The tag line for this blog is Life’s a journey. Travel often. Learn much. In our day and age travel is fairly convenient. We may fuss about the crowded planes, uncomfortable hotel rooms, or expensive meals, but truly we have it so much better than those who came before us. Consider Mary and Joseph. They went on a journey, but not one they chose. They were commanded to go to their ancestral home for a census, and the timing couldn’t…
Insights
Nativities Around the World
It’s Christmas season once more. The signs are everywhere. A visit to a store or mall and all the decor will tell you that the Christmas season is here. Christmas themes of late seem to revolve mostly around snow and winter scenes. Snowmen and Christmas trees along with Santa have come to dominate the holiday decor. However, it is important not to ignore the reason there’s a Christmas, the birth of Jesus Christ. One way to celebrate that is to…
Thanksgiving Through Fire
This is an extra edition of Batteredsuitcase.net as I wanted to bring it in a more timely fashion than my usual posts. This year we were invited to go to my wife’s sister’s home in Santa Barbara for Thanksgiving. Since I am not teaching, our schedule was more flexible. We planned to fly to San Jose, where my daughter lives, on Saturday, drive down to Santa Barbara on Monday, and return to San Jose on Saturday. My wife’s sister Sylvia…
Your Money Matters
If you live in the United States or Europe, you are probably rich. While you may not consider yourself rich, your income is likely far above that of many people around the world. We refer to ourselves as part of the first world while those in third world countries struggle. So what happens when a first world visitor visits a third world country? Does it matter how you spend your money? First let it be said that your money definitely…
Is Seeing Enough?
A number of years ago my wife’s niece got married in Paris. It was in May so I was unable to go, but she and my daughter went. They arrived a week ahead of the wedding to have the opportunity to tour Paris, and tour they did. I got reports each night about the churches, museums or other places they had visited and how tired they were after walking all day. They tried to see it all. A few years…
Why Travel? What Value Does Travel Have?
It seems that one of the common expectations of retirees is that they will travel. This expectation was evident when I was reading what my high school classmates from 50 years ago wrote in their current biographies. Traveling both past and future was a common theme. But why? What is the purpose or value of traveling? People travel for many reasons. A common reason is what many people call bucket list travel. These travelers are out to see or experience…