WALKING ROUTE 66

This Life is Pretty Amazing — Just Look Around

There are more surprises and delights than you can imagine.

Wednesdays were always my busiest day when I was in Houston. While I was on a hiatus, it was no different.

I visited Frankly Speaking Toastmasters, my home club, early in the morning. They were accomodating and curious, and wanted to hear about my trip thus far and put me on the schedule to speak. The evaluation was eye-opening. Melany Morrison, my evaluator, said that while it was nice to hear about my adventures, she felt that my account of them felt shallow. She was expecting something deeper since the purpose of my trip was to elevate my trust in God.

That’s what I love about Toastmasters.

While I attended Toastmasters, I had another surprise and delight. Mark Holzinger and his wife Dawn, came to visit. Mark has been supporting and following along my journey via Patreon. They presented me with a beautiful plaque.

Then I had my weekly chat with Bill Gossett and Judy Busby on their radio show, Viewpoint, before heading home to fix breakfast for my son and me.

The next item on the agenda was the weekly boardgames group. North Houston Boardgamers get together every Wednesday from Noon to 9 PM. People come and go as they please. Some stay all day and occasionally move to Whataburger, which is open 24 hours to play some more. Yes, I am one of those nuts.

But, I didn’t stay there all day; I wanted to work some, and then had a late evening dinner appointment with my friends Cathy and Lisa, who traveled from Splendora, Texas. So it was after midnight that I returned home, and my son had already gone to sleep. I will return the following month to celebrate his 24th birthday.

As I think back and ponder.

Indeed, life is pretty amazing. All you need to do is slow down and look around; when we fail to do so, Mother Nature has ways to force us into slowing down.

Is COVID-19 a curse or a blessing?

Life is what it is. What we see depends on our perspective. You’ll find whatever you look for. My friends were concerned about me because I was walking through an area of the country that is not known to be kind to immigrants. What I was looking for was people who would be kind and supportive. The fact is both kinds of people are there. I only attracted those I wanted, and there was an abundance of them.

How do you see the world? What are you looking for? The Universe has a way of showing you whatever you seek.

Stay blessed and be happy, my friends.

(Original blog post).

Just for fun.

My chat with Bill Gossett that morning.

I invite you to tag along if you’re up to it. I am mentioning a few friends who may be interested in it. If you are tagged but don’t want to read my stories daily, let me know in the comments, and I will remove your name moving forward. If you are reading this and aren’t included in the list below, but you’d like to come along, let me know so that I can add you.

Michele Amy Trista Henery Timothy Tim P.G. Sherry Saloni Indra B. A. Linda Sharon Tree Linda Britni Desiree Elisabeth Simona Kristin Helen Julia Chris Rosennab Tom Truenorth Agnes Aurora LauraRaduenz Catherine Joe Stuart Gurpreet BFoundAPen Margie Bob NaNa’sworld Wolfie Rebecca Susannah

As always, thank you for reading and responding.

Here are some of my other stories:

Rasheed Hooda is a published author who has contributed to many of Medium’s top Publications; The Startup, The Ascent, P.S. I Love You, Rogues’ Gallery, and ILLUMINATION, to name a few. He is also a Top Writer for several topics. If you like his work, buy him a coffee, he drinks a lot of it.