a Geographer's Place

If you would have told me a decade ago I would be living in the Caribbean (again), but this time for long-term, I would have said, "Cool". But then moved on to something else, and not given it another thought. But now, nearly a decade later, here we are. Living --thriving! -- full-time on a beautiful slice of the Lesser Antilles. Looking out the window, I see the tropical flowers -- the red hibiscus, the yellow trumpets, the purple sea sage, the orange verbena -- and, beyond our back fence, a couple hundred yards of seaside grass with the occasional sea grape tree. And then that characteristic Caribbean blue water with small white caps showing where the offshore reefs are. You can hear the waves crash into the cliff. At night, when it's still, you can  feel  the waves hit the cliffside, their reverberation traveling through the atmosphere and lithosphere. That pounding sound was scary at first -- our neighborhood is uncannily quiet, and at night all you hear are the waves...

It took three days and nearly 1000 miles, but I finally arrived at my new digs in Denver, CO. All of my things fit snugly in a 5’ x 8’ U-haul trailer and the back of my Jeep. The third-floor apartment (with five flights of stairs) is spacious for a one-bedroom, and located in a gentrified/gentrifying area. The deck faces south-southwest, and looks over the green tree tops of neighborhoods while providing a beautiful view of the Front Range (Rocky Mountains). The summer thunderstorms put on spectacular lightning shows in the evenings. It was a bear to move-in, what with five flights of stairs and all—my calves took four days or so to recover from the torturous stairmaster experience. But the views are sooooo worth it! My campus office is nice too. It’s the rare corner office on campus. Apparently it was created a decade ago for a Department Chair, so I have this terrific 180-degree west-and-north view. Although the architecture (both inside and out) leaves something to be desired, the ...

As I sit here in my IKEA Poäng chair amidst boxes, I’m reminded how it’s the simple things that really make my life enjoyable. I have very few things . And what I do have are good quality items. I've learned to pursue good quality over the years. It’s a personal choice, but I’d rather have one very nice thing than a dozen mediocre things . Living in apartments for the past several years, I’ve seen a lot of people come and go, and most folks have very large trailers. I’ve always wondered how they fit all that stuff in a tiny 600 or 700 square foot place—even 1000 square feet. My mind then wanders to how they acquired all that stuff. Where do they store all that stuff? And WHY do they store it? Is it something in our genetic code that says, “Look…we might need this in the future, so we’d best keep it…” Sure, I see the logic in that genetic trait. But unless you’re consistently using the stuff, why keep it? I have a great friend who LOVES books. She always reads the latest novels....

After returning from Europe for the first time, I made a self-pact; a goal, really. I told myself I was going to visit at least one country per year of my life. If that meant I had a few years where I had to miss, that was okay. It could be made-up by traveling to more than one country in the following years. The only thing I wanted to avoid was being 85 and having only visited 60 countries (try visiting 25 countries when you’re 85—you’ve probably already visited all the “comfortable” countries!) I’ve been pretty good with this goal since then. As of today, I’m five countries short of my goal. But the only reason why I’ve missed the goal the past few years is that I’ve visited some countries more than once (and some several times). I view travel as a way to destroy stereotypes. It’s also a terrific way to learn, grow, and expand the mind. Especially if you really get into the place (like, avoid staying at five-star places the entire time because it removes you from everyday fol...

After reading the entire Harry Potter series (I finished book seven Saturday afternoon—21 July 2007), it occurred to me that there were several really, really excellent life lessons. While there are countless truisms and lessons throughout the Harry Potter series, these five “lessons” represent, IMHO, the concepts of how a meaningful life can be achieved. 1. Sometimes, you just have to find out things on your own. This painful lesson is often skirted by parents and loved ones in the name of “protection”. If, for example, someone you love (see #5) is about to do something that YOU, from experience, know will be harmful, the first thought is to help them avoid it. But what good does that really do? Ignoring the someone doesn’t work either, as Dumbledore learned in OoTP. The trick is to be a guide through the “trial” and, though frustrating, let the person gain their own experience. Dumbledore learns this the hard way, paying with his life in HBP, and Harry is left to sort it out on his o...