I am not a destinations person.
Some people have five year plans that say things like “make partner in the firm, have second child, discover cure for cancer.” Mine looks more like “learn 500 new things, interact (in a positive way) with 500 new people, visit 500 places I’ve never seen.” (Believe me, the proper AgPix Daily Photo Wants listing can get a person close to the 500 new interactions.) I travel a lot. Not to exotic faraway lands, but to beautiful exotic-sounding places like Fayetteville, Arkansas, Freeburg, Missouri, and Keokuk, Iowa.
I’m a process person.
While I do get things done (surprisingly, quite a few things), I often get sidetracked in the details on the way to a goal: learning to spin when I can’t find exactly the right yarn for a naalbinding project, spending copious time learning about Incan civilization while I’m researching an article on llamas, becoming totally distracted by the baby daffodil blooming in the parking lot, or stopping in Bella Vista (on the way to Fayetteville) to find out just what’s so “bella” about their view.
The name for this blog comes from a quote that my mom has as her sig line: Blessed is the Life that finds Joy in the Journey. (I’ll spare you all the possible cliches or car company slogans, though I could pull out all my geek stops and quote the Lord of the Rings, “The Road goes ever on and on…”) We sometimes spend much more time getting there than we do once we arrive.
This blog will be a repository for those detours. The interesting thing I learn while researching a story, the more in-depth explanation of a scientific principle that just won’t fit in a 500-word article, the flower that catches my attention as I drive across town.
Come join me for the ride — and be sure to let me in on your favorite non-destinations and distractions.
