hot dogs and baked beans

Or not...! Instead we had yummy olives, artichokes and steaks. And they call this camping? Did I mention the roasted carrots, garlic and onions? Or the grilled apple stuffed with graham crackers, butter and cinnamon? I'll never eat a hot dog again, unless, of course, I'm on Maxwell Street.

two sides

There are two sides to every leaf, two sides to most political debates and at least two sides to most stories.

For the leaf, one side was a shape, a shadow that faintly bleed into nothing. Its core, a dark vein running from top to bottom. It looked lonely, almost like it repelled the droplets of rain all around it.

The other side of that same leaf was vibrant. Green. The same core wasn't dark from this side, but a brighter shade. It seemed to attract the droplets of rain, not repel them.

The leaf reminds me to look twice and see more than one side – of issues, people, the whole lot. The discovery may be refreshing, surprising. You may even like the view from both sides or, at very least, learn from looking.

fly away

Lake of the Ozarks