Share a few recent shots from your camera roll, no context needed.
Photos from a quiet life
Month: October 2026
Getting home from Rio
What’s the worst travel experience you’ve ever had?
When I was 21 years old, I was on the game show Hollywood squares. One of the prizes I won was an all expense paid trip for two to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. I invited my dear friend Michele to join me and we opted to go in late August which would have been the end of winter for them, but it has a temperate climate so the weather was good.
It was a seven day six night trip. We were young and when I was determining the dates I counted incorrectly and when it was time to return home, we got to the airport one full day late. We panicked because we had to be back to university in a couple days.
This was back in 1981 and very few people spoke English in Brazil and neither of us spoke Portuguese. No one at the airport could help us, because my tickets had no cash value since I had won them as a prize. Neither one of us could afford to buy new tickets, and our parents were not in financial positions to buy us new tickets. We decided to take a taxi to an airline office. It’s been so long ago that I can’t even remember the name of the airline.
Fortunately the agent spoke some English and we explained our situation. Being very emotional I started crying because I really didn’t know how we were gonna get home. The agent was so kind. She ended up giving us two complimentary tickets on her airline and I will say this airline was much better and nicer than the airline. We originally flew down on which was based in Columbia.
Again, this is before the advent of any type of personal cell phones and we had no idea how we were going to contact our parents about the change of arrival in Los Angeles. Another cab ride to the American embassy and we managed to slip in the door as someone was leaving.
By the grace of God, we were able to speak with someone in the U.S. Navy who allowed us to call home. We made one call to Michele’s parents with the new arrival information.
Back to the airport for a very long day waiting for our departure. We finally departed. We changed planes in Peru and finally reached Los Angeles.
Looking back I realized my mistake. We left the west coast of the U.S. and flew to the east coast of Brazil. There was a stop over with a change of planes in Bogota, Columbia. It never occurred to me our first day of the trip was the day we left and not the day we arrived. Hence, I began counting on the wrong day.
It was a stressful lesson but it’s also a a mistake I’ve never made again.
AI
What do you think is the future of AI?
I wish I knew. This isn’t the first time mankind got ahead of itself. I remember reading somewhere that scientists climb on the shoulders of those before them without any thought to the moral or ethical consequences to their “new” discoveries. Of course discoveries that would never have been made without those who came before them.
I am not opposed to science. I am opposed to storing our brains away and no longer using them to think beyond the very basics of life.
No one
If you could switch lives with a famous person for a week, who would it be and why?
I have no desire to change place with anyone famous. I’m happy with my life. While I am not famous or financially wealthy, I am rich in love and joy.
It’s Simple Mark 12
What’s a personal mantra or philosophy you live by?
Sadly many Christians have forgotten these simple commands. They’ve chosen the road of the Pharisees. However these words are what I live by and do my best in all my actions to carry them out.
From the book of Mark
30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’[a]31 The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[b] There is no commandment greater than these.”
Don’t believe what people say
What’s one thing you know now that would have saved your younger self a lot of pain?
I’ve spent most of my life determining how I felt about myself by what other people said and thought. This caused me to doubt my decision decisions and make rash decisions. It caused me to have a massive fear of abandonment which intern encourage me to make bad decisions.
The only opinions that matters is God’s opinion of me and what I think of me.
Nicole and Tom
What’s the weirdest movie you’ve ever watched?
Eyes Wide Shut
I still have no idea what that movie was about. It says is a psychological thriller but it was a nap inducer for me.
When my ex and I were leaving the theater, everyone and I mean everyone, was talking about what a horrible movie it was. That’s was a first for me.
Patience
What’s the most underrated life skill?
The simple act of waiting is the most difficult. Anything worth achieving takes time.
Love might feel big in the beginning but it’s actually small. It takes a lifetime for love to grow fully.
It takes patience to grow comfortable with yourself, including your strengths and weaknesses.
It can take a lot of searching to find what you love and what you’re good at. I’m newly 67 and I’m still searching.
Rushing never has helped. I believe patience is the most underrated life skill.
Turn back time
The genie grants you a wish. What is it?
I’d like to go back to my 16th birthday with all of my knowledge and wisdom accumulated through 16-67 still with me.
I’d like to know what my life would have been like if I had chosen my dream over a boyfriend. I wish I had found a way to tell my dad I would find a way to study in Europe. I wouldn’t spend one second worried what others thought of me. I’d have confidence. I’d pursue joy. I would have gotten help for my depression even though I did not have support from my parents.
Then I’d like to look at my two life paths and chose one.
Lyon
What’s a moment in your life that made you feel truly alive?
1999, October. I went for a week to a language school in Lyon. I was alone. My marriage was struggling. A change was desperately needed.
The colors of autumn were vibrant. The classes were held in an old large, manor home. There weren’t many of us and most students were either beginner or intermediate level. I was told US French teachers come in the summer.
In addition to classes, we had a couple tours, a cooking class and a wine tasting class.
When I took my first walk, breathed in the cool air, being immersed in the autumnal colors and surrounded by history, I felt fully alive.
