Last time I wrote about what a great month June was professionally. Well, the rest of the summer (mostly) did not disappoint on a personal level. Getting the somewhat-negative out of the way, I had shoulder surgery (my 3rd) to repair a torn rotator cuff and clean up my right shoulder that’s been trashed by a lifetime of soldiering, combat sports, and general recklessness/stupidity. I haven’t been able to write for long stretches of time until last week.
So, that’s my excuse for the delay in posting this.
On to the awesome stuff.
My wife spoke at World Water Week in Stockholm, Sweden in late August. I accompanied her and, because of my surgery, didn’t even have to carry the bags!
Sweden was wonderful. Aside from escaping this Georgia heat, we also escaped the heavy, poor-quality air. That was the first thing we both noticed upon landing – the air was so clean. The city and country are beautiful. Built on an archipelago, Stockholm was wonderful to explore. Bridges, mass transit, and ferries made traveling from island to island easy.
Among the highlights were: a trip to one of the outer islands via ferry, exploring the Vasa Museum (the Vasa, built between 1626-1628, is a huge warship designed to be the biggest ever seen! However, it was so big/tall, that it sunk on its maiden voyage roughly 1km into its voyage. <insert facepalm emoji>), exploring a bookstore in Gamla Stan (Old Town) dedicated to just sci-fi, fantasy, and horror, and a trip to Sigtuna (Sweden’s oldest town) for fika.
Speaking of Fika…boy do I have a bone to pick with the founding fathers! We definitely should have incorporated Fika into American culture. Pronounced “fee-ka”, it translates to “coffee and cake.” Unlike a typical “coffee break,” Fika is “a concept, a state of mind, an attitude and an important part of Swedish culture. Many Swedes consider that it is almost essential to make time for fika every day. It means making time for friends and colleagues to share a cup of coffee (or tea) and a little something to eat.”
Then, this past week, we experienced three awesome events. The first was seeing Hans Zimmer and his orchestra in concert. A huge aspect of my writing process is listening to music to set the mood. Often, that music is Hans Zimmer's soundtracks (Chris Nolan’s Batman trilogy, Last Samurai, Dune, Gladiator, etc.). The performance was a religious experience! The musicianship was off-the-charts and the singers (including Lisa Gerrard – the voice of Gladiator, and Lebo - the singer you hear at the start of The Lion King) were a joy to hear!
Saturday afternoon we watched Lia cheer for the 2nd grade Hoya football team and that afternoon, Anabel read three of her poems at an open mic event. We are so proud of them.
Pictures and videos for all of this are attached on Facebook.
Enjoy!
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