Laine's Blog, Thinking Out Loud

What Comes Next...

 

 

Collectively it is time that we imagine a better world.

No matter what happens in the next months or years,

it is time to put our minds on better things.

 Call it the power of positive thinking,

of visualizing,

of collective prayer -

it all works and can change the world.

 

Psychopathic leaders of politics and industry - be warned -

it is time for the Human takeover of our world.

Time to imagine a world where we live harmoniously with the earth,

harmoniously with each other - near and far,

harmoniously with all creatures -great and small.

A world in partnership.

A world of compassion and love and generosity.

 

If it fits in your mind,

it fits in your world.

 

We are more than what we can imagine.

 

Collectively it's time to imagine

what comes after -

to dream big and have faith in the human heart,

in the human desire for connection.

 

 

 

 

Photo of Park in Godollo Hungary, outside Budapest.

Reprinted from Laine's Blog, October 2020

©LaineQuinn2022

Road Trip...

 

 

From a moving car,

the background is almost stationary - almost.

The foreground is whizzing by.

 

You can learn things about yourself

when you step outside of your ordinary life.

 

 

Things that are obvious once you get hit over the head with them,

like -

we aren't going to live forever,

me and my friends,

we aren't going to live forever.

 

Of course you know that,

but when you lose a friend you were sure you would see again and again,

it hits you.

 

No matter how perfect or imperfect that house on the hill is,

it will one day be gone.

 

 

 

 

 

 

On the road near Lake Lure, in North Carolina.

 

Water Lilies

 

 

As beautiful as the night.

 

"Which night?"

You might ask.

 

The night of shooting stars or lightening bugs,

or the first time you held the hand of someone you really loved.

 

One of those beautiful nights that you can't forget.

 

 

 

 

 

Longwood Gardens, Pennsylvania, Water Garden with tropical water lilies.

From Laine's Blog, August 2013, edited  and used with permission! 

 

Catch Laine at the Wednesday Farmers and Craft market and this Saturday at the Nocatee Farmers' Market!

 

 

I've go my eye on you...

 

 

Wood eye?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wooden art in Nassau Harbor.

 

Wisdom, Strength, and All the Patience in the World...

 

Old Cypress

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

St. Simons Island, Georgia, 2015.  

 

Lacy...

 

 

Something lacy and European in Savannah, or is it Hungarian?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Savannah...

 

 

What says Savannah better than tree lined lanes with lots of Spanish Moss?

 

What I didn't realize was Savannah's role in liberating the 13 Colonies from the British.

They played a huge part in gaining our Independence.

Very interesting!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Savannah Georgia, May 2015.

 

Bahamian Duet...

 

Fellow passengers on the cruise to the Bahamas...

Bahamians?

Perhaps...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

But nice enough to put the phone down (him) and let me take their photo.

That was back in January, 2015.

Love...

 

First love.

Second love.

Last Love.

 

 

True love.

 

We are both mother and child,

when it comes to love.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Round statue in Budapest, Hungary.

Grounded...

 

 

 

These solid, sturdy, dependable mountains,

remind me of the

wild, rolling ocean,

wave after wave after wave.

 

Except they are very much more grounded than the airy, watery ocean waves.

 

 

 

 

The view from Brasstown Bald Mountain in Georgia.

Reprinted with added text, from Laine's Blog, March 2013.

A Trip To China

 

 

There was a very short story,

written years ago by Susan Sontag with a title similar to the title of this post.

Once you have finished that story

you discover that the author had never been to China after all!

 

Same thing here,

neither have I!

 

 

 

 

The China Pavillion at Epcot Center, Disney.       

Susan Sontag's short story appeared in "I etcetera", from what I can glean doing a google search! If anyone knows otherwise, please let me know!

 

 

Mystery Solved...

 

Ok, I never quite understood how pilots got onto the big ships.

 

Now, I do!

These are the men and women

who board a ship outside local harbors to guide them safely through unfamiliar waters.

 

Where that man is stepping off the pilot boat, there is a door that he slips into.

I thought they had to climb long rope ladders to the upper decks!

 

It's still dangerous work, but not as dangerous as I once thought!

 

 

 

 

Pilot boat and pilot in Freeport, The Bahamas, looking down from the 6th deck. There were 4 more above me.

 

 

 

The Winner Is...

 

Just kidding, (you know who you are.)

 

Now yesterday's choices,

Saint Augustine or Szentendre?

 

Well, it might have been Harry's on the bayfront here is St. Augustine,

or possibly even The Riverside in Savannah,

but it was

Szentendre, Hungary on the Danube river.

 

Thanks for playing everyone,

it was fun!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Another...

 

 

 

Baltimore

or

Budapest?

 

 

 

 

 

Yesterday's answer......

Orlando, Disney Hollywood Studios, Faux Street!

 

 

Which is it?

 

 

San Francisco,

or 

Orlando?

 

 

 

 

 

Fight or Flight?

 

Primitive anxieties in a "modern" world.

Simpler when you can see the predator,

and not some elusive shadow from the past.

 

How to cope?

 

Trust what you have learned,

what you know is true.

 

Wait it out.

 

Look around you and believe what you see,

not what you feel.

 

And when you are ready,

lean on a friend.

 

 

Alligator and Great Blue Heron, surviving side by side in the Everglades, March 2008.

Reprinted from Laine's Blog, March 2013.

Setting Sun...

 

In Disney parks,

a lot of things are make believe.

 

 

But the sun setting at Epcot was very real.

 

As was the food and the people and the friends we came with and the friends we met at the park.

 

All real!

 

 

 

Epcot Park, Disney World, Florida.

 

 

 

 

 

Do You Believe In Magic?

 

 

Three days, three Disney parks...

and oh so many princesses!

 

 

A whirlwind of fun, crowds and surprises,

the first time for this old gal,

with a new appreciation for the creativity

that is Disney.

 

 

 

 

The Magic Kingdom, Castle and a lovely Princess and her little Prince.

Nasau's Other Side...

 

Taking a buggy ride through the little town of Nassau,

past the funky souvenir stores and restaurants on the front street,

you find boarded up shops and run down housing.

Seems a shame with all the money on Paradise Island to let this little bit of real paradise decay.

 

 

Maybe it will turn around in a year or two.

No matter,

the Bahamians seem to be happy people

who don't mind us tourists in their lives if briefly.

 

 

 

 

Nassau, The Bahamas, city scenes and our friend made of towels on the bed.

 

Two Sides To Nassau...

 

The water, the boats, Paradise Island, Atlantis, the Bahamians, the tourists...

 

 

6 cruise ships in a day and they are gone at night,

leaving the Islanders to themselves and the lucky folks who stay on.

 

 

 

 

Nassau, The Bahamas, someone's Island home,Cruise ships, tugs, ferry boats, and Atlantis on Paradise Island.

Just Like In The Movies...

 

 

Don't you just love these uniforms?

 

 

 

 

 

Nassau, The Bahamas, Law Enforcement, or Movie Stars?

 

Guess Who's Coming...

 

To Breakfast?

 

 

First reaction was to shoo them away which turned out to be ridiculous.

So I pulled out my camera and joined in the fun!

 

 

 

(Anyone who went to St. Anthony of Padua Church in Baltimore,

might recognize the Holy Ghost in this shot!)

 

 

They cleaned all the plates on that table and off they went

for more adventures.

It was our day to explore Nassau.,

after breakfast.

 

 

Sea Gulls on the Lido Deck, Carnival Cruise.

Another Night at Sea...

 

 

Back to the ship for our second night at sea,

on our way to Nassau.

 

 

No worries, there's lots to do on board.

Dancing, gambling, drinking, eating, sauna, swimming...

Not enough time for it all.

 

And always a new friend in our room at the end of the day...

 

 

Can you guess what this next shot is?

 

 

 

 

 

(Hint, it's not ice!)

The ship was the Fascination, of the Carnival Cruise Line. Small by some people's standards, huge by others!

 

Fried Lobster...

 

On a mission to find fried lobster in Freeport,

we piled into a crowded van and headed to Port La Caya.

 

 

We asked anyone who would listen,

Fried lobster?

No...

No?

No...

 

 

We stumbled on a couple of local beers

and some conch fritters and lobster fritters

before we realized that the little shack on the harbor

was the place for the heavily advertised (by friends),

fried lobster.

 

 

Complete with a bona fide character,

Daddy Brown.

 

 

So greedy for the beautiful golden lobster,

the photographer neglected to take a photo!!

 

You'll just have to go yourself!!

 

 

 

 

Port La Caya, Freeport, The Bahamas.

 

The Tourist...

 

 

Sailing into Freeport Harbor in the Bahamas on a breezy day,

for my first ever trip to the Caribbean.

 

 

Yes, it's a genuine tropical paradise,

with lots of friendly people

who want to sell you stuff!

 

 

Cool Stuff too!

 

 

The Tourist,

having a very good time,

on her very first cruise!

 

 

 

 

Freeport, The Bahamas. Photo of Laine by Vicki Johnston.

 

Sail Away...

 

 

A voyage begins...

 

If the sun keeps his promise,

there will be turquoise water on these pages soon...

 

(Are we excited?)

 

(Oh Yeah!)

 

 

Stay tuned!

 

 

 

 

The turquoise water of Alexander Springs, Florida.

 

 

 

Szentendres Clouds...

 

 

Clouds over the Danube River, in Szentendres, Hungary.

 

The rain falls on everyone, sooner or later!

It's knowing it will pass,

and in the meantime,

sing or dance or sit by a window,

as the rain falls.

 

Same with the cloudy weather in our heads.

It will pass!

Don't worry too much!

 

 

 

 

Related articles

Shoes on The Danube Promenade

Amazing Budapest by OleLimC

There's Only Us...

 

 

This pelican and cormorant were a familiar sight at the Budapest Zoo.

Not exactly like our pelicans, but very familiar,

like the people were familiar. 

They may have spoken a very different language,

but they looked just like us!

 

There's a line from a U2 song:

 

There is no them,

there's only us.

 

You and me.

 

There's only us.

 

And the pelicans and cormorants and all the other creatures that call this planet home.

 

There is no them!

 

 

 

Budapest Zoo, and lyrics by U2, the song Invisible (RED).

 

A Little Green...

 

 

Isn't it good,

Hungarian wood?

 

A little green for a winter's day.

 

 

 

 

The park on the way to the castle in Godollo, Hungary.

(Sounds like a fairy tale...into the woods...a castle...talking trees!)

 

Both Sides...

 

 

Looking up...

 

 

Looking down...

 

Either way,

it's a beuatiful world!

 

 

"Looking Up" shot in St. Augustine on my phone out the car window last month,(yes I pulled over).

"Looking Down"  shot from the plane window as it descended through the clouds on the way to Budapest via Vienna as the sun was rising.

 

 

Freedom...

 

While in Budapest on a rainy Saturday,

we ran into at least three wedding parties!

 

 

 

 

Rain or shine,

in Florida,

everyone is free to marry the spouse of their choice!

 

Who would've thunk?!

 

 

Kudoos to all who made that happen!

 

 

 

Budapest, Hungary, September 2014.

Freedom to Marry is released by the Court in Talahassee, Florida, January 6th, 2015.