Nelson, BC, Canada.....a must read

My family and I just took a quick trip to Nelson to visit relatives. Man, I don't even know where or how to start describing this place to you. I've come here quite a bit over the years growing up to see family. Let me just preface this post about Nelson by saying....I love it!! It's so different from anything you or I am used to and it seems, quite frankly, to be stuck back in the 70s.

The naturaleza (I can never think of this word in English!! It equates to the following - setting, scenery, landscape, geography.....something like that anyway) of Nelson is amazing. It is nestled in the valley of these ginormous thickly-forest-populated mountains along this ginormous lake formed by glacier water, with lots of beaches. The town itself is very quaint and cute with a main street loaded with shops and little houses outlying the area. This might help you envision it (although you can't see the town because of the trees):

So now that you can envision it physically, it's time to understand the atmosphere and culture. I could do that in one word: GRANOLA

If you don't know what that means, just take a look at the pictures below. I'll let you deduce your own opinions of Nelson based on what you see..... I could just describe it with words, but it's better to see it.

This one explains itself....

Lots of loose flowy clothing (not matching I might add)...

These guys are very abundant...The Kootenay Co-op is a health food store with lots of natural/organic products...Lots of dred locks. This guy's is exceptionally long...Bumper stickers....oh yeah! That's what it's all about!Notice the hat...

So, what did you come up with?? Your opinions...?

Here's the real kicker.....!!! Inside the Kootenay Co-op (the health food store) this sign was present, with a box full of flip flops of course.

Young at Heart

So when you're a kid and you happen upon one of these big boys, it's pure heaven. If you're passing it that is. Usually you're sitting in the front seat and you can't resist putting your arm at a 90 degree angle and moving it up and down. Because if you do, usually the truck driver will give you a big hearty honk. No doubt they get a kick out of it as well as you.

Well, you see, I'm still a kid at heart (my siblings can attest to this!). We were driving up to Cananda and it was dark. Well, I got this bright idea. I dared Dexter, who was sitting in the front seat, to do what I just described above, but while sticking his arm out the window. It was fail proof!! The headlights of the semi would of course see his arm. Well, being the chicken that he his :) he wouldn't do it. So I, sitting in the back seat, did it. And not just once my fellow readers, but many times. I got a few low honks, but I don't think the truck drivers in Montana have a sense of humour.

So today driving to the Spokane airport I was seated behind the driver. I saw a semi coming the opposite direction and decided to try it out this way. Boy did I get the biggest honk e-v-e-r!! So you see, it works pretty much wherever you are sitting in the car. So buckle up and get ready for the best road trip you've ever had!

Outliers

I just finished reading this book today and I loved it! It's a must read. Malcolm Gladwell makes so many connections that people never even think about. But he puts it forward so straight and simple to make perfect sense. The book is about Success and how people come to be successful. I won't say much about it because you need to read it, but it will surprise you to find out just how people do become successful. He puts it in the context of opportunity and cultural legacy, which we so often put in the context of pure talent and genious.

Gladwell has also written Blink and The Tipping Point, my other two FAVORITE books. He just gets you really thinking about things and how they work. It's fascinating to me. Gladwell writes for The New Yorker and I plan to catch up on all of his columns real quickly.

Oh my heck. I folded and wrote him an email today. Yeah, I know I joined the fan clubs out there. Scary. I don't expect to hear back from him, but................

Television vs. TV...........TV vs. Books

Television vs. TV. What's the difference anyway? I wish I could give you some intellectual fancy answer, but guess what....there is no difference!! Ha, you probably already knew that. I just needed a better way to start my post than the norm.

So June 11 was the famous (or infamous if you don't have a new tv like me) switching of the analog to digital formats. Oh wait....I didn't even have a tv that worked before. Or rather Lisi didn't. Her short fat stubby little thing would starting blinking out after being on for a while. Kind of reminding you to blink yourself while you watch tv. Have you ever watched someone watching tv? It's quite entertaining, but also quite sad. Anyway, this blinking out got to be very annoying very fast. So, I basically never watched tv. I haven't really missed it, except for those long days when you come home and don't really want to do a-n-y-t-h-i-n-g. I think you know what I'm talking about.

So neither Lisi nor I will be purchasing a new tv in the near future. One of these days we'll head "Back to the Future" but for now it's Back to the Stone Age. Plus, who doesn't like reading a good book?? If you don't, you're missing out.

As Ray Bradbury once said, "You don't have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them." And that is essentially what television is doing to us, or rather we are doing to ourselves.......destroying our own culture.

T-H-U-N-D-E-R

I LOVE THUNDER!! It's the best sound ever, in fact it's my favorite sound. I've always really enjoyed it. Most kids are scared of thunder, but I don't recall ever being scared. If I was, it only lasted a little bit. And I'm not talking like thunder you hear off in the distance, it has to be right overhead...a HUGE crack/bang AS LOUD AS possible. I love it! The best thunder is in AZ during monsoon season in late summer.

So the weather here in UT has been so odd the last few weeks....really cloudy and lots of rain, almost like Spring weather. So today there was this amazing thunderstorm with super loud thunder and I thoroughly enjoyed it! Besides that, I'm not really enjoying the weather cause I can't be outside hiking, biking, swimming, longboarding, reading, etc. I want to enjoy my summer! It's supposed to last another week or so....I guess I'm only ok with it; but only if there's more thunder!

Does thunder scare you or are you like me?