I have always enjoyed where I live. It is a dusty single lane road that seems to stretch for miles in both directions. The neighbors are quite a ways away and the house is tucked away in the middle of soaring pines and spreading hickory trees. More often than not, the only company we get are the animals in the forest. When a plane passes miles overhead, I always turn to look, because the sound is foreign; I am used to birds and crickets.

In spring the geese flock into the swamp and set up gosling factories. The turkeys are out picking at the newly turned fields looking for bugs or corn from the previous year. The deer are teaching their new fawns the safe paths through the woods.

People experience life completely different around the globe.
Here in the states, our quality of life is defined by the technology we enjoy. I can wake up to my alarm clock and stumble into the shower. I can hop in my truck and drive down well paved roads and stop at Dunkin Donuts for a hot cup of joe. When I get to work, which is nicely air conditioned now that warmer weather is upon us, I fire up my computer and check my email and the latest sports scores before …

I should have known from the airport landing that Honduras would be a something of a challenge. I knew nothing about the airport going in, nothing about it being one of the most dangerous airports in the world and the airport with the shortest runway. I quickly found out.
I am not the best of flyers in the first place. A little turbulence can really clench my gut. And I overreact, I really do. In my mind, it feels like we are about to die. As a result, I do whatever …

Wouldn’t it be nice if God gave us a roadmap for our lives? Or even better, gave us our very own GPS machine attached to our umbilical chord at birth? We would know exactly what to do at exactly the right time. Turn here now! Date this boy! Move to Chicago in three seconds!
The idea of a human GPS machine might be a bit hilarious, but I am sure most of us wished we had a little foreknowledge at one time in our life or another. That is why so …

by Kolby Granville
The Director of the Secondary School down the road is standing in my doorway. He is drunk and leans in too close when he speaks. “Kolby come outside, it is an emergency, you must come right now!”
I rush into my room to put on long pants. What could possibly be the emergency at 9pm? When I come out of my room the Director is on his hand and knees looking under the table in the living room. At first I wonder if he throwing up.
“Where is the rest …

As the years pass, I notice how the holidays have begun to line up like a string of Christmas lights.
The holidays have always been festive times for me, bright and happy moments so much different than the rest of life. I remember when all the cousins used to gather at my grandmother’s trailer, a trailer that smelled a bit like cinnamon and a bit like your favorite stuffed animal. The kitchen radiated heat and laughter while us kids sat on the lone couch or leaned up against it and …

By Bus Goldberg
Travelers grow and evolve over a period of time. The desire to experience different things, new cultures and places is a very strong motivating factor for a traveler. He looks forward to his next adventure and to exploring a new destination. When a traveler stops traveling, a certain part of him dies – sometimes when we get very old it becomes physically impossible to travel; other travelers may retire prematurely when they settle down to raise a family or become absorbed in a career. In addition, some people …

A part of me wants to sit at home, to read books, to walk down the road enjoying the trees, the geese, the deer, or even work in the garden. Another part of me longs to see more of the world, to see the hills of Florence, walk the dusty streets of Cairo, to laze upon the beaches of Rio de Janeiro, to ski in Stockholm.
I did not always want to travel. When I was a boy, I hated being cooped up in a car. Any trip seemed like eternity. …

I miss my noodle nights.
When I arrived in Japan, I was excited about living in the countryside. I thought it would provide me with an authentic Japanese experience. In the sixty or so years since the end of the second world war, much of Japan has modernized, and while that Japan is intriguing, I was more interested in the traditional one that lurked beneath the technological structure and neon lights. Fortunately, my little village was far from the city, tucked near the top of the mountains and spread along …

It is difficult for me to sit for too long on my knees, but I bite the inside of my lip and bear the cramps already creeping down to my toes. I have always wanted to experience an authentic tea ceremony and I am not about to let a few momentary leg cramps put to waste this opportunity. So I sit as still as I can, my back rigid, my hands on my knees. I am not quite sure that is where they are supposed to be. I do remember …