"On the road again. I just can't wait to be on the road again...."  Willie Nelson

Road Trip!

By: Karen J. Allen
Co-Publisher, On the Gay Horizon        

I've done my fair share of moving over the years. I've lived in an apartment overlooking Monterey Bay in California, a duplex nestled up against an oil refinery near St. Louis, a couple rooms in what was called the "war zone" of New Orleans, a residence hotel in San Francisco overlooking a very popular "working corner", a doublewide trailer on a defunct dairy farm in Tennessee, a riverboat on the Mississippi and the list goes on. I even lived in a converted attic one time that was so small my brother had to lift the ceiling to get the couch up the stairs. That was also the day he told me he would never help me move again --- and, now that I think about it, he never has.

I will admit to having a restless spirit. I won't even try to explain it but by the time I was in high school, we had moved fifteen times, so, I figure some of it must be genetic. Most of my moves have not been very well planned. Okay, not planned at all. Whim seems to have been a primary motivator. But I'm feeling the need to do this one a little better. I don't know that this will be the last place I ever live, but I do know I don't want to waste a lot of time living somewhere I don't enjoy.

This vetting process is what gave birth to the idea for the "Making the Next Move" relocation workbook. Next week I will be specifically working my way through the geography, community, transportation, health care availability, recreation, cultural and economic sections. By the time I get back, the guide should be very close to being complete as far as content. Then we will just need to do some editing and formatting and it will be ready to go.

When I was younger, I would have scoffed at the idea of having a blueprint like this (and I would have never used the word "scoffed"). I would have said that too much planning robbed the experience of the spontaneity and fun. Where was the adventure? And, maybe that would have been true. Today, I'm still up for adventures, but I kind of like having a plan for making this next move. Everything else in life seems pretty much up in the air. Having a check list to guide me through the steps of this process feels like a very good thing to me!

Embarking on what could be the first step to a new life chapter is always exciting. I'm almost packed. My little Honda has 170,000 miles on it but I think it's good for at least one more road trip. I enjoy traveling alone but it's hard not thinking about how much I really loved making these trips with my partner. For her, the journey was always as important as the destination. And, she never minded if we stopped a dozen times. Alternating exits --- first to get a soda and then to find a bathroom...  And instead of a book-on-tape, we would take a book and she would read out loud. I really miss that. I really miss her.

But, I have my iPod loaded with lots of great music, a David Sedaris book and "Angels and Demons", since I don't want to be the only person in America to not have read the book by the time the movie comes out. I just need to add Willie Nelson's "On the Road Again" and I'm ready to go. Of course, iTunes never lets you get away with just buying one song. As soon as I express an interest in Willie Nelson, they will suggest other songs I might like to consider. I'm sure I'll have to buy "Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain". Oh, and what about the one he did with Julio Iglesias, "to all the girls I've loved before, who traveled in and out my door". That one could keep me entertained for a few miles......

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Next Stop.....

Next stop Charleston! I've even cleverly planned my arrival to correspond with The Charleston Social Club's dining club night at a Thai restaurant. So, Lynn, please consider this my RSVP --- count me in!

Anyone else traveling somewhere interesting? Got any good travel stories? I know I've talked to a couple of you who have some wonderful stories that we would love to post on the website. Just email us at admin@onthegayhorizon.com.

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"Whether you think you can or not . . .           you're right." Henry Ford, Ford Motor Company

Fit in a Year - Week 12

By: Ann-Marie Giglio
Co-Publisher, On the Gay Horizon

Our bodies are absolutely incredible.  When we take care of them, we cannot get sick.  Here's the secret:  the only things that make us sick are malnutrition and toxins.

Malnutrition?  In our super-sized world?  Absolutely.  We are calorie-rich, nutritionally poor.  The thing is, we're built to eat living food, foods that contain enzymes and micro-nutrients.  But look at our food production methods:  animals raised on fat farms full of antibiotics and growth hormones (can you say steroids?), fruits and vegetables bathed in poisons and chemical stimulants and planted in exhausted soils devoid of living micro-organisms;  and all of these toxins end up where?  In our water supply and eventually in our seafood. 

And then we take these foods and process them.  Make them white.  Simple.  Storage-ready.  Microwave zappable.  By the time we put them in our mouths, they bear little resemblance to their origins.  And little nutrition for our bodies.  As Thomas Moffett said, "We are digging our graves with our teeth."

Besides the obvious poisons we consume, we also poison ourselves with stress, sleep deprivation, inadequate water consumption, lack of movement.

Can we change this?  Absolutely.  Is it easy?  Well, no.  But as Henry Ford said, whether you think you can or not, you're right.

For some help, check out J. Michael Zenn's extremely concise and readable book, The Self-Health Revolution.  You'll find it at Whole Foods, hopefully while you're buying some....