Trippin...

Overall I had the experience of a lifetime in San Francisco. I had never been west of the Rockies and I've never seen water (in that quantity). On my flight to Oakland I got to see the other side of the Rockies, the desert, the northern tip of the Grand Canyon, and a mountain range that was literally so vast I wasn't sure there was civilization there. I also got to see palm trees, Alcatraz, the Golden Gate Bridge and I got to eat at In-n-Out burger. I even ate raw fish! I had the opportunity to see more diversity than ever before and to be honest it was good for me.

I wish everybody could just take one weekend and leave the crap at the door and open their minds up to something clearly culturally different. Maybe this place wouldn't be so messed up if we all took a minute to see a different perspective.

Let's face it, our world is changing around us and the more you can prepare, the better off you'll be. The Midwest is a great place to be, the community, the family and the values. However we often tend to shy away from different.

I had a conversation on my plane to Kansas City with a woman from California. She asked where I was from and I told her Kansas. She had never been before and this would be her first time flying over it. She would be going on to Baltimore so her only plains experience would be sitting at a gate in Missouri.

As we had a conversation I told her about the hardships the recent storms had on the rural communities. I then told her how amazing we were out here. How when someone is in trouble a small community rallies behind you, they help you, they pray for you and they give you the support you need. I know my family had that first hand experience last fall. She was amazed at my stories and she looked at me and said. "That's what California is missing. We panic when we lose power, and not from a natural disaster. Out here we take care of ourselves."

In the same sense you could look it on another level. Kansas sometimes needs what California has. Open minds and tolerance. Granted, I think we are better than some areas but let's face it if we all took a moment to really think what mattered. People, humans, not color, not religion, not sex. It's just about humans.

It's important to have an open mind. It will lead to a lot of opportunities that will make you a better person. I know this weekend has made me a better person, or at least want to be a better person.

We're all going to the same place in the end, we'll all be judged someday. We don't have to judge be judged now.


-MO-
sarah

Soon the summer travel swing will start and I should have some great material as I travel the great state of Kansas.