Curiosity- Day 2

 

“I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious.”

Albert Einstein

Early in our marriage my husband and I traveled to the home of Thomas Jefferson, Monticello. I remember a young boy asking question after question to our docent. It didn’t take long to notice that most people were beginning to get annoyed, although his parents beamed with pride. 

What actually is curiosity? According to Common Sense Media, “Curiosity is having a strong desire to learn or know something.”

Curious people “seek answers to their questions for the sake of gaining knowledge.”

In other words, “Curiosity is a key ingredient of learning.”

The Importance of Being Curious by Dalia Molokhia states that having “…a beginner’s mind,” results in being “…curious, open to new ideas, eager to learn, and not based on preconceived notions or prior knowledge.”

This ability does not have to belong exclusively to children. As adults we can face life with a “beginner’s mind.”

Alan D. Wilson the CEO of McCormick & Co. believes those who “are always expanding their perspective and what they know are people that are going to be successful.”

Of course, success may have a different definition for each person, and even in our later years we can use curiosity to enrich the “success” of our lives. I’m hoping by the end of this series I’ve inspired  you to consider becoming more curious in your day to day life no matter your age. 

So how can we develop this curiosity if it no longer comes naturally? As children if we were encouraged to ask questions, and were exposed to a variety of sources and experiences our curiosity probably grew, and became a part of who we were. 

Dalia  Molokhia lists several ways to develop that curiosity. She encourages us to “apply a beginner’s mindset” by being open to the new and different. In addition she writes, “Ask questions, listen and observe.  Try something new. Each of these activities opens your mind to a new point of view.” And lastly, “Be inquisitive.”

How do you stay curious in your life?

Curiosity-Day 1

“We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we’re curious, and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.”

Walt Disney

When I think about curiosity I can’t help but think about Curious George, that childhood favorite character whose curiosity was always getting him in trouble. The picture of him floating away into the sky with a handful of balloons always comes to mind. 

Although, I loved the Curious George  series as a child I have to wonder what kind of message did it send about curiosity? Was it a good thing since it always seemed to get George in trouble? Pair that with the infamous saying, “ Curiosity killed the cat,” and it’s no wonder for many curiosity was placed on the shelf along with those other long forgotten childhood toys. 

As I contemplated my own curiosity, and as I observed it in my three young grandsons I couldn’t help but wonder how curiosity could contribute to the aging mind? This was reinforced by a story I had heard about a woman who was just turning one hundred. They attributed her longevity to her visiting the gym weekly, but I heard something different.

Her daughter shared that her mother had always been a curious person.  In fact, she had traveled from Italy as a war bride after World War II. Her adventurous spirit, courage and curiosity had allowed her to travel far from her home to start a new life. 

Could this curiosity have kept her actively engaged in life as she aged? Could it be responsible for her becoming a centenarian?

My own curiosity prompted me to learn more about this trait that carried George away high into the sky, and I must say what I learned was very intriguing. I thought I might take you along on my journey for the next thirty-one days. 

The Great Thimble Shortage of 2023

 

Thirty-eight years ago when I returned from my honeymoon in the Bahamas with a small thimble in hand, little did I realize that thimble collecting would become a lifetime pursuit.

Each time we would travel somewhere new I would bring back a thimble from each place we visited. It was never a problem locating them as they were quite plentiful no matter where I went. 

Fast forward to this vacation where I was barely able to locate two thimbles. The story was pretty much the same where ever I went. Apparently store owners are not able to get their hands on them anymore. 

Just like my new car second key fob that I had to wait nine months for, thimbles are no longer included in the supply chain. Thimbles and spoons are sparse I’m told, but don’t worry shot glasses are plentiful. Sadly, the aging Baby Boomer seems to be the only one interested in these simple souvenirs. 

My obsession began with that first thimble, but today I have thirty-eight years of thimbles resting contentedly in a printer’s tray taking up very little room in my library. 

I must admit I was quite disappointed not to return with several more thimbles. I’ll be curious to see if this trend continues as I continue to travel to new places. I’ll keep you posted. 

Ruidoso- Day 6

 

The best part about leaving today was getting to view the two young bucks who showed up close to our deck this morning. 

Our drive home was peaceful, and although we left a day early it allowed Chuck a day off before he had to return to work on Tuesday. 

We did not have to rush out the door at zero dark thirty to get home in time to pick up Ginger and Bluebonnet. We enjoyed listening to our audio book, and stopped for lunch in the Allsup’s parking lot. 

We couldn’t get over how green the pasture was since we had left. Apparently it had pretty much rained every day. 

Most of all getting to sleep in our own bed was best of all. 

Ruidoso-Day 5

 

After another enjoyable morning eating breakfast on the deck we headed out to Roswell about an hour away to check out the aliens. 

Roswell is a fun place to visit, but not a place you really want to spend to much time at. Prior to our visit Chuck was very open to the idea of aliens unlike me who have never truly believed believed. 

The night before we had checked out an episode of The Why Files on You Tube about Roswell. Much that was included in the International UFO Museum centered around what we had watched the night before. 

After visiting the museum Chuck left pretty much a non-believer. I think “hokey” might have been the agreed upon term for this out of this world experience. 

The museum, to be honest was a little underwhelming. We checked out the gift shop, and was disappointed that we could not find a Roswell thimble.

We left and checked out a few other souvenir shops still on a thimble quest, but came up empty handed. We returned to the museum gift shop, and picked up alien pencils for the boys, and a Roswell poker chip for my printer’s tray. 

For lunch we knew we wanted to check out the space saucer shaped McDonalds. We enjoyed our lunch surrounded by the alien paraphernalia. We had taken the opportunity to get plenty of alien photo shoots, and made sure to get a selfie in front of the Welcome to Roswell sign on the outskirts of town. 

We headed back to Ruidoso listening to our audio book. We had seen a pottery shop on the way to Roswell, and had made a note to stop by on our way back. We picked up a beautiful piece of pottery for the house. (when we arrived home we discovered that the pottery was missing its lid. After contacting the owner he dropped it in the mail.)

When we got home it had just started to rain, and it rained for a couple of hours. We were trying to finish up Season Eight of Suits, but kept having to pause the tv because we couldn’t hear over the rain hitting the metal roof. While we were watching tv two male elks made their way past our porch area. I was able to get several close up photos. 

We ate dinner at the house, hung out in the hot tub, and watched My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2. We had made the decision earlier to return home on Sunday, so Chuck could have another day off before heading to Dallas on Tuesday for work. 

We will have another leisurely breakfast on our beloved deck, and try to get in the road by 11:00 so we can have daylight for most of our travel. Overall, we have had a wonderful time, and didn’t realize how much we really needed to get away. The cooler weather, beautiful landscape, and relaxing atmosphere has been picture perfect. 

Ruidoso- Day 4

Today’s breakfast was sausage biscuits and fruit. While eating breakfast and drinking our coffee we only saw the hummingbirds and the chipmunk today. However, later when I was closing the blinds to the back porch there were ten wild turkeys pecking around in the back. 

As we left for the day the three wild horses were peacefully munching our neighbor’s grass, and as we left the neighborhood we saw some elk including a little baby. So needless to say we did get our animal fix today. 

We headed out to Capitan to visit the Smokey the Bear National Park. We had visited it once before, but we calculated that it was probably thirty years ago. We enjoyed checking out all the Smokey the Bear memorabilia, and pursued the museum waiting to watch the film after a group of school kids. Outside we visited Smokey’s grave. 

We decided to go ahead and eat lunch at the Smokey the Bear restaurant first, and then return to watch the film. The last time we ate there Chuck had dined on a delicious steak, but it appeared steak was no longer on the menu anymore. He had tacos, and I chose a corny dog off the Cub menu for kids, and 65+ seniors. 

After returning to the museum we watched the film and spoke with he park Ranger a little about the fires in the area. 

Then we traveled a short distance down the road to the Lincoln Historical site, and learned about the Lincoln County Wars, and got to visit where Billy the Kid had been jailed waiting execution. He was able to escape, and killed two deputies in the process. The display gave a step by step your of the tragic events, and was quite informative. 

On the way home we picked up more ice, and settled in for the evening. We enjoyed another episode of Suits, and had pizza for dinner. We also watched a Why Files on Roswell in anticipation of out trip there tomorrow. 

After dinner we tried out the hot tub, and watched a beautiful sunset. We watched one more episode of Suits, and plan on watching My Big Fat Wedding 2.  That will leave two more episodes of Suits for Sunday night, and we will be through with Season 8. Hopefully we can catch Season 9 on Prime. 

Ruidoso-Day 3

 

Today was a glorious day! After sleeping on an extremely comfortable bed in the other bedroom we woke up rested and refreshed. 

As we ate our breakfast out on the porch we were greeted by our hummingbird friends, a family of elks,  three horses including a foal, a flock of wild turkeys, and a chipmunk. We spent quite a bit of time drinking coffee and enjoying our animal menagerie.

We hit the road and traveled to Alamogordo to visit McGinn’s Pistachioland , the home of the world’s largest pistachio. The highlight of our visit was the pistachio orchard tour, and the yummy pistachio ice cream we ate afterwards. We enjoyed talking with some other couples who were visiting as well. I learned so much about pistachios and how they are grown that I was in pistachio heaven when we left. I’ll never approach a pistachio in the same way again. 

After leaving we continued down the road to White Sands National Monument. We viewed a fascinating video about how the sands were formed by gypsum broken into tiny white particles by the high winds. We drove through the park to see the sand dunes, and even had an opportunity to get out and walk onto the dunes. It was quite an impressive landmark. 

We made it home in time for dinner at Casa Blanca where we enjoyed a delicious Mexican meal followed up by some wiggly, jiggly flan. 

We’ve got another fun day planned for tomorrow, and I can’t wait.