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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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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On the Road – God Bless the U.S.A.

I am just shy of three weeks on the road, about halfway through the trip. It has been great fun.  I think everyone should leave the safety of their home cocoon and get out in the world.  Despite the rather spooky presence of nearly identical shopping malls in every fair–sized hamlet, you can still catch the regional flavors that make this land a wonderful smorgasbord of ideas, ambitions, and realities.  How have we ever managed to hold it together for all these years?  Will we manage to keep it together in this current time? Continue reading “On the Road – God Bless the U.S.A.” →

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On the Road – Day 4

One of my favorite TV series is “Saving Grace.” (It originally aired on TNT 2007-2010 and is now available on Netflix.)  Holly Hunter plays an Oklahoma City detective named Grace who is visited by Earl, a lovable angel.  Grace is a nice twist on the prostitute with a heart of gold.  She sleeps around, drinks too much, and is a wicked jokester but she’s also ethical and a good cop. Continue reading “On the Road – Day 4” →

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