one of the people of the last description. I grew up and lived all but a couple years in my hometown of Clifton, New Jersey then left at age 22, for several reasons, and never looked back. As I jokingly describe my hometown to others, Clifton was a small farming community of close to 100,000 population 12 miles west of New York City. To others who are in the know (they are from New Jersey) I grew up between exits 153 and 154.

A few weeks back I posted a photo of the home I believed was the second place I lived with my parents and I have very scant memories of. The memories are probably a cross between old photos I haven't seen in over 50 years, recalling discussions of the place and minute images that are more dreamlike than real. The home pictured above is 34 Stanley Street in Clifton. This was the first home my parents owned and we moved to this house when I was not yet four years old. I know that because one of the first events I remember happening in that home was the birth of my first of two sisters. The year was either later in 1948 or the very beginning of 1949.

On my September road trip to New Jersey, one of my missions was to visit and take photos of all the homes I lived in, the schools I attended and other important places from my youth. I accomplished that goal. This being the first house I truly remember as a child. I actually remember the names of most of the neighbors within several houses on either side of my block and the kids I played with. I remember several of the kids I went to Public School #5 with. I remember the Bobink Village Shopping Center that was brand new and only about four blocks from our house with a supermarket that was smaller than a current day Walgreen drugstore. I have a vast array of very vivid memories of the approximately 4 1/2 to 5 years at this house.

Physically, the house looks very much the way it did when I last lived there. The white asbestos shingles have been replaced, the color has changed, and the small, young tree in the front yard has grown to a large, mature shade tree. When we moved in there was a fairly large farm that made up the back border of our property. That was sold and developed into more homes before we left the neighborhood and now there are large mature trees lining the back of the property. It was a very small house with only a small living room, eat-in kitchen, a small bedroom my sister and I shared and an only slightly larger master bedroom. We had only one small bathroom and the heat for the entire house came through a grate in the center foyer that was over a coal fired furnace in the basement (that was later converted to an oil burning furnace). My father built a great recreation room in the basement that was the size of half of the house and housed my Lionel electric trains and his home drafting table. The other half of the basement was where the coal bin was originally, the laundry area with the old ringer washing machine my mother had and my father's workshop. The dormer on the front of the house was added about a year before we moved to our next home.

It was just the four of us at that time. We left when I was nine years old and my sister was five years old. From everything I remember it was a happy home and one where I felt secure. I didn't realize how small it was because I really didn't have much of a frame of reference. It was where I saw the "Northern Lights" (the Aurora Borealis). It was where I learned to ride a bicycle and suffered a severely cut hand from a push lawnmower my cousin and I were fooling around with that caused an infection to set in and rage up my arm. I still have the remnant of the scar on my right hand. Needless to say, this part of my history is very rich in memories, life lessons and as a place where I began to form into the person I would eventually become.

Have you returned to your roots? Have you revisited the home or homes you grew up in? Have you relived the events and dreams that launched you into who you have become? Some people don't want to go back to those places in their lives. But, I think it can be a very cathartic experience. I probably won't revisit these places again during the rest of my life. I have the photos and they stimulate the memories. I hope, if you haven't already, that you make the effort to go back and review your personal history. 

"I Pledge Allegiance To The Flag . . .

of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all."

Yes! That is the Pledge of Allegiance that most everyone I know in the United States grew up repeating everyday we attended public school. It may have also been part of the daily ritual of private schools as well. I don't know that since I always attended public schools.

So, why am I writing about it? Well, it's because I'm angry. No! I'm not angry at the Pledge. I'm angry at the Board of Education in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. If you haven't caught the news bite about the Sioux Falls Board of Ed determining that there is no time in the schedule to require the ten seconds it takes to repeat the Pledge, watch for it. It's one more little nail in the coffin of losing what the United States is all about.

No! I'm not some conspiracy theorist. And, I'm certainly not a big fan of government, especially when it interferes more and more with our personal freedom, privacy and lives. But, this is different. The Pledge of Allegiance is a ten second, 31-word recitation that bonds all Americans. It was composed in August 1892 by Francis Bellamy, a Baptist minister and the chairman of a committee of state superintendents of education of the National Education Association. The Pledge was adopted and has been part of the American way of life ever since.

I see it as a real simple thing. We are very lucky to be Americans. It's not that we're the only free country in the world. As of 2013 there are 90 free countries and another 58 partly free countries. But, those 31 words and the ten measly seconds it takes to recite them is the one thing that binds American to American. They are simple words and they show respect for our country, our Constitution, our heritage and the legacy of bravery for the millions and millions of men and women who have fought, bled and died for our rights and our freedoms.

A group of veterans appealed to the Sioux Falls Board of Ed to not eliminate the Pledge of Allegiance from the high school daily schedule. Unfortunately, the adults who make up that Board of Education showed no respect for those men who served so the board members could have the right to show how little respect and regard they have for those who fought for them. They simply found that after 121 years, there just wasn't ten seconds left in the busy day of doing a poorer and poorer job of educating our next generations to say the Pledge and giver our future leaders a feeling of belonging to something great.

Well, maybe you don't care. Obviously, the people of Sioux Falls don't care. It makes me sad to think that my newly adopted home state has so little regard for our heritage. Between everything happening in Washington, DC and to see things like this happening simply indicate to me that we may have seen the peak of this experiment in freedom. There are even several counties in Colorado petitioning to secede from the state of Colorado and forming a fifty-first state. 

I am not very much of a traditionalist. But, having grown up in the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave, reciting the Pledge of Allegiance and volunteering four years of my life to serve this country during what was probably the most unpopular war in the history of the country, I do hold that Pledge and saluting that flag dear. Maybe I'm just old fashioned. Maybe it's no longer politically correct to feel connected and have pride in the country that has provided me with a life and opportunities I likely would not have had in most other countries. But, this little issue just burns me up.

I guess this is one more reason for my choice to downsize, leave my old life behind and pursue a lifestyle of "living free." One of my objectives is to seek out those places in the U.S. where I may find pockets and remnants of those qualities and values I remember growing up with.

Sorry if this post may sound like a rant, but sometimes there are just things in the news that get to me. At least I'm not going off on Congress, the "so-called" Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) or any of the myriad issues in Washington, DC.    

Photo-of-the-Week #132 - The Armstrong Tower, Birthplace of FM Radio, Alpine, New Jersey, October 2013

While to some people the tower in this photograph may appear to be an eyesore, especially the very expensive homes directly below the tower site, it is both of major historic importance and utilitarian significance. The Armstrong Tower, all 425 feet of it, has stood in this place and weathered the test of time since 1938.

Major Edwin Armstrong, the father of modern radio communications, broadcasting and most significantly, FM radio broadcasting (FM has also been used for the sound portion of broadcast television and connected us with astronauts in space) erected this tower for his experimental FM broadcasting beginning in the late 1930's. While Armstrong invented much of what allowed the world to have AM radio and eventually FM radio and held many patents, he never received the acclaim he deserved. His life ended tragically when he committed suicide on January 31, 1954 believing he was a failure and a broken man. David Sarnoff of RCA fame was complicit in breaking Armstrong, though he never took responsibility for his actions. It's an interesting read for anyone interested in the story of these two men and how one destroyed the other through politics and corporate greed.

The original laboratory building still stands at the base of the tower and is a museum displaying Armstrong's inventions and contributions to society. However, the tower is currently very actively utilized by all kinds of communication services as evidenced by the massive number of antennas mounted on the tower. And, as another historical note, after the collapse of the World Trade Center towers on September 11, 2001, many of the New York area TV and FM radio stations whose antennas and transmitters were located at the top of the World Trade Towers were immediately set up at the Armstrong Tower to provide continued service to most of their listening and viewing audiences. So, while some may see it as an eyesore, I recognize it as a symbol of the inventiveness and free enterprise society that is the American way. Armstrong's legacy lives on not only through his tower, but also through a foundation established by his widow, who fought for his patent rights, royalties and what was due to the inventor after his tragic death.

More Progress On My McVansion And Other Things

So, I've been a bit lax on posting lately. My apologies. It's not that I have nothing to say. It's simply that I've been running out of time before running out of things to do. I'm sure you've experienced this situation from time to time yourself. The last road trips have been excellent, however, they were typical of most of my road trips during my earlier years. I was on a "mission" and attempted to include as many things as I possibly could into the trips. As a recovering "Type A" workaholic personality, my "To Do" list always had far more items on it than could be accomplished in the day I had designated to do them all. So it is with my road trips. Now, that's not to say that I didn't accomplish a lot. Actually, I accomplished most of the things I had planned, just not everything. And, of course, keeping up with emails, blog posts, phone calls and other similar activities seemed to fall behind. I guess the old saying, "the faster I go, the behinder I get," aptly applies here.

So, to set the record straight, I'm the guy with a blog titled "Living Free" and a philosophy of doing everything I can to have the least number of restrictions, limitations and encumbrances on my time and life. Yet, I'm still caught up in the whirlpool of having way too many irons on the fire and things to do. I guess I still have some work to do, would you agree?

A Road Trips Recap

#1

The September road trip to New Jersey was great! I got to visit most of the places I had planned to get to. I saw most of the friends I wanted to see on that trip including spending a little time with my younger (the middle child of the three of us) sister and her husband, went to the Voice Over Barbecue and met many on-line friends from that unique professional niche, sampled the foods at some of my favorite childhood restaurants and even, through interesting circumstances, enjoyed the serendipity of visiting the Thomas Edison Laboratory where my father worked until his untimely death in the beginning of 1967. The Edison Laboratory and the remaining grounds from the original, huge, multi-block complex in West Orange, New Jersey is now a national historical park. Again, the timing was right because, had I been there just a couple weeks later and the ridiculous government shutdown would have had the gates closed and locked and I wouldn't have walked through that historic building where not only did Edison invent many of the things that changed our lives forever, but where my father was instrumental in designing the guidance systems that made the space program and humans walking on the moon possible.

#2

The second road trip to Texas, again, on a mission to work on a conference at the Hyatt Grand Hotel on the River Walk in San Antonio, Texas, was equally a successful trip. Of course, the conference was covered and recorded, though we experienced a few serious challenges in that particular property. But, I was able to deliver a plaque that posthumously recognized a beloved, humorous professional speaker to his daughter in Austin. I met a new friend near Austin who shared his vast collection of vintage magnetic recording equipment with me at his home. The experience brought back so many memories as I looked at and touched so many of the dozens of professional and semi-professional recorders I used during my 50 year career in the recording industry. Not only that, but I even saw copies of some tapes that were very likely edited, duplicated and distributed from my studios and tape duplication plant in Washington, DC during the 1970's. The circle completes. I visited one of my former business partners and his wife, Pat, from the '70's. Troy continued his military career and retired from the Air Force to retire to New Braunfels, Texas where he started a successful silk screening business, which he is now retired from. From there I met up with and enjoyed a couple days visiting a former author of my book publishing company and another unique professional speaker friend and his wife in Kerrville, Texas. Scott has been dealing with Parkinson's Disease for several years and is a fantastic inspiration as is his wife, Melanie. I also met up with another new friend I met through the Internet, specifically, LinkedIn. Marvin Willis is the founder of the Hometown Hero - Hero Card, a really great small business idea that I'm still milling over in my mind as to how I can work with Marvin and still focus on my own goals. Finally, I visited with a former employee, a recording engineer, who worked with me in my studios in Washington, DC during the mid 70's. Bill and his wife, Diane, hosted me to a wonderful dinner and breakfast at their beautiful home outside Austin, Texas. Bill is still active in audio and video production, though he indicated that he's also slowing down. Diane retired this past December from her position as the Director of Administration for the Lt. Governor of Texas. I also had an opportunity to meet Bill's son from his first marriage who is a contractor working for the U.S. government in Afghanistan. He was back stateside on some leave time. There were many more people along the routes to and from the San Antonio mission that I would have loved to have spent some time with, but, as seems to happen all too often on mission based travel, there was just no more time in the schedule.

#3

I made a short excursion to Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania in mid-October to attend the ribbon cutting and dedication of the Charlie "Tremendous" Jones Conference Center. Charlie was a long time friend, mentor, colleague, client and even a father figure at times. He passed away as the result of prostate cancer on October 16, 2008. Five years to the day of his passing his daughter, Tracey Jones, had the dedication and ribbon cutting ceremony to remember her father. I enjoyed visiting with other members of Charlie's family including his widow, Gloria, still radiant and glowing and one of his sons and his youngest daughter. I also met several people, some I knew from earlier encounters, but four new folks included Giff Briner, Board Chairman and owner of WPFG, a Christian radio station in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, Cal Beyer, Vice-president of Murray Securus, a risk management company from Lancaster, Pennsylvania and John Eshleman and his wife from Upland, California who is the Region IV Director for the Mennonite Disaster Service. Wow! I enjoyed very stimulating and inspiring discussions with everyone and came back from that trip with many new insights. Of course, my friend, Tracey Jones, who has stepped into her father's footprints, is an amazing woman and most assuredly, a "chip off the old block." I have great admiration for this very accomplished, motivated and inspirational woman. Once again, I stayed at Tracey's "guest hut," as she calls it, and she's made it clear that it's my accommodations whenever I'm in the area and it's not previously spoken for.

#4

Finally, the last road trip began on October 23rd and took me on a long day's drive from the West Virginia base camp to Riverhead, New York on Long Island for a very special wedding of my grad school buddy's daughter, Kelly. Riverhead is near the famous Hamptons and not too far from the eastern tip of Long Island at Montauk Point. The trip was a bit longer than it might have been had I not been dealing with what turned out to be a urinary tract infection. It's the first time (and I hope the last and only time) I've ever had such an infection. Unfortunately, due to the number of things on my agenda from the time I returned from the Pennsylvania trip I didn't have time to get to my regular doctor before I left. So, first I attended the wedding on Long Island (one of the best, if not the best, wedding parties I've ever attended). Friday morning after breakfast with my friends, I headed back to New Jersey for a late 2:00 PM lunch (that lasted until about 6:30) with my college friend, Greg, and his wife, Mary. Then to my overnight location at the Pilot Travel Center (you likely saw the "David and Goliath" Photo of the Week that I posted a couple weeks ago at the Travel Center). It was Saturday morning and I found a walk in "doc in the box" urgent care center in Parsippany, New Jersey where I went and finally saw a doctor, got the formal diagnosis and a prescription for some antibiotics. I took the prescription to another Walmart in the region to check it out as a possible overnight parking location. Well, the script was filled, but the Walmart was not a candidate for an overnight location.

I arrived at my favorite hot dog hang out, Rutt's Hut, in my hometown of Clifton, New Jersey at around 4:00 PM, just moments before my old high school buddy, Art, rolled in after driving about 100 miles from the New Jersey Shore to meet up, eat hot dogs, drink birch beer and talk about old times. We occupied a table until about 9:15 PM when Art went on to his brothers and I made my way to the North Bergen Walmart to consider it as an overnight parking place. It's on the list, but I decided to go back to the more familiar Walmart in Garfield, New Jersey, my father's hometown (just across the Passaic River from Clifton, New Jersey). Sunday I met up with my oldest nephew, had a brunch with him and then attended his hand bell choir recording session. I then checked out the Walmart at the Meadowlands where the Giants football stadium is located. I spent the night there, met up with some 18 wheeler truck drivers in the morning and then headed out for lunch with a couple of college friends, one was the former Chief Engineer for the college radio station we launched and the other took over the "reins of power" from me when I graduated. From there I met up with a couple more old college friends who were members of my Industrial Arts major. Tuesday was a day off and I decided to do some exploring and made my way out to the Palisades and up to the Alpine Marina on the Hudson River where I spent a couple summers boating with my grad school buddy and his parents. I also revisited the old Armstrong Tower where Major Edwin Armstrong, the inventor of modern radio communication and broadcasting, was the first to broadcast with his invention, frequency modulation or FM, as most people know it. I wrapped up Tuesday with a visit to the new Italian Restaurant and Pizzeria named Barilari's located about a block from my old favorite hometown pizza place, Mario's. I wrote about Mario's previously. Barilari's is owned by Kenny Barilari, the grandson of the original owners of Mario's, and his mission is to carry on the tradition of his grandparents. I'll write more about my visit to Barilari's in the near future.

Finally, on Wednesday I returned to Montclair State University where I had lunch with the general manager of WMSC, the radio station I started 46 years ago, hung out in the production lounge with a bunch of the current crop of "radio types," and finally spoke to a group of them at their weekly meeting later in the afternoon. My hope was to give them a bit of history and a challenge for their station's future and their own futures. I then found my way back to My McVansion, parked in a far off parking lot, and began my journey back to base camp in Keyser, West Virginia. I spent the previous couple evenings at the Garfield Walmart and I spent that last evening overnighting at the Phillipsburg, New Jersey Walmart. Oh, and that inconvenient little infection I was dealing with was pretty much gone as the antibiotics the doctor prescribed made quick work of the errant bacteria.

Why A Recap?

While much of this is a recap of some earlier posts, it's also a reminder to myself just how much I enjoy being on the road, meeting new people, reconnecting with old friends, exploring new sites and revisiting places that hold major significance in my life. It also served as a reminder that I'm still attempting to do too much in too little time. I didn't have, or maybe it would be better said that I didn't allow and make time to prepare meaningful posts for this blog. For those who read the blog regularly and look forward at least to something interesting if not enlightening and uplifting or, maybe, informative, I apologize. Writing this blog is one of the more important aspects of who I am and who I'm becoming. So, I not only let you down, who (I hope) gain some little tidbits of inspiration and ideas from this blog, but I let myself down.

This is something I have to work at. I tell other people we simply can't do everything. I attempt to help people realize that we'll all die one day and leave unfinished business behind...and that's okay. But, the one person who needs to truly believe and heed these thoughts is, yours truly...ME. As President George W. Bush used to say (and this has nothing to do with his or your politics), "I'm the decider." That's true for all of us and I especially need to realize and accept that I can't do it all, must select between the voluminous number of things I want to do and be the "decider" of what I really, really want to do. In other words, I need to pick and choose and then prioritize. Living free is a fantastic experience, however, it's also an awesome opportunity and responsibility. If we try to do it all we get mired down and ultimately get little or nothing done. So, hang with me and pass on your thoughts and ideas about the things you want to do and how you're able to (if you are, yet) pick, choose, decide and prioritize.

My McVansion Progress Report

So, to wrap up this post, today, here are the latest upgrades to My McVansion. People often wonder how those who choose to travel and/or live full-time in the confines of 50 or less square feet take care of various necessities of life. One of these necessities is, hopefully, to not be too indelicate or graphic, the elimination of bodily wastes. Yes! It's one of the things we all must do no matter what our station in life, but it's also something many people don't want to focus on, despite its importance to good health and hygiene. There are a variety of ways that people living in small spaces like the confines of a van or a utility trailer or the new trend known as Tiny Houses take care of this necessity. Each method has advantages and disadvantages and the costs vary across the spectrum. A full size, commercially designed and manufactured RV (motor home or trailer) will typically have an actual bathroom facility built in with running water and holding tanks for the waste. Periodically, the fresh water tank has to be filled or connected to an external potable water supply and the waste holding tanks have to be dumped in an appropriate waste dumping station or connected to an external sewage system. In this instance, taking care of necessary bodily functions is not much different than if one lives in the average house or apartment anywhere in the U.S.

The options are several for those of us who choose to use vans or utility trailers as our travel/living facilities. I won't go into all the options in this post. However, I will tell you about mine. First, when I'm traveling and when I'm parking overnight, my first choice is to find public facilities. Public facilities are plentiful and include rest areas along interstates and major highways across the U.S. Next come gas station/convenience stores/fast food restaurants. Most large retail establishments including Walmart, Target, Kmart, supermarkets, Costco's, Sam's Clubs, shopping malls and similar also have public rest rooms. There are, of course, others that can be added to this list.

When I'm not traveling and I'm parked for the night or even semi-permanently in a location where public restrooms are not conveniently located, my next line of convenience enters the picture. As a male, I have a distinct advantage over females when it comes to voiding my bladder, so for that purpose I carry a half-gallon, opaque, yellow plastic milk container. It's certainly not inconspicuous when I carry it into a public rest area rest room to empty, but at least it's not transparent making it even more obvious as to its contents. I use a little liquid bleach with some water to wash it out and keep it sanitary. This works very well for me and, frankly, has saved me from extreme discomfort on more than one occasion.

The other and, certainly, more obvious appliance addition to My McVansion is the new Sanitation Equipment Visa Porta Potty Model 268. This unit is well built, has excellent ratings everywhere I've looked for reviews, is economical and has the largest holding tank capacity of the numerous similar appliances available on the market. It has a 6.3 gallon solid waste capacity with a 3.7 gallon fresh water (for flushing) capacity. I won't go into any other details other than to say that depending on my travels and the availability of public facilities along my route, I can go between three and four weeks with this unit between visits to appropriate dumping stations.

  

The Visa Porta Potty is situated on a plywood floor with furring strips around the base so it can't slide. To the left of the porta potty on the same plywood base will be a 2.7 cu. ft. compressor refrigerator. The plywood base will be stained to match the rest of the wood in the van along with being sealed so water, although there should be none, can't seep through to the remaining carpet under the plywood. Additionally, when I'm finished with the construction, both the porta potty and the refrigerator will be enclosed in plywood cabinets, also stained to match the rest of the interior wood and there will be a cover over the porta potty with a cushion so that when not in use, the porta potty will be concealed and provide some seating space. The top of the refrigerator cabinet will support a small microwave oven. The yellow bottle is also concealed when not in use, but is readily available when needed.

 The wheel well to the right of the porta potty is going to be concealed by a wooden enclosure that will support a six drawer storage unit for office supplies, cables, cords and adapters for audio, video and photographic interfacing and similar misc. necessities along with a small file box to keep necessary paperwork in. The cabinet and the wheel well enclosure are under construction currently. By the end of next week, I am planning to have the large 245 amp hour, deep cycle battery on board the van so I can begin putting in the 12 volt DC and the 110 volt AC wiring. So, the progress continues on My McVansion to make it a very habitable and hospitable environment for me to travel and live in for extended periods of time.  

Photo-of-the-Week #131 Crossing The Mighty Mississippi, Memphis, Tennessee, October 2013

The skyline of Memphis, Tennessee, or at least part of it, from the bridge over the Mighty Mississippi River. I was crossing into Memphis from West Memphis, Arkansas. I've made this crossing several times since my first crossing in December 1969 on my way home from Lackland Air Force Base for some holiday leave time.

Unfortunately, the Mighty Mississippi didn't look much more mighty than the Mighty Passaic River in New Jersey that borders my hometown. I don't believe I've ever seen the Mississippi River as low as it was this time. I'm not sure if the level will come up this year. If it does rise close to its normal level, I'm afraid there will be some serious flooding up river from some of these massive storm systems that have been striking various parts of the country including Colorado and most recently Austin. Interestingly, it was just after I left Austin on my return trip from San Antonio when that weather system dropped about a foot of water on the very dry city.