My wife, Tisha, is going on Safari to the country of Kenya on the African continent soon in mid-October for fourteen days. If any one doesn’t know where that is exactly please take a look below to become educated…truth to tell I had to check a year back or so to make sure exactly where it was…:)
Here in the U.S. , where we live, it will be Autumn when she leaves. There in Kenya , it will be Spring during the semi-rainy season. It’s a good season to be going. The animals are on the move and the weather is not so hot and dry or wet as other seasons can be there.
I worry for her. She won’t be alone though. She is going with her mom on the trip along with a group of ten others as part of package deal. She wanted me to come but the money wasn’t there. Especially, since we ourselves went on a big trip three years ago to the Caribbean, which I’m still paying on (money well spent mind you)
My wife is going because her mother asked her to, as part of a Bucket List she wished to fulfill after her husband died a few years back. Her mom is picking up alot of the costs.
My wife, Tisha, was unsure at first if she should accept the offer. You see, we had always planned on taking a trip like this together one day. We love Africa; the land, the people, the culture, and most especially the wildlife.
My wife asked me what I thought she should do. I told her you would be crazy if you didn’t, plus her mom needed this since her husband had died. She had to do it, I told her.
So she’s going.
This will be the first big trip we haven’t shared. Yes, I envy her. But more so, I am so very happy for her to be getting this chance.
I also am very proud of her. She’s fearless, my wife. She is Jack Hanna, Lara Croft and Indiana Jones all rolled into one. I admire her strength and courage. I know she will be fine.
Me at seventeen holding Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy
Forgive me,
for I did not know you as I had surmised;
silent, thoughtful,
and smiling in the corner
were merely a rippling
long flowed
downstream.
by Philip Wardlow
When I read any book by an author I like to read the Author’s note and any forward they may have written. I personally like to get a sense of who this person is that wrote this book. What made them tick…so below are some of the things that might give you perspective into who I am and who I am not perhaps. I don’t know, I will let you be the judge. I for one hate self analysis because we lie to ourselves more than we lie to others. Perhaps you’ll see something in me that I don’t see myself…
My mother had me when she was 29….my father was 59 at the time…He died when I was 12…He was 72, the age a grandfather should be.
Often my mother would leave our father at the drop of a hat..taking me & my brothers away…we lived in 18 different homes growing up.
Security seemed to be a liquid state to me as a young child…no solid friends..no real home to speak of…life always in transition.
My mother signed my older and younger brother up in the Big Brother Volunteer program at the local college…me I did not get one. She believed I was the adjusted one and didn’t need it I guess.
My older brother William participated in sports and played a musical instrument at school. I think I wanted to but was never asked by my mother, besides money was tight and he got first dibs.
I don’t really like my family.
I love them but I don’t LIKE any of them…in certain ways I am sure they don’t like me. I am not perfect. I have quirks and issues I am sure, that annoy the hell out of them….your typical dysfunctional family.
I WANT to like them. But as I have gotten my life together in some semblance of normalcy they have still not to one degree or another. So I AVOID them if I can because its a DRAG.
Am I selfish? Should I feel guilty? At times I do. At others, NOT in the slightest…Blood is NOT thicker than water at times. AT TIMES you need to live for your self and be selfish….I had to learn that was okay.
And not for the reason you think. I hate it because I really started going after what I really wanted in my late -30s…which is as you can see is Writing…
I try not dwell on the almost 20yrs of wasted time of not pursuing it….”OH the things I could have written in that time” flow through my head at the oddest and most inconvenient moments.
But I shut that annoying voice out and carry on.
Also at forty-three I wish to stay in shape ..so I work out on a constant basis. I have a sucky metabolism so I must.
I work out to look & feel good for myself, my wife and any lady passerby on the street who wants to check me out…:)
I didn’t always think I was a handsome person. I kind of had an ugly duckling syndrome. I grew up with a gap in my teeth and because we couldn’t afford to pay for an orthodontist, so the gap stayed . We also were a poor family that didn’t have the ” cool” clothes or stuff so I was pretty much ignored by other kids at a certain age.
I still have the gap but wear better clothes. My wife and others have convinced me that I don’t look hideous. I will take their word for it.
Seriously though my confidence has grown over the years with that. (still have trouble with big smiles in pictures..so I look mean or stoic or something half the time in them)
I always like a compliment….who doesn’t. So go ahead tell me I’m cute I can take it…:)
I think I will wrap it up here for now….perhaps I will share more of myself in later posts….now you know just a little more about me. I am going to go relax and read a good book now.
Most of us aren’t going to be wearing the “Save the Rhino” costumes and holding signs on Sunday, but we CAN do something. So what will you be doing on World Rhino Day?
Visit your local zoo. Many of them are hosting events and activities to involve children and adults alike; from educational opportunities to tours of the rhino bomas.
Share articles and blogs (Fight for Rhinos is a good one 😉 ) to raise awareness. Tell everyone who will listen about the fight for their lives, about the questionable future of their species.
If you are able to, donate to one of the trusted organizations who work tirelessly to save them. Any of the links listed on the left of this page are reputable groups. It’s an expensive job, without regular income to help…
After a blogger follows me I typically make it a point to check out them out as a courtesy to see if it would be someone I would want to follow. After checking her out and not just her photos you dirty minded buggers I thought this was a Blogger that deserved a look. …and not just for the photos people c’mon…sure she is a strong pretty woman… but I think the real strength lies inside of her. Read her blog…she is determined, real, and inspirational and perhaps a wee bit insane..just kidding…well maybe :). I’m a writer and I’m a sucker for strong characters and she has one. So check her out. I have pushed many of my followers that intrigued me so check her out if you would like.
This beautiful fabric painting was created by Karen Moorhouse. Her inspiration, Pembe, is the baby rhino born at the Colchester Zoo in the UK. Her name means “horn” in swahili.
The intricate symbolism is as follows:
Bees: Refer to research which has shown that bees can be trained to detect substances like rhino horn, which can help curb poaching. Bees can be taught to associate the rhino smell with sugar water and have a powerful sense of smell. They are easier and cheaper to transport to border posts where they can be used to detect smuggled rhino horn.
Bow-arrow: The hunter (originates from the Bushmen in the Kalahari Desert expressing daily routines on rock art) represents the past needs for hunting for survival purposes. Nowadays hunting is no longer necessary and therefore the hunter aims outward.
Warthogs: Represents a wider perspective of other animals living in harmony within an…
I’ve seen many talented people out there with pieces on rhinos, elephants and making a statement about poaching. I would love to showcase some of your work here on Fight For Rhinos. If you are interested, please submit poetry and drawings, etc to http://www.fightforrhinos@gmail.com
This is an open invitation and there is no deadline. If your work is selected, I will inform you via email.
Keep up the great work people! Rhinos need our attention! Can’t wait to see what you’ve got 😉
Ain't no rest for the Wicked - Philip Wardlow - The real and the sensual sides to life in all its facets.. 