tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-76602496099529491822024-02-21T09:24:36.648-05:00John's WorldJohnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14426642164098377171noreply@blogger.comBlogger2538125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7660249609952949182.post-33319669828180509812020-04-23T22:54:00.000-04:002020-04-23T22:54:10.328-04:00A Day In (This) Life<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Ugh, I've been coming back to this post like six or seven times now in the past two weeks. At a time in my life when I finally have time to write and to share, I've got nothing</i><br />
<i>...well maybe that's not true... </i><br />
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<img alt="Image may contain: John Myers, closeup" height="320" src="https://scontent-lga3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/92890164_10220121367958197_972166354255740928_n.jpg?_nc_cat=103&_nc_sid=0be424&_nc_ohc=Tx2YMEEyQtkAX8fs6aJ&_nc_ht=scontent-lga3-1.xx&oh=b1df3bbb8c2fc9906aff06a4987dda62&oe=5EB7A57F" width="180" /></div>
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Did that make you smile? Cringe? Gasp in horror? Roll your eyes? Well, if this picture caused you to do any of these things, then at least you've taken one moment out of IT. You're welcome!</div>
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I took that picture (and a few choice others) a little more than a week ago, as part of a homework assignment I'd given to my students. We were told to get them away from their computers that week (spring break was cancelled in favor of continued distance learning.), so I gave them a little fun project. They had to take one picture a day of how they were experiencing the quarantine and post on it Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook, whatever, with a caption for each day of the week. Pretty cool assignment, right? </div>
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<b><i>This Sucks!</i></b></div>
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I think I speak for most people around the world when I say that this moment we're living in right now absolutely sucks! In all of my years of life on this Earth, and pretty much all of you can say the same thing, I have never experienced such a shitty time to be living. I could deal with it better if only we knew when it was going to end. </div>
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<b><i>Different Shades of Day</i></b></div>
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<span style="text-align: left;">I don't know about you, but my days are almost always a roller coaster of emotions. I start everyday with a cup of coffee in hand and I'm at the laptop doing my Song of the Day posts, checking email and working. At that moment, the day is fresh and I'm generally optimistic, especially when the weather's nice. Well, the optimistic feeling is probably because I'm really just occupied with my work and not thinking too much..</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: left;">Before you know it, morning soon creeps into early afternoon and suddenly the reality of the situation hits me...again. What am I going to do today? What can I do? What should I do? I'm still in my pajamas. Should I take a shower? Make a phone call? Work out? My motivation wanes until it's finally I decide it's time for lunch. </span></div>
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<span style="text-align: left;">Lunch is done. What to do next? Should I clean out a closet? Work on that book I've always wanted to write? Catch up on some new shows on TV? Go for a walk? Clean a closet? My mood slowly sours as the day wears on and I've spent more time contemplating than anything else. The reality of this daily sameness creeps over me. Before I know it, maybe I've showered and graded a paper or two, but as day turns to early evening, I simply feel like a zombie, merely existing and not living.</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: left;">Occasionally</span><span style="text-align: left;">, I'll have a distance walk date with a friend or an afternoon phone call which'll brighten up my day a bit, or sometimes I'll have a mission, like going to the supermarket or out east on some sort of errand for work. Those days I've got a little more bounce in my step, but underneath it all, there is still despair. </span></div>
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I think my mood swings are not too different from most people. Living alone has definitely affected me in a bad way. On one hand, and I hate to say this, I like being isolated, left to my own devices to do whatever the hell I want to do. On the other hand, though, I feel very alone and very glum, though I have little motivation to reach out and call someone. </div>
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I am sure that being stuck with other people must have it's downfalls, too, and I can't imagine it. I've heard marital issues have been rampant, and moms and dads dealing with their kids 24/7 must be driving them crazy. I'd rather be in the situation I am in. It sucks either way!</div>
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<b style="text-align: left;"><i>Give Us This Day Our Daily Walk</i></b></div>
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The only thing keeping me sane these days is walking...oh, and taking pictures. I like to walk anyway, and these days I have more time to walk longer. Walking is very therapeutic, especially on a nice day. It's also good exercise. I've been averaging between four and six miles a day. Who knows, maybe I'll finally lose a little weight once this is all said and done. Besides, I've been photo journalling my own experiences through this period, and I am actually loving the results. If you're a friend of mine on Facebook, take a look at my <a href="https://www.facebook.com/john.myers.505/media_set?set=a.10220032999629044&type=3" target="_blank">Scenes From a Quarantine</a> album. It's pretty cool, I think. Here are a couple of samples:</div>
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<img alt="Image may contain: people sitting and food" height="320" src="https://scontent-lga3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/92845868_10220089977853464_1326255711679676416_n.jpg?_nc_cat=105&_nc_sid=0be424&_nc_ohc=pDeukr6AdNsAX93Fxvi&_nc_ht=scontent-lga3-1.xx&oh=ef02a06fbd0c77eb9b84e86b0766bdeb&oe=5EC9ADF0" width="240" /></div>
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<i>A distance picnic with my pal Tara</i></div>
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<img alt="Image may contain: ocean, water and outdoor" height="240" src="https://scontent-lga3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/93154446_10220153627044654_6960757852000485376_n.jpg?_nc_cat=103&_nc_sid=0be424&_nc_ohc=E6HN388OoiUAX_sih03&_nc_ht=scontent-lga3-1.xx&oh=47c0e15a870b72bf1b289b7a0f357e7d&oe=5EC8DCA7" width="320" /></div>
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<i>Stormy sea</i></div>
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<img alt="Image may contain: indoor" height="320" src="https://scontent-lga3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/92302563_10220100753682853_5923992342049587200_n.jpg?_nc_cat=111&_nc_sid=0be424&_nc_ohc=pyJoWcobPGMAX_6uffj&_nc_ht=scontent-lga3-1.xx&oh=538e845d4d899e0097cc851f8705d699&oe=5EC6EF16" width="237" /></div>
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<i>Teaching my students how to make a face mask</i></div>
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<img alt="Image may contain: sky, cloud and outdoor" height="320" src="https://scontent-lga3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/92053133_10220036478156005_7377555926674309120_n.jpg?_nc_cat=107&_nc_sid=0be424&_nc_ohc=7eZYNtHl20AAX-rkASO&_nc_ht=scontent-lga3-1.xx&oh=e82e3b54b0793c2239a2619545256d90&oe=5EC70C91" width="240" /></div>
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<i>Empty streets</i></div>
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<i><b>Positivity</b></i></div>
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Above all of the despair, I am trying to create the positive, like writing once again. I am contemplating moving my blog over to WordPress so maybe I can start earning a couple of bucks. I'm also working on a book, which I will share with you at a later time. Oh, and I'm learning how to speak Italian, too, with Duo Lingo. That's coming along nicely. Finally, I'm saving a lot of money, too. There's not much to spend money on these days...I've only filled my gas tank once in the past month, and so I should be in good shape for the summer, that is if there is a summer.</div>
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A couple of months back already, our school trip to Europe was cancelled because of the coronavirus. I remember that day clearly. It was surreal that we had to take that route for something that then seemed so distant then. Now it hovers over us for who knows how long and there's noting but uncertainty and fear ahead. I'm desperately trying to hold on to hopes that I will still be able to take a trip I've been planning to the west coast in July. The prospect doesn't seem likely, but we've still got two months. We shall see.</div>
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So another day closes and I will be up until all hours mindlessly watching T.V. Tomorrow another day comes. Another roller coaster to ride. Let's just hope these roller coasters will be like the real ones and give us a shorter ride. </div>
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<i>So if you're reading this, I hope you're taking solace that you are not alone. We're all experiencing this in our own ways, and dealing with the ups and downs of every single day. We have to be patient, for one day this will all be a distant memory. </i></div>
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Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14426642164098377171noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7660249609952949182.post-59451194655668807712020-01-11T13:27:00.000-05:002020-01-11T15:37:33.170-05:00Life Is Right Now<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuYCmAxJUKS46yKycaNmnj9SpKCFMFTqoDQgZx-rLySTVtrd7GCx5d94ktT4JUBzAkYDJ5lERYjfXI5lJsqexnhhExp2Wc1VPk_UU6xGLk5TEjALjp0Tbo98Wc7e0evbggiXGrXH6BKpJb/s1600/IMG_1212.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="722" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuYCmAxJUKS46yKycaNmnj9SpKCFMFTqoDQgZx-rLySTVtrd7GCx5d94ktT4JUBzAkYDJ5lERYjfXI5lJsqexnhhExp2Wc1VPk_UU6xGLk5TEjALjp0Tbo98Wc7e0evbggiXGrXH6BKpJb/s400/IMG_1212.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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I’ve got this plaque hanging up in my bedroom. It’s just one of those cheap, wooden ones with a saying, like you can find in pretty much any novelty store. I bought it because, to me, it’s one of those reminders that we need to look at every once in awhile so we don’t forget. Life is right now. Not yesterday, not last week, or last year, or tomorrow even. It’s right now. And right now, just a day after saying goodbye to my sister Christine, I and the rest of my family, can finally begin what I’m sure will be the very long process of healing.<br />
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I can’t speak for my mom or my siblings, nor the dozens of people who knew my sister and will have their own bit of healing to do. I can only speak for myself and my right now. Of course, for me the sadness is raw. I haven’t said this publicly until this moment, but I was the person who found my sister after she’d gone missing for a day. I’ve been reliving those moments in my head almost all day, everyday, since Monday night. I already realize that I’ll never be able to wash away the memories of the week, but I recognize that I’m probably going to need to seek some professional assistance to work through it, something I never thought I would have to do.<br />
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Of all the things that made me cry this week, it was the countless personal messages I’ve been receiving from friends and family, and even strangers who my sister touched in some way. Crying is therapeutic, and no matter how a person may feel about offering such words of condolence, I think it’s important to know that it doesn’t matter what was said or how it was said. Just the fact that someone found the strength to reach out means the world to the person who is grieving. To that, I offer my sincerest appreciation to everyone who reached out to us. Please know that however small you might think your gesture was, it meant the world to us.<br />
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Chrissy’s wake was surreal, as you can imagine. Being a part of her immediate family, I felt like a ping pong ball all day, with people waiting sometimes five deep, to offer their condolences.To all of you who came, especially on my behalf, and with whom I could only spare just a moment or two, I want you to know that through all the blur of yesterday, I remember that you came, and that you came not only out of respect for my sister, but out of love for me. My love for each and every one of you is returned tenfold.<br />
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I wish I could bottle up all if the humanity we experienced this week and keep it for all time. As happens, though, I know that life will continue and in some way that humanity will dissipate, sadly. We’ll maintain our political opinions and our personal issues with those in our lives, and that’s too bad. That’s really the tragedy of life. Well, not for me anymore. I know that life is too precious, too short, to be angry or to hold grudges. Right now, I have nothing but love for my family, for my friends, and for the compassionate side of my fellow human beings.<br />
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They say it often brings tragedy to bring people together, and I experienced that first-hand this week. In the days and weeks to come, I’m going to build on this, hold onto all that love, and carry it with me wherever I go. It is my hope that some who read my words will take them and run with them too. Reach out to those with whom you may be estranged and truly miss deep inside, give someone a hug, treat people with kindness. My heart is full right now, not only with sadness, but with love for you all. From the bottom of my heart, thank you!<br />
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<br />Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14426642164098377171noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7660249609952949182.post-51919600990319168062020-01-09T11:14:00.000-05:002020-01-09T11:14:06.241-05:00Baby Sister<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhryLlFLN7qBGx8Rtyx1PPtqQZJjZSgwKKA2weHztywpzUe-VZ1WQpZTvXzEBeeQzy4eBKDTGd8U2z1PSmt7CuQ087ZRRiv9dOgySFxUtdvKUr3WYUknDMg_A4Vb79Hr0MagPrJ5U5PeL-B/s1600/75231768_10218765094535087_5041394614469132288_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1090" data-original-width="1080" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhryLlFLN7qBGx8Rtyx1PPtqQZJjZSgwKKA2weHztywpzUe-VZ1WQpZTvXzEBeeQzy4eBKDTGd8U2z1PSmt7CuQ087ZRRiv9dOgySFxUtdvKUr3WYUknDMg_A4Vb79Hr0MagPrJ5U5PeL-B/s320/75231768_10218765094535087_5041394614469132288_o.jpg" width="317" /></a></div>
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If you looked at my sister's Facebook page, it would be easy to see the type of person she was, the things that were near and dear to her heart, her humor, her sentimental spirit, and most of all, her ever-present glimmer of hope. I've been perusing her Facebook page on and off ever since she passed on Monday night and I can't help but feel that I wished I'd looked at it more before then. Though I felt like I already knew her before, and I did, the things she posted there, oftentimes simple little memes or GIF's about animals, the good old days, family, and lots more completed the three-dimensional image that was her essence.<br />
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I don't know if anyone can prepare themselves for the loss of a child, or in my particular case, a sibling No matter how often or how little you interact with one another, there is a bond that exists with an immediate family member because you've been a constant in one another's lives since the beginning. I am the eldest of six siblings, and Chrissy was the baby. I remember the night she was born, mom and dad off in the hospital and the rest of us sleepless at home with nana and grandpa babysitting, waiting for the news of whether the new baby would be a boy or a girl. Having only one brother and three sisters, I was praying for the former. Nonetheless, when nana woke us up in the morning to tell us we had a new sister, how could any of us not still be excited?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixMZf3kQPpoztQrzUH5hpBZG-EseLQnVHpu8Y7IpdtB2-dyBK8Ic5OGgY0YIJzKe5SC77dmr8WXo4z-xGpNUE6lTcqFJQpB4QvScXmVMCbHthRt_ctv9Ez3I7Zi86hbIlkFq0o53Vu8lGw/s1600/IMG_1197.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1553" data-original-width="1600" height="310" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixMZf3kQPpoztQrzUH5hpBZG-EseLQnVHpu8Y7IpdtB2-dyBK8Ic5OGgY0YIJzKe5SC77dmr8WXo4z-xGpNUE6lTcqFJQpB4QvScXmVMCbHthRt_ctv9Ez3I7Zi86hbIlkFq0o53Vu8lGw/s320/IMG_1197.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i>Chrissy's first day of school</i></div>
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Back in those days, my family struggled financially, and not long after Christine was born, mom had to go back to work at McCrory's in the mall a few nights a week. I, as the oldest at 13, was relegated to chief babysitter. I changed Chrissy's diapers, prepared her bottles and fed her, and I played with her, put her to sleep, and kept her occupied all the while keeping the other foot soldiers in line until daddy came home. This lasted a couple of years until dear Aunt Vi came to mine, and Chrissy's rescue.<br />
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Though Aunt Vi loved us all, everyone always knew that Chrissy was the apple of her eye. Whereas Aunt Vi saved me from my job as chief, cook, and bottle washer, Chrissy saved her from the despair of being newly widowed. My sister gave her purpose, and a companion, and the two of them spent the next few years doing homework together, playing cards, and Aunt Vi spending all of her money buying Mister Softee for all of her friends on hot summer nights. It was one of the happiest times in my aunt's life. The two of them were the infamous frick and frack for those formative years of my sister's life, and her passing a little over ten years ago left a hole in Chrissy's heart for the rest of her days. One of the only comforts of this week for us is knowing that the two of them are probably playing gin rummy once again.</div>
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<i>Dave, Chrissy and I</i></div>
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Sadly in the years since Christine was little she and I were never really too close again, as I went off into my adulthood and she remained a still home-bound youngster now becoming one of 'the girls.' Though my sisters were never always bosom buddies, they did share a bond that remained throughout the years, and Chrissy, the baby, was always an integral character in that mix. </div>
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<i>Snapchat silliness with Gina</i></div>
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Throughout her adult life, my sister Christine would become a beautiful young woman, with a smile that could light up a room and small circle of really good friends who to this day would have done anything for her. Unfortunately, not all of her friends were a positive influence. My sister was also a very trusting person, and despite all of her attributes, she had a low self-image and a trusting nature that gave in to most anyone who paid her any attention.</div>
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For the past twenty-plus years, Chrissy's life somewhat resembled that of a pinball machine. She moved around from place to place, spending time in both Kentucky and Florida, dodging her troubles whenever she could. We all had our own periods of frustration with her and would sometimes lose contact, but her devotion to her family would never let that last too long. Despite all of her troubles, we all still loved her. Every last one of us!</div>
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Whenever Christine would be away, she always harbored a longing to return to New York, her home, and her family. I remember most recently, when she was in Florida, that she spoke of returning for months before she actually did, and once she came back, my mom had no choice but to give her some tough love, having her try and make it on her own and alleviate her problems once and for all before she could come back into the house. I think that we would all agree that in the last few months, she did her best.</div>
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Despite all of her own misgivings about herself, Christine was always an optimist, as anyone could plainly see from her Facebook postings. This past holiday season was especially hopeful, as she worked hard at mending both herself and her relationships with others. She and I had been communicating often lately, and had been making plans to do things together. The day after Christmas, she sent me these texts:</div>
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<i>I had a great time at your house. Thank you for being so welcoming. I'm trying to be a better person and I appreciate my family's effort. I feel truly blessed this holiday season. </i></div>
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I told her to keep doing what she was doing and sent her a virtual hug.</div>
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<i>Thanks John. You always make me feel hopeful. I love being around you. I want to make myself proud and secondly my family. That's why I'm doing therapy. I'm done doing negative and I want to be surrounded with positive people. I love you and I'm sorry I neglected you and the rest of the family. I'm trying to make it up to everyone. </i></div>
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We had a couple of more conversations like that in the days after, and during the last one we had, a week ago today, we made plans to go to breakfast on Saturday so she could meet Vinny. She said she was looking forward to that. So was I. Four days later, she was gone.</div>
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I can't tell you how much it hurt to have lost her. I don't think that in my 55 years of life on this Earth that I've ever felt this sad. I am proud of my sister for being the person she was, for her optimism, for her humor, for her loving spirit. I'm not going to say goodbye to her because she will live on in my heart for the rest of my days. I will always remember her smile, her voice, and most of all her unconditional love for me and mom, David, Linda, Ann Marie, Rhiana, and Gina. And who knows, maybe she'll use her newfound powers to help the Yankees win the World Series this year! Rest in peace baby sister!</div>
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<br />Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14426642164098377171noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7660249609952949182.post-46183865359274639302019-11-30T13:11:00.001-05:002019-11-30T13:11:21.446-05:00Turning a Corner I Don't Want To Turn<div style="text-align: center;">
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About ta month ago, I went to Hershey Park with some of my friends, and as we waited on line to buy tickets, I noted the price posted on a sign above the ticket counter. <i>Adult admission: $41.75</i>. I pulled out two twenties and a five and waited for my turn. When I got to the window, the girl at the counter said "$32 even." I was surprised and even stepped back to look again at the sign, thinking perhaps there was a sale I didn't know about. Befuddled, I handed her the two twenties and she gave me my $8 in change.<br />
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"Tara, how much did you pay for your ticket?"<br />
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"Oh, like 42 bucks or something."<br />
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"Dita, what about you?"<br />
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"The same."<br />
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"Gary?"<br />
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"Yup."<br />
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"Oh my God, look at your ticket," Tara interjected.<br />
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Panicked, I looked down at the ticket in my hand and right there, in the middle, was the word "<i>senior</i>." My worst nightmare had come to the surface. Fuck, I've turned that corner!<br />
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A few years back, my friend Rich showed me a recent picture of a co-worker of his whom I've hung out with many times before. I'd always admired this woman, who had immigrated here from Poland many years ago and made a sweet life for herself here in the States. Not only was she a genuine and fun person, I'd always admired how she carried herself, always dressed to the nines and looking fabulous. <br />
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Well, the picture Rich showed me of her was not good. She looked old. When I made a face, Rich shot me a knowing glance. She had turned that corner and finally looked her age. Though it shocked and saddened me a little, I was still a few years younger than her, so I didn't worry about it too much...until now.<br />
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I've been feeling it a lot more in recent months. Of course working with kids, who are brutally honest, if not too naive, gets you a lot of harsh criticism. Though I know they're joking when they call me <i>viejito</i> or <i>pelon</i>, it only works to make me more self-conscious. Why do people always need to remind you of your faults? Especially the physical ones that you have no control over? <br />
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Yup, aging doesn't show mercy on anyone, and it's finally gotten me. With a receding hairline and wrinkles I never had before, I am starting to look, gulp, like a senior. The funny thing is, I don't feel it at all. In my head and in my body (well, most of the time!), I feel like I'm 30. It's not fair!!!<br />
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I should have prefaced this post by saying that today is my 55th birthday, so I am feeling it a bit more today. I really stopped looking forward to birthdays a long time ago, but this year is really the shit. The only thing good about today is all of the love I have been receiving pretty much since I woke up this morning.<br />
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I'm not going to give up, though. I'm gonna keep taking my vitamins and using minoxidil and face cream and working out because I've still got it. Somewhere inside I've still got it! <br />
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<br />Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14426642164098377171noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7660249609952949182.post-53217010016592484182019-06-19T23:28:00.002-04:002019-06-19T23:28:45.380-04:00We Are, An Introduction and A First Selected Work: This Is Why They Come - A Terrible Loss<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This is why they come...</div>
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Every year, my class publishes what we call our <i>ENL Magazine</i>, a collection of writings by my students, all recent immigrants to the United States At first, the goal of our little publication was to teach people in our community something about today's immigrant experience, but with all the fervor out there about immigrants these days, I feel that it's important for people to learn some things they do not know. </div>
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I've been working with immigrant students for 16 years now, and in that time I've learned a lot of things I never knew before, things which inspire me to be their advocate as best I can. Before I begin to share their words with you, I'd like to share some of the things I've learned over the years...</div>
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- Like elsewhere in the U.S., the population of immigrant students, especially from Central America, has grown and continues to grow every year.</div>
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- The young people I work with are just that...young people...kids. If they had had their way, they'd still be home in their countries, with their families and their friends. The great majority of them did not choose to come here, but most know why they did.</div>
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- I have had students from many countries, representing five continents and more than twenty countries. I have both documented and undocumented students, and every single one of them is a human being who deserves as good a life as anyone.</div>
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- My students have experienced things that you and I will never experience. The only gun I've ever seen has been in the holster of a police officer. I've never seen or heard a gun used, and I've never seen one used on a relative. Many of my students have. I've never been threatened with my life by scary people hanging around outside of my school, or have had my family extorted for money for 'protection,' nor have I experienced threats to my mother or father or younger siblings. I never walked for days on end in the hot desert sun without food or water, or been made to ride in vehicles with literally dozens and dozens of strangers in a cramped little space, or holed up in a strange house, hiding in darkness, terrified, waiting for a signal that it's time to move on. I've never seen dismembered body parts or been threatened with a machete or made to swim across alligator-infested waters in the darkness of night. I've never experienced these things, much less as a child.</div>
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- How desperate does a parent have to be to set their children off on a journey such as this? Pretty damned desperate! I once was told by a student that his little brother of 12 years had just left El Salvador on his way here. For six weeks, his mother had no way of knowing where he was or if he was safe all that time. All she had was God. </div>
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I think you get the idea, but that's just me talking. Now I'd like you too hear from some of my students. I've published excerpts from this magazine in the past, and now that we have a new edition, I'd like to share some more. </div>
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This world, this country has a great shortage of empathy, and especially on the part of many who claim to follow Jesus, probably one of the most loving and caring people who ever walked this Earth. It makes me sad. Even so, I still feel in my heart that there are people I know who will turn their backs to these stories. Ignorance truly is bliss!</div>
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I can tell you firsthand that it's really hard to get these kids to share their stories. I tried my best to convince them that they have an opportunity to help somehow, and believe me, there is plenty more to tell far and above what I will share here, but even I may never hear it. In the meantime, here's the first piece I'd like to share, a piece entitled <i>A Terrible Loss</i>. It is a story that was borne out of one sentence this anonymous student had written in another piece and I thought it worthy of attention, so we created a separate essay. This story is true. I've listened to him speak it and I have seen photographs. Please read on and stay tuned for more from <i>We Are</i>... <i>(warning, some may find the following content disturbing)</i></div>
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Terrible Loss<o:p></o:p></i></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Tempus Sans ITC"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><i>Something sad happened just one week
after I came to this country.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My best
friend, Cristian, who lived with his mother in the same town as me in
Guatemala, was killed by gangsters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She
was murdered, too, by the same killers I escaped from just a couple of months
earlier. It hurts that I could not to go to the wake and say goodbye to him.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Tempus Sans ITC"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><i>You see, when the gangsters approached
him to ask him for money for protection, he decided to not comply.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He tried to fight back.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He lost.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He tried to use his fists to fight off the gangsters, but they had
guns.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My poor friend was shot in the
chest, and then they shot his mother, too.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Both of them died.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Tempus Sans ITC"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><i>The news was a blow to me because we
were like brothers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We were friends ever
since we met five years before in school.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It was also especially hard because it decimated practically everybody
in his family, and left his sister without parents and without a brother.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My friend’s father had died when Cristian was
very young.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To this day I don’t know
whatever happened to his sister.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<br />Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14426642164098377171noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7660249609952949182.post-53658954286992221072019-02-20T22:45:00.000-05:002019-02-20T22:45:12.174-05:00Hello...It's Me, Distracted<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Why hello everyone...long time, no write. Forgive me Lord, it's been three months since my last post... </div>
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I miss writing! There have been so many distractions in my life lately that have gotten in the way of writing. Besides, the inspiration just hasn't been there. Hopefully, this'll get me going. At this point in my story, I don't even know what I'm about to write, but here goes...</div>
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<b><i>The Move</i></b></div>
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The last time I posted anything here, I was preparing to move out of the house after selling it. Well, that was three months ago and I am all about the new place these days. I really lucked out in the end...selling so quickly and finding a comparable (and hella cool!) spot to call home. </div>
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I'm now living in the village of Patchogue, about a mile from my old house, which is probably the best place I could have found myself. I always wanted to live a city life, and this is about as close as I can get to that out here on Long Island. </div>
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For those of you not from these parts, the village of Patchogue is a former major shopping destination turned neglected, depressed area turned revitalized minitropolis about twenty years ago, give or take. It is today the most popular spot on this sprawling 118 mile island, with trendy bars and restaurants, cool housing, fun events, and shopping, too. I am just outside of the main district, and also about 1/4 mile from the water...both great for walking.</div>
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Alive After Five in Patchogue</span></i></div>
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I mentioned above the hella cool spot I'm living in. Well yeah, the square footage is comparable to my old place and it's one of five apartments in a big, old, Victorian house. Lots and lots of character, plenty of space and tons of windows to make it bright and airy. Here's a photo of my living room that I just took:</div>
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Nice, right? I could post more, but the only ones I already have are a little light on the furniture, and it's too dark to take any more now. Maybe when I take some new, homey ones, I'll share. So this has been one of my distractions, but it's brought me to a happier place. </div>
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<b><i>Him</i></b></div>
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Yeah, so there's a him in my life. For a change. For the first time in a very very long time, there is a him. And almost six months now, too! Who'd have thought? Not me. Anyway, out of respect for his privacy, I won't say much about him except that he is a beautiful person both inside and out and for him to even have gotten this far into my life, he's got to be a special one. Again, distraction, but also, a happier place! </div>
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<b><i>Professoring</i></b></div>
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It still feels weird for me to say that I am a professor at a well-known university, but it's already been three years now that I've been doing it. It's weird where life takes you, almost as if I've just naturally grown into the type of person who can do this, but let me tell you, even though my teaching life made me well-prepared for it, professoring is hard! I must be decent at it because they keep asking me to do more and more at the university and I am very conflicted about it. </div>
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Currently I am teaching a brand new class, which causes me about ten hours of work per week outside the three-hour class. And I've been asked to teach three more for the remainder of the school year. Ugh! But how do you turn down the money? Teaching college classes helps afford me the opportunity to enjoy the summer without work and I have to keep telling myself that, but this is probably the biggest distraction of all, and it doesn't make me a happier! Double ugh! </div>
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<b><i>The United States of America</i></b></div>
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The one, overarching distraction lately is the amount of attention I give and its resulting dismay I feel about the state of our country. Multiple times a day, I follow news feeds on Twitter, watch news bytes on YouTube, and read news articles, all feeding into what I feel is this dark, ominous cloud hanging over all of our heads. It's quite maddening all of the crap I see out there, and it makes me afraid for our future. I'm scared to see how this craziness ends, and I could write pages and pages on this, but I'm going to leave this right here...for now. </div>
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Well okay, I think we've got a post. Hopefully I'll be around again sooner rather than later. Lots of stuff inside my head! I just have to learn to work around those distractions... As always, thanks for checking me out.</div>
<br />Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14426642164098377171noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7660249609952949182.post-74971614350721489692018-11-15T21:58:00.000-05:002018-11-15T21:58:38.026-05:00Anticipating the End<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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One week. Seven days. Twenty years. It's really here, the day I've thought about for so long. I've had barely a minute to think about it these past couple of weeks, but I know it's coming and though I am excited to get into a new place, I'm apprehensive of the sadness that's coming. <br />
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That's a picture of my house when Joe and I first bought it. I found this and a few others while I was packing yesterday and looking at them made me a little sentimental. We bought the house together back in 1998 and I bought it out from him in 2008. That's a lot of time spent inside these walls and it's going to be an adjustment to go live somewhere else. <br />
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The house looks so different in this picture than it does today. Both Joe and I together and then just myself put a lot of work into this place over the past twenty years and though it never quite got to perfection, I'm proud of what we...what I, did to the place..a new kitchen, a deck with a new sliding glass door where a window once existed, a new bathroom, and lots of other smaller things, too.<br />
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It's been a great couple of months for me since I decided to put the house on the market towards the end of the summer, and I'm trying to ride that wave for as long as I can. The selling process went easier and faster than I thought it would, I ended up finding a great new place to inhabit, and to boot, I met someone pretty special, too! He's the first meaningful person in my life in awhile now, and having him around, well, just makes me happy.<br />
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His and my lives have had some parallels to them in the two-plus months we've been dating, and that's one of the reasons I'm apprehensive of the end of my time here. You see, just a couple of weeks ago, he moved out of his own place, the very first place that he had ever called his own, to go live with his best friend. And just like me, he was lead to have to move earlier than he had planned, and as the days wore on towards his move, I watched and observed with a keen interest. <br />
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The experience was tough for him as he quickly dismantled his home. He texted me pictures of things he was packing, and the sentiments he was feeling were much the same as those I've been feeling as I go through my things now. Memories. Reminders of time spent in my home. <br />
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When the day finally came for him to move, though I didn't see him, I could feel him. My mind empathized as he spent the last night in his own place, feeling sentimental and sad, and then the displaced feelings he experienced when he first began to settle into his new digs. Now as my time approaches, I feel that my own last moments here will be even more sentimental and sad. I am not looking forward to that, but I know he'll be with me, be it in body or spirit, and that makes it all a little better. <br />
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I may or may not reflect a little more in my remaining days here, that depends on the time I'll have. We shall see. In the meantime, my guy has settled into his new environment well, and luckily for me I've got a great place to take my mind off of the past and get excited about what's to come. Stay tuned... Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14426642164098377171noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7660249609952949182.post-15607831156441806752018-09-08T11:10:00.000-04:002018-09-08T11:10:45.541-04:00Welcome to Switzerland: Hello Amy, Davide, and LausanneAfter my little three-day stint in <a href="http://jmyerswritingblog.blogspot.com/2018/08/iamsterdam-part-ii-canals-red-lights.html" target="_blank">Amsterdam</a>, I was to spend the rest of my vacation with my friend Amy and her husband David, who live in Lausanne, Switzerland. Our plan was to hang out in Lausanne for about six days and then head on to Paris for the end of my trip. In the end it was like two separate trips for me, the one alone in Amsterdam, and this one, and though both were wonderful in their own ways, the second part with Davide and Amy were extra special because of them.<br />
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<b><i>Welcome to Switzerland!</i></b></div>
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After only an hour's flight from Amsterdam, I was in Geneva, Switzerland. Davide and Amy live in Lausanne, about 45 minutes awayy by train, and so I hit the rails and in no time Amy and I were bear-hugging at the Lausanne train station. After a quick stop at a local cafe (I needed it!), we went back up to their place where I finally, after almost ten years, met Davide. All I can say at this point is that he was as warm and welcoming as Amy, and as the next week or so wore on, he and I became fast friends in our own right.</div>
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From the very start, Amy was like, whatever you want to do, let's do, but as she and I always do, and with Davide in the mix, we had wine and cheese and meats and talked through till the wee hours of the morning...a perfect relaxing start!</div>
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<b><i>Lausanne</i></b></div>
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Now I'd been to Switzerland a couple of times before, but on both of those trips I was in Luzern and Zurich and both times it was in April. Those two cities are in the German speaking part of the country, more to the east. Amy and Davide live in Lausanne, which is in the French speaking region and more to the west. The city is located on the shores of Lake Geneva (which they call lac Leman), across from Evian, France. It is also home to the International Olympic Committee. I'd never been to Lausanne before this trip, and so my first full day was spent checking it out...</div>
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Amy and Davide live in the vicinity of the lake, and the major portions of Lausanne are located up the hill from there, so bright and early Saturday morning, she and I headed to the city's one subway line to get to the city center. Maybe because it was a Saturday and maybe it was because it was the height of summer vacation season, but the city reminded me a lot of the city of my father's birth, Trieste, Italy, with the appearance of a mid-sized city, but with few people. We meandered through the quiet streets, checking out the sites as well as the produce offered up on Saturday farmer's market day.</div>
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And of course, there was shopping! Amy brought me to this very cool, Century 21-like department store where she helped me do some damage, but I am gonna look oh so good this year, lol.</div>
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<b><i>Let's Get French</i></b></div>
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All in all, the day was a fun one, and again, just spending time with my buddy was what made it so. Later on in the evening, the three of us had been invited to the home of a gay couple (who's names escape me at the moment), one of whom was cousin to Amy's friend Sylvie. Neither of them spoke English, and so most of the evening was spent with the four of them speaking French and David and Amy stopping every once in awhile to keep me abreast of the conversation. It was really a lovely evening, with good food and wine, and pleasant company, though admittedly for the first time in my life I wished I'd known French.</div>
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I do speak Spanish fluently and a little bit of Italian, but I French always confused me. The rules of pronunciation in Spanish and Italian are pretty steadfast, but French is a whole other story, Luckily, Amy had learned the language quite well in her nine years in Switzerland, and that day she slowly began teaching me both how to say words and what they meant. That night I was also introduced to a little bit of French Swiss culture, which turned out to be a funny little sidebar to the rest of the trip.</div>
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Before heading out to the dinner, both Amy and Davide showed me that when you first take a drink of your wine and do a sort of cheers, you have to look the other person in the eye and say the word "Sante," which I took as "shantay," a la Rupaul. Well, that was something I couldn't seem to get quite right during the rest of the trip and made for some pretty funny moments. </div>
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So that was my first full day in Lausanne, definitely one to remember and the rest of my time spent there was equally as delicious! Stay tuned...</div>
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In the meantime, check out my other posts on Europe 2018 below:</div>
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<a href="http://jmyerswritingblog.blogspot.com/2018/08/iamsterdam-part-ii-canals-red-lights.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #005582; font-family: Calibri;">I❤️amsterdam, Part </span>II:Canals, Red Lights and Coffee Shops</a></div>
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<a href="http://jmyerswritingblog.blogspot.com/2018/08/iamsterdam-part-i-city-architecture.html" style="color: #005582; font-family: Calibri; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">I❤️amsterdam, Part I: The City & Architecture</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Calibri;"> </span></div>
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<a href="http://jmyerswritingblog.blogspot.com/2018/08/i-was-on-paris-train.html" style="color: #28a8e1;" target="_blank">I Was On a Paris Train</a></div>
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Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14426642164098377171noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7660249609952949182.post-5685073189345584962018-09-05T21:23:00.000-04:002018-09-05T21:23:07.486-04:00Staring at Another Blank Page, And it Looks PromisingEven though I've been back at work for two days already, it all really starts tomorrow. That's when the kids come back to school, and now I'm finally getting excited. I had the roughest end to a school year in my fifteen years of teaching back in June, and I left it behind thinking something would have to change. I had a great summer, but when I got back yesterday, it felt like I was in the same bad place I'd left two short months ago. <br />
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I came into a new classroom, the remnants of the tornado that was my last week still evident all over the place, and in between all of the beginning of year meetings, I've somehow managed to make it presentable for the students. Coming back to school this year has not been what I envisioned it to be so far, and I'm hoping that once I'm with my kids, it will all come together, and this time it'll be better than ever! Big change is happening in my life, good change, and I want to bring that feeling of optimism into my classroom, as well. The blank page of this year is full of possibilities...<br />
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I usually post Natasha Bedingfield's <i>Unwritten</i> on <i><a href="http://jmyersmusicworld.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">John's Music World</a></i> for the beginning of the school year, and I still may. It's one of my all-time favorite songs and to me it contains some pretty perfect words of wisdom for life:</div>
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<i>Staring at the blank page before you</i></div>
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<i>Open up the dirty window</i></div>
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<i>Let the sun illuminate the words that you could not find</i></div>
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<i>Reaching for something in the distance</i></div>
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<i>Release your inhibitions</i></div>
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<i>Feel the rain on your skin</i></div>
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<i>No one else can feel it for you</i></div>
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<i>Live your life with arms wide open</i></div>
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<i>Today is where your book begins</i></div>
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<i>The rest is still unwritten</i></div>
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I've spoken about these lyrics many times and this time I let them speak for themselves. For me they take on a new meaning at the start of this particular new school year. I am being cautiously optimistic, but I've been telling my friends lately that I feel I am at the beginning stages of a long-awaited Renaissance in my life. Though plans I had been making had all fallen to the wayside over the summer, new doors are opening up for me. My professional life is clicking on all cylinders, and even my love life is showing some signs of well, life, and I feel like everything is starting to fall into place. </div>
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These sentiments are partially evident in my last two posts, <i><a href="http://jmyerswritingblog.blogspot.com/2018/08/its-happening.html" target="_blank">It's Happening</a></i> and <a href="http://jmyerswritingblog.blogspot.com/2018/08/you-get-what-you-give-note-of-thanks.html" target="_blank"><i>You Get What You Give</i></a>, and now that summertime is over and I'm back to the grind, it's time to carry these feelings into the new school year and beyond. I want to make this the best year ever for both myself and my students, and to reach for and get what I've been looking for so long...a better place! And it all begins tomorrow.</div>
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Good luck to all of you teachers out there in this new school year. Here's hoping the blank pages of yours are filled with nothing but happiness and success. You deserve it! </div>
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Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14426642164098377171noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7660249609952949182.post-27574738511877393792018-08-28T23:07:00.000-04:002018-08-28T23:07:05.462-04:00You Get What You Give: A Note of Thanks and Some AdviceI am one lucky person. Well maybe not that lucky. I am at a point in my life where a lot of things are starting to click. Big changes are about to happen and for the first time in my life that I can remember, I feel really good about where life is headed. If you read my last <a href="http://jmyerswritingblog.blogspot.com/2018/08/its-happening.html" target="_blank">post</a>, you'll know that after twenty years in my house, I have decided to sell. It's one of the biggest decisions I've ever made and as the days have passed since that post, I'm actually starting to get excited...but that's not what I wanted to talk about...<br />
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When I posted <a href="http://jmyerswritingblog.blogspot.com/2018/08/its-happening.html" target="_blank">It's Happening</a> the other night, it was late. I pretty much hit the 'publish' button and called it a night. Well, I woke up the next morning to almost 500 page views, 80 likes and 50-plus comments on Facebook, as well as several texts and messages, all entirely supportive of my decision. I was literally overwhelmed with emotion from it all. I even heard from people I hardly connect with much anymore, and it just got me to thinking of how lucky, yet not so lucky I am.<br />
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I'm lucky because I have a support system of incredible people around me...friends, family, colleagues, and even simple acquaintances. I don't always remember that until something like this comes along and boom, even the simplest of gestures gives me a feeling like no other. I am humbled and feel very blessed. <br />
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Once the house had been put up just yesterday and I posted the pictures my friend and realtor Ricardo had taken, the love and support flooded me all over again. Lol, I don't know if it's the gay or the Italian in me, but I shed tears several times from all the compassion. I just want to say here and now thank you to each and every person who reached out to me over the past several days. Having every single one of you in my life is a blessing that I cherish!<br />
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That being said, I am a firm believer that this isn't all luck, and thus this teacher's advice to any of you reading. You always get back what you give, and I like to think that the love and support that I give to anyone in my life is what I am feeling back right now. I'm not saying I'm perfect, but I think I'm someone who's heart is always in the right place and, well I think I'm a fun person to be around, too, so...<br />
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So please take heed this little whatever you might call it. If you're genuine and kind you're going to find that that it will come back to you tenfold. I am proof of that. If you don't behave this way, well, karma can be a bitch. There's not nearly enough kindness in the world, so if you want to feel the love like I have these past few days, then you've got to give it! <br />
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<br />Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14426642164098377171noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7660249609952949182.post-47995673069529870792018-08-22T23:44:00.001-04:002018-08-22T23:44:49.277-04:00It's Happening!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I just spent the past five hours packing. Not packing for a trip, but really for the unknown. You see, I've been making these tentative plans in my head for about the last two years and I really still don't know what the heck I'm doing, but I do know it looks like I am selling my house. <br />
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I've been avoiding this decision for a long time now, but with summer winding down and a new school year ahead, it is time to dive in and just do it. To be honest, I am scared and sad all at the same time. I'm scared because I have no idea what to expect, no idea where I'll be going, and I dread whatever headaches will be coming my way in the process...<br />
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But most of all, I am really sad. As I take pictures off the walls, put my belongings in boxes and organize them into a staging area for moving in my basement, it all seems so real. This is really happening and it's hard to believe. Just a couple of weeks ago, I hit the twenty year mark of living in this house, the longest I've ever lived in one place.<br />
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Back in 1998, my ex Joe and I bought this place together after having rented for about seven years. I remember at first, I didn't like it. I preferred another house a few miles from here, but Joe, who was an interior designer by trade, saw the character and potential in this place, and convinced me. And I've loved living here from the day we first moved in. <br />
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He and I spent both a wonderful and tumultuous ten years together here, and when our relationship ended, I really thought the house would be sold in the aftermath. Little did I know, I made an emotional decision to buy the house from him and in the ten years since, I've created a new life for myself and have had wonderful times here. This is what I know.<br />
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The house is perfect for one person. It's small enough to take care of and it's big enough for entertaining friends. But it has become too much for me to take care of, both physically and financially and I know that I have to do this. The real estate guy is coming Friday and I would imagine after that there'll be no turning back. Sigh! Stay tuned....<br />
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<br />Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14426642164098377171noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7660249609952949182.post-47716963126779015732018-08-16T12:07:00.000-04:002018-08-17T00:34:04.770-04:00I❤️amsterdam, Part II: Canals, Red Lights and Coffee Shops<i>This post is not meant to be a review of the city of Amsterdam, but an overview of the things I saw and did while I was there. Hopefully the photos I've included will entice you to visit this marvelous little metropolis.</i><br />
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Amsterdam is such a lively, compact and beautiful European city. Amongst the quaint and uniquely Dutch edifices that make up the city itself, you experience the whizzing of thousands of bicyclers peddling their way to one place or another, trams carrying the masses to and from work, and of course, the canals. At any given moment, while walking around, you may come upon one of a myriad of these picturesque waterways for which the city is partly famous.<br />
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<b><i>Canals</i></b></div>
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Here are some photos I snapped of some pretty beautiful canals, both big and small:</div>
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<b><i>Red Lights and Coffee Houses</i></b></div>
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Amsterdam is also known for being a very liberal city, perhaps one of the most liberal in the world. Between the infamous red light district to the legalized cannabis, people who enjoy participating in the more risque things in life flock to the city to partake in the world's oldest profession and the world's most popular drug. Wherever you find a coffee house, you will find the almighty weed, and whether or not a visitor chooses to partake in either of these things, you can't help but notice...</div>
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So, for what it's worth, I enjoyed every moment of my three days in Amsterdam. To learn more about the city, check out <a href="https://www.iamsterdam.com/en" target="_blank">iamsterdam</a> for everything from soup to nuts, and in the meantime, stay tuned for the rest of the story of Europe 2018.</div>
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Also check out <a href="http://jmyerswritingblog.blogspot.com/2018/08/iamsterdam-part-i-city-architecture.html" target="_blank">I❤️amsterdam, Part I: The City & Architecture</a> & <a href="http://jmyerswritingblog.blogspot.com/2018/08/i-was-on-paris-train.html" target="_blank">I Was On a Paris Train</a></div>
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Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14426642164098377171noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7660249609952949182.post-42744588783420407732018-08-07T11:21:00.000-04:002018-08-07T11:21:45.617-04:00I❤️amsterdam, Part I: The City & Architecture<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Amsterdam is one of my favorite cities in Europe, and when I had the opportunity to spend the first three days of my vacation anywhere, I chose to come here. I'd been to Amsterdam before, twice on school trips, but never on my own, and I was excited at the prospect of seeing the beautiful city in more of its entirety. I wasn't disappointed.</div>
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There are so many things about Amsterdam that I love, the architecture, the scenery, the people, the openness and the quaintness of it all, and of course the canals. Here are some photos and comments on this wonderful Dutch city that you should surely visit at least once in your lifetime. Check it out...</div>
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Amsterdam is a small enough city to navigate (though admittedly I did get lost on more than one occasion, lol.) The one thing to remember is that Amsterdam Centraal, the main train station in the city, is pretty much central to everything. Whenever I did get lost, all I had to do was look for signs that pointed to the beautiful edifice at the center of it all and I could easily find where I wanted to go.</div>
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<b><i>Architecture</i></b></div>
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The city of Amsterdam and The Netherlands in general is famous for its architecture, and there are plenty of beautiful edifices throughout the city. The Dutch style is very uniquely geometric, and very pleasing to the eye. Here are some examples:</div>
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This style of architecture is not the only style found in this beautiful city. There are plenty of other beautiful buildings and sites all around town that give you the feel of being in a European city. Check out these pictures:</div>
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<i>Rembrandt Square</i></div>
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Well I'm realizing that Amsterdam is too special a city to cover in just one post, so I'm going to leave it here for now. Stay tuned for many more beautiful photos and commentary on this wonderful place...</div>
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See also <i><a href="http://jmyerswritingblog.blogspot.com/2018/08/i-was-on-paris-train.html" target="_blank">I Was on a Paris Train</a></i></div>
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<br />Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14426642164098377171noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7660249609952949182.post-53215227901466352772018-08-04T12:13:00.000-04:002018-08-04T12:13:31.340-04:00Lost<div style="text-align: center;">
<img alt="Image result for immigrant lost" height="264" src="https://otb.cachefly.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Immigrant-Crossing-Sign.png" width="400" /></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://www.outsidethebeltway.com/u-s-has-lost-1500-immigrant-children-and-now-its-taking-children-away-from-parents/" target="_blank">outsidethebeltway</a></span></div>
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In another piece written by one of my students, a young teenage girl from Guatemala writes about her harrowing journey from Central America to the United States. Freshly arrived, she wrote this as an essay in Spanish and translated it via Google translate. As I read through the piece in my editing stage, I thought it read more like a poem. To me, it captures the inner struggle that these children must face and the constant fear they endure during their voyage. Check out <i>Lost</i>...</div>
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<i>I am a Guatemalan with dreams of overcoming my problems</i></div>
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<i>My trip started on December 4, 2017</i></div>
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<i>With a prayer to God to take care of me on the way</i></div>
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<i>There I left my childhood, my family</i></div>
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<i>To come to this new place</i></div>
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<i>With a lump in my throat, I said goodbye</i></div>
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<i>Time progressed and with each moment</i></div>
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<i>I was moving farther way from them</i></div>
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<i>Two days by bus, we reached the border with Mexico</i></div>
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<i>We crossed at night, in fear, ,among so many strangers</i></div>
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<i>We arrived, locked away for two days until finally they came for us</i></div>
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<i>A truck, ready to start crossing the desert</i></div>
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<i>They dropped us at 3 A.M., </i></div>
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<i>with nothing but backpacks, water and a garbage bag</i></div>
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<i>To protect us from the cold and the rain</i></div>
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<i>In the morning, we were separated into three groups</i></div>
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<i>Told to look for the famous line with guides who "knew where we were"</i></div>
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<i>By the fourth day, we were all supposed to meet again</i></div>
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<i>Unfortunately it was not meant to be</i></div>
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<i>What happened to the rest of the group, I do not know</i></div>
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<i>The guide went back for the rest, leaving us</i></div>
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<i>On our own, to get to that line</i></div>
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<i>I know he feared something would happen to us too</i></div>
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<i>But he left us anyway, to walk through the desert on our own</i></div>
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<i>Two days, no water, and the fatigue was surely fatal</i></div>
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<i>The only thing we had was to ask God</i></div>
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<i>To give us the strength to follow on</i></div>
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<i>I don't know whatever happened to my travel companions</i></div>
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<i>But I wish them the best since their decisions weren't easy either</i></div>
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As always, thanks for reading. Stay tuned for more...</div>
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Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14426642164098377171noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7660249609952949182.post-27879027499922118492018-08-01T11:17:00.001-04:002018-08-01T11:17:30.514-04:00I Was on a Paris Train<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The sadness first hit me as time wore on towards the end of another wonderful day in Paris. It was Saturday, and anytime I made any sort of mention of the end, Amy wouldn't have it. Goodbyes are always hard, and I'm sure they've been especially difficult for her in the nine years since she'd moved to Switzerland. I understood that, and I tried my best not to bring it up, but then Sunday came too fast and suddenly I was packing to go home and the reality that the end was near really started to settle in once David started explaining how I would get to the airport on the train.</div>
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My trip to Europe was one of those special times I will always remember. Almost all vacations are good, of course, but in the grand scheme of things there are certain ones that just stand out, and this was definitely one of them.</div>
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I'd started my trip in Amsterdam, a city that I always wanted to explore on my own (I'd only been there before on school trips with lots of kids.), and I loved it. The rest of the time was spent with Amy and her husband David in Lausanne, Switzerland and then Paris. Amy and I graduated from Stony Brook together (She teaches ESL, too!) and though our interactions since graduation had been sparse, when we do, she and I always connect like the old friends we are.</div>
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I'd last seen Amy back in April, when I visited Lucerne, Switzerland on a school trip. Like before, she invited me to come visit on my own in the summertime and that's just what I did. I'd never met David before, and when I arrived, I shouldn't have been surprised that he was as genuine a person as Amy was, very warm and welcoming.</div>
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For the last ten days of my stay in Europe, the three of us got on so well. Amy became my tour guide to the Lake Geneva area while David worked, and the three of us spent lovely evenings together just chatting and enjoying each other's company. Once we'd reached Thursday, David was officially on vacation and the three of us headed off to Paris, where for four days we spent a magically spontaneous, adventurous time. And then there was Sunday...</div>
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David and Amy accompanied me about three quarters of the train ride to Orly Airport in Paris. David carried my heavy luggage up and down stairs through the Paris subways, one last act of total sweetness. We switched trains in Chatelet and on the RER we were going to part ways about four stops before my destination. As we stood there in the crowded car, getting closer to their stop, none of us really looked at each other, avoiding the sadness of parting. Soon, it was time for the two of them to disembark. The train stopped and each of them gave me a knowing hug and kiss goodbye and then they stepped off the train. Once the doors closed and they were out of sight, the tears finally came.</div>
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I want to take a moment to thank both Amy and David for their hospitality, their time, and most of all their friendship. I will take the memories of this wonderful time with me as long as I have time on this Earth. I am sure that after this trip I will see them both again sooner rather than later. I love you both! </div>
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Stay tuned for some European vacation stories and pictures...</div>
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<br />Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14426642164098377171noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7660249609952949182.post-21509976944401984892018-06-30T10:15:00.002-04:002018-06-30T10:15:55.029-04:00Judge Us for Who We Are, Not What We Are<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
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As promised, this will be the first of several stories written for my class' <i><a href="http://jmyerswritingblog.blogspot.com/2018/06/my-purpose-introduction-to-why-we-came.html" target="_blank">ENL Magazine</a></i> that I spoke about earlier. It was written by a long time student of mine and it speaks to the feelings of a young girl who has experienced both the good and the bad about coming here. Take a look...</div>
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<i>The United States is a country that offers many opportunities and is a much safer place than El Salvador, but the separation of races to me is ruining the beauty of this country. I am a high school student and it is sad to see how other young people my age see me so differently than they see each other. In the five years that I have lived in this country, I have learned to speak English, to integrate myself in the culture and the way of life here, and yet I have not made one American friend.<br /><br />None of this has been easy. It took a lot of hard work to learn the language, to be able to communicate, and yet I feel so rejected. I feel so isolated from my American peers, and even some teachers, too. Sometimes I feel that I’m not treated with respect and kindness by them, and they never even try to speak to me. Now I'm not saying that this is everyone, it’s not. There are many very nice and kind people here, too, but the ones who treat me differently because I'm from another country, because I speak another language, or that I have a different skin color, makes me angry. These things don’t make me less than them. Being Hispanic doesn’t mean that I am not intelligent, or that I can’t do what anyone else can do. <br /><br />This separating ideology that some people have prevents them from seeing that really we are all the same. If they just take notice, they will realize that there is no difference between an American and a Hispanic. We are all human beings! I don’t understand this separation. If we are equal, why are we treated badly because of our differences? <br /><br />I understand that in my country there are bad people and that many of them come to this country and do bad things. They embarrass me and fill me with indignation and sadness to see that they are like that, but just because they are like that doesn’t mean I should be judged differently or badly. We shouldn’t have to pay the price for their bad behavior. Get to know me before treating me badly. There are as many young Hispanics like me who just want to study, be honest, not do bad things and not take people’s jobs away. I think that God rewards people who struggle so hard to achieve. <br /><br />For every person who reads this, I invite you to give yourself an opportunity to get to know me, to get to know some of us. We’re not all bad. Know us and judge us according to what you observe in us, not simply because we are Hispanic. We’re not all gang members or murderers. You should thank God that you are blessed. You do not have the need to immigrate to another country for your safety, for food, or to just save your lives. Imagine if you had to move to another country for these reasons, and people there treat you with indifference, as we are treated here. Imagine you had to learn a whole new language in order to be able to survive in that country. Imagine what that would be like. I can tell you it would be frustrating. <br /><br />Like I said, we are all human, with feelings, emotions, and each with our own problems. We are the same. So I invite you to leave that race-separating ideology, to not judge us without knowing us. Say hello. Make a friend. See that we are all good people with dreams to succeed in this jungle full of wild animals.<br /><br />THANK YOU FOR LISTENING</i><br />
Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14426642164098377171noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7660249609952949182.post-82136739757365570502018-06-21T22:27:00.000-04:002018-06-23T12:43:54.545-04:00My Purpose: An Introduction to "Why We Came and How We Got Here"<br />
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From my Facebook, about two weeks ago:<br />
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<i>Hot off the press...after weeks and weeks of writing, re-writing and editing, this labor of love is finally complete! In this, our 15th edition, my students share some pretty compelling stories of why they came here and how they got here.<br /><br />Like the generations of immigrants who came before them, these youngsters made their oftentimes dangerous treks here to escape extreme poverty and a very war-like environment.<br /><br />They’re all great kids and they were afraid to share their stories because, well, we all know the attitudes towards immigrants these days, and so the only way I could get them to share their stories was to promise to publish them anonymously.</i><br />
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<i>I’m very proud of ‘Why We’re Here and How We Got Here: True Stories of Young Immigrants,’ and I am thinking about publishing this as a PDF. Please click ‘like’if you’d want a copy. Thanks!</i></div>
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In the past couple of years it's become evident to me that I have a purpose in life. It's something that I'm not yet totally comfortable with, but I find myself being driven by it. From my own actions and reactions to the things going on around me lately, it's become pointedly clear that the things I'm doing are as natural to me as anything else in my life, ever, and so when the recently heated debate about immigration came bubbling to an ugly surface, I decided I had to act on it. I put myself wholeheartedly behind what I do, what I live, and what I believe, and this is my truth.</div>
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It is with that in mind that I pointed my class' annual magazine in the direction of laying stories bare. As one who teaches some social studies in my classroom, I know that primary sources of information, sources coming from those who have had actual experiences connected to a topic, are the best kinds of sources to go by, and so what better way to convey the stories of today's immigrants than to hear from them. </div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Me and my students began this undertaking about six weeks prior to publication, and I'm proud of them for sharing what they experienced. I've learned a lot about immigration from them that I never knew before, and I think that sharing the stories beyond the area of my school district is a worthwhile endeavor. So I begin with my own introduction to the publication, a piece that lays out the process behind it. Read on and stay tuned for some of their stories...</span></div>
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<i>Dear Readers, <br /><br />Welcome to “Why We Came and How We Got Here,” the latest version of our ENL Magazine. We began publishing this annual collection in 2004 in the hope that readers might gain a new perspective on our students, an often-misunderstood group of youngsters. To this point, I believe that goal has only been partially achieved. With the political climate of the country the way it is these days, misinformation and misunderstanding about the immigrant experience has reached an all-time high, and so our purpose for this year’s edition takes on a greater significance than ever before. </i><br />
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<b><i>A Class Project Leads to a Mission </i></b><br />
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<i>Early in the school year, the students in my ENL class completed an autobiographical project. This wasn’t the first time I’d ever assigned such a task, but it was the first time I ever really had to sell them on something. You see, with today’s immigrants drawing such open criticism and anger, I wanted to gain a better understanding of their stories. I wanted to know the real reasons why they came here and what they went through in making their way here. Even though I’ve been working with these kids for so long, even I wasn’t aware of the real answers to these questions. <br /><br />Virtually all of the students were reluctant to tell their stories, and it was a hard sell to get them to do so. I had to assure them that the things they were going to share would stay within our group. In addition to a written piece, the students were also required to make a presentation to the class, sharing not only their personal stories of why and how they came to be here, but other such things as what they’d put on their bucket lists, some of their favorite things, and even their hopes for the future. It was during these presentations that my eyes opened wider than they had in fifteen years. <br /><br />For more than two weeks, each of my students came to the front of the class to share their auto-biographies, and I learned things that I may have suspected over the years, but never really heard told so openly. Laughter and tears, and plenty of anguish permeated the room with each presentation, and those watching even just one of them either commiserated with the speaker or became consumed with empathy. <br /><br />Empathy. It’s a word I often use in my classroom and one that I wholeheartedly believe everyone needs a little more of. If we make an effort to empathize more, we might just gain a whole new awareness that we didn’t have before, and hopefully these new perspectives might make this world a more tolerable place. <br /><br />Once our presentations had finished, we continued with the theme by tackling the NY Times bestselling book, “Enrique’s Journey” by Sonia Nazario. It tells the story of a boy from Honduras who makes the harrowing and dangerous trek to the United States in search of his mother who had abandoned him when he was only five years old. Once again, memories were jarred by the many stories found in the book. </i><br />
<i><br /></i><b><i>A New Mission</i></b> <br />
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<i>When the time came to begin working on this publication, it seemed that general attitudes towards immigrants had become even worse than before. New stories and videos showing harassment towards immigrants, more specifically Hispanics, seemed to pop up every day on social media. News outlets cover raids and roundups of undocumented immigrants, families being forcibly separated, children being held in secretive, jail-like camps. The list of stories goes on and on and the more we hear, the worse the situation becomes. <br /><br />In the poem, “Push and Pull,” I speak of the plight of the many generations of foreigners whose desperate situations led them to immigrate to this country. Each group of immigrants had its own reasons for coming, and most often it was to flee danger or poverty. The stories of today’s immigrant are no different, only the rules have since changed. <br /><br />So I thought that perhaps we, our little group of immigrants who chose to settle here in Southold, might do our own little part in helping people gain a better understanding of who they are and why they came. Their stories are sometimes raw and always very personal, and show just how desperate these immigrants must be to undergo such a dangerous journey that they are not guaranteed to finish. I believe that the immigrant population in Southold is a microcosm of the greater immigrant population and their individual stories reflect the experiences of the whole. <br /><br />Again, selling this idea was a difficult task. Some of the stories contained within are highly personal, and I am sure that still there were difficult details that were omitted because of their emotional impact. I convinced my students that this undertaking will be worth it if we get even one person to see immigration in a different light. The idea of their stories being published elicited an even greater protest than the project had, and so in the end we decided that all of the stories published would be anonymous. I encourage you to read on with an open heart and an open mind. <br /><br />Thank you, <br /><br />John Myers</i><br />
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Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14426642164098377171noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7660249609952949182.post-76499833626378343582018-06-20T23:07:00.001-04:002018-06-20T23:07:26.822-04:00A Different Kind of Separation<span style="background-color: white; color: #14171a; font-family: "Segoe UI", Arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0.27px; white-space: pre-wrap;">From my <a href="https://twitter.com/jmyers22" target="_blank">Twitter</a>, on Monday, edited:</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #14171a; font-family: "Segoe UI", Arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0.27px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>This morning, one of my students, a 14 yo boy from Guatemala, came to school to take a final examination. When I came by to check on how he was doing, he wasn’t doing very well at all. It had already been an hour or so into the test and he was only on question #8.</i></span><br />
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“Did you study?” I asked.
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<i><span style="background-color: white; color: #14171a; font-family: "Segoe UI", Arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0.27px; white-space: pre-wrap;">He looked up at me and with tears in his eyes he said no. He gathered himself and added, </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #14171a; font-family: "Segoe UI", Arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0.27px; white-space: pre-wrap;">“My mom is getting deported,” he told me. </span></i><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #14171a; font-family: "Segoe UI", Arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0.27px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>It seems a local immigration lawyer took all their money, $7ooo, and never filed her papers in court seeking asylum. The judge dropped the case and ordered her out of the country in 30 days. Daniel can stay because he had the luxury of being abandoned by his dad when he was a baby. He is not my only student to have suffered the same fate.</i></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #14171a; font-family: "Segoe UI", Arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0.27px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Daniel and his mom were abandoned by his father when he was a toddler and are all one another has in life. Back in Guatemala, they were poverty stricken, oftentimes eating only one meal a day, and at 13 years of age, Dan was already within the sights of the local gangs, who would not take no for an answer once </i></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #14171a; font-family: "Segoe UI", Arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0.27px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>they came calling. </i></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #14171a; font-family: "Segoe UI", Arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0.27px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>His mom became desperate and reached out to an uncle for help in getting money to come to the U.S. The two of them traveled for weeks, a long and treacherous journey that had them walking for up to fourteen hours a stretch and going without food or water for up to two days.</i></span><br />
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<i><span style="background-color: white; color: #14171a; font-family: "Segoe UI", Arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0.27px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Luckily, they made it here safe. That was a little less than two years ago. In that time, Dan has learned a lot of English and does what he can to help the two of them survive, working whenever he can to bring money into the house. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #14171a; font-family: "Segoe UI", Arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0.27px; white-space: pre-wrap;">They are still poor, but rich in comparison to their life back in Guatemala. They're both safe, too, and they still have each other. Well, for now. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #14171a; font-family: "Segoe UI", Arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0.27px; white-space: pre-wrap;">So they’ve lost all the money they’ve scraped up to an unscrupulous lawyer and in less than 26 days they will be separated barring some sort of miracle. </span></i><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #14171a; font-family: "Segoe UI", Arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0.27px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Daniel is the sweetest of boys, always with a smile on his face and a willing hand to help others by translating, helping with homework, and even cleaning the teacher’s desk for him. Now he faces being all alone at 14, the only other person in his life being ripped from his side.</i></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #14171a; font-family: "Segoe UI", Arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0.27px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Dan’s is but one small story in a million stories. He’s lucky he’s got me...I refuse to leave him totally abandoned. Thousands of others are not so lucky. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #14171a; font-family: "Segoe UI", Arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0.27px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Today’s immigrants are no different than the ones who came before them, leaving their families, their friends, their homes, everything, to escape poverty and danger. Only the rules have changed. We changed them when we starting not liking the places that they came from and we all need to know that.</span><br />
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<br />Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14426642164098377171noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7660249609952949182.post-69119757703198259902018-02-09T05:58:00.000-05:002018-02-09T05:58:33.481-05:00A Year's Remembrance<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I could never say enough, Owner, dearest friend, to thank you for the love you gave to me, until the end.</div>
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I’m sorry that I hurt you by saying my goodbye. You gave me such a happy home, I lived a happy life. I leapt and played and laughed in ways you maybe couldn’t see. Of all the pets you might have loved, I’m glad that you chose me.</div>
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It’s okay to miss me, for I miss you too.</div>
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It’s okay to bow your head and cry if you have to.</div>
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However hard it seems today, your dear sweet heart will heal.</div>
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For now, my friend, remember me and feel what you must feel. But don’t give up on loving, Owner, dearest friend. Although the cost is oh so high, it’s worth it in the end — to know that you made this pet’s life the best one it could be. It should be no mystery why you meant the world to me.</div>
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So here’s my final word, my friend, this is my last wish: Find another lonely pet, then give to them my dish. And every time they make you smile, know that I’m smiling too, still so proud to once have been a dearest friend to you.</div>
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Love, always.”</div>
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A year ago this morning, I was awoken to one of the most terrible phone calls of my life. My little Diego, who had been in the hospital for three days, was under cardiac arrest, and the vet was calling to see if I wanted them to revive him. Before I could even process what they were saying to me, I heard the woman on the other line say, as clear as day...</div>
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<i>Oh, I'm so sorry. He just passed. </i> </div>
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He was barely nine years old. It was a snowy morning, one that I will never forget. As with the passing of any loved one, I mourned the loss of my cute little fluffy monster, and I watched with great heartbreak the broken heart of Dylan, the brother who he'd left behind. For months, Dylanito was so sad, and every interaction with him only made me feel sadder for myself, and even more so for him. As they say, time heals all wounds, and this is very true. Though it took awhile, Dylan and I have both healed from Diego's loss. I eventually got used to having only one little kitty around the house, and he got used to being the only kitty around.</div>
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I sometimes wonder if Dylan even remembers Diego. I have no idea how a cat's mind works. Every once in awhile I'll say his name aloud to see if there's any recognition in my little, eleven-toed panther, but there is none. That's a good thing, I guess. He's definitely been over his mourning period for months now, and that helped me get out of mine...but I will always remember my sweet little sunshine. </div>
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A few weeks after Diego had passed, my mother sent me the following poem above. In times of sadness, it brought out the tears that helped release the pain. I wanted to share it here in case any pet owner out there has the need to hear it too. </div>
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It's hard to believe it's been a year already. I haven't thought much of him lately, but Diego will be in my mind all day today, and Dylan will get a little extra loving, too! Here's the recitation of the poem, <i>Owner, Dearest Friend</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "bitstream charter" , serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: italic; text-align: center;">, </span>by Vivian Matthews:</div>
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Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14426642164098377171noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7660249609952949182.post-36021731291497492262018-01-01T12:03:00.002-05:002018-01-01T12:03:49.183-05:00A New Year's Do or Die Reevaluation<div style="text-align: center;">
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Happy Freaking New Year! Today is as good a time as any to once again take a step back and reevaluate our lives...well, my life anyway. After what has been the shittiest and loneliest New Year's Eve of my life, the rock bottom of my 2017, there's no place for me to go but up, but not without some self-reflection and action.</div>
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I've been suffering from the flu since coming home from Philadelphia on Friday morning. Not that I've been to the doctor, but I've had the flu before and I know the feeling...congestion, chills, severe aches and pains, etc. Sans a phone call and a text or two, I've been completely alone for the past 72 hours and I'm feeling very alone.</div>
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I can't help but think that I'm the only reason for this. I know and believe from Dan Millman's <i>The Life You Were Born to Lead</i> that by nature I can be a loner, and so my solitary tendencies, especially lately, have indirectly pushed the people in my life away. Now in the state of mind that I am currently in, I could just say piss off and keep it that way, or I can try and do something about it. What I think I'm actually going to do is reevaluate my relationships and maybe do a little bit of both.</div>
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So, resolutions... Oh my God, there are so many things I need to resolve about my life. A couple of years ago, I actually made a list of the things that I hated about myself. Here are some of the ones that I still struggle with...</div>
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I smoke</div>
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I spend too much time alone</div>
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I feel stuck</div>
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I feel alone (haha, yep, that hasn't changed. It's maybe even gotten worse!)</div>
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I owe money</div>
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I procrastinate</div>
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I am taken for granted</div>
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I'm just plain weird!</div>
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Yup, these are just some of the things that I struggle with each and every day, and if I keep doing the way I've been doing, obviously, then these things are never going to change. So it's New Years...time to really evaluate how the heck I've been living my life. I need to define what happiness means to me, because that question is ever-elusive, and once I do, then I need to figure out how to get there.. </div>
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Regardless, this is a mission, perhaps the greatest do-or-die mission of my life because I really can't take it any more. If I succeed at at least one or two of these issues, then it's for the good. If I fail, well...??? Stay tuned!</div>
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Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14426642164098377171noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7660249609952949182.post-50413615866733335892017-11-19T11:46:00.002-05:002017-11-19T11:46:50.770-05:00It Could Have Been Me<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This was not the type of post I was planning on making this morning, but I awoke to a text from my pal Kristen about what you see in the image above. You see, the street where this poor man was killed by a hit and run driver is part of the route on my daily walk and Kristen was making sure I was ok. As soon as she told me where it had happened, I remembered being detoured on my walk last night by police who had blocked off that particular street where the incident happened. At the time, I had no idea why the street was blocked off. Now I do. That could have been me!</div>
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I always worry about cars when I walk. Other than on the two main roads I traverse everyday, there are no sidewalks. It's a typical residential area for Long Island, but my particular neighborhood sits among these two main roads and is a major cut through for people trying to get from East Patchogue to wherever. I always say I take my life in my hands when I walk, plainly evidenced by what happened last night.</div>
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I have had many close calls on my walks...way too many to count. I remember a few times having to jump out of the way of a passing car, who's almost always doing 40+ mph on these 30 mph speed limit streets. I've been splashed on in the rain, sometimes I think on purpose, honked at, and even yelled at simply for walking. </div>
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Perhaps I am putting this on the wrong blog, for my first blog, which still exists, is called <i><a href="http://jmyersrants.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Rants</a></i>, and that's where I am going here... </div>
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People today are, simply put, way too self-involved. They only seem to pay attention to what's going on in their own world, without regard for others. That is a general statement that covers just about everything in life where we interact, but it is plainly evident on the roads. I see it everyday when I drive to work and I see it everyday when I walk. They speed, they're looking at their phones while they drive, don't stop for stop signs, they drive recklessly, and I'm out there, completely vulnerable.</div>
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We've all seen in the news lately just how much of a deadly weapon a car can be. Why do we care more when it's done on purpose than when it's done recklessly? The results are the same...people die, like the poor man riding his bicycle last night right around the corner from my house. </div>
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All I can say is that I wish people would change some of their habits just a little, become a little more aware of what's around them instead of only paying attention to themselves and their phones, and their time. I do my best to be noticeable when I walk, especially at night. I wear bright clothing and I walk as far off to the side as I can. I always defer to drivers at intersections, putting my head down to my phone so as to make drivers think I am not crossing. This is simply because I do not trust them. </div>
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Oh, and I carry my wallet with me always when I walk, too. That in itself speaks volumes, for I know that I could at any time find myself in a situation which that man found himself in last night, and at least I'd want people to know who I was. Sigh!</div>
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Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14426642164098377171noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7660249609952949182.post-77059653960044261472017-11-12T11:46:00.000-05:002017-11-12T11:46:04.796-05:00Roller Coaster Road Trip 2017 - Last Stop: Canada's Wonderland<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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One of the most beautiful pictures I took on the entire <i>Roller Coaster Road Trip</i> was the one above, from the parking lot at <a href="https://www.canadaswonderland.com/" target="_blank">Canada's Wonderland</a> in Vaughan, Ontario, Canada. It was towards the end of our last day, one ultimate day of roller coaster riding, and it was the perfect scene to end our wonderful journey. </div>
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I'd always wanted to visit <i>Canada's Wonderland</i> and I never thought I would until this trip was being planned. The park is a Cedar Fair property, owned by the same company that owns both <i>Cedar Point</i> and <i>King's Island</i>, so we knew it was going to be both a well-run and a beautiful park, which it was. Upon entering, the scene is much like that at <i>King's Island </i>and Virginia's <i>King's Dominion</i>, but instead of a replica of the Eiffel Tower towards the end of the entrance promenade, there is a mountain with cascading waterfalls. Beautiful!</div>
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<b><i><span style="font-size: large;">The Roller Coasters</span></i></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2oV2T8KhIIS9sAHupV7r05jNd0O7kPqlmPZBkYDxouUkyNi_XchaJUQ1ZsaVdTQhiFMGCOeMGziWzyBOuuVxciYSw6dZe35i2K6MlckAKiDfZt2gJfcImHsMtRzRGytJa_1Jzeg6QFFBV/s1600/Canadas+Wonderland+%252814%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2oV2T8KhIIS9sAHupV7r05jNd0O7kPqlmPZBkYDxouUkyNi_XchaJUQ1ZsaVdTQhiFMGCOeMGziWzyBOuuVxciYSw6dZe35i2K6MlckAKiDfZt2gJfcImHsMtRzRGytJa_1Jzeg6QFFBV/s400/Canadas+Wonderland+%252814%2529.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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Compared with the previous two parks we had visited, the coasters of <i>Canada's Wonderland</i> were nowhere near as exciting, though there were two that were absolutely fantastic, <i>Leviathan</i> and <i>Behemoth</i>...</div>
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<i>Leviathan</i> is what is known as a giga-coaster, like <i>Millennium Force </i>in <i>Cedar Point</i>, meaning that it reaches a maximum height of over 300 feet tall (This one's 306.). It is by far the best ride in <i>Canada's Wonderland</i>, and we rode this monster several times. Take a virtual ride yourself...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqFabE7LHUuhiL5R_76xiuAKvplt5xprmqPXS1UI9mJfQFVX2kw6ZUtGawU4hFoouTfk2SFGSpZ8hKsvOfo_eVJya_kAGn5WoI_eRbA1Y7U1hrhQcxDIVjRHve_tmtQ_WcfcDNQS0EBLla/s1600/Canadas+Wonderland+%252852%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqFabE7LHUuhiL5R_76xiuAKvplt5xprmqPXS1UI9mJfQFVX2kw6ZUtGawU4hFoouTfk2SFGSpZ8hKsvOfo_eVJya_kAGn5WoI_eRbA1Y7U1hrhQcxDIVjRHve_tmtQ_WcfcDNQS0EBLla/s400/Canadas+Wonderland+%252852%2529.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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That one was wicked, and the video does not do it justice! <i>Behemoth</i> is the park's other awesome ride, located clear across the park from <i>Leviathan</i>. This one's a mega-coaster, like <i>Magnum XL-200</i>, <i>Nitro</i> at SFGA, and like those other two, it is nothing but negative G fun! Take a virtual ride...</div>
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I wish I could say there was a whole lot more to cover of <i>Canada's Wonderland</i>. It is a beautiful place, and we had an awesome time on a beautiful sunny day. It was the end of the trip and I think we all were a little weary from eight days of seemingly non-stop moving. Nonetheless, if you're ever up in the Toronto area, <i>Canada's Wonderland</i>, then you should definitely check it out. In the meantime, take a look at some photos of our day at <i>Canada's Wonderland</i>...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju3QSUhQ-srbpzAI5KUxjx4c7xuQ8IyR3oq6ChQoSgndOoQKANztlfD0LYN1gftZdosTzxO-pjcL9vvBa3bOc8cmEV6Jyuo6_jxMmAj4lbclhY1ZIE3ftrHd8wTOzFbFOaMTSt7NzrSUes/s1600/Canadas+Wonderland+%25288%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju3QSUhQ-srbpzAI5KUxjx4c7xuQ8IyR3oq6ChQoSgndOoQKANztlfD0LYN1gftZdosTzxO-pjcL9vvBa3bOc8cmEV6Jyuo6_jxMmAj4lbclhY1ZIE3ftrHd8wTOzFbFOaMTSt7NzrSUes/s400/Canadas+Wonderland+%25288%2529.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvt2ItErGlyl1jFSnesz4VvO8GIS8FElXex-qOsWyWWEHo7lf0iFrlv6OI6Pe1G1gKMDvF66aGb6DCoiNvFrASWNlniP8pi7gDsAxN9ycVlASJS3xB48snVuaXeO-Pdzo6qGBuH921O0Fb/s1600/Canadas+Wonderland+%252817%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvt2ItErGlyl1jFSnesz4VvO8GIS8FElXex-qOsWyWWEHo7lf0iFrlv6OI6Pe1G1gKMDvF66aGb6DCoiNvFrASWNlniP8pi7gDsAxN9ycVlASJS3xB48snVuaXeO-Pdzo6qGBuH921O0Fb/s400/Canadas+Wonderland+%252817%2529.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<i>Dive show</i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU0AKSZakuNFdAzRT2e4-Lc2Bu3RccpePTaYWYbwDCUf2VdPVnbZ1ubRMldQ8qxX-Jtx9Q6CErROkIQPKbCVbhVPjNwOwmVdKmlwyKOM6k50S5dedUmLmqHtsm8AiXU5QSgBpxpttD_yOL/s1600/Canadas+Wonderland+%252826%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU0AKSZakuNFdAzRT2e4-Lc2Bu3RccpePTaYWYbwDCUf2VdPVnbZ1ubRMldQ8qxX-Jtx9Q6CErROkIQPKbCVbhVPjNwOwmVdKmlwyKOM6k50S5dedUmLmqHtsm8AiXU5QSgBpxpttD_yOL/s400/Canadas+Wonderland+%252826%2529.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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<i>Poutine</i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyUE3CpAftg1lbjwLqwpdZybLOpZAC3Lkbgw9EicvHpNaBa8ttSDpWC77ZHn8FdD6Jw4cc72osS1x5wvI5v-0HdpJim1brsrxUNttk2TCALsNoxMrvQuBYh-iQX0iQSy4bE4NcLeh3j4dB/s1600/Canadas+Wonderland+%252829%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyUE3CpAftg1lbjwLqwpdZybLOpZAC3Lkbgw9EicvHpNaBa8ttSDpWC77ZHn8FdD6Jw4cc72osS1x5wvI5v-0HdpJim1brsrxUNttk2TCALsNoxMrvQuBYh-iQX0iQSy4bE4NcLeh3j4dB/s400/Canadas+Wonderland+%252829%2529.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9BtBoqAOL5nZhbrRDj2WKWJGpKxscpdRAo2T-tqhJYClU1JLJy0LDluzsEoPFW8eSXQQ7KxDgKL0Bdn_zc1Jo3jMP2Sm4ye2jq0hygOhve22y7n_PnZV8hjD_IUVbWQ8MUsDy3KoBkZPc/s1600/Canadas+Wonderland+%252842%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9BtBoqAOL5nZhbrRDj2WKWJGpKxscpdRAo2T-tqhJYClU1JLJy0LDluzsEoPFW8eSXQQ7KxDgKL0Bdn_zc1Jo3jMP2Sm4ye2jq0hygOhve22y7n_PnZV8hjD_IUVbWQ8MUsDy3KoBkZPc/s400/Canadas+Wonderland+%252842%2529.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC8Zoa28r2hWrSv0-_F5VGGeNRk4roKscQdJ2bOWj2jbKeJGse8FT3yBnSJM75Xo2si50ToQtaekmfaAaOARhvKaMvQeGHvbyLD_Vk09SGSNQ0DHp9StwBHWqEGB8mR-vhmxuvswwSgIX0/s1600/Canadas+Wonderland+%252850%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC8Zoa28r2hWrSv0-_F5VGGeNRk4roKscQdJ2bOWj2jbKeJGse8FT3yBnSJM75Xo2si50ToQtaekmfaAaOARhvKaMvQeGHvbyLD_Vk09SGSNQ0DHp9StwBHWqEGB8mR-vhmxuvswwSgIX0/s400/Canadas+Wonderland+%252850%2529.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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<i>A wicked and rare ride!</i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7DWJbJcbi7vo-YAFHMDSwnLPlvACooChKXrZFDjBY0VuBTr6v46xdMy5uBHU9eBPudTTfY6JFOqUYyY1GUxaLkpvn_KLAjNjDUxGVBV_Exey649Xh_7bJPuvVY2ZhCug0LDou_Id0J1Y7/s1600/Canadas+Wonderland+%252851%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7DWJbJcbi7vo-YAFHMDSwnLPlvACooChKXrZFDjBY0VuBTr6v46xdMy5uBHU9eBPudTTfY6JFOqUYyY1GUxaLkpvn_KLAjNjDUxGVBV_Exey649Xh_7bJPuvVY2ZhCug0LDou_Id0J1Y7/s400/Canadas+Wonderland+%252851%2529.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<i>Behemoth</i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjewWB7MF2Z_DWtKJELE9qMetu5u8ZLQG5KyF_qcHNKtSPNyvs7JzrJwTQX1QKVeSMBYWLqcILd3PjpIUsbxE6PrJged_zBZoZ0Q513T666KkdzIN9Ddo4yvJprbN14UR-9zcpe4LEFOyJa/s1600/Canadas+Wonderland+%252854%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjewWB7MF2Z_DWtKJELE9qMetu5u8ZLQG5KyF_qcHNKtSPNyvs7JzrJwTQX1QKVeSMBYWLqcILd3PjpIUsbxE6PrJged_zBZoZ0Q513T666KkdzIN9Ddo4yvJprbN14UR-9zcpe4LEFOyJa/s400/Canadas+Wonderland+%252854%2529.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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<i>Leviathan</i></div>
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After our day at the park, we dove back into Toronto for one last meal together. We were exhausted, but blissful. This Roller Coaster Road Trip was a great one, and I can't wait until the next time! Oh, and there was one more cool thing that we did before heading home, stopping again in Buffalo to have a visit with my old pal Petra.</div>
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I hope you've enjoyed some of the pictures and stories from our journey. Check out the rest below and till next time...</div>
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<i><b><a href="http://jmyerswritingblog.blogspot.com/2017/07/roller-coaster-road-trip-2017-new.html" style="color: #005582; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">A New Adventure Awaits</a></b></i></div>
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<i><b><a href="http://jmyerswritingblog.blogspot.com/2017/08/roller-coaster-road-trip-2017-unplanned.html" style="color: #28a8e1; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">An Unplanned Stop in Pittsburgh and Kennywood</a></b></i></div>
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<i><b><a href="http://jmyerswritingblog.blogspot.com/2017/08/roller-coaster-road-trip-2017-kings.html" style="color: #005582; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">King's Island's Great Coasters</a></b></i></div>
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<i><b><a href="http://jmyerswritingblog.blogspot.com/2017/08/roller-coaster-road-trip-2017-get-to.html" style="color: #005582; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Get to the Point</a></b></i></div>
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<i><b><a href="http://jmyerswritingblog.blogspot.com/2017/09/roller-coaster-road-trip-2017.html" style="color: #005582; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Lighthouse Point at Cedar Po</a></b></i><i><b><a href="http://jmyerswritingblog.blogspot.com/2017/09/roller-coaster-road-trip-2017.html" style="color: #005582; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">int</a></b></i></div>
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<i><b><a href="http://jmyerswritingblog.blogspot.com/2017/09/roller-coaster-road-trip-2017-niagara.html" style="color: #005582; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Amazing Niagara Falls</a></b></i></div>
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<i><b><a href="http://jmyerswritingblog.blogspot.com/2017/09/roller-coaster-road-trip-niagara-falls.html" style="color: #28a8e1;" target="_blank">Amazing Niagara Falls, Part II</a></b></i></div>
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<i><b><a href="http://jmyerswritingblog.blogspot.com/2017/10/roller-coaster-road-trip-2017-hello.html" target="_blank">Hello Toronto</a></b></i></div>
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Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14426642164098377171noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7660249609952949182.post-60061871128364919982017-10-09T22:32:00.001-04:002017-10-09T22:32:37.989-04:00Roller Coaster Road Trip 2017: Hello Toronto!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The drive from Niagara Falls to Toronto via Queen Elizabeth Way is an easy and direct path, but full of traffic. What I thought would be an hour, hour and a half drive turned into something like three hours. That's okay, though, because Toronto was our destination and I was excited to get there!</div>
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First impressions of Toronto...the outer boroughs of NYC. In fact, the apartment we rented in the Little Portugal section reminded me a lot of Astoria, right down to the confusing parking areas in an alley behind the houses. Once we'd found where to park the car, we quickly unpacked the car and moved into our new digs, another AirBnB place. By the time we had done this, it was already around 5 p.m. and we were starving. Our host told us that there were a lot of great eateries in the neighborhood, so we set out for a walk in search of food and just checking out Toronto.</div>
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Kinda Queensish, right? Anyway, after walking around for hours, deciding that we were way underdressed for a lot of the eateries we came across, we opted for some Mexican takeout and headed back to the apartment...delish! The rest of the evening was spent sitting on our cool little porch, drinking, laughing and people watching. That night was probably the most relaxing and one of the funnest nights of the entire trip. Oh, and Gary found a lil piece of himself in that neighborhood, too...</div>
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<i>The view from our porch</i></div>
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We had until Monday morning at the flat in Toronto, and our plan was to explore the city on Saturday and hit <i>Canada's Wonderland</i> on Sunday, our last full day. Start with roller coasters, finish with em. We got up Saturday morning and headed on foot towards Lake Ontario, the center of the downtown area. I should have known ahead of time that we'd be doing a lot of walking that day...any day spent exploring a city is such, and boy did we walk! Over 30,000 steps that day!</div>
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One of the sites that we wanted to visit was the world-famous CN Tower, an icon of the Toronto skyline. We walked along the water, using our vision to get towards the iconic landmark. The day was gorgeous, sunny skies and warm temperatures, and we meandered through the promenade, stopping at an outdoor craft fair along the way. Once we'd hit the street where we wanted to be, we left the shoreline towards CN Tower. </div>
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Rogers Centre, home of the Toronto Blue Jays, is just next to the tower and a game was just beginning, which was kind of cool. I almost wished I had bought tickets to the game because that would have been even cooler. As it turned out, the CN Tower itself was a day killer! The line to go up to the observation deck was about three hours long, and though it did kill much of our day, and our energy, it was still a pretty awesome thing to do. </div>
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As you might imagine, the views of the city and Lake Ontario were spectacular, and looking down into the stadium was pretty neat. They had this one attraction up there, a windowed floor that you could stand on, looking all the way down 1,800-plus feet right below you. Not as easy as it sounds. Rich was the brave one there, taking advantage of the unique perch. Me, I stepped on and off so quickly, you had to be watching me all along to catch it, lol. Check out some pictures...</div>
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<i>There's my brave Dit!</i></div>
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After the tower, we headed back to walk along the waterfront once again, with a new destination in mind. I had read in a guide book about this place called the <a href="http://www.thedistillerydistrict.com/" target="_blank">Distillery</a>. I wasn't sure exactly what it was, and I did misjudge the distance, causing us to walk another hour or so just to get there. The Distillery is a district full of cafes, shops and restaurants set within the former, historic home of the former Gooderham & Worts Distillery. </div>
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Though the place was charming, I think the long walk there had taken the wind out of our sails a bit and we tiredly meandered through the bustling area in a little over an hour. It was a cool place, very crowded, and it was there that I found my Toronto Maple Leafs shirt. That's a thing I have about Canada. I'm a big hockey fan (I would have LOVED to go to the Hockey Hall of Fame, but didn't want to torture Rich and Gary.) and whenever I visit, I like to grab a shirt of the local hockey team. I added this one to my Quebec Nordiques shirt that I bought awhile back. Anyway, check out some of the sights of the Distillery... </div>
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<i>These ladies were selling prose, on any topic, name your price. I couldn't think of a topic.</i></div>
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By the time we were ready to leave the Distillery, we were starving. We decided to head more towards home, this time in a taxi, to catch a row of restaurants that a local artist had told Gary about. We opted for a big sports bar, of which I can't remember the name, and we ended up staying there for several hours, closing our night over some brewskies and conversation. It wasn't the evening I had envisioned, but we were tired and we did have a lot of laughs. </div>
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We made our way home, bellies full and a little bit of a buzz in our heads, looking forward to sitting on our porch with some more laughs as we contemplated our day in Toronto. The moon was bright that night, a perfect period to a pretty nice day! Very cool city, Toronto. I think I'd like to visit again.</div>
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The next day, Sunday, would be the last day of a very memorable trip. We were going to finish it like we started...riding roller coasters. Stay tuned as we take a look at the cool Canadian coasters of <i>Canada's Wonderland</i>, and in the meantime, check out the rest of the trip...</div>
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<i><b><a href="http://jmyerswritingblog.blogspot.com/2017/07/roller-coaster-road-trip-2017-new.html" style="color: #005582;" target="_blank">A New Adventure Awaits</a></b></i></div>
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<i><b><a href="http://jmyerswritingblog.blogspot.com/2017/08/roller-coaster-road-trip-2017-unplanned.html" style="color: #28a8e1;" target="_blank">An Unplanned Stop in Pittsburgh and Kennywood</a></b></i></div>
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<i><b><a href="http://jmyerswritingblog.blogspot.com/2017/08/roller-coaster-road-trip-2017-kings.html" style="color: #005582;" target="_blank">King's Island's Great Coasters</a></b></i></div>
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<i><b><a href="http://jmyerswritingblog.blogspot.com/2017/08/roller-coaster-road-trip-2017-get-to.html" style="color: #005582;" target="_blank">Get to the Point</a></b></i></div>
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<i><b><a href="http://jmyerswritingblog.blogspot.com/2017/09/roller-coaster-road-trip-2017.html" style="color: #005582;" target="_blank">Lighthouse Point at Cedar Po</a></b></i><i><b><a href="http://jmyerswritingblog.blogspot.com/2017/09/roller-coaster-road-trip-2017.html" style="color: #005582;" target="_blank">int</a></b></i></div>
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<i><b><a href="http://jmyerswritingblog.blogspot.com/2017/09/roller-coaster-road-trip-2017-niagara.html" style="color: #005582;" target="_blank">Amazing Niagara Falls</a></b></i></div>
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<i><b><a href="http://jmyerswritingblog.blogspot.com/2017/09/roller-coaster-road-trip-niagara-falls.html" target="_blank">Amazing Niagara Falls, Part II</a></b></i></div>
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Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14426642164098377171noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7660249609952949182.post-53179807802317016382017-10-07T21:24:00.001-04:002017-10-07T21:24:23.080-04:00Ten Years On<div style="text-align: center;">
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The anniversary crept up on me out of nowhere. All I had to do was hear someone say 'October 7th' and suddenly I remembered. It was ten years ago tonight that Joe and I ended our relationship of 20+ years. That night was one I will remember vividly for the rest of my life. It was one of those few times in my life where I took a major detour after a long five years of contemplating the signs that were laid before me. Of course my life today is not where I envisioned it to be when I made the move to, well move on, but even so, it was the right move.</div>
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I was such a different person back in those days. Though my self-confidence is not at its peak these days, it was abysmal back then. I was much heavier, I spent my days off alone, and my nights were full of lonliness because Joe and I had stopped talking long before. I was unhappy, and though it took me about four months to do so, I finally freed myself from that vice that had been gripping y insides for so long.</div>
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Ten years on I have no regrets. Regardless of whether my life has turned out the way I had wanted it to, it is irrelevant to my decision back then. Over the past ten years I've learned a lot more about who John is. I've made plenty of friends I wouldn't otherwise have known, I've managed to keep a house on my own, and though we still stay in touch, I don't really think of Joe any longer with the same sentiment I once did in the years right after the breakup. </div>
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So here I am, ten years single and counting. Will I ever find another relationship? I really don't know, but at this moment, the prospects seem bleak (which is a whole other story!). I've learned to love the freedom that comes with being unattached to someone over these past ten years, so I'm not sure how eager I really am to jump into something. Joe knew what he wanted and within just a couple of years he was already with someone, who he's still with today. Sometimes when I have conversations with him, I am reminded of what it was like to be interwoven with another person, doing 'couple' things, and I have no envy whatsoever for that life.</div>
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That being said, I would like to have someone in my life. In what capacity I am not sure at this point, but the loneliness isn't fun. I do know the next person has to be pretty darned special to fill that spot with me, and I am willing to wait until the right one comes, if he ever comes. Aside from one person I dated these past ten years, I've found myself on guard all the time, looking for signs of possible negativity to come, and usually I've ended it before anything really got cooking. Maybe that's a bad thing, I don't know, but I believe when the right person comes along I'll just know. Hey, I love being single, but I really hope that by the next time another ten years rolls around, I won't be alone still. Fingers crossed! </div>
Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14426642164098377171noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7660249609952949182.post-87315900719034911452017-09-24T22:36:00.002-04:002017-09-25T06:13:14.487-04:00Roller Coaster Road Trip: Amazing Niagara Falls, Part II<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJa9z-uz2zXa6GDSfBWUqYdz4Pl2Tj_vpfsb2AoJYlSmVrNGorATqSC4GR7lzlvdBkLVo7YgExqhw3DmWveeb2MciVa3nv23NFfLcMnLLpB0tIwfpiTO5MNKh6DjCmh1LPB0i8htJ1X45v/s1600/Niagara+Falls+%2528234%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJa9z-uz2zXa6GDSfBWUqYdz4Pl2Tj_vpfsb2AoJYlSmVrNGorATqSC4GR7lzlvdBkLVo7YgExqhw3DmWveeb2MciVa3nv23NFfLcMnLLpB0tIwfpiTO5MNKh6DjCmh1LPB0i8htJ1X45v/s320/Niagara+Falls+%2528234%2529.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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When I'd last left off, the three of us, Rich, Gary and I, had gone to explore the backside of the Canadian side of the Falls, and by then it was almost dusk and we were in for some more spectacular views. You see, as the sky grows dark, the Falls light up in brilliant hues of red, green, white, purple and blue, and at around 9 p.m., the skies light up as well with a nightly fireworks show. These pictures don't really capture the absolute brilliance of it all, but they do give you a good idea of what it was like...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtBP3cP7_W-_CM3RS5vvpPNZg5YrNFo3OE8Q9YdnxoJfc_ztr_luKQCE8i7yJ7uoKTomu2nhuqNkYAA4rfSHQ5HpIv-fnmpUh-WBGozcWiHrFXdX8SwyX1s8h0ZIH9QDCtA1qFjrwU6NKd/s1600/Niagara+Falls+%2528106%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtBP3cP7_W-_CM3RS5vvpPNZg5YrNFo3OE8Q9YdnxoJfc_ztr_luKQCE8i7yJ7uoKTomu2nhuqNkYAA4rfSHQ5HpIv-fnmpUh-WBGozcWiHrFXdX8SwyX1s8h0ZIH9QDCtA1qFjrwU6NKd/s400/Niagara+Falls+%2528106%2529.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPS8iq7YTqs5gGRy-5AWcv20CLZDiZN9di7fFhvRhkzB-UkGh1U8LvlbML8rfC7fBa_xm1YTlQm5g8s1zSX79PbqapNqalfnLfW3YQxa0css4E8SpHSnZmtUO_EOP_Id_eIZtK9SWEzU9o/s1600/Niagara+Falls+%2528122%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPS8iq7YTqs5gGRy-5AWcv20CLZDiZN9di7fFhvRhkzB-UkGh1U8LvlbML8rfC7fBa_xm1YTlQm5g8s1zSX79PbqapNqalfnLfW3YQxa0css4E8SpHSnZmtUO_EOP_Id_eIZtK9SWEzU9o/s400/Niagara+Falls+%2528122%2529.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOEuRpXe4GdSQy-rfYcFHw-jg9DxuM60VN48JzJMGFYbaZTvA3aAUuzi0KCgmVvUgIXf0xjLSBV11s1pQALxprPa9SF3zQFl3YyFxo0CGFL8xKi-8FGXXbBHV228WYtQTOeX1-72wjTcFf/s1600/Niagara+Falls+%2528130%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOEuRpXe4GdSQy-rfYcFHw-jg9DxuM60VN48JzJMGFYbaZTvA3aAUuzi0KCgmVvUgIXf0xjLSBV11s1pQALxprPa9SF3zQFl3YyFxo0CGFL8xKi-8FGXXbBHV228WYtQTOeX1-72wjTcFf/s400/Niagara+Falls+%2528130%2529.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl3yTvx0McUYQ_w8iSs_oQeA-oOnDcNTjJuZiazrSntMQrDzDZAG5VrVfKtfjwCBwKp3LIE1HN3dwrK7BWc1rWAxljMOEh54yX9rsV2DFz4AwSgiWRg15uXcCwg4sBMC0olNewDy70kbFd/s1600/Niagara+Falls+%2528156%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1203" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl3yTvx0McUYQ_w8iSs_oQeA-oOnDcNTjJuZiazrSntMQrDzDZAG5VrVfKtfjwCBwKp3LIE1HN3dwrK7BWc1rWAxljMOEh54yX9rsV2DFz4AwSgiWRg15uXcCwg4sBMC0olNewDy70kbFd/s400/Niagara+Falls+%2528156%2529.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<i>Wow!</i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSX_KtwQ-ucaRZjgAQOl4njvO6VhQzwMYnH5TiupqES1kXl4Ql_fwkmNogEYgjcpo3_Ii7U1QOl5JafzrRNEF0gjuVnXjpkAr7nUoA3OBc1TKF0OCusnt3U_AXN9ZeFE_E3p4b5auoa_jL/s1600/Niagara+Falls+%2528164%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSX_KtwQ-ucaRZjgAQOl4njvO6VhQzwMYnH5TiupqES1kXl4Ql_fwkmNogEYgjcpo3_Ii7U1QOl5JafzrRNEF0gjuVnXjpkAr7nUoA3OBc1TKF0OCusnt3U_AXN9ZeFE_E3p4b5auoa_jL/s400/Niagara+Falls+%2528164%2529.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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Wow, what a great ending to a great day! Once again, if you've ever wanted to go to see Niagara Falls, you should do it at least once in your lifetime. Like I'd mentioned previously, the wonder of it all just has you wanting to take in as much of it as you can. I feel very lucky to have visited. </div>
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After the fireworks, we wandered a bit through the town for some crowd watching and a bite before heading over to Alice in Wonderland. The streets were still teeming with tourists enjoying all of the touristy things this place has to offer. There was one place, about a block up from the promenade, that we had noticed had a very long line. We decided to check it out, only o find out it was an ice cream place, but it couldn't have been any ordinary ice cream parlor with a line around the block. We moved closer to investigate...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGlVj7WjCWmQp70AgDi2laZOLFNeYIzEF-tXsiWkkUR0qwhyphenhyphenJa_CY9K4lYSsiXysO_snnohX8A6iqNvFrXJy6d3_z4_VSzBZiStqH9Y_h9hsKvUJ-PwP9bwaGVe9NG4YmjUEOxpiU9LZTf/s1600/Niagara+Falls+%2528243%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="830" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGlVj7WjCWmQp70AgDi2laZOLFNeYIzEF-tXsiWkkUR0qwhyphenhyphenJa_CY9K4lYSsiXysO_snnohX8A6iqNvFrXJy6d3_z4_VSzBZiStqH9Y_h9hsKvUJ-PwP9bwaGVe9NG4YmjUEOxpiU9LZTf/s400/Niagara+Falls+%2528243%2529.JPG" width="207" /></a></div>
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Sweet Jesus! They had a vampire child advertising their ice cream. Though the menu was tempting, we were hungry for some real food, and besides...that line! I thought about posting this picture as my profile on Facebook, just to see what people would say. I never did.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoPeN8Cxcm8G165rbQiE22G1rSb2TS93W1977tUMREiz-F9vaM4qR1S8RnHYd_NMvj4qhPtWuqWFvAPPi5bHfEnit09cIgKWiDxO5IaxGSlmluP7ZhFeWPOGEaPzICAJUvoAJdx8PXDsVa/s1600/Niagara+Falls+%25288%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoPeN8Cxcm8G165rbQiE22G1rSb2TS93W1977tUMREiz-F9vaM4qR1S8RnHYd_NMvj4qhPtWuqWFvAPPi5bHfEnit09cIgKWiDxO5IaxGSlmluP7ZhFeWPOGEaPzICAJUvoAJdx8PXDsVa/s400/Niagara+Falls+%25288%2529.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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I found this place on <a href="https://www.airbnb.com/" target="_blank">AirBnB</a>, and the advertisement actually called it Alice in Wonderland. It is owned by a person called Wei, and boy he (or she) wasn't kidding. The entire place, a charming two-story house within a five minute drive to the downtown area, was decorated in bric a brac from the famous novel and film. Just take a look-see...</div>
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Although I wasn't really looking too much forward to this particular lodging, it was comfortable, clean, convenient, and very charming. Thanks to Wei!</div>
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Friday was our last day in the Falls area and we had some things on our list, like ziplining, a boat ride on Hornblower Cruises, and the Aero Car, which is an antique cable car that runs across the Niagara River where the rushing white water rapids converge to form a whirlpool. This was our first stop. </div>
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<i>Moi</i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxuFCmK6IAQcPXzQGSmavT2WCbA87qGQ2cJSb2F1wIoea2hUS0Yl6CDqo2qsoNdJGz136fUHdga6dvmKoNkLQMhbQTUaFJ6hf_UKTpbwi8Se986UuzSKLPyObNTbFzoYGtD1L6BnmM4K6O/s1600/Niagara+Falls+%2528184%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxuFCmK6IAQcPXzQGSmavT2WCbA87qGQ2cJSb2F1wIoea2hUS0Yl6CDqo2qsoNdJGz136fUHdga6dvmKoNkLQMhbQTUaFJ6hf_UKTpbwi8Se986UuzSKLPyObNTbFzoYGtD1L6BnmM4K6O/s400/Niagara+Falls+%2528184%2529.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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<i>Gary</i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi84wcweQdoETaSwntxBm_POS6VFQM-oBDgDXeJ0HLQFKHafa2IJA7rwMOwZaEypi5arfZOFjGs-J_K7LGeVgki1W6avBdvgQgWnqJSjB73uMtYGqIlYkHEufRpZOwnIWSTxKFeJoOSigee/s1600/Niagara+Falls+%2528187%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi84wcweQdoETaSwntxBm_POS6VFQM-oBDgDXeJ0HLQFKHafa2IJA7rwMOwZaEypi5arfZOFjGs-J_K7LGeVgki1W6avBdvgQgWnqJSjB73uMtYGqIlYkHEufRpZOwnIWSTxKFeJoOSigee/s400/Niagara+Falls+%2528187%2529.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<i>As you can see from these pictures, this experience was pretty amazing, too! Highly recommended if you visit the Falls area! </i></div>
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Once we had finished the Aero Car ride, we headed back into town for one last few hours with the famous Falls. The day had been pretty overcast and we were immediately disappointed to find out that it was too windy for the zipline to run, so we quickly headed down to Hornblower Cruises to get one last up close view of Niagara Falls. This is yet another must if you visit, as the views from the water, up close, are spectacular and engrossing. Take a look...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBhcGrDAbJs0FMYwhPNASPn3qQbU2Vy4D-NRlWCLclQKUbv-SUGXVSq4e7xQSIk36V11rjxUVgqWAATARj-EnyIu2cvInFMqdky-JzeB3cKULnQ3NyHwqBQ0OcGVGfLK-fZsqRfolOduQY/s1600/Niagara+Falls+%2528198%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBhcGrDAbJs0FMYwhPNASPn3qQbU2Vy4D-NRlWCLclQKUbv-SUGXVSq4e7xQSIk36V11rjxUVgqWAATARj-EnyIu2cvInFMqdky-JzeB3cKULnQ3NyHwqBQ0OcGVGfLK-fZsqRfolOduQY/s400/Niagara+Falls+%2528198%2529.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5-SLSzRkDM-i1hGEHiadwzeE-4toeEWkn3tVDiQxpXaNFPmxXAtelKgpMWCkkykCU1QxT_YEkSRXrNmK93bR54Y0E0V-A3YNV14wGHJ-1kW_5pZ2lnBqk7Ohg4txG5rTtiO77__RJZkU3/s1600/Niagara+Falls+%2528222%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1203" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5-SLSzRkDM-i1hGEHiadwzeE-4toeEWkn3tVDiQxpXaNFPmxXAtelKgpMWCkkykCU1QxT_YEkSRXrNmK93bR54Y0E0V-A3YNV14wGHJ-1kW_5pZ2lnBqk7Ohg4txG5rTtiO77__RJZkU3/s400/Niagara+Falls+%2528222%2529.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<i>It was a little wet!</i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg5mFlg8m8EAKjOcB3jFnl56gGoYWlXyOyUckdKxpyMQK390iPUGE9gZHZJmu34z16GFdedg-PxEY0jaSDqbUNjaK9mSiOv5rtO1vajVpeoKXeVB5BqVwYSyve6DIfZbfHmRWmj9BYlxms/s1600/Niagara+Falls+%2528227%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg5mFlg8m8EAKjOcB3jFnl56gGoYWlXyOyUckdKxpyMQK390iPUGE9gZHZJmu34z16GFdedg-PxEY0jaSDqbUNjaK9mSiOv5rtO1vajVpeoKXeVB5BqVwYSyve6DIfZbfHmRWmj9BYlxms/s400/Niagara+Falls+%2528227%2529.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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So for the next couple of hours after our cruise, we took one last meal and one last walk around to shop and look around. After roller coastering for four days straight, which at the time seemed so long before, we needed this wonderful respite and for 36 hours we got to experience such a great place! </div>
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Stay tuned for the last stop on our Roller Coaster Road Trip 2017, Toronto, Canada, and in the meantime, check out my past entries for this trip:</div>
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<i><b><a href="http://jmyerswritingblog.blogspot.com/2017/07/roller-coaster-road-trip-2017-new.html" style="color: #005582;" target="_blank">A New Adventure Awaits</a></b></i></div>
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<i><b><a href="http://jmyerswritingblog.blogspot.com/2017/08/roller-coaster-road-trip-2017-unplanned.html" style="color: #28a8e1;" target="_blank">An Unplanned Stop in Pittsburgh and Kennywood</a></b></i></div>
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<i><b><a href="http://jmyerswritingblog.blogspot.com/2017/08/roller-coaster-road-trip-2017-kings.html" style="color: #005582;" target="_blank">King's Island's Great Coasters</a></b></i></div>
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<i><b><a href="http://jmyerswritingblog.blogspot.com/2017/08/roller-coaster-road-trip-2017-get-to.html" style="color: #005582;" target="_blank">Get to the Point</a></b></i></div>
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<i><b><a href="http://jmyerswritingblog.blogspot.com/2017/09/roller-coaster-road-trip-2017.html" style="color: #005582;" target="_blank">Lighthouse Point at Cedar Po</a></b></i><i><b><a href="http://jmyerswritingblog.blogspot.com/2017/09/roller-coaster-road-trip-2017.html" style="color: #005582;" target="_blank">int</a></b></i></div>
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<i><b><a href="http://jmyerswritingblog.blogspot.com/2017/09/roller-coaster-road-trip-2017-niagara.html" target="_blank">Amazing Niagara Falls</a></b></i></div>
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Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14426642164098377171noreply@blogger.com0