Daily writing prompt

What countries do you want to visit?

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Is it a cop out of an answer if I say all of them?

Why limit yourself to a subset of the globe when you can see it all? This is all hypothetical, isn’t it? Spin a globe, stop it with your finger at some random spot, go to that place. That’s how it’s done, folks.

If we are going to limit ourselves to some hypothetical subset…

I’ve only been to one country outside of the United States and that was Canada. As I am a little on the lazy side when it comes to traveling, all of my top choices of countries to visit would likely be places where most folks speak English, and most road signs are also in English. The UK and Ireland would all more or less tie for first place on the big destinations list. Australia and New Zealand would be on the short list too, but only after the British isles. After that, how about literally everywhere in Europe. Start in the West and work my way East. Simple.

After that? I really don’t know. Brazil, Morocco, India, Japan. Maybe a road trip from the Southern tip of South America all the way home. That would be pretty fantastic. Then we could rerun the plan starting at the Southern tip of Africa and ending in France or Spain, and then fly home from there. Just imagine how much the rental car would cost for a trip like that. Yikes, but totally worth it. It would make our epic drives to and from Disney look like a walk around the block.

I’ve kinda gotten off subject though, I think. The short answer to the which countries would I like to visit question is every country in the British Islands and more of Canada. I want to go to Newfoundland, where my maternal grandparents came from, and Ireland, where my paternal grandmother came from, and Scotland, where Jen’s family came from. I want to trace our roots, as it were. That would be fun.

We have to go back to Disney World twice before we leave the country though, and after that we need to go back to Southern California which will likely include a day trip into Mexico… which just implies that any plans I have for international travel are likely to never get too far beyond hypothetical. It’s like John Lennon said, life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans.

Daily writing prompt

What’s your favorite thing about yourself?

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My favorite thing about myself, clearly and by far, is my deep rooted sense of self loathing.

I’m being sarcastic of course.

Or am I?

I want to stay on the surface level (literally) and say it is my red hair. Unfortunately at my ancient age of 53 years it is a very safe bet that my days as a red head are numbered and that number is pretty small. My older sister and fellow red head had her hair turn pretty much white by my age (I think). I feel lucky to still be red at this point, but I see white in the mix and I know that soon enough the white will take over. It is inevitable.

Like most red heads, my childhood was rough. I was always picked on for being different. There aren’t many of us out there and we’re all targets. It’s still a sore spot and a trigger for me. Call me ginger and I will fucking slay you. That’s sarcasm too… or is it. Once you get into the deep end of puberty though suddenly having red hair is an asset somehow and all of the little kid abuse suddenly seems worth it. It’s like running a gauntlet and coming out the other side 10 times stronger.

So, keeping things light and not getting too psychologically daring here, my answer is my red hair… and my deep rooted sense of self loathing. Sarcasm… or not.

Daily writing prompt

How do you want to retire?

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Retire? That is hilarious.

My career is going to end, and thus my retirement begin, when I keel over and die. That’s a fact, friends. I am going to spend my retirement in a casket. It’s that simple.

If we look at this question from the point of view of pure fantasy, which it literally is, then I guess Jen and I could move to San Diego in a nice little place on the water somewhere. I’d have a little music room setup where I could play my guitar and write and record crappy songs, just like I do now. Maybe I could have season tickets to the Padres. I hear those are pretty cheap. The closest NHL team would be Anaheim? Probably too far away too consider season tickets.

Mostly, Jen and I would just spend our days in the sunshine enjoying our quiet life together and digging the fact that we don’t have to go to work every day. I could handle a life like that. Hopefully our health will hold up in this fantasy land and we could do some traveling and live a good life.

It’s not happening though. I am never going to be able to retire. It’s just not an option in the real world. I’ve come to terms with it.

Daily writing prompt

What’s the oldest thing you own that you still use daily?

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I can’t think of anything. Seriously. Something I use every day? It has to be my house, I guess. There’s nothing terribly old that I use regularly enough to list. My wedding ring is 15 years old and I wear it around the clock. That’s a good candidate. I don’t know how old my house is, but it’s older than that and I do “use” it every day.

I would like to say it’s my 1978 Gibson Les Paul Custom but I fail to play daily so that’s out.

I guess the answer we’re going with is my wedding ring. Not because it’s older than my house, but because it’s super high on the list of my favorite things.

Rock on, brothers and sisters.