Traveling the World – Exercise #29

I have not done near as much traveling as I would like to. I have stayed mostly within the southeastern area of the US and have only been out of the country a few times. Cruising in a HammockBut today’s exercise, number twenty-nine of thirty-one, is to tell you about the places I have travelled. My travels have not been that many or varied, but I will give you a brief rundown.

Let’s cover the United States first. I was born in Louisiana and currently live in South Carolina, so that covers those two states. I also lived in Georgia for a while, so mark that one off. Family in North Carolina and Tennessee have assured plenty of visits to those two, and Disney World a few other trips have covered Florida. But only the top half of Florida – I have never been further south in the great peninsula that Orlando and Tampa. Finally can round out the that corner of the US via some travels back and forth through Alabama and Mississippi, though no real time spent there. Oh! While we are down that way we can tack on a business trip to Dallas, thereby hitting Texas.

As for the rest of the country, I have had business trips to California, and a personal trip to Washington State and Oregon. That Pacific Northwest trip was a great one with lots of friends and classic cars. Back on this side I have toured through Virginia, Maryland, Washington DC, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont. And stuck my toe into Rhode Island. You ask how I did all that and didn’t touch Pennsylvania or Delaware? Well, I did touch them, but only on the throughway and turnpike. That doesn’t count. Just as flying over many other states doesn’t count.

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Not Your Typical Childhood Book – Exercise #24

When I was a kid, my mother would read to me for hours, I loved it.Man-Eaters of Kumaon by Jim Corbettir?t=palmettobugdigit&l=as2&o=1&a=0195622553That simple act has had a great affect on me and is the key to my answer for today’s exercise. Exercise number twenty-four out of thirty-one is to detail my favorite childhood book. The answer to that may actually answer a lot of questions about my personality.

My mother saw no reason to stick to kids books when reading to me. Basically, if the subject was interesting and I could handle and understand it, then it was fare game. Game. Huh. The book I remember the most and will call my favorite was Man-Eaters of Kumaon by Jim Corbett. To quote Amazon,

Corbett was also an author of great renown. His books on the man-eating tigers he once tracked are not only established classics, but have by themselves created almost a separate literary genre. Man Eaters of Kumaon is the best known of Corbett’s books, one which offers ten fascinating and spine-tingling tales of pursuing and shooting tigers in the Indian Himalayas during the early years of this century. The stories also offer first-hand information about the exotic flora, fauna, and village life in this obscure and treacherous region of India, making it as interesting a travelogue as it is a compelling look at a bygone era of big-game hunting.

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