[caption id=“attachment_9268” align=“alignright” width=“266”]Michael Landon in 1974[/caption] Little House on the Prairie. Who hasn’t seen this American western drama television series or at least heard about it? About The Ingalls Family living in Walnut Grove, Minnesota, based on the best-selling series of Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder. Anyway, true to the idea with Journeys of Life, celebrating people in the entertainment industry and anywhere else, here is the cast for the series, in chronological order like always: Continue reading

Whether you are the gregarious type or more prone to privacy, there are moments in life when you may want to strike up a conversation with a total stranger. Be it at a bus stop, a bar or a street corner, the consequences of unexpected openers can be far-reaching for both parties - or a pleasant break from your usual routine. Loneliness is such a common thing among the older population (and yes, even the younger) that striking a conversation with a senior citizen at a bus stop is often a most welcome thing. Continue reading

We learn to walk around the age of one - and what a delight that is for both the parents and child! And from then on - unless something unforeseen happens - we walk our whole lives. The steps we take are uncountable. But let’s say that we take an average 3000 steps a day during 10 years. That would make close to 11 million steps. So in 80 years one might take around 88 million steps. Continue reading

Life is a pretty humdrum existence most of the time. With some ups and downs, along with long stretches when nothing extraordinary or interesting seems to be happening. But in most everybody’s life there are also special moments, some of which are almost magical. Can you recollect any magical moments in your own life? It doesn’t have to be anything seemingly special. But rather something that feels special. Like this one instant when a teenager is waiting at a bus stop on her way home from school. Continue reading

When you think about the ins and outs of things, don’t you think there should be something out there, in the universe, living more or less like we live here on Earth, circumstances withstanding? Let’s take this from start. Logically thinking, if you’re inside a box, and knowing what you know about the world (which is very limited for all of us), you would think that there is something outside the box as well. Continue reading

IPCC - the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change - had it’s latest conference a couple of months ago in Katowice, Poland. Widely reported throughout the world, IPCC got a lot of attention. One of the speakers at the conference was Sir Richard Attenborough, whom most of us know from his splendid nature documentaries. He had an urgent message to give to the rest of the world. The organization is becoming increasingly familiar to most of us. Continue reading

Let’s have some fun - and points to ponder! Let’s explore the self from within on a “governmental platform”. Let’s assume that we are all governments onto ourselves - as we indeed are - and see what sort of roles we could be building within ourselves in order to make the most of our lives here on earth. So, let’s say that we have built-in ministers or agents for each purpose and opportunity in life. Continue reading

[caption id=“attachment_7121” align=“alignleft” width=“177”]Paul, Peter & Mary[/caption] Peter, Paul and Mary was a popular American folk group active between 1961 and 2009. For many of us pretty unknown or just a distant reminder of the past. But as you watch them perform - albeit seemingly old-fashioned in style and tempo - the emotions you sense there are really no different from any age we live in. If you are feeling stressed and in need to slow down a bit, watching these three singing will do the trick. Continue reading

On this Women’s Day, let’s have something specially for women. Some of you might ask what makes a woman want to fight professionally? And the minute you do, you already know the answer. Fighting is not just for men. We all have the need to assert ourselves, defend ourselves and even attack when need be. And some of us want to watch people fight, professionally that is. There is big business built around all that. Continue reading

Let’s make a closer acquaintance with the Hawaiian islands, the chain of volcanic islands in the North Pacific Ocean. And then see who was born there throughout the years. First there was the Kingdom of Hawaii (1795-1898), then the Territory of Hawaii of the United States (1898-1959), and as of the 21st of August 1959, the State of Hawaii, the 50th and the most recent state of the United States. Continue reading

As we grow older, we all change in some major ways. Physically, naturally, comes to mind first. But there comes a whole package of psychological things as well. One of them being the eradication of some of the prejudices concerning old age. Here is one of them. Don’t we usually think that old people like to think of and talk about old times a lot? Well, many do and nothing wrong with that. Continue reading

If you hadn’t figured it out yet, this site is basically offering to be a platform for genealogy. The groundwork is gradually being done to become just that, so that people like yourself could attach some of their own data in these pages. The data or information is never anything that could harm you or the members of your family, whether living or dead, for all that is needed here is what you see being repeated in every single year file: name, place and date of birth, main occupation or what the person in question was mainly known for, and also the possible date of death. Continue reading

How many of you are following ABC’s prized television series How to Get Away with Murder? And how many of you have been left with the feeling of wanting for more the second you realize the episode you’re just been watching is ending, what with all those pretty awesome cliffhangers? It’s that good, and continues to hold us under its spell. So here is something for us fans, à la Journeys of Life: the cast of How to Get Away with Murder! Continue reading

When we get older, we tend to appreciate old folks more. Not necessarily because we ourselves are getting older and can easier identify with them, no. But because they may not be there anymore to tell their stories, and we realize what we’ve missed. The missed opportunities to just having them around, and having them tell their stories. About themselves, about our parents, about our family history. Who else is gonna do that but they? Continue reading

New Year’s resolutions, anyone? Traditionally, many of them have to do with losing some of those extra pounds and kilos accumulated in December - or many consecutive Decembers for that matter. I myself have every now and then thought of how to make it really really easy to eat healthy snacks instead of resorting to chocolate for that little bit of fast energy. Never mind if you just ate a ton of chocolate in December, the craving for chocolate can be a perennial threat to being fit for many of us. Continue reading

If you ever check the lists of birth dates here, you may have noticed that the 20th century has long since been completed. Now the same applies to the 19th century. So that makes a minimum 200 consecutive years that each have their own page with some background information and some appropriate picture attached, and of course the list of birth dates. These pages are being continually updated whenever some relevant information shows up. Continue reading

This is something that Americans are supposed to know by heart early on - the names of U.S. Presidents. And something that only a few master all their lives. Of course, there’s no need to do that either. There are things far more important to remember, and only so much space and time to contain all the information we are supposed to digest in this digital age of ours. But it does come handy when needing to answer who was the 33rd president of the United States in Who Wants to be A Millionaire! Continue reading

Yet another new series is emerging here in Journeys of Life: Ancestor Day. You do know that you can always add your ancestors here in the year files - providing harmless information concerning really nobody but you and your family, yet enriching this site at the same time? Now you also have an opportunity to write a little story of any of your ancestors. The length of these stories is something you decide yourself, as long as they remain tactful and historically as correct as possible. Continue reading

Last year I flew with my sons from Tampa, Florida to MacArthur Airport on Long Island in order to celebrate my birthday in New York City. We took the train from Ronkonkoma to Penn Station on Manhattan, and as we knew that the arrival time there would be an awkward 4 am, we had decided in advance not to take in a hotel but instead just leave our luggage at the station and head for the streets of Manhattan. Continue reading

It has been a long time since those days in November 1978. Some of you may not even have heard about it. But it took place 40 years ago today, in Guyana, South America. The Jonestown massacre, organized by the leaders of The Peoples Temple of the Disciples of Christ, and more precisely, Jim Jones. It doesn’t really matter with what fancy name the leaders call their cults. And you can easily read about the background of this particular cult and the event since there is plenty of information available. Continue reading