Walking and chewing gum…..

susartandfood

Jun 3

Well, here we are on the 2nd day of June. Where the heck did May go? I'm just saying. My goodness, it is true that as you get older the time goes faster. I swear the turning pages on my calendar these days actually leave skid marks on my wall.

I listen to an intuitive at the beginning every month by the name of Lee Harris. If you get a chance, tune him in, should you be interested in such and the like. What he talks about in his pod casts have proven to resonate deeply with my life. This month, he talks about the unsettled energy circulating across the world, and how it impacts us all on a personal level. For my part, I have found the energy level over the past few months absolutely chaotic. I keep reminding myself to breathe deeply, and keep my feet pointed downstream. When it becomes totally overwhelming, I simply throw all the cards in the air and yell "to hell with it", and fix myself a big bowl of ice cream smothered with chocolate sauce and piled high with strawberries. Chocolate may not cure what ails you, but it definitely makes everything better.

My son and his wife are busy packing for their upcoming trip to Fiji. Wow. I have looked at pictures of where they are going, and the word paradise quickly comes to mind. I wonder at times what it might be like to wake up every day in such an idyllic tropical environment. Humid, I would suppose. You cannot embrace a tropical climate without including a little humidity. I don't do well in humidity. The first time I ever lived in a humid climate would have been in Wakefield, Massachusetts in my early twenties. Funny, I somehow lived up until then under the misinformed notion northern climates didn't suffer from such an affliction. My first summer there corrected that error in thinking. Wakefield had nothing, however, on Ashdown, Arkansas where I moved to for a short while in the early 1990's. It was mid July. When it came to humidity, Arkansas wrote the book on it. The air temperature the afternoon we arrived, was predicted to soar well into the 100's, with humidity levels lagging not far behind. Opening the door at our destination, a warm sticky mass of air rolled over me leaving me feeling as though I'd slipped into a vat of gel. Immediately, all my sweat glands went into hyperdrive. Before long, I began to pant like a basset hound badly in need of a bowl of water. Whew. My husband at the time, from that area originally, assured me my body would eventually acclimate to it's new surroundings. I'm here to tell you, he lied. During the eleven months I lived in Ashdown, Arkansas the only relief I got was when the weather mercifully began to turn towards fall and my lungs began to understand once again what regular breathing actually felt like.

We were in Arkansas for work. My husband was, and probably still is, a pipe foreman. His job, over the ten years we shared a marriage certificate, took us to numerous locations across the U.S. As one job wound down, another would begin. We toted our household goods around like a snail might it's shell. It was an adventure, and I am glad to have been part of it, but wouldn't need to sign up for it again. There was a definite excitement level associated with moving from one city to the next. New people, new surroundings, exciting, yet unseen, places to explore. Though we had some say in where we ended up, often it came down to a matter of where the work was, or where his expertise was most needed. Mostly, the jobs were in refineries, but there were two where he reported to work at in lumber mills. Ashdown, was one of the two. It was hot work, and in the lumber mills were fragrant. By fragrant, I mean in the skunk way of fragrant, not like like taking a lovely whiff of a long stemmed red rose. If you weren't used to the sticky air, the hot, heavy air could even pose a health concern. David, my ex, often said that the workers from California or Arizona, or any of the drier climates, often dropped like flies around the plant when the humidity was on the rise. There is no way I could have done it, I'll tell you. I barely survived inside with the air conditioning humming.

A side effect of the heavily hydrated air was, every day a shower would erupt around midday. You would think this to be a refreshing change, providing a cooling bath to the area. But, as the moisture hit the ground, steam would rise up creating an atmosphere more like a sauna at the gym. The water would soak the plentiful flora on the surface in the area, eventually seeping down to the undergrowth. Wet and hot, a whole different level of aroma emitted from that lower undergrowth. Rotting vegetation definitely trumps old tennis socks. In spite of the ripe smells, this moisture did, I have to say, make for lovely lush surroundings. Verdant green seemed to be the color of choice everywhere your eyes rested. Truly Arkansas was a lovely state to visit, I just wouldn't want to live there. Thankfully, we all have different tastes, which seems to be what makes the world go round.

Humidity is not limited to stateside. The last time I visited Hawaii, I was struck by the humidity there as well. It has been some time since I've stepped off a plane at a Hawaiian airport, which has me thinking of late I wouldn't mind doing it again sometime in the future. If travel was a free commodity, I would take in the sights all over the world, but since they insist on charging us for the privilege, I have to pick and choose which parts of the globe call to me with the loudest voice.

Was I given free rein and privy to a fat bank account, I believe I would first visit Italy. I have now posted so many gorgeous pictures of that part of the world on my social media accounts, people are saying "for God sakes, Susie, just go already". Kay. Please forward ticket and lunch money. While in the area, Greece calls loudly to me as well. Corfu, in particular, though I can't say why. Pictures I've seen, I would suppose. My mother-in-law from husbands past went there, and always made it sound quite lovely. Perhaps while still in Italy, I'd stop before leaving to visit the ruins of Pompeii. When I was in grade school I think I wrote every world history essay I was given as an assignment, on Pompeii. I was fascinated by the idea they had created actual casts out of plaster of Paris of the victims of that catastrophic event. The victims, posed exactly as they were when the lava overtook them, were so poignant and moving to look at.

Once I had crossed the Italian Riviera and Corfu off my list, I believe I would head next to Africa. Egypt would definitely be way towards the top of foreign destinations I would love to spend time in. If in Egypt, most certainly the Valley of the Kings, possibly arriving there on the back of a camel. The heat would most likely do me in there too, I'm afraid. Rick, being from Egypt, often explained to me people living along the Nile don't go out and about during the heat of the day. Nearly 100% of the Egyptian population lives along the Nile River and in the Nile Delta, with most of the rest of the country being desert only populated by nomads, scorpions, and something scaly slithering along the sand. A story he told me of a vacation his family took along the Red Sea comes to mind as I write this. His parents, he told me, put up a tent on a beach. The water in the Red Sea runs around 84 degrees during the summer, making it less than a refreshing place to cool off in on a sizzling afternoon. They remained under the protection of the tent in the afternoon, as it was too hot to be on the sand. He told me he was constantly watching his feet when on the ground, as the scorpion population was prolific. Wearing sandals wasn't encouraged in spite of being cooler footwear, because one of the nasty little buggers might easily slip inside your sandal or you could step on them with bare feet exposed. Oh no, that is not for me.

Rick also told me in the metropolitan areas, business owners take a long lunch around 4 in the afternoon during the peak heat hours and then return to work later in the day staying until evening when they closed up and went home for a light evening meal. Lunch, rather than dinner such as in the states, is their main meal. Interesting.

Before visiting a foreign country it is always a good idea to review some of their customs and proper etiquette for the area you will be staying in. In Egypt, as well as other countries from what I've read, you eat with your right hand. The left hand is considered to be unsanitary, as it might be used to clean yourself after using the bathroom or to put on your shoes. What left handed Egyptian people do to circumvent this situation, I have no idea.

In both Egypt and Greece, it is good form to bring a gift when invited to dinner. In Egypt, flowers are not acceptable, reserved mainly for weddings and funerals, but apparently flowers are fine in Greece. Chocolates, or a great bottle of wine in either location, would be preferable.

Richard showed me pictures of his trip to Switzerland over the weekend. That looked rather wonderful as well. One picture clearly showed the Matterhorn in the background, which I recognized from the gazillion trips to Disneyland made in my younger days. Would be fun to see it in real life for a change.

In Switzerland, apparently they think it rude to chew gum in public. Also, the Swiss don't like loud obnoxious people (I'm on board with this as well), so maintain a low profile while out and about. Swiss people value punctuality. It is suggested to be on time or, if possible, even slightly early. That being said, I can name five people in my inner circle who should avoid Switzerland at all costs. They are in my "three o'clock arrival time means four thirty dinner or five guests category". I always tell this group the arrival time is slightly earlier than it actually is, to get them to the party before the rest of the guests are ready to say goodnight.

In all three of the cultures mentioned above a handshake when meeting someone new as well as maintaining eye contact is considered polite behavior.

Whew. I guess I'll leave my double bubble at home in my junk drawer.

There are so many wonderful and fascinating places to explore. I'm sure my son will take plenty of pictures to share while in Fiji. I can't imagine it could be anything but magical.

At any rate, we are short handed at work today so must sign off and get busy. Have a great weekend. Explore and experience wherever you might find yourself.

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