Category: Life

Happy Birthday America!

Happy 244th Birthday to the United States of America!

With COVID-19 ravaging our nation, this July 4th is odd one, don’t you think? Celebrations are being trimmed back or cancelled all across the nation as we acknowledge this deadly killer. But even as the virus drives us into our homes and isolation, events have drawn us out to the streets, and national talking points have turned to America’s racist past …and present. Pandemics and transitions go hand-in-hand, according to the historians, and I believe I am one of many who hope that our transition from this pandemic will be a beneficial one. Continue reading “Happy Birthday America!” →

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Streetlight People

Recently I heard Journey’s classic song, “Don’t Stop Believing” (also known as “Streetlight People”) and one particular lyric grabbed me. The group sings about the streetlight people who are,  “Livin’ just to find emotion.”

It seems to perfectly describe some of our current fellow travelers. They are the ones who “take a stand” that is the complete opposite of what sanity tells us it should be. They are contrarians and they will take a point of view “especially for the sake of being difficult, contentious or in opposition to the generally held view.” Continue reading “Streetlight People” →

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Living in an Ethereal Age

As a 72-year old woman, according to conventional thinking, I should not be tech savvy. There is always a startled expression on the face of Best Buy associates when I pose a tech-savvy question. Well, come to think of it, Best Buy clerks have always seemed a bit dismissive of a woman with technical acumen so perhaps the current behavior is just ageism tacked on to misogyny. Continue reading “Living in an Ethereal Age” →

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COVID Lessons

Recently I have been thinking about the drastic effect COVID-19 will have on the children of this country and many others. Out of school and confined to home, our children are losing valuable time and experience. These are not just a few snow days that are being missed. There are weeks and months of education that will not be recovered easily. Even those with computers and pads who are following online lessons at home are still getting cheated. Certainly a great part of schooling is the social interaction, learning to interact with our peers and other societal members.  I envision a generation that will grow up hoarding toilet paper and vowing never to be without it again in the best Scarlett O’Hara fashion (and perhaps they watched Gone With the Wind while staying safe at home…a good history lesson). Continue reading “COVID Lessons” →

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Trump got you down? Buy a Roomba.

 

My Roomba, hard at work.

With the New Year I made a significant investment in a robot…yes, a robot. The Roomba vacuum cleaner, which can be seen to the right with more at irobot.com, is about as cute as R2D2, moves in a similar fashion and is just as much fun to watch. In these troubled times it is comforting to encounter something that simply does what it is says it will do. Continue reading “Trump got you down? Buy a Roomba.” →

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Road Trip – This is the Wrap

 

The odyssey is over. Tango and I are safely arrived in Franklin, NC, where we will quietly enjoy the summer.  No road trips anticipated.  😀

Brenann, Evan, Mike, Alice and Stacy..the O’Learys in Hailey, ID.

We made a completely unexpected trip to Coeur d’Alene, Idaho and met a family who I felt that I knew but had never met.  I wrote about that in my blog, “On the Road — Memories and Magic.” But I also got to visit my nephew Michael and his family in Sun Valley, Idaho. What a beautiful family in a beautiful part of the U.S.

Continue reading “Road Trip – This is the Wrap” →

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On the Road – Four Great Days in Idaho

Tango and our van on Idaho Rt. 33.

Today Tango and I turned the van eastward and began our journey home. The magnificent Western mountain ranges that have filled my windshield for nearly four weeks — the Rockies, Sierra Nevadas, Cascades, Pioneers — are sadly becoming relegated to my rearview mirror, growing smaller with each mile. Continue reading “On the Road – Four Great Days in Idaho” →

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On the Road – Memories and Magic

Faithful readers know I am on a cross-country trip with my canine companion Tango. Some of those faithful readers, but not all, know that I have a long history with the medical cannabis issue (to learn more please visit aliceolearyrandall.com). I have kept medical cannabis out of my Alice’s WanderLand blog for various reasons but primarily because I am not a 24/7 cannabis person. There is so much more to life than cannabis (aka, marijuana).  Alice’s WanderLand is my touchstone with the wonders and beauty of life…either through pictures or words. Continue reading “On the Road – Memories and Magic” →

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