What is an American?

A Hardheaded, Opinionated, Compassionate, Collective Minded, Flexible Individualist who HATES to be told what to do, but will always do what needs to be done.




“The difference between school and life? In school, you're taught a lesson and then given a test. In life, you're given a test that teaches you a lesson.” 
~ Tom Bodett





As Far As You Can Go Without A Passport:
The View From The End Of The Road (Paperback)

"Get a haircut and get a new job"?

"The purpose of life is a life of purpose."
~ Robert Byrne

Venezia, Italy (Spring 2002)

Why is it that even when everybody speaks English...

everything I say still gets "Lost in Translation"?

Wall Street Journal
Cognitive research suggests that language profoundly influences the way people see the world
by Lera Boroditsky




"It turns out that if you change how people talk, that changes how they think. If people learn another language, they inadvertently also learn a new way of looking at the world."
Read More...

Last year, this blogger's  wife finally retired her "I'm with STUPID" T-Shirt.

The Ripple Effect of the Internet

...life in contrast...

It's hard to imagine living in today's so-called modern world without a cell phone and the internet (much less an indoor flush toilet).

Before the invention of the pay phone, corner grocery stores once provided small neighborhoods and rural towns with the only telephonic link to the outside world.

Small Chinese grocery shop with neighborhood telephone

Changsha, P.R.C. (June 2009)

...perspective...

"Perhaps travel cannot prevent bigotry, but by demonstrating that all peoples cry, laugh, eat, worry, and die, it can introduce the idea that if we try and understand each other, we may even become friends."
~ Maya Angelou

Photos by Peter Rimar.

Changsha, P.R.C. (January 2009)

Photo by Peter Rimar

Public Bridegroom Hazing, Changsha, P.R.C. (May 2009).
Click on image to open in a new window.

"All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better."
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

"The human capacity to care for others isn’t something trivial or something to be taken for granted. Rather, it is something we should cherish. Compassion is a marvel of human nature, a precious inner resource, and the foundation of our well-being and the harmony of our societies. If we seek happiness for ourselves, we should practice compassion: and if we seek happiness for others, we should also practice compassion." ~ Dalai Lama 
Google+ comment posted on 2/3/2012

Neighborhood Home Brewery, Changsha, P.R.C. (June 2009).
Photo by Peter Rimar.

...reflections...

Chinese Couple, Beijing (June 2008)

"The longer I live the more beautiful life becomes." 
~ Frank Lloyd Wright

...Chinese Love Locks...

Oracle Bones: A Journey Through Time in China (Paperback)

Maybe I had the wrong high school English teacher. I always thought that the words FAIR meant FAIR and BALANCED meant BALANCED?

My curfew was the street lights. My mom called my name NOT my cell phone. I played outside with friends NOT online. If I didn't eat what mom cooked then I didn't eat. Sanitizer didn't exist but you COULD get your mouth washed out with soap. I rode a bike without a helmet, getting dirty was OK & neighbors cared as much as your parents. Re-post if you drank water from a garden hose & survived.

"One person's craziness is another person's reality."
~ Tim Burton

Edvard Munch in Chinese Still Life

Beijing, P.R.C. (May 2008)

Is it WRONG to play dress up with your dog?

While taking our dog JoJo out for his morning constitution, I was reminded of one of life's simple lessons...
sometimes...
it's important to stop & smell each & every blade of grass...

A Chinese New Year's Story

For those that remember the movie A Christmas Story, Ralphie's father takes everyone out to a Chinese restaurant for Chinese Turkey. Part of the joke being that Chinese restaurants are usually the only businesses open on Christmas Day. Anyhow, back in 2009, my wife and I decided to go out for lunch. The streets were completely empty. Changsha is a city of over seven million people!

I felt like Tom Cruise standing in Times Square in Vanilla Sky. 

Did the apocalypse happen while we were sleeping? ALL the Chinese restaurants were locked up. Everything was closed. Then it hit us. Logically, the ONLY restaurants open on Chinese New Year's Day must be American. Sure enough, Subway, KFC, McDonald's & Pizza Hut were ALL OPEN for business. 

So where did we eat?

In China, believe it or not, Pizza Hut is considered a high class, gourmet restaurant. Why? Because Pizza Huts in China look and taste NOTHING like the States. The service, atmosphere and food are a complete 180 degrees from the Lower 48. Koh and I had Salmon Pasta, Shrimp, Garlic Bread, Salad & a Pepsi.


It was our American-Style Peking Duck Chinese New Year Dinner.
TABASCO Brand Pepper Sauce ~ Original Red Gallon