A journey is a person in itself; no two are alike. And all plans, safeguards, policing, and coercion are fruitless. We find that after years of struggle that we do not take a trip; a trip takes us. ~ John Steinbeck

Three Questions, February 9, 2025

You can find the background to The Three Questions in my recent post about it. I’ll be answering the questions each day for the next year and putting this experience into a book. Here we go!

What was the most beautiful thing I encountered today?

Today I was driving on the Pacific Coast Highway, the most beautiful highway in America. I love driving this highway especially on a sunny day like today. There’s so much beauty, the waves, the sun gleaming off of the ocean. I drove by a Cooper’s Hawk floating perfectly still on the air, lonely Egret’s hunting in the shallows and kite surfers rider waves.

What did I learn today?

Polar bears often do not show up on infrared cameras, this means they are nearly perfectly insulated. I read a fascinating article about the research to figure out why and it turns out that polar bear grease is nearly a perfect insulator. These animals are so incredibly cool in every way.

What made me happy today?

My brother posted a photo of him when he was about 18 months old. I was 15 when he was born, I helped raise him. The first four years of his life were an incredibly turbulent time in my life, I’d put a gun in my mouth and tried to kill myself the year before he was born. By time he was four years-old I had left to go to college, failed out of college, become an alcoholic and an addict and entered recovery. Through all of that madness, he was the happy little center of my crumbling world, no matter how bad it was for me, being with him was always happiness and joy. Seeing that picture today took me back there for a time.