Happy New Year and Random Thoughts from the trail and Longview, Texas
Top Ten Random Thoughts from the trail for 2023 from Longview, Texas
As I start my 58th year on this planet, I have been trying to come up with something meaningful to write about and came up with a top ten list of things I learned or interested me in 2022.
1) I still don't care about the Kardashians. I don't get celebrity culture. It used to be you accomplished something or had a talent for the arts, but today the real accomplishment is being a celebrity. Whether you are an "influencer" online, Paris Hilton, or a Kardashian, this is true. I admire them because they have turned their celebrity into billions of dollars, but only for fleeting moments.
2) I made pizza for the first time. I did a cast iron pan pizza as I don't have a pizza stone or a "pizza" oven. It came out well because my mother-in-law took leftovers home, which is a two-thumbs up for me. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-srfPL5CWZs
3) Best macaroni and cheese recipe is from the one and only Barefoot Contessa. She has many of them wandering around the internet, but her overnight Macaroni and Cheese is the best for me. One recipe works well and is quite easy to make. https://barefootcontessa.com/recipes/overnight-mac-cheese
4) As far as Lasagna recipes go, here is a good go-to recipe. https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/robin-miller/beef-and-cheese-lasagna-recipe-2131352? I have to confess to having hit-and-miss efforts without pre-boiling the lasagna noodles. The Barefoot Contessa recommends at least soaking them in warm water. ( https://www.southernliving.com/food/kitchen-assistant/ina-garten-lasagna-tip ). My problem without precooking or soaking the noodles is sometimes they just don't cook all the way through, which is probably my mistake.
5) I am sorry, but Einstein bagels don't cut it for me. Living in East Texas required an emergency effort to get good bagels, which means bake them at home. With a bit of help from others and discovering this in the NY Times, I can make bagels that are at least competitive with those in NYC. https://cooking.nytimes.com/guides/81-how-to-make-bagels? I do like Claire Saffitz, and I like her videos. She does a good job of explaining while being entertaining.
6) Wireless charging is a game changer for me. Frank bought me wireless chargers for my iPhone for the car and house for my birthday. To tell the truth, I was having issues plugging in the cable to the lightning port, which happened with my last iPhone. I have an iPhone XR, and for four years, it has worked well for me, and I am not in a hurry to change it. Wireless charging works amazingly well and is much easier than plugging in the cable. It does warm up the phone a bit and is slower at times, so if you are using your phone (I was playing youtube music videos), it may not charge much or at all. This saved the rush to buy a new phone and is another way Frank changed my life.
I ended up buying a traveling wireless charger that I like. MURPISO 3 in 1 Magnetic Foldable Wireless Charger, https://www.amazon.com/MURPISO-Magnetic-Foldable-Wireless-Compatible/dp/B0B3X36BF7?th=1.
7) I have to confess I need help understanding Southwest Airlines. I am not talking about the meltdown around Christmas. People always brag about their low cost, maybe because I don't buy months in advance. They are not usually priced lower than other airlines. Delta works well for me, and their crews and gate agents all seem happy to be at work. I also use American Airlines, and they are good as well, and honestly, the restaurants in the American terminals at DFW are quite good.
8) With a partner or a spouse, wills are important. It is also important if you intend for them to stay in your home or make their life less complicated to put property and possessions such as a car in both of your names.
9) I enjoy older comedies such as The Bob Newhart Show and Mary Tyler Moore. Part of it is they are funny, well-written, and well-acted. It is also because there is no "technology" or period-related discussions, making them timeless. This is also why I believe Friends is still a hit in reruns. When you see other older shows, and they have a flip phone or something that dates the show to a particular time period, it also makes the shows seem old.
We as humans want people to fit our expectations based on labels and how society, social media, and the press want to describe them, including the justification for discriminating against a group of people.
The more people meet people, such as Gay people, and get to know them, the more they realize the labels and stereotypes don't apply to everyone.
If you stereotype me as a gay male to be interested in designer clothes, celebrity culture, and more creative pursuits, you will be quite disappointed in me. If you expect, because I am Jewish, that I am focused on bargain hunting, you will again be disappointed. If you expect, because I am a Gay and Jewish male, that I can't change a tire, then again, you might be disappointed.
To help end bias and discrimination, we need to stop expecting people to fit these labels and we need to get out and spend more time with diverse groups of people.
The changing public support for gay marriage in the USA shows that the more "out" gay people are everywhere, the better. It ends the bias of stereotypes, and as people get to know us, they realize that we are humans pursuing love and happiness like everyone else. I now live in the reddest part of a red state with Frank, and I don't feel in danger.
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