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Thursday's Essay Preview

The first paragraph of Thursday's essay, ". . . To the Beat of a Different Drummer,'" reads as follows:

At the website Yahoo!Answers, an unknown respondent wrote the following in response to this prompt: “Henry David Thoreau said.....march to the beat of a different drummer....?”  “In the conclusion to 'Walden,' Thoreau writes, "If a man loses pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured, or far away." He meant,” said this respondent, “that one should do things in one's own way regardless of societal norms and expectations.”
    

Thursday's Essay Excerpt - from the last paragraph of the essay

Some of the items discussed in this essay may require giant leaps, and to accomplish and develop these skills requires baby steps.  Begin in small ways, and you are likely to make large gains.  Be patient with yourself, however, as you grow and change in positive ways.   Thoreau had it right.  To march to the beat of a different drummer, Thoreau said, “Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured, or far away."

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Thursday's Essay Preview

The first paragraph of Thursday's essay, "Not Your Daddy's Retirement,'" reads as follows:

What prompted this essay was a “Saturday Essay” written by Dr. David Andersen for The (Toledo) Blade (March 19, 2005), entitled, “Retirement’s gift is the chance to blaze new trail.”  When I first read this essay, I was just interested in another person’s point of view.  I was closing in on my first ten years of retirement, and I found his perspective interesting but much different from my own.  Although Andersen closed the door on one “life,” he left the door wide open for a new one—“Looking out over what once seemed an abyss, I now begin to see instead, uncharted terrain.  The journey isn’t over.  My destination is still out there. . . .”  

Thursday's Essay Excerpt - from the last paragraph of the essay

“In conclusion,” Barnett writes in a summary to her essay that could just as well have been written for this essay, “you can take control over your time and get more done than you ever wanted. Although this requires careful planning and learning, you can accomplish all of your goals by not being a perfectionist, delegating to others, setting long and short term goals, planning and combining activities, prioritizing, getting organized, developing a realistic plan, keeping track of your time, and creating a personal mission statement.”

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Thursday's Essay Preview

The first paragraph of Thursday's essay, "Travel (Introduction to the book Exotic Destinations and More,'" reads as follows:

When I lived in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh), I mentioned to friends my plan to travel south to Chittagong, Bangladesh, and the woman to whom I was speaking said, “I would never go there, it’s too dirty.”  (Many cities in that part of the world are notorious for sacred cows walking free through the streets, pickpockets and beggars,  trash and litter.)  When I showed a department-store clerk a 20-yuan note, (worth $3.05 U.S.) and told her I had just returned from Beijing, Southeast Asia, she said, “Oh, I would never want to go there! . . . But I’m not much of a traveler anyway.”  This same trip came up in a discussion with close friends, and they said, “We would never do something so risky.”

Thursday's Essay Excerpt - from the last paragraph of the essay

This book (Exotic destinations and More) represents years and years of traveling.  Nobody could accomplish what is represented here in just one or two years.  We try now to make two major trips each year — one in the spring and one in the fall.  Because we have now seen so much and so many places, we have decided (at least in part) to try to be more selective in the choices we make.  That is, we are now going to visit those places we have enjoyed and would like to either see again or see more of.  But, there will be more essays, no doubt about that — since I have a blog that like an appetite, needs fuel.  I have a mind, too, that needs fuel, and travel experiences are one type of fuel I truly seek and enjoy.  I hope you enjoy these experiences as much as I did — and as much as I liked writing about them, too.

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Thursday's Essay Preview

The first paragraph of Thursday's essay, "Exploring Australia,'" reads as follows:

The thoughts about Australia prior to our visit there ranged widely from a country with a primitive road system to an advanced, modern, industrial society.  The reason for this wide range of thoughts (and emotions, too!) is simply that my family had no idea what to expect.  For me, it was a six-month sabbatical, and I had made contact at four educational institutions to teach or lecture.
 

Thursday's Essay Excerpt - from the last paragraph of the essay

I delivered several lectures at the University of Western Australia, and our visit to Perth ended our six months in Australia — an interesting, spectacular, and memorable visit.  We did everything we could do within our time limit and budget, and it is a place to which we would gladly return.


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