Apples, bananas, pears, mangoes and papayas. I also eat nearly every fruit that I come across when traveling. Growing up in the northeast apple orchards were everywhere they grew other fruits as well like peaches and pears some even had a field for berries which you can go and pick your own. My all time favorite fruit are my children… they didn’t fall far from the tree.

Los Angeles, thirty years ago I would have jumped at the opportunity to go to LA, but today it just seems to be a cancerous city. San Francisco has fallen into the same vein, there are still many, many areas of California I would love to see before I’m gone. The north or South Pole where there is nothing but cold and snow, Mt. Everest. The other end of the spectrum is Arizona, Las Vegas, Ecuador. India because of the oppressive heat and billions of people, there is nothing attractive about meandering through a city where everyone is sweating profusely and are shoulder to shoulder. There are many places in the world I would not want to see which is great really because I have a pretty good chance of seeing the places I do want to see.

I’ve had tattoos since I was seventeen. My first one was a skull with a top hat smoking a cigar I had put just under my left shoulder. Tattoos were illegal in CT. So we had to drive to Rhode Island to get it. Sailor Joe’s was the name of the place and Joe was the busiest guy in the business because he was located near the naval shipyard. Back then, the late seventies the only people with tattoos were sailors and felons, that’s what we were told, my dad was a sailor and had four tattoos all related to the navy and American. My second oldest brother was the first of the sons to get a tattoo then my oldest brother was next. He stopped after two my second oldest got dozens of the I got one and after listening to my mother degrade me I stopped for a few years and then got four more. Then life got busy, a wife, a house, kids, responsibilities sidelined my tattoos until my fifties. I now have about seventy five percent of my body covered with beautiful tattoos from one guy I found in Buffalo NY. A tiger and dragon covers my entire back, koi fish on each pec on my chest, bald eagle carrying a snake with his claws on my left arm Neptune in his watery realm on my right arm, a geisha girl on my right side from my armpit to my knee, a peacock on my left side from my armpit to my knee, our family coat of arms on my left thigh, a ninja skull with swords and throwing stars on my right thigh, a mid evil gladiator on my right calf side. That about “covers” my tattoos. I enjoy them and love where they have evolved in today’s society, other than neck tattoos I don’t understand stand that one, but not my neck so who cares.

It’s a miracle you’ve made it this far. I can’t count how many times you’ve dodged death, your guardian angels have been working overtime to get you here. Maybe now you’ll take life seriously and grow up, or at the very least settle down. NAH! You’re having way too much fun, life has been nothing less than extraordinary, you’ve traveled the world even lived in Thailand with your beautiful wife how is instrumental in getting you where you are today. You past is past, you stopped dwelling on it around you fifties that’s when your life really too off. You’ve managed to stay pretty healthy throughout your life, you have loved and lost and those were the best lessons you learned from. Like many your age you have had to say goodbye to many of your loved ones, but you have a knack for making friends at the drop of a hat. Keep doing whatever it is that you do because you have an amazing life and when you’re ready to move on do so with the same love and passion you have lived here. Godspeed.

Moving to another state and beginning a new job. My wife and I have been wanting to do this for quite a few years, but as we all know to well we become comfortable in our current situation and for me I received a substantial increase in my income after the new year so I’m making great money now. My wife has taken on more work in other industries and is earning more as well. About two months ago an opportunity was offered to us to move where we wanted to so we agreed and decided to pull the trigger, we still have about another month and a half to go, but it all feels right. Our housing situation there is taken care of and relatively affordable and living in Florida for the past 25 years and watching the market go up and down I believe we can sell our house for a decent price given today’s economy. I feel Florida has become tarnished to me, our town is no longer a sleepy little fishing town, now it’s been overdeveloped and sold to anyone who can afford to move here. People, traffic, superstores it all sucked the life out of me. I no longer belong here, the Gulf of Mexico is polluted more than ever, so my morning swim is over, the roads are too crowded to ride my bike, so our best option is to find a place we love and we did. My life in SWFlorida has been amazing really, I experienced all of my personal growth here made solid friendships, meet my wife here. I’m less than 2 years away from retirement, our plan is to spend half the year here and spend the rest in Thailand where my wife is from and where we have a new home and just bought a farm to work while we’re there and her family can run while we’re here. So all and all I welcome change, some people don’t I do my best to embrace it.

I don’t think there are any cities in America that I want to see now, they’ve become soiled, filthy and dangerous. Europe and Asia are a bit different and I’m sure there are a lot of crimes against tourists in many countries and cities, but my experience so far has been positive in Thailand where we visited many cities, we then went to Vietnam and did two major cities there with great experiences, Switzerland we visited nearly a dozen cities all were amazing and as safe as can be, Paris was great, but you have to be aware of your surroundings and what’s happening. We still have a pretty long list of places to visit I don’t think there are any major cities on it. Growing up in the eighties in CT. We would take the train into New York a few times a year and I believe it was dicey back then, but the crowds were smaller, less people living there and the crime was different, not as violent or deadly as today. I always wanted to go out west to California to see LA, now I have friends that live there and regret moving there, they show me how the streets are even the beaches lost their charm and beauty. The world has changed and not really for the better, we’re an angry society that flies off the handle and hurts people at the drop of a hat. I don’t see any end in sight, maybe it’s because I’m old and having a hard time seeing the good side of life. Maybe it’s because I know the real value in life is not money, but it’s the only thing people today do anything for, they’re lacking insight and don’t see the world as it should be seen. For Mr the value is in the moment the here and now.

My first time on an international flight was almost 6 years ago, even before that my first time on an airplane was when I was 37 years old. I was never much of a traveler, I had a great motorcycle and that satisfied my thirst for traveling. It was mostly in state just me and the open road it was enough, at the time. Life changes, priorities and desires also change and the next thing you know you’re getting on an airplane for a 14 hour flight to South Korea and then another 6 hour flight to Bangkok. Honestly I didn’t believe I would be able to sit on an airplane for that long, I learned something about myself that was always there gnawing at me, I am a chronic YES man. I still do it, mostly it’s a situational yes not just me agreeing to do whatever anyone wants, it’s me agreeing to rake a yard or pull dead plants and plant new ones for the widow who hasn’t had a man around in decades and just can’t do it anymore. As I am writing this from my living room in Bangkok Preparing for our return trip to America I consider myself a traveling pro and still wonder how I got here… because I can’t say NO!?!?

Honestly I like them all… even the ones that suck. We all know a body in motion is a happy body, we have to keep moving to stay healthy but I don’t think it’s enough to just walk every day you have to incorporate a variety of exercises to keep from getting stagnant. I do walk every day I have 3/4 different routes I use I also run those routes as well as others, I lift weights and do push myself just a little farther but am wary to not injure myself. Health and fitness is our responsibility alone, your doctor can recommend it but if you’re not willing to get uncomfortable and possibly hurt yourself a little then maybe it’s not for you. Now if you’ll excuse me the water is looking very beautiful and I want to swim.

Show empathy, be kind. I think in today’s world especially it’s difficult to find someone that doesn’t have a hidden agenda or motive, after all we live in a world where likes and views carry more weight than actual facts. Our behaviors are cultivated by our parents, they’re the ones with the burden of raising decent human beings and lord knows how challenging that can be, but if you’re lucky enough to have parents who are loving, caring, patient and supportive you will share those values with others usually unconsciously. I work hard to be those things and more, mostly because my parents didn’t instill in us those qualities and because of that I have had to recreate myself into the person I want to be. That doesn’t mean I had bad parents it just means I didn’t want to be like them. So you can tell me anything, all your great accomplishments, you can tell me all the wealth you’ve accumulated, you can tell me how generous you are with some but not all people. I watch not to judge, but to see that one person that does great things for others with nothing but a kind heart, warm embrace and loving touch. That’s the person I strive to be.

Living in southwest Florida and working outside I get to see alligators nearly every day. Now since the building boom that won’t go away I’m seeing wildlife of various species that were never seen before, coyotes can be seen just walking down the streets roaming through neighborhoods looking for food. Nighttime was when you could see wild boars foraging for food and destroying your lawn. Florida panthers were never seen, bobcats, deer all these animals can be seen often now. In our neighborhood there is a big rabbit population, it comes in waves, every six, eight months the population goes from many to few. Mostly because of the hawks, falcons and other birds of prey. Rabbits and squirrels are expendable in the folds of natural selection. Others are protected like the eagles, osprey and pelicans and all the big cats dolphins and manatees are protected and can be seen every day if you’re out on a boat. The problem is us, mankind with our big brains and stupid ideas and the endless need to destroy nature.