With A Roll, Some Bumps And Up We Go!

---

After a well needed, but momentary, rest at our friends the Pailamillas in Vancouver, we are now out into the open blue and on our way.

Our stay at the home of Jorge and Kim provided me with much more than physical rest. It has added to a sense of mental preparedness I am enjoying and that I have been slowly edging in to for months.Jorge and Kim are like Maria and myself, a couple from mixed cultures, he being Chilean and she someone raised in a typical Canadian setting. Their home reflects their happy life together, with bright colours, nifty curios and lovely folk art.It is a real haven from the blandness that surrounds us.I have determined that I could do more to open myself up to the heritage of my Portugese wife, maybe loosen up a bit and thus brighten the life of our family.

I have been reading Ulysses, admiring its mix of history,world wise references and open ended half sentences.It is the kind of thing that opens me up .I want to be open, as I embark on my biggest adventure ever.

I have always loved the international flavour of air travel. The newspapers from various places left abandoned by people in a rush,the different languages represented on signs, the different languages one can hear in the air.

I actually like enRoute magazine. I imagine the miles covered by the hands that have held it as I read the articles telling tales and giving tips from all over the globe.My fave in the present issue is a piece on a cooking movement that explores cuisines from times past and recreates recipes of old. For instance, consider the thought that tapas containing
ginger accurately reflect the Moorish influence on Spain and make more authentic sense than those made with tomatoes. It is funny to think of a tomato as a trendy add on, but four centuries or so ago, that was likely the case.

Another interesting bit * There are five times the number of people learning English in China than there are presently living in England.This, from a Hudsons Bay ad.

Yes, I do accept dubious claims quickly, especially when they convince me of a world full of possibility.

The first flight of our kids was a grand thrill, but not for the reasons that I expected. Oh, the takeoff was a hit and the first few moments in the air produced slack jaws and faces pressed up against the cabin window.But the enduring darling of the flight was the touch screen computer that provided a smorgasboard of movies,music and radio. Such is our world, I suppose. More importantly, such is THEIR world. Maria has not been in Portugal for a decade and I am sure that she will be startled by the changes in her homeland.But Portugal is a place that has changed many times. I hope
we all learn to embrace change and appreciate its story, both within ourselves and in the world around us.

---