Yellow Sand

I wake up yesterday and I am still feeling a little under the weather. I have been fighting whatever I’ve had since Wednesday and the medicine I got from the pharmacy the other day hasn’t helped much other than make me drowsy.
Then I take a look outside and I see what might be exacerbating [...]

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Shogun Splendor at Nijo Castle

This was orginally written in 2003.With over 1,600 Buddhist temples, 400 Shinto shrines, and a trio of palaces, the ancient capital city of Kyoto is without question one of Japan’s most important cultural treasure sites.
Perhaps even more impressive is that 17 of Kyoto’s ancient structures and gardens are listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites [...]

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Jeffrey at 50 — Today

Fifty years. Kind of hard to believe when I start to think about it. A half century.
On calls me this morning at 7:00 to wish me a Happy Birthday.
Sweet. Very sweet. That phone call makes my day.
Later, I call Mom.
“How does it feel to be fifty?” she asks.
“One day older than forty-nine,” I reply.
I hear [...]

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Jeffrey at 50 — Food for Thought, Part 2

When I told my Mom that I was putting together “Top 50 Lists” of some of my favorite things in life like music, books, and movies and how they defined who I am, she thought that was a cool idea and suggested that I also include one about food.
Okay Mom. This List is for [...]

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Jeffrey at 50 — Food for Thought, Part 1

Today, when I was talking to my Mom on the telephone, I told her about these Top 50 Lists I have been putting together about the things in life that mean the most to me and also those which have come to define me.
“That’s so cool,” my Mom said.
“Yeah, I think so, too.”
“You should do [...]

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Memorial Day

Decoration Day, that’s what my Grandma and Grandpa Miller called Memorial Day back when the holiday was celebrated on May 30 and not the last Monday in May.
The holiday, which was first enacted after the American Civil War to honor Union soldiers who had died in the American Civil War, was expanded after World War [...]

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Jeffrey at 50 — Fifty Cool Places, Part 1

When people find out that I have been living and working overseas since 1989, I usually get a “Wow, you must have traveled a lot and seen a lot cool places.”
That is true to an extent, but sadly I am embarrassed that I have not traveled as much as other people I know who have [...]

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From the Mojave Desert to Huntington Beach — Part 2

There weren’t too many people on the beach that night and those who were didn’t pay much attention to us. We were kind of off by ourselves on the beach, away from other people doing the same thing as us.
Then Keith showed up.
We were just drinking and talking and enjoying the cool night air, when [...]

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From the Mojave Desert to Huntington Beach — Part 1

In a few days I am going to turn 50 and along with a lot of soul searching, I’ve also been doing a lot reminiscing/waxing nostalgic about my past. One of the things that I was thinking about the other day was my 21st birthday back in 1979. That was a lot of fun.Back then, [...]

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Jeffrey at 50 — "You talkin’ to me?"

This list needs little set up or commentary. These quotes and speeches from some of my favorite all time movies, speak for themselves.
“Looks like I picked the wrong week to stop sniffing glue.” – Steve McCroskey (Lloyd Bridges) Airplane

“After that it got pretty late, and we both had to go, but it was great seeing [...]

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