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Showing posts from June 11, 2006

100 and Done! (Countries that is...)

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We are back! This last trip brought the total countries visited to 100! It is a crazy milestone. It is difficult, time-consuming and can be (IS) expensive. After I got back from Antarctica in 2007, I started thinking about it. After 2010 I was thinking about it more (as I moved from NY to Georgia) and in 2014 it had become a real goal. Between Angie and I we have been to 109 Countries. We are tied at 100 countries each. We have 9 countries different in our lists. For example, I have been to San Marino. She has not. She has been to Israel. I have not, yet. There has been some fun competition in this area. That's why we had to establish rules. 1.) Must be listed (as a country) with the US State Department 2.) Being in an airport doesn't count. You have to get through immigration somehow and not in a DMZ or a no-mans-land 3.) A passport stamp is not required. I have been to Canada, Paraguay, and Uruguay without getting my passport stamped. There are friendly borders in many places...
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The sun sure came up this morning. It is brilliant out. I will be in Syracuse all day. The following photo is of my orange tree. It is one of my most valued possessions. I was having a few bad days in early 1999. In my lunch I had an orange with just a overwhelming amount of seeds in it. I decided at that point I was going to make something positive and I germinated the seeds taken from my mouth in a foam cup lined with moistened paper towels. The seeds sprouted and I transplanted the select seedlings in progressively larger and larger pots. I am working these days on trimming and shaping the tree which is an even greater thing to do than germination. I enjoy looking at the tree during times of stress. It is a symbol for me of growth, rejuvination, solace and action-based hope. "Tradition holds that three basic virtues are necessary to create a bonsai: shin-zen-bi standing for truth, goodness and beauty." http://bonsaisite.com/intro1.html