Throughout my life I’ve heard friends talk about their bucket lists. They want to kitesurf in Peru. Bungee Jump in Bali. Have coffee with Dolly Parton in a roadside diner in Tennessee. All of which sound amazing. But my personal bucket list has always been a bit different. For many years now my biggest dreams haven’t required passports or parachutes. As much as I love traversing the world outside, healing my inner world has been most of what I’ve longed to do in this life.

My dear friend Kamidiox drew these pictures. If you use them, please make sure to give her proper credit. Here is the link to her website. https://kamidiox.carrd.co/ I wasn't sure how personal I wanted to get with this prompt post, Poetry People. I'm feeling a bit vulnerable and also a bit sick. I woke up at 3 AM feeling like I was going to hurl.  I guess my 59-year-old innards can no longer handle meals like the spicy southwestern ham and bean soup that I made with scraps from the leftover Easter ham.

April White BooksI’ve been a film producer, private investigator, bouncer, and screenwriter. I climbed in the Himalayas, survived a shipwreck, and I write adventurous love stories and posts about about writing, parenting, activism, history, travel, and life advice. ncG1vNJzZmirpZfAta3CpGWcp51kjaK80aKjsKCZqbKju86kqg%3D%3D

I've been a fan of Astrance for a very long time. It was one of my first visits to a three-star restaurant (before Michelin demoted them to two stars in 2019), and it was one of my favorites when I tested all of Paris' three-star restaurants back 2014. I loved Pascal Barbot's cooking (see additional photos here), but it was the darling s… ncG1vNJzZmiokae2tK7YpqaurJhjwLau0q2YnKNemLyue89omKysopa7pLE%3D

Iran and the Houthis have been tapping into the Automated Tracking System (AIS) to locate and attack ships in the Red Sea and, since Saturday, December 23rd, ships in the Indian Ocean.  Where AIS lacks information on military ships, Iranian radars do the job of finding them.  The entire operation is sophisticated and is managed in real time, requiring significant assets to identify targets.  There is no doubt that Iran and the Houthis are working together.