Author David Taylor Black

Those who know me know that I’m not a great Facebook person (or blogger, clearly, as evidenced by the lack of frequency in my posts). But, I recently responded incorrectly to a quiz that a friend of mine posted and, as a result, I must post a picture of her choosing. This is the photo she chose.

The monkey’s name is Alex. This was in the Mosquito Coast region of Honduras. For some reason, he took a real liking to me and spent a good part of about a week and a half on my shoulder. His best friend (besides me, of course) was Rachel, the parrot.

What does it mean when during walks my dog, William, barks back and forth with every dog in the neighborhood, except one? They just stand and stare at each other.

We saw lots of alligators at the swamp we went to. It was a nice, sunny day and a number floated on the surface to get warm feet away from where we were walking (without protection). Most were small to medium sized, but one was about 12 feet long. Here are a couple of the smaller ones.

I just got back from New Orleans. This trip, we spent a lot of time going to the areas around New Orleans. One of the places we went was the swamp (I’m pretty sure it was the Barataria Preserve) at Jean Lafite National Park and Preserve. It was really beautiful.

That’s all.

You may have heard or read about how Dr. Seuss got his start in writing, but this article provides some great insight into how constraints can actually improve our results. Quite inspirational.

We all have constraints. The trick is to find ways to make them work for us.

https://getpocket.com/explore/item/the-weird-strategy-dr-seuss-used-to-create-his-greatest-work

Disclaimer: If heights make you uncomfortable (which they do me), the photos in this article may make you a little nauseated.

Beyond the stunning photography in this article is an amazing story of Alex Honnold, who made an already extremely climb, but as a “free solo” ascent—something I can’t even imagine doing. “Free solo” climbing is climbing without a rope, so if you fall, well… I can’t decide if doing this is crazy or brave or crazy. I’m going to go with a brave on the crazy side. But it’s amazing nonetheless.

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2019/02/alex-honnold-made-ultimate-climb-el-capitan-without-rope/

Hopefully today is more than just a day to get off work, but regardless of what this day means to you, enjoy the holiday.

Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his most famous speech on August 23, 1963 at the Lincoln Memorial during the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. One of my favorite lines in the speech is when he says,

“But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt.”

It’s hopeful while still recognizing the current state of the world.