Chronicles of a Shoemaker's Daughter

I found these words recently and was really moved by them. So I dedicate them to friends that I have made through my travels ... whether we have met face-to-face, on the travel forums, on Facebook or informal networks: "Perhaps travel cannot prevent bigotry, but by demonstrating that all peoples cry, laugh, eat, worry, and die, it can introduce the idea that if we try and understand each other, we may even become friends." - Maya Angelou

... firefly ?! ... OK, today was a good day. For a variety of reasons. Though I still seem to be struggling with the sniffles and a chronic cough, thanks to a seasonal cold that seems to want to occupy my body permanently, I still made some time with friends this weekend. I needed company for thereapeutic reasons! And I was reminded of these friends again today, while driving to and from the local Loblaws for some groceries with the car radio blaring some quality soca music. Every Sunday, from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., the local "urban" radio station, plays lots of soca, old and new. The announcer has a Caribbean accent, which I find hard to place - there are so many islands in the British West Indies, but it never fails to remind me of my times spent on St. Kitts. My drastic improvement in mood started last night, though, as I was treated to a full evening of West Indian accents, when I got together with my fabulous "transplanted" Kittitian friends. These gals have

This is m y 3 year-old nephew's favourite expression. He uses it interchangeably with "have a nice adventure" in much the same way service personnel tell us to "have a great day" at the end of a transaction, or the way we might close off a "goodbye" or "so-long" statement with family and friends: by saying "have a good time ... nice evening ... great day at work ..." ... and so on. Mikey loves that word. Adventure. He keeps asking what it "akshully means," but I have yet to look it up in the dictionary, because I realized a long time ago that he instinctively knows the true meaning of adventure ... due to the simple fact that he has not yet reached his fourth birthday. As a youngster, he is still discovering the world around him. Everything is alternately new and exciting or scary and challenging. He approaches both versions of his world with equal portions of abandon, curiosity and eagerness, tempered by a healthy dose