In Taiwan, Everything is Easy

What sounds better than hot tea with people from three different countries in front of a fire on one of America’s most famous trails on a nice cool afternoon? To make it even better, hundreds of yards away from the fire,   deer wondered close enough to feed by hand at times.   Black bears were also a possible sighting. Hundreds of strangers walked the same stretch of wilderness that afternoon while always stopping to say, “Happy Trails. “ The river flew just loud enough to help you sleep. The serenity was nearly unbeatable. After 350 miles of hiking on The Appalachian Trail, my second strongest battle with adversity came shortly after my new friends left with their tea for a different spot.   The wind howled loud and aggressive warnings of approaching fury.   Every hiker on the trail that day talked about how the temperatures were going to be in the mid 20’s (Farenheit) for the next ten days. This was usually followed by a somewhat sarcastic, "Happy Trails" good-

Mid-Life Crisis at Forty If you would have asked me when I was thirteen, "What do you think your life will be like when you are forty years old?"  I would have probably guessed by the time I turn forty, life would be boring, really boring. By my twelfth birthday,  I had already given up on my dream to be an MLB player and didn't really know too much about being an adult. The only grown ups I knew were my parents, teachers,  and friends' parents.  In my head, the teachers mostly gave us detentions and wore a shirt and tie. Neither of that sounded exciting to me. The other grown ups took us places in their Minivans, and spent all of their money on us. That didn't sound fun either. I also remembered them talking about  jobs they hated. I had no comprehension of the love my parents had for me, my teachers had for me and even my friends' folks had for me. To my  brain, Love was just a word that made me feel uncomfortable   Instead of appreciating their