...reflections...

"You must be the change you want to see in the world."
~ Mahatma Gandhi
The Words of Gandhi (Hardcover)

Life Unplugged?

My curfew was the street lights. My mom called my name NOT my cell. I played outside with friends NOT online. If I didn't eat what mom cooked then I didn't eat. Sanitizer didn't exist but you COULD get your mouth washed out with soap. I rode a bike without a helmet. Getting dirty was OK and neighbors cared as much as your parents. Re-post if you drank water from a garden hose and survived.

"Life is like a ten speed bicycle. Most of us have gears we never use." 
~ Charles M. Schulz

Three Generations

Since the end of the Korean War, South Korean society has undergone a complete political, economic and social transformation. In 1953, after a brutal Japanese occupation and civil war, the country was on life support. Most Koreans lived in the countryside and worked the land. After just 50 years, South Korea has transformed itself into an industrial powerhouse in Asia. The country's largest automaker even built a $1.1 billion dollar auto assembly plant in Alabama.

This photograph of my wife's grandmother was taken in a farmhouse in 1983. The story of her rough life mirrors the transformation undergone by the country. When she was sixteen years old, she was forced into an arranged marriage.

My wife's great-grandparents traded a small plot of land & a cow for their son's new bride. Basically, she was treated as a piece of property.


During the Japanese occupation, the laws regarding marriage changed. While a woman could no longer be bought or sold, families still arranged marriages for their children. In the case of my wife's mother, she actually meet her new husband (my wife's father) on their wedding night. My mother-in-law had ZERO control over her future. Love was not a requirement for marriage.


In 1983, for the first time in my wife's family, a woman controlled who she married. In just three generations, a woman's status in Korean society changed forever.

One of my wife's favorite movies is "My Big Fat Greek Wedding." Why? Well, when we announced our engagement, her older brother attempted to stop the marriage. However, unlike two-generations before, he had no legal authority over his sister. Just like the movie, my brother-in-law invited dozens of Korean men home for dinner. When the movie came out, even my brother-in-law recognized his character as the Greek father.

OBSERVATION: Globalization has contributed to the rise of Islamic Fundamentalism. The dramatic changes for the status of women in Asia mirror the modern pressures currently underway in the Islamic World.


Century of Struggle:
The Woman's Rights Movement in the United States, Enlarged Edition (Paperback)

...reflections...

Baghdad, Iraq (April 2005).

For anybody that's attempted to take a large group photo, even under the best of circumstances, it's difficult to get every face in the picture. Particularly, when all the subjects are moving in different directions. Sometimes, luck plays a role when attempting to capture a single image at just the right moment.

During the Berlin Airlift in 1948, German children would scramble for packages of goodies dropped from relief planes landing into the besieged city. Fast forward to 2005. No matter where U.S. Troops traveled in Iraq, children were soon to follow. Once a convoy stopped in a village, the American soldiers became a magnet for kids. When I snapped this photograph, dozens of children ran towards our vehicle hoping for candy and soccer balls.

Iraqi Interpreter on patrol with U.S. Troops

Baghdad, Iraq (April 2005)

A Chinese New Year's Story

For those that remember the movie A Christmas Story, Ralphie's father takes everyone out to a Chinese restaurant for Chinese Turkey. Part of the joke being that Chinese restaurants are usually the only businesses open on Christmas Day. Anyhow, back in 2009, my wife and I decided to go out for lunch. The streets were completely empty. Changsha is a city of over 7 million people!

I felt like Tom Cruise standing in Times Square in Vanilla Sky. 

Did the apocalypse happen while we were sleeping? ALL the Chinese restaurants were locked up. Everything was closed. Then it hit us. Logically, the ONLY restaurants open on Chinese New Year's Day must be American. Sure enough, Subway, KFC, McDonald's & Pizza Hut were ALL OPEN for business. 

So where did we eat?

In China, believe it or not, Pizza Hut is considered a high class, gourmet restaurant. Why? Because Pizza Huts in China look and taste NOTHING like the States. The service, atmosphere and food are a complete 180 degrees from the Lower 48. Koh and I had Salmon Pasta, Shrimp, Garlic Bread, Salad & a Pepsi.


It was our American Peking Duck Chinese New Year Dinner.
TABASCO Brand Pepper Sauce ~ Original Red Gallon

Google keeps recommending links selling...

Plastic Bifocals, Constipation Remedies, Flatulence Treatments, Depends Underwear, Low Dose Aspirin, Pink House Slippers and the NRA.
Should I be worried?

"Life is a great big canvas and you should throw all the paint on it you can." 
~ Danny Kaye
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (DVD)

The mosquitoes are so BIG in North Dakota the Department of Fish & Game could issue hunting licenses.

A rural life is better: 
Living in a concrete jungle is stressful and makes you vulnerable to depression?
The Daily Mail
By David Derbyshire
June 23, 2011


"Scientists have confirmed what every urbanite has long suspected – life in the city is more stressful."
READ MORE...

Photo by Peter Rimar of Grain Elevator in Hunter, North Dakota (August 2010).

Memories are Recycled?

"When we remember we are all mad, the mysteries disappear and life stands explained." ~ Mark Twain

Could somebody PLEASE turn on the "Nothing but Blue Skies" & "Walking on SUNSHINE" machine?

"If we are to remain a decent society we must treat one another decently."
~ Jerry DeMartin



Ice Cream: The Full Scoop (Paperback)

...wanderlust...

"Perhaps travel cannot prevent bigotry, but by demonstrating that all peoples cry, laugh, eat, worry, and die, it can introduce the idea that if we try and understand each other, we may even become friends."
~ Maya Angelou

Photos by Peter Rimar.

Smoking and Atomic Bombs Kill?

The only difference is how much energy is used to equal mass multiplied by the speed of light squared. It was relativity easy to give up using atomic bombs. However, quitting smoking for this blogger continues to be a real beach...



The Day After Trinity (DVD)

Is it WRONG to play dress up with your dog?

While taking our dog JoJo out for his morning constitution, I was reminded of one of life's simple lessons...
sometimes...
it's important to stop & smell each & every blade of grass...






Boston Terriers For Dummies

Virtual Refreshment?

"Life does not cease to be funny when people die any more than it ceases to be serious when people laugh."
~ George Bernard Shaw

Top "YouTube" Music Video Quote of 2011?

“It’s sort of like my past is an unfinished painting and as the artist of that painting I must fill in all the ugly holes and make it beautiful again.”
~ Lady GaGa
Marry the Night