#of course homeward bound is the next song on my list

[midnightcowboy1969]

I have all my music in one playlist lol.

tagging: @davidrebooted @beezusjones @imstuckintime @brimstone-cowboy @shinigabi-tan @sewerfight @columbosunday @veryferaldistributions @aheathenconceivably @cinemaandallthat @volcanows

put your ‘on repeat’ playlist on shuffle & let your friends pick their favorite of the first five songs!

I just saw this tag game on my dashboard and I thought it would be funny to play! Tagging my beloved moots to go on with this Spotify game @huntressofartemis001 @lunacchy @baekhyunsbestie @nelyastudies 🫣

[handwrittenhello]

I thought I would put together a list of witcher-affiliated songs for fun and profit!

 The fun is that they’re good songs, and the profit is that next time you find yourself with a bard in need of a ballad, you can use one of these! I didn’t include the obvious, like Toss a Coin or Her Sweet Kiss, but all of these songs appear in some form in the show or game! 

Lyrics and links below the cut, in order of most well-known to least:

Lullaby of Woe

Wolves asleep amidst the trees Bats all a-swaying in the breeze But one soul lies anxious wide awake Fearing no manner of ghouls, hags and wraiths For your dolly Polly sleep has flown Don't dare let her tremble alone For the witcher, heartless, cold Paid in coin of gold He comes he'll go leave naught behind But heartache and woe Deep, deep woe Birds are silent for the night Cows turned in as daylight dies But one soul lies anxious wide awake Fearing no manner of ghouls, hags and wraiths My dear dolly Polly shut your eyes Lie still, lie silent, utter no cries As the witcher, brave and bold Paid in coin of gold He'll chop and slice you Cut and dice you Eat you up whole Eat you whole

The Wolven Storm

These scars long have yearned for your tender caress To bind our fortunes, damn what the stars own. Rend my heart open, then your love profess, A winding, weaving fate to which we both atone 

You flee my dream come the morning, Your scent - berries tart, lilac sweet. To dream of raven locks entwisted, stormy, Of violet eyes, glistening as you weep.

The wolf I will follow into the storm, To find your heart, its passion displaced By ire ever growing, hardening into stone Amidst the cold to hold you in a heated embrace.

You flee my dream come the morning, Your scent - berries tart, lilac sweet. To dream of raven locks entwisted, stormy, Of violet eyes, glistening as you weep 

I know not if fate would have us live as one, Or if by love's blind chance we've been bound. The wish I whispered when it all began Did it forge a love you might never have found? 

You flee my dream come the morning, Your scent - berries tart, lilac sweet. To dream of raven locks entwisted, stormy, Of violet eyes, glistening as you weep.

Gaunter O’Dimm’s Theme

His smile fair as spring as towards him he draws you. His tongue sharp and silvery as he implores you. Your wishes he grants as he swears to adore you. Gold, silver, jewels—he lies riches before you. Dues need be repaid, and he will come for you. All to reclaim, no smile to console you. He'll snare you in bonds, eyes glowin' afire. To gore and torment you, till the stars expire. 

Bonny at Morn

The sheep’s in the meadows, The kye’s in the corn, Thou’s ower lang in thy bed, Bonny at morn. Canny at night, bonny at morn, Thou’s ower lang in thy bed, Bonny at morn. The bird’s in the nest, The trout’s in the burn, Thou hinders thy mother In many a turn. We’re all laid idle Wi’ keeping the bairn, The lad winnot work And the lass winnot lairn. 

Homeward Bound

I long, I long, to be homeward bound, To the modest abode, whose corners I roamed, To my da’ with his pipe, to my two boys, my life, To the alcove wherein lies my beautiful wife.

So as my strength wanes, and my breath shorter grows, And my sinews turn stiff, and my bloods coursing slows, It’s time, high time, I was homeward bound, To the modest abode, whose corners I roamed, To my da’ with his pipe, to my two boys, my life, To the alcove wherein lies my beautiful wife.

[corkcitylibraries]

Cork in Verse | Ana Spehar interviews Theo Dorgan

Cork in Verse is a series of interviews by Ana Spehar with Cork Poets. This week Ana interviews Theo Dorgan.

Born in Cork, Theo Dorgan is a poet, and also a novelist, prose writer, translator, librettist, editor and documentary screenwriter. His most recent publications are Orpheus (Dedalus Press, 2018), Bailéid Giofógacha (translation into Irish of Lorca’s Romancero Gitano, Coiscéim 2019), and THE ABDUCTION, his translation from the French of Syrian poet Maram al-Masri’s Le Rapt, Southword editions, 2020). He is a member of Aosdána.

  When did you start writing poetry?

The first poem I was given came to me on a winter’s night when I was, what, 19 or so? I’d arranged to meet a young woman at a céilí in Muiríoch,and on the long night walk there from Baile an Fheirtéaraigh I found myself writing her a poem. I’d had it in mind always that I would spend my life as a writer but had assumed it would be prose. That first visitation changed everything.

 Could you tell us more about your creative process? How often do you write?

I try to write when the poem strikes. I believe, I know from a lifetime’s experience, that it’s truer to say that we don’t write the poem, the poem writes us. Of course, when that first flash has been captured, to the extent that it has been, there then comes the long working to secure it on the page. That’s where the craft comes in, the famous 10,000 hours.

I might go months without writing anything at all, and then there might come a rush, or just a stray poem. There’s no accounting for this, it can’t be pre-ordained. I am occasionally commissioned to write something, but if I accept, I always make it clear that I will withdraw from the commission unless a poem strikes. Too, I won’t accept a commission unless I have some sense that it chimes with something that’s been hovering somewhere in the back of my mind. That’s no guarantee, of course, that the preoccupation will crystallise in a poem, but it has happened.

 Who is your favourite author/authors?

Impossible to answer, there are so many writers and poets with whom I have an ongoing affinity. That said, I come back time and again to Robert Graves, and to Cavafy, Gary Snyder, Heaney, Boland and — always new to me — Paula Meehan.

 What are you reading at the moment?

Robert Kanigel’s Hearing Homer’s Song, his life of the scholar Milman Parry who revolutionised Homer studies, and Martin Gayford’s new book about David Hockney, Spring Cannot Be Cancelled. Of course, at the same time, day in and day out, I am dipping into all kinds of books constantly, revisiting old friends, chasing references or stray correspondences.

 What advice would you give to someone just starting their creative journey in writing?

Read, read and read. It’s an inherited craft, you have to immerse yourself in the tradition. Search out writers with whom you feel an affinity and ask yourself why that is. Search out writers who repel you and ask yourself why they have that effect on you. Learn to be friends with and nurture your own sensibility but give it a hard time. When you come across a poem that moves you, that lights you up inside, stand back and ask yourself, how does she do that? A poem, or story, or novel or play will find you if it’s for you — you need to be prepared in the craft if you’re to get it down. On the other side of the business, never refuse anything that suggests itself to you, write it down; it will work out or it won’t, but never attempt to short-circuit the process. Stay out of your own road, and treat all advice, including this advice, with good-humoured scepticism. Be on good terms with your waste basket, real or virtual, but before you bin a poem, check that there isn’t a line or two that can be salvaged — that might be the living line from which something entirely unexpected may announce itself.

  The Angel of History

by Theo Dorgan

 In the Parliament house on Kildare Street the lamps were burning.

It was a winter night, the usual slant rain falling.

 I had paused to light up a cigarette, to watch the lone Guard

stamp her feet, blow uselessly into her cupped, gloved hands.

 In the colonnade of the National Library a man was standing,

a man neither old nor young, his head bare, half turned towards

 the lights in the Parliament house, the high blank windows.

I saw him reach inside his long loose coat, take out a notebook.

 I crossed the road, gathering my own long coat around me,

stood in behind him, looked over his shoulder. He paid no heed.

 One after another I saw him strike them out from a long list of names:

Senators, Deputies, Ministers . One after another the names

 dissolved on the page, a scant dozen remaining.  I watched him

ink in a question mark after each of these, neat and precise.

 He put the book away, sliding it down carefully into a deep pocket;

he turned and looked at me, nothing like pity in those hollow eyes.

 He sighed, then squared his shoulders, lifted his face to the rain

and was gone. Gone as if he had never been. But I saw him,

 I know who he was, I witnessed that cold, exact cancellation;

walked on, walked home, thoughtful, afraid for my country.

  A Nocturne For Blackpool

by Theo Dorgan

Dolphins are coursing in the blue air outside the window

and the sparking stars are oxygen, bubbling to the moon.

At the end of a terrace, unicorns scuff asphalt,

one with her neck stretched on the cool roof of a car.

 A key rasps in the latch, milk bottles click on a sill,

a truck heading for Mallow roars, changing gear on a hill.

The electric hum of the brewery whines, then drops in pitch –

ground bass for the nocturne of Blackpool.

 The ghost of Inspector Swanzy creeps down Hardwick Street,

MacCurtain turns down the counterpane of a bed he’ll never sleep in,

unquiet murmurs scold from the blue-slate rooftops

the Death-Squad no-one had thought to guard against.

 The young sunburned hurlers flex in their beds, dreaming of glory,

great deeds on the playing fields, half-days from school,

while their slightly older sisters dream of men and pain,

an equation to be puzzled out again and again.

 Walloo Dullea, homeward bound on the Commons Road, belts out airs       from Trovatore,

the recipe as before, nobody stirs from sleep

and ‘Puzzle the Judge’, contented, pokes at ashes –

“There’s many a lawyer here today could learn from this man”.

 North Chapel, The Assumption, Farranferris and Blackpool,

the mass of the church in stone rears like rock from the sea

but the interlaced lanes flick with submarine life

older than priests can, or want to, understand.

 This woman believed Jack Lynch stood next to God, who broke the

Republic.

This man beyond, his face turned to the wall, stares at his friend

whose face will not cease from burning in the icy sea – torpedoed off

Murmansk from a tanker. He shot him, now nightly he watches him sink.

 (Cont. with stanza break)

Here is a woman the wrong side of forty, sightless in her kitchen

as she struggles to make sense of the redundancy notice,

of her boorish son, just home, four years on the dole, foul-mouthed,

of her husband, who has aged ten years in as many days.

 The bells of Shandon jolt like electricity through lovers

in a cold-water flat beneath the attic of a house in Hatton’s Alley,

the ghost of Frank O’Connor smiles on Fever Hospital Steps

as Mon boys go by, arguing about first pints of stout and Che Guevara.

 The unicorns of legend are the donkeys of childhood, nobody

knows that better than we know it ourselves, but we know also that

dolphins are coursing through the blue air outside our windows

and the sparking stars are oxygen, bubbling to the moon.

 We are who we are and what we do.  We study indifference in a hard

school

and in a hard time, but we keep the skill to make legend of the ordinary.

We keep an eye on the slow clock of history in Blackpool –

Jesus himself, as they say around here, was born in a stable.

 for Mick Hannigan

[rachelbethhines]

Underrated Disney Movies

The Great Locomotive Chase 

If you like a good bit of historical drama, this is one of Disney’s finest. Based off of real events during the Civil War, the movie does the great job of showcasing everyone, both Union and Confederate alike, as being believable and relatable. There are no villains here, just people doing what the they believe is their duty to their country. Very much how real war works. 

  Swiss Family Robinson

I thought everyone loved this movie. Imagine my surprise when it didn’t make The Critic's Disneycember because it wasn’t well known enough. This must be corrected. If you haven’t seen it yet do yourself a favor and watch it. It’s one of Disney’s best Live Action films ever made.  

The Incredible Journey and the remake  Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey

Both are good but for different reasons. The original is more moody and serious and is inspired by documentaries with only a narrator speaking. While the remake has more humor and camaraderie between the characters.  It all depends upon what type of mood your in, but I’d recommend either.  

The Misadventures of Merlin Jones &  The Monkey's Uncle 

Think of these films as a more upbeat and kooky versions of the Absent Minded Professor. Only the “professor” here is actually a collage kid and his girlfriend is actually sportive, and he comes up with numerous inventions not just one. Both movies play out like episodes of tv show that sadly never got made.  

That Darn Cat! ( 1997 ) 

The only Disney remake that I’ll claim is actually better then the original non-stop. I could list for days how much it improves upon the 60′s movie but to simplify; It’s has better pacing, has better humor, streamlines the plot and cuts the fat, places the focus of the story on where it needs to be (the friendship between the girl and the cop), removes unnecessary love triangles and creepy stalker boyfriends, ect. ect. ect.  

The Gnome-Mobile

this movie was my child-hood. I sung the gnome-mobile song for days. even  Leonard Maltin agrees with me that the film should receive more recognition.  “ this as one of Disney's best comedy-fantasy films, and it is a "mystery" why the film is not better known. It deserves to be rediscovered and enjoyed by a new generation, especially younger children.”

The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes, Now You See Him Now You Don't , and  The Strongest Man in the World  

These films are spiritual successors to the Flubber movies. Along with Merlin Jones and they crate what it know among Disney fans as the  Medfield College series. If you enjoy  The Absent Minded Professor, then you should really check these out. 

The Boatniks

The Boatniks is the funniest damn comedy I have ever seen. Of course humor is subjective and your mileage may vary but  Boatniks does something that very few films do, it pokes fun at people without being mean-spirited or belittling. The plot behind Boatniks is convoluted but the premise is simple. “People are idiots.” It’s not that they’re stupid, it’s that they screw up and make mistakes.  Everyone, from the heroes, to the villains, to one shot gag characters, does dumb things for comedic effect in the film but not without reason. Everyone is relatable or at least understandable and most are so good natured that you can’t help but laugh with them and not at them.   

Herbie Rides Again

You can keep The Love Bug, This is the only Herbie movie I care about. It’s so surreal and off the wall that no other movie about a living car can top it. 

The Apple Dumpling Gang

This and the squeal are my dad’s favorite Disney movies so it makes the list for nostalgia alone. 

The Cat from Outer Space

It’s a movie about a talking cat, what more could you ever want?

Hot Lead and Cold Feet

The second funniest movie on this list

Don’t Look Under the Bed

I like Hocus Pocus as much as the next guy, but this is the Disney movie that I watch every Halloween. 

Man of the House

I know it’s a thing now-a-days to diss any movie with Jonathan Taylor Thomas that isn’t The Lion King, but this was made back during his height of popularity with a Chevy Chase at the top of his game. While some may call it a “home alone” knock off, I actually find the way the movies deals with father issues and coming from a single parent family refreshing. At least for the time. 

[amour-fo-u]

1-92 ;P

dang okay thank u

-

1. Would you have sex with the last person you text messaged?

-nah

2. You talked to an ex today, correct?

-nope

3. Have you taken someones virginity?

-lol no

4. Is trust a big issue for you?

-a little 

5. Did you hang out with the person you like recently?

-i have not

6. What are you excited for?

-getting paid lmaoooo

7. What happened tonight?

-uhhh i got some heels n i made my grocery list

8. Do you think it’s disgusting when girls get really wasted?

-no

9. Is confidence cute?

-sometimes

10. What is the last beverage you had?

-cherry pepsi lmao

11. How many people of the opposite sex do you fully trust?

-lol none really 

12. Do you own a pair of skinny jeans?

-all of my jeans are skinnyyyyyyy!!!

13. What are you gonna do Saturday night?

-nothing probably tbh

14. What are you going to spend money on next?

-bills

15. Are you going out with the last person you kissed?

-no lol

16. Do you think you’ll change in the next 3 months?

-yeah probably

17. Who do you feel most comfortable talking to about anything?

-no one honestly lol 

18. The last time you felt broken?

-hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm 

19. Have you had sex today?

-nope

20. Are you starting to realize anything?

-yeah i’m too good for like 99% of the people in my life

21. Are you in a good mood?

-yes

22. Would you ever want to swim with sharks?

-YEAH sharks are cool af

23. Are your eyes the same color as your dad’s?

-nope!!!

24. What do you want right this second?

-a glass of water and some pineapple lmao 

25. What would you say if the person you love/like kissed another girl/boy?

-would probably just cry a bunch tbh

26. Is your current hair color your natural hair color?

-yes

27. Would you be able to date someone who doesn’t make you laugh?

-definitely not 

28. What was the last thing that made you laugh?

-my dad made fun of my sister for something lmao

29. Do you really, truly miss someone right now?

-yeaaaaah

30. Does everyone deserve a second chance?

-no def not

31. Honestly, do you hate the last boy you were talking to?

-no

32. Does the person you have feelings for right now, know you do?

-yes

33. Are you one of those people who never drinks soda?

-nope lol

34. Listening to?

-Homeward Bound by simon & garfunkel

35. Do you ever write in pencil anymore?

-sometimes

36. Do you know where the last person you kissed is?

-nope

37. Do you believe in love at first sight?

-no

38. Who did you last call?

-my mom

39. Who was the last person you danced with?

-my nephew!!!! lol

40. Why did you kiss the last person you kissed?

-i didn’t have any say in it lmao 

41. When was the last time you ate a cupcake?

-my nephews bday party

42. Did you hug/kiss one of your parents today?

-no

43. Ever embarrass yourself in front of a crush?

-yeah im always embarrassing

44. Do you tan in the nude?

-nah

45. If you could, would you take back your last kiss?

-yes

46. Did you talk to someone until you fell asleep last night?

-no

47. Who was the last person to call you?

-my dad lmao

48. Do you sing in the shower?

-oui

49. Do you dance in the car?

-i dance hard af

50. Ever used a bow and arrow?

-i wish that would be cool af

51. Last time you got a portrait taken by a photographer?

-when i was 15 lol 

52. Do you think musicals are cheesy?

-yeah but i love it 

53. Is Christmas stressful?

-yes 

54. Ever eat a pierogi?

-i have eaten MANY 

55. Favorite type of fruit pie?

-uhhhh idk i dont rlly like pie

56. Occupations you wanted to be when you were a kid?

-president, lawyer, astronaut, vet, teacher, i wanted to own an ice cream shop for animals as well lmao 

57. Do you believe in ghosts?

-im not sure

58. Ever have a Deja-vu feeling?

-of course 

59. Take a vitamin daily?

-no

60. Wear slippers?

-nope

61. Wear a bath robe?

-no

62. What do you wear to bed?

-t-shirt and undies

63. First concert?

-ADTR lmao 

64. Wal-Mart, Target or Kmart?

-target babiiiie

65. Nike or Adidas?

-nike

66. Cheetos Or Fritos?

-fritos

67. Peanuts or Sunflower seeds?

-peanuts

68. Favorite Taylor Swift song?

-no idea lmao 

69. Ever take dance lessons?

-nope

70. Is there a profession you picture your future spouse doing?

-i’ve never thought of that. maybe a teacher?

71. Can you curl your tongue?

-yes

72. Ever won a spelling bee?

-almost but nope ;(

73. Have you ever cried because you were so happy?

-yessss when my nephew smiled at me for the first time lol

74. What is your favorite book?

-i dunno!

75. Do you study better with or without music?

-it honestly depends, but usually with music

76. Regularly burn incense?

-yes

77. Ever been in love?

-yesss

78. Who would you like to see in concert?

-fuckin uhhhhh i dunno 

79. What was the last concert you saw?

-Fall Out Boy in 2015 lmao

80. Hot tea or cold tea?

-depends on the flavor of tea but i drink more hot tea

81. Tea or coffee?

-coffee

82. Favorite type of cookie?

-shortbread cookie

83. Can you swim well?

-not sure tbh 

84. Can you hold your breath without holding your nose?

-yes

85. Are you patient?

-i have been told that i am !!

86. DJ or band, at a wedding?

-band

87. Ever won a contest?

-nope

88. Ever have plastic surgery?

-no

89. Which are better black or green olives?

-i’ve never had an olive before lol so idk

90. Opinions on sex before marriage?

-if its what ya wanna do then go for it

91. Best room for a fireplace?

-living room or a library

92. Do you want to get married?

-lmao yes so so bad 

[xxjordachexx-blog]

What do you do when your best friend turns twenty-one? Duh. You take a road trip to Denver.

After twelve long hours across four states in a Nissan Altima Coupe, we finally arrived in the Centennial State. It was my turn to drive when we crossed the New Mexico/Colorado border and I had never seen something so beautiful. We were surrounded by flat planes, with no trees in sight; occasionally we would see giant rock figures like the ones in Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner, but in the distance were little peaks of white, just barely visible against the grey clouds. As we got closer, the mountains became more defined and it was as if I had entered another realm. I couldn’t believe something so majestic existed on this earth, nor how I had been oblivious to it for so long.

Day 1

My two friends and I were running on a few hours of sleep, a quick breakfast from the nearest IHOP, and pure excitement for the adventures that awaited us upon arrival. Our first destination was, of course, the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve located in Mosca, Colorado.

When my friends originally told me that we were going “sand boarding,” I was very confused on where we were going to find sand in a state known for its large amount of snow. Well, surprise! There is, in fact, a desert in the middle of Colorado – a desert surrounded by snow-capped mountains that is. But, don’t worry, it wasn’t as cold as it sounds, and the only issue we had with the weather was the wind.

For someone who has never been sand boarding, don’t knock it until you try it. It was definitely worth the small amount we paid to rent the boards for the day. Although, I would recommend getting everyone a board, because to our disappointment, sharing was a lot more difficult than we originally thought due to the steep, treacherous dunes that gave in under each step. Once you came down, there was no way anyone was going back up. And when I say up, I mean the very top. Climbing to the top was a battle that seemed to have no end, and after the second large hill, we lost a member of the party.

Not literally, but she couldn’t continue so she retreated back down the dune on foot. Which, honestly, I considered doing after every ten steps or so. I had never been to such high elevations, and the wind was causing the sand to pellet us in the face so the temptation of sliding down the sand was very hard to fight. Luckily, we were prepared with bandannas tied around our faces and sunglasses to protect our eyes, so we managed to make it to the peak.

It felt as if we were on top of the world. Looking down at the people who were standing where we started was unbelievable. They were smaller than ants, and there were only two other men at the top and they looked experienced in this activity, so, as we rested, we had a moment of pride for making it that far.

In every direction I could only see two things: mountains and down. I began having second thoughts about how in the world I was going to get down that sand dune, and I no longer trusted my newly developed sand boarding skills. So, what did I do? I rode that board like my life depended on it…on my butt. It may sound lame, but it seemed a lot more fun knowing if I started rolling, I would have a less chance of injuring myself. I did try a few times to stand up, but I either ended up flat on my back or with a mouthful of sand, and I already had sand in too many places sand shouldn’t be.

We arrived in Denver Friday night after our little escapade in the desert, and we rested up for our adventurous day to come.

Day 2

If I would have known the strenuous activities that would occur on that lovely Saturday morning, I would have hit the gym months before our trip. What happens when three Arkansans try to take a hike in the Middle of Nowhere, Colorado? You accidentally take a 7-mile hike up a mountain in Estes Park, into a snowstorm, and become surrounded by questionably large animal tracks.

When we started at the bottom of the mountain, we stopped to read the sign at the trail head. It was few hiking tips, trail maps, and just your average what to do if you encounter a bear or mountain lion poster. The only thing going through my mind at that point was, abort mission. However, I was outvoted, and we began anyways. Within the first half-mile my pores were oozing with pure regret. I was freezing, scared and I couldn’t breathe! But, I wasn’t going to be the baby of the group so I trudged behind the others.

Once we began going up, we started noticing patches of snow crunching beneath our boots. That’s cool, I thought. We don’t see very much snow in Arkansas, so it was nice to see some in April. After what seemed like forever, we arrived at our destination, Bear Lake. It was magnificent. It didn’t take long for us to see where it got it’s name. On the far side of the lake we could see very large footprints leading down the water’s edge, and the back up the hill. Needless to say, I was ready to move on. And this is where the fun started. What we had originally thought was a 3 1/2-mile hike, was really only 3 1/2 miles to Bear Lake, and then 3 1/2 miles back. In utter defeat, we had some protein bars, and continued on the trail. We continued to gain altitude and the snow became deeper, fresher, and more dangerous. We were all sliding all of the place as the heavy wind began to blow the snow in from the mountains. It was eerie, but oddly peaceful.

Aside from the evergreens, we were surrounded by tall, white, bare trees with “eyes” on them. It was as if we were being watched – yes, like in Narnia.  – Photo taken by Max Stout

    The trail back down the mountain was much more enjoyable as the temperatures warmed and it was a much faster pace. Although, we did accidentally stumble up a heard of wild Elk. We were so close to them, we could have touched them with our hands if we took a few steps forward. I was in awe of the enormous, noble creatures. It was a feeling I will never forget.

After and exhausting night of driving, climbing a mountain of sand and a mountain of snow, day three was going to be a day of relaxation.

Day 3

Botanic Garden, check! Aquarium, check! Chicano Batman, double check!

We spent the morning strolling through the Denver Botanic Gardens. The sun was shining, we were surrounded by beautiful flowers, trees, and plants of every other family, and there was a soft, sweet song being sang by the birds from all directions. It was a very tranquil environment that had a wide variety of venues ranging from tulips, to Japanese Cherry Blossoms, to an entire rain forest under one roof.

I had never been to a botanic garden, so I was able to add another “first” to my list on that weekend full of “firsts.” But, it didn’t stop there! Next we went to my first ever aquarium at the Denver Aquarium. It was so exciting seeing all of the little life forms swimming and dancing in their artificial habitats. I was like a kid in a candy store with all of the petting I was allowed to do.  I was able to pet starfish, little stick figures that lived in the ocean and would move their limbs around your fingers like chopsticks, and I even got to run my fingers along the back of a stingray!

At one of the exhibits, there were striped fish that would shoot water at insects, or in our case, a wad of fishing line designed to look like a fly. Wherever our hands moved, the shooting streams of water would follow. It was incredible being exposed to so many aspects of nature in such a small amount of time.

Before driving home that night, we made one more stop at the Bluebird Theater for a hell of a show put on by Chicano Batman. We sang our hearts out, and then we were homeward bound.

This land is your land, this land is my land From California, to the New York Island From the redwood forests to the Gulf Stream waters This land was made for you and me – Chicano Batman

P.s. Check my Facebook and Instagram for the videos of us surfing down the dunes! Buttons are at the top of the page.

Weekend Roadtrip To Colorful Colorado What do you do when your best friend turns twenty-one? Duh. You take a road trip to Denver.