Friday Donuts

Friends, Last week, I became my son Francisco’s first non-pilot passenger. Once I resigned myself to my fate, my first time on a coffin-sized plane was quite enjoyable. It was also full of surprises. Here are some unexpected parts of the experience.The safety check process takes forever. H eadsets are not just a fashion statement (the smaller the plane, the louder it gets). The tower will call your tail number (78 Sierra) at random intervals, so you better pay attention to the chatter. Spotting nearby planes is harder than you’d think. Pilots speak a different language. You can’t fly over nuclear silos. You can land and take off within 5 minutes (Pueblo, we hardly knew you). It’s snug (but the view totally makes up for it). With Christmas almost upon us, I wish each of you cheer. And remember, it’s not about the presents, but if you do cave, the best gifts have YOU all over them. Like this experience with my son, so much better than all the socks or free donuts in the world. Happy Frid...

Friends, The Cajas mountains in Ecuador are one of my favorite places. Filled with cloud forests and scrublands, this ragged territory situated over 10,000 feet above sea level has witnessed many of my adventures. Memories of making my way through the fog on narrow unmarked paths across enchanted valleys to inaccessible lakes still make me smile. This year’s prolonged dry spell, destined to be remembered alongside the cruel drought of 1906, desiccated the highlands, leaving Cuenca’s famous rivers dry, leading to water cuts and power outages. Fueled by misguided beliefs, some natives set fires that burned over 20,000 acres of this pristine and fragile area. Futile firefighting efforts paled next to the vast flames. Only the long awaited rains finally succeeded where best efforts failed. The burn’s scar tissue is destined to remain as a reminder of how fragile this ecosystem can be when stressed by unusual weather patterns. The thought of it makes me yearn for some comfort food. A donut ...

Friends, When the universe began, antimatter annihilated 99.9999999% of the initial matter – or so they say. Earth makes up an exceedingly small portion of the remining matter – 0.0000000000000000000042% to be precise. And yet, our planet seems huge. In fact, it’s tempting to think this fragile sphere is all there is. In a way, that’s true. Earth has everything most of us will ever touch, hear, smell or taste in our lifetimes. Speaking of taste, I hope you get a chance to bite into a donut this morning as you contemplate the improbable beauty of existence. Happy Friday! Another similarly sized sphere (Venus in the upper left quadrant)