Cyclist / Sailor / Author / Speaker
Day 2 – Ottawa, KS to Warrensburg, MO
Later in 2012, I’m planning a bicycle trip from Kansas to Annapolis. While I’m in the planning stages, I’d love to get input from folks familiar with individual portions of the route, with suggestions on changes I might want to make.
Below is a map of Day 2 of the trip. Also, here’s a link to the map on Google if you’d like to drag the route around with suggested changes. Continue reading “Bicycle Touring in Kansas and Missouri – Planned Day 2”
Later in 2012, I’m planning a bicycle trip from Kansas to Annapolis. While I’m in the planning stages, I’d love to get input from folks familiar with individual portions of the route, with suggestions on changes I might want to make.
Below is a map of Day 1 of the trip. Also, here’s a link to the map on Google if you’d like to drag the route around with suggested changes. Continue reading “Bicycle Touring in Kansas – Planned Day 1”
First off, I like Tim Tebow. He’s a fine young man and seems to be a talented ball player.
Second, I don’t really follow pro football at all. Couldn’t really care much less. A bunch of millionaires who play the game, run by a bunch of multi-millionaires who own and manage the teams. The whole mess has become a circus manipulated by a bunch of billionaire media elite who decide how the game is played and scheduled so they can suck the most money from fans.
But I live in Colorado, and was ashamed at the way the fans here treated Kyle Orton as he was trying hard to create some wins for the team earlier this year, and to play his measly role of “placeholder†humbly while the team waited for little Tim Tebow to mature a bit. As he was trying to win games for them, the fans were chanting for Tebow. Can you imagine – your own fans chanting for the coach to bench you so an unproven kid can take your place?
But, fans can be amazing idiots. Any “mob†loses its mind. And Denver fans were no different. They just had to have their Tim. And they got him.
To Tim’s credit, he’s handled the unfair situation with grace and class. He’s proven himself to be a good and decent human being. I’m proud of him for that. Worth mentioning, Kyle proved himself to be a good and decent human being too – many times. I don’t think the fans were chanting Kyle down because they wanted a better human being at the QB position – they wanted a better quarterback. Continue reading “Broncos Defeat is Sweet Karma”
It’s that time of year when we all think about resolutions for the new year. In what ways do we want to improve the way we live next year? How can we become a better person? What do we want to like more about ourselves?
I don’t really make resolutions, but I do think about it this time of year. I’m always reminded of the ridiculous iron willpower that was a part of my father. While I don’t think he ever made resolutions at New Years, he did resolve to do things, and once he did, that resolve never faltered.
When I was growing up, it used to bother me a lot that my parents smoked. They were part of a generation that grew up in the 30’s and 40’s, learning to smoke before cigarettes got wimped down with things like low tar and filters. Dad smoked Camel non-filters – 2 or 3 packs a day of ‘em. Continue reading “A Pack Of Camels, Resolved”
In response to Robert Sheldon’s “Christmas Tree Dilemma†article last week, a friend wrote in with a great story from their Christmas this year. Seems the whole “picking of the perfect tree†tradition is alive and well in her family as well, though this year it came with a surprising twist.
After finding the World’s Most Perfect Christmas Tree, she and her family set the tree up in the living room and proceeded to celebrate a wonderful holiday around a most perfect tree. All went to bed on Christmas night with smiles on their faces, wonder in their heart, and warm feasts settled nicely in their belly. Little did they know that somewhere in the warmth of their tree lay the egg sack a spider left there last fall, lulled by the indoor glow into the illusion that it was time now for tiny little spiders to think about bursting forth into the world. Continue reading “Christmas Tree Spiders”
I recall a cool December day many years ago. I’m driving toward home with my oldest son in the passenger seat beside me, just the two of us in the car. He’s probably 5 or 6 years old. He asks the question all parents of young children expect at this time of year:
“Hey dad, is there really a Santa Clause?â€
I take a minute to gather my thoughts, and answer very thoughtfully. I carefully and artfully walk us through a discussion of how much fun it is to believe in Santa Clause. We talk about how the idea of Santa Clause is a really nice reflection of many of the things that are good to celebrate this time of year, things like the gift of light returning to us, and the gift of G-d’s presence in our life.
Regardless of whether or not there’s an actual and factual Santa Clause, we agree, it’s still a great deal of fun to pretend he exists. We agree that the little traditions associated with Christmas Eve are made more fun by pretending there’s a thing called Santa Clause. We smile at how nice it is to see the cookies on the fireplace half-eaten in the morning, even if it was dad who took the bites out of the cookies to make it look like Santa was there. Continue reading “The Santa Revelation v1”
Below is a poem Audrey Hepburn wrote when asked to share her ‘beauty tips.
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Thanks to Stephanie for sharing.
Merry Christmas.
Now, just because I consider myself a Christian, don’t assume I’m one of those who thinks only Christians get to celebrate these wonderful winter holidays. Folks of nearly all religions – and no religions – have been celebrating the Winter Solstice season as far back as records and myths go.
Once again this year, my old Jade plant bloomed for me. In addition, two of the younger plants, (about 10 years old), had a couple blooms this year. It looks like the blooms will last well beyond Christmas this year, as I kept them outside until the very last minute in the fall. If you’d like some hints on how to get your Jade to bloom, drop me a line and I’ll help you out. Continue reading “Blooming Jade 2011”
It’s Wednesday – cycling post day.
I’m making good progress on my next book, which is going to be a chronicle of my pilgrimage across the mountains and deserts of the west last year on my bicycle. I’m really enjoying the writing, and it’s coming along quite nicely. I’ve LOVE to find a couple folks who’s like to read an early advanced manuscript, or parts of it. If you have any interest in cycling, adventure, or pilgrimages, I think you’d enjoy the reading. It’s free, and your feedback will be REALLY helpful to me – helping me to learn more about what folks enjoy the most.
It’s a great chance to have a big hand in defining the shape of a book as it evolves toward completion!
Please contact me either through the contact form on my website or directly at neil@neilhanson.com or on Twitter at #neilmhanson, so we can work out what format works best for you.
