Friday Donuts

Friends, Someday I will wake-up and venture to accomplish the great feats I know deep down I was meant to achieve. Someday I will traverse America’s mountainous backbone on foot from Las Torres del Paine, past Aconcagua, over Denali and through to King Cove. Someday I will make a pilgrimage across the Camino de Santiago to my 4th great grandfather Lorenzo González's native A Coruña. Some fine day I will finally sit down and write that novel that now and again stirs inside me and seeks to escape my head. Someday when the planets align, I'll wake up on the right side of the bed. Someday while I'm still in decent shape and in control of my faculties. That day I'll venture out and visit the four corners of the globe. Someday. Not today. Today I'll kick the can and have a donut with a cup of coffee, biding my time. Tomorrow is not looking good either. But someday. Someday soon! Happy Friday!

Friends, The term "anachronistic" has come-up a couple of times in discussing Queen Elizabeth II's legacy and succession. It seems awards like the  Order of the British  Empire  and titles like  Defender of  the   Faith   may be remnants of a bygone era (one might argue "monarchy" should be on that list). I'm reminded of the trend in the U.S. to rename anything and everything, from sports teams to schools to landmarks. I don't know why this trend irks me so... it's not like I have any pride of ownership in any of the names being changed --and, to my knowledge, nothing is named after me. I suppose it's plain old resistance to change... constant, inevitable change. Today Chuck III succeeds Liz II. Some day Billy V may ascend to the throne --assuming he survives his father, still wants and is fit for the job, and the job is still available. The longer we live, the more change we face. Like a snake that sheds its skin in order to grow, we too must

Friends, As a fully remote worker, I sometimes miss the office. I miss the drive-by meetings, purpose-built space and break room conversations. Surprisingly, I also miss the commute. Beyond the utilitarian getting from point H to point W, the routine served to catch-up on the day’s news, while hitting the mental reset button to get in the right headspace for a productive workday. Lately, I've been thinking I could try borrowing a page from another group who desperately tries to recreate their former habits: Vegans. Don't get me wrong, I think vegans are great. Matter of fact, I have a highly accomplished vegan daughter whose many achievements make me quite proud — a topic, perhaps, for another missive — however, if you look at their menu you'd think they're pretending to be omnivores. From tofurkey to vacon to impossible burgers to fauxzarella cheese (I may have just coined that last one — you’re welcome vegan community!), you’d be hard pressed to find an animal-derived

Friends, Discovery stokes boundless emotions. That first bike ride, somewhat out of control, when fear and freedom mix into exhilarating flight! The song that makes you dizzy trying to taste the harmonic crescendo. Infatuation that hijacks your brain with a scotch-like burn in your chest, her smiling eyes haunting your waking dreams. The palpable fear of the unknown channeled through a dark room. As a youth, I would hang agave ropes from high eucalyptus limbs and swing over creeks and ravines, I dreamed-up techniques for rotating and picked angles for jumping into the abyss for optimal effect. Good times! Age can dull the edge -- if you let it. Emotional distance protects us while preventing the fullest life experiences. If you're not careful you might lose your joie de vivre and become a grumpy old someone. Fortunately, we control our actions and reactions. We don't need to succumb to "been there done that". Do it again! There's always a new wrinkle you haven'

Friends, Yesterday I dropped my youngest off in Golden (he’ll be attending the school of mines). Although I tried to be present in the moment, I couldn’t keep my thoughts from wandering. For instance, we had lunch at the  Windy Saddle  restaurant. Cool name, right? Except, when you’re riding, the only “wind” that blows on the seat of your saddle comes from within you —I suppose fewer people would eat at the  Farty Saddle . Then there’s the Coors brewery, nestled between the North and South Table Mesas. The redundancy notwithstanding (table and mesa are synonymous), shouldn’t the cerveza go on a mesa? —not betwixt them. I suppose my old habit of making random associations is a means to cope with change. After all, the more things change, the more... they’re different. Granted, not all facets change at once, and those that have not been altered, well, they stay the same. Like donuts on a Friday morning... mmm, delicious! The Windy Saddle Happy Friday!

Friends, Work. This much maligned four letter word is important and necessary. It's ubiquitous, from home work to team work to your daily work out, you really can't escape it. Need a hobby? Try woodworking, artwork or yard work. Had a bad day? It'll work itself out. Need work? Network! The average Joe sells 15% or so of his life for a paycheck (22% of waking hours). Which begs the question: what is work? Orthodox Jews have arguably removed the guesswork. They've identified 39 categories of work you must avoid during the Sabbath --and gone into some absurd level of detail for some. It's fascinating to research the 39 Melakhot  (WARNING: it's a rabbit hole that may swallow your day whole) . For instance, it appears erasing one letter is OK. Erase two letters (or cut a cake with letters on it) and, voila, you're working. Of course one of the hardest working creatures is the humble ant. Lately, it seems ants along my running trail have been practicing their do