It’s too bad that access to most of the world’s information does not come with the wisdom to know how to use it.
Chris Denbow Posts
Pulling up and reading this website’s default theme color is a bright white. However, when reading in low light that could be blinding and potentially disturb the un-approving significant other trying to sleep. That’s an issue.
Introducing night mode that will automagically render to match a reader’s default display settings. So if your device is in light mode the website will be light. Dark mode display on your device? Dark it is. However, I have installed a script on the page that allows you to toggle to the desired light/dark setting.
If I leave here tomorrow
Would you still remember me?For I must be traveling on now
‘Cause there’s too many places I’ve got to see…— Free Bird by Lynyrd Skynyrd
By weaving music into our travel narrative, we can emphasize the role of sound in experiencing different cultures and locations.
For example, the lyrics at the beginning of this post were especially poignant when visiting the band’s airplane crash site and memorial. The song “Free Bird” was a fitting tribute and enhanced our experience as we drove away and listened to a few other hits from the band. The goosebumps were visible on the arm as it steered the car.
Further down the road, I switched the soundtrack to “New Orleans and Dixieland Jazz Essentials” as we drove over Lake Pontchartrain and into N.O. The experience is enhanced with relative music.
Specific songs or genres can evoke memories, reflect the character of a place, and enhance the overall journey.
“El Camino Negro” or, “The Black Road” is a perfect soundtrack while driving through western Texas, New Mexico or the California desert.
And no road trip soundtrack would be complete if you don’t add Johnny Cash’s ultimate travel song “I’ve Been Everywhere”
I’ve been everywhere, man
I’ve been everywhere, man
Crossed the deserts bare, man
I’ve breathed the mountain air, man
Of travel I’ve had my share, man
I’ve been everywhere
So let me encourage you fellow travelers to be open to discovering new music during your journey. Create a communal playlist where each traveler can contribute their favorite songs related to the locations you visit along the way, fostering a shared experience and making the road trip more memorable.
This idea was inspired by our recent road trip and will be included in the Explore More book, brought to you by the Denbow Modern Classics publishing house.
- Tip: Stop at any hotel, small motels, inns, BnBs, etc, and critique the strange, bland, or hilariously bad art that often graces the walls.
- Task: Make up elaborate backstories for each piece, imagining who the artist was, their emotional state, and what profound meaning they were trying to convey. Share your critiques in an ironic blog post or social media series titled something like “Art from Room 204.”
Back in December of last year, I set a reading goal of 24 books in 2024. Today I just wrapped that goal up with plenty of time to spare for the remainder of the year.
It was a fitting choice to complete the original classic of Dracula, by Bram Stoker in mid-October and Halloween coming up. I had intended to read other classic monster novels, but for now, I don’t know if my heart is into that.
It happened again, where I reserve multiple titles from the library and they are all 8-24 weeks out. And yet, they all, somehow, become available all at once.
For now, I have decided to read Stephen King’s book, On Writing. A non-fiction book that gives insights into his prolific style.
If interested, you can check out my Reading page to see what was on my digital nightstand.
Hell, you can even take a look at the screenshot too.
Do I need a colored e-ink reader? No.
Do I want the colored e-ink reader. Yes!
Amazon is quite stingy with their Kindle trade-in offers though. $25 for a year-old Paperwhite and $5 for an old Fire tablet? $30? Hmm.
I like the option to include Kindle Unlimited reading with the upgrade.
Not now but soon I suppose.
This morning I woke up to an unusually chilly day down here in southwest Florida. A cold front blew its way down, probably following us from Tulsa, because it was 60 degrees with a light wind. Thankfully, I still had my one sweatshirt close by from our trip up north.
While walking outside around the house surveying the hurricane clean-up needs, I noticed, really noticed the diverse flora at our home and smiled. We don’t have these species back where I am from. Oh, and that coconut that was left in the yard from a few months ago has sprouted two large palm fronds. We need to move that somewhere else before it plants roots and grows into the power lines above it.
I snapped some images with the iPhone as I walked and surveyed the plants. Okay, according to the Information button found inside Apple Photos, we have an Areca palm, 2 tall coconut trees, a tree called Job’s Tears, an avocado tree, an Izote tree (yucca), 6 Garden Croton, 5 Spider Lily, several Tiplants, 1 surviving banana plant left (2 died in the storm), a dwarf umbrella tree, a Spiderwort plant, Shell Ginger, Yew plum pine tree, and a few more royal palm trees. Throw in your garden variety tropical shrubs and wow, what a unique, diverse collection we have here just in our yard.
The landscaping needs a lot of love after being left on its own for a year and a half. I’m looking forward to the projects…someday. Because a lot of these flora are self-sustaining and low maintenance, landscaping is on the back burner. Hopefully, though, we can tackle this while it is still an unusually cool fall and winter.
P.S. I neglected to mention the Dragon Sword plant I purchased for Tracy as our housewarming gift. This has yet to be planted. But where?
All he needed was a wheel in his hand and four on the road.
Jack Kerouac
We took the long way back home to Cape Coral and racked up a little over 3,100 miles round trip. For perspective, the distance from coast to coast in the United States varies based on the specific starting and ending points, but it typically ranges from 2,400 to 3,500 miles.
Hurricanes Helene and Milton were devastating, as we witnessed separately, their power in the big bend of Florida and between Tampa and home.
We are grateful for the unexpected road trip, the safe travels back, our family back home, and an undamaged house.
I have a lot to think about due to the inspiration that travel offers. Quite a bit to write about as well, in fact, I have been writing quite a bit.
Tomorrow we’ll take down the shutter boards off the lanai, windows and doors. Yard clean-up, trash, and return the pool/patio furniture where they belong. I’ve already re-filled the low, dirty pool water, added six gallons of chlorine and ran the pool pump most of the night.
Maybe, just maybe, after all of that, I’ll have some time to follow-up on that road inspiration and write a bit more. Then I can start to sort, organize all of the creative material I accumulated from a very generous patron of my arts (you know who you are.)
I love used bookstores, has it been mentioned? While in Oklahoma I decided to swing by the buy/sell/trade store and pick up some desired reference books such as a dictionary, thesaurus and an encyclopedia. Even the History of the National Geographic Society was grabbed.
Now I am on the look out for an atlas and a globe. These have all been on my list to add for the new study in the new home.
I had a lot of fun capturing new editions to the Tulsa scene. Murals, culture, Route 66 statues, etc. I haven’t done this in awhile.
There is something about travel that inspires me to write. I must have generated hours worth of material to sort through and organize for my book, Explore More today.
I want to go on more adventures. Be around good energy, connect with people, learn new things and grow. – Chris Denbow
I wrote this exactly ten years ago and am pleased that this hasn’t changed.
I’m digging my script that allows me to revisit previous posts.
Thanks to another coronal mass ejection from our star, the aurora borealis made another appearance further south than usual. I was blessed to witness this event back in May and blessed again for being further north in Oklahoma to see it again.
The light show started just as a small thunderstorm passed to my south but partly cloudy to the north. Thankfully, the clouds dissipated enough for these results!
Upon further inspection of the Orion constellation image I took the other morning1 I noticed multiple nebulae. Had I remembered or even noticed, I would have broken out the tripod and opened up the shutter longer for a better shot. Here, the Horsehead and Flame nebulas are quite visible, as is the Orion Nebula to the lower right. I’ll try again on the return trip home.
- what day is it, I am evacuating Milton ↩︎