Rest Town #1 18 April Arriving in Pamplona to the south, I missed the grand entrance through the protection of the city citadel walls. It made for an interesting experience as I walked through the park along the river with strolling families and sportsmen – not the traditional scene of Peligrinos.Read More →
Day 2 along the Trail 16-17 April – (Camino de Santiago Zubiri). Traveling on the highways with my wife is always a harrowing experience. Neither of us believes the other has any driving skills and we live in terror every time the other takes control at the wheel. I thinkRead More →
Camino Gut Check 15 April – Vanishing Minutes: Monday morning I woke up to a message on my cellphone that my new ‘pay as you go’ account was down to 5 Euros, from 45 the previous day. Forty Euros just vanished as I was about to head into the PyreneesRead More →
Travel Legs Four and Five Today I traveled from Madrid to Pamplona by first class train, it was another indulgence, but only cost ~$10 more than a cattle car fair. All was very orderly and timely; very neat, and an easy way to get around. From Pamplona I took aRead More →
Day 2 in Madrid I really enjoy watching the euro cup soccer champion tournament, their talent and professionalism never ceases to amaze me. The two teams I cheer on to win are Bayern-Munchen and Barcelona; they usually do. The team I usually cheer to loose is Real Madrid, they usuallyRead More →
Madrid, at last! The third leg to a five leg beginning: Anchorage to Seattle, Seattle to Frankfurt, Frankfurt to Madrid, Madrid to Pamplona and Pamplona to St Jean (SJPP). (Camino de Santiago – Madrid) 15 hours of flying, countless hours in airports and buses. Only thing left is aRead More →
How to lead in the Present, and not just be the guy in charge.Read More →
10 Leadership Practices – Zimmer Principles. Successful organizations and senior leaders share a symbiotic relationship, but it’s the aspiring junior leaders that both will come to depend upon for their future successes. Cultivating junior leadership should be a key goal for organizations seeking a formative future. For consideration are tenRead More →
The Camino Journal – Pre-Trip Notes A few months back I decided to walk the breadth of Spain to spend a springtime enjoying the culture, the food and the weather of the Spanish countryside. It seemed like the perfect sojourn for one seeking alternatives to the retiree ‘daily grind’. TheRead More →
Camino de Santiago – Camino Frances Prologue Welcome to our Camino de Santiago Blog. In the Spring of ’17, I walked the Camino Francis trail of the Camino de Santiago. Through out this journal, made up of a series of posts, I’ve captured my thoughts, observations and experiences along theRead More →
Mother Nature’s Conflicts Perched from on top, in front row seats from our little cottage, we were mesmerized with Mother Nature’s epic seasonal battle between freedom and enslavement. In Winter’s epic battle – enslavement won. This year the unfolding conflict struggled back and forth as it played out in theRead More →
Raging at the Wind Screed! – Misguided Protests Enough already about the sensationalism surrounding those taking a ‘gutsy- principled’ stand by kneeling during the National Anthem or sitting during the Pledge of Allegiance. The most suitable response to those seeking self-aggrandizement by acting out in public is not acclaim orRead More →
Raging at the Wind – Democracy in Action! Here we go again, engaging in our national pastime of playing Russian Roulette with our future. Enjoy our observations and commentary on 2016 US National Elections. Although we started off with 18+ hollow-point bullets for our Six-Shooter, we’ve honed our way downRead More →
Conventional Wisdom When I was a young Lieutenant in the 82d Airborne Division,’Weak minds build strong bodies’ seemed to be a very popular phrase. It was generally exhorted in the form of giving wisdom, just before administering corrective action to a soldier who broke faith with his chain of command,Read More →
Culture Jujitsu – a political thesis describing the West Civilization’s Achilles Heel In 2016 I drafted a thesis describing the tactical and strategic agility of those who would undermine our Western Culture. I came up with the term ‘Culture Jujitsu,‘ and I’m playing around with a couple of definitions. CulturalRead More →
Ode to the passenger seat. Oh how I wish the auto-manufacturers could finally produce a passenger seat that isn’t defective in so many ways. I have yet to find one that doesn’t make me crazy! I’ve been in Fords, Toyotas, Volkswagens, Hyundai’s, BMWs, Mercedes, and many more. Our current carRead More →
BOG! A dozen years ago when I served as an Operations Officer on a Special Operations Staff I was always miffed by a comment my Commander usually made about how we need to get ‘Boots on the Ground’, in any particular operation or engagement. I derided the term ‘Boots onRead More →
Not so Gratuitous Gratuities! This afternoon my wife and I visited a local salad, sandwich, coffee and artisan bread shop for lunch. You know the ones that are saving the world by serving healthier food. The meals are very tasty and the portions are sized to help me contain myRead More →
It was another spectacularly unseasonable winter day in the valley as Willow hosted the start of the 44th running of the ‘Last Great Race’ – the Iditarod. Without a cloud in the sky, Denali (the Great One) stood prominently on the horizon watching the fanfare unfold on Willow Lake. EightyRead More →
“Fat” can be a crude description of one’s state of body. But, it’s also a state of mind when one’s ‘mental adipose’ effects their thinking, attitude and general mental disposition. Usually, the two conditions are mutually supportive. Fat, is a state of mind! Retirement is more than just long walksRead More →