Friday Unwind #7: The Tropical Jungle Called Arizona, The Jesus Revolution, Hummer Summer, Help Find the Loch Ness Monster, 80 For Brady, 1440

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🌎 The Tropical Jungle Called Arizona

Petrified trees in the Painted Desert, Arizona, courtesy of the author

The ‘Painted Desert’, in northern Arizona, covers nearly 7,500 square miles, extending all the way to the eastern edge of the Grand Canyon. That’s about the same size as the combined land mass of Connecticut, Delaware, and Rhode Island.

Its name comes from the fossilized remains of trees from millions of years ago that have ‘petrified’ into rainbow colored quartz stones.

About 220 million years ago, the Painted Desert was once a lush rainforest, home to some of North America’s earliest dinosaurs. This was during the Triassic period, from 201-250 million years ago.

Coelophysis, Triassic Arizona, meat eating dinosaur

As we walked some of the many easy trails in the Petrified Forest, we tried to imagine an Arizona jungle, filled with reptiles hiding among towering trees, waiting to pounce on their next, unsuspecting meal (would that be me?).

These days I don’t have to worry about the dinosaurs…. just the snakes (I’ll share that in a future post. Yippee).

🎬 Groovie Movie; The Jesus Revolution

I passed on this movie a few times before my husband picked it for our ‘movie night’ watch. I’m glad he did. It’s based on a true story (my favorite kind).

Photo by Strvnge Films on Unsplash

Picture 1969. Woodstock in New York. A hippie revolution all across the country. The Vietnam war goes on. The country’s youth are “looking for the truth in all the wrong places” and psychedelic drugs are on the rise.

Meanwhile, Chuck Smith, pastor of Calvary Chapel in Newport Beach, California faces his elderly, yawning congregation of about 20 and delivers a ho hum sermon. He has no idea his life is about to change in ways he never imagined.

His daughter brings home Lonnie Frisbee, a charismatic, San Francisco street pastor. Initially turned off, Chuck warms to Lonnie and the two of them embark on an adventure that creates one of the largest ministries on the west coast.

But all is not well in paradise….

🐦Hummer Summer

The fighter squadron is out in full force. I get dive bombed every time I venture outside to deadhead the daylilies (which happen to be next to the two hummingbird feeders).

It began as a normal, relaxing summer… just 3 little hummers sharing the wealth of the garden.

Guess I should have turned my phone the other way for this video. Rookie mistake!

Until one little guy decided to become the commando. He’d go camouflage in one of the willows until another hummer landed on a feeder. Then wham. Warp speed toward his enemy with guns (ok, maybe his beak) firing. He never seemed to eat….just harassed the enemy. I’m thinking, “Pointless.” He’s thinking, “Victory.”

Two weeks ago the tide turned. Or I should say, the monsoons arrived. Monsoons mean more hummers. Our motley crew of three quickly became a flitting flurry of 20 or more.

Occasionally three or four would share a feeder…. for a few seconds. More often, tiny jets zipped about, barely escaping head on collisions. Kamikaze missions were frequent, with hummers shooting up into the sky only to turn and dive recklessly back at speeds up to 50mph.

The battles will rage on, at least until October when our little marshmallow-weight fighters call a truce and head off in search of another battlefield.

Got some hummer stories? Do tell…

Help Find the Loch Ness Monster

What are you up to August 26th and 27th? Let’s go to Scotland and help find the Loch Ness Monster. (We’ll have a wee bit o’ fun.)

1934, the first image of “Nessie”, the Loch Ness Monster

Scotland-based Loch Ness Centre and Loch Ness Exploration are teaming up for the biggest “Nessie” hunt since the Loch Ness Investigation Bureau studied the loch in 1972.

Will you find “Nessie”?

But this time they will have modern technology on the team. Thermal drones, infrared cameras and hydrophones are targeting the mythical beast.

Paul Nixon, general manager of the Loch Ness Centre said, “This weekend gives us an opportunity to search the waters in a way that has never been done before, and we can’t wait to see what we find.”

While the drones and cameras will help identify any anomalies in the loch, the hydrophone will be listening for any “Nessie-like calls” underwater. Hmmm…I wonder what that sounds like.

So if you’re free the weekend of August 26th, come on out to Loch Ness and join in the hunt for “Nessie”. They’re looking for volunteers.

Loch Ness

🎬 Groovie Movie: 80 For Brady

Silly. Predictable. Four 80 year olds (Well, one claims to be 75). Sally Fields, Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, Rita Moreno. Oh, and Tom Brady. 🏈

Sixteen years ago, Lou caught a glimpse of Tom Brady while she was slogging her way through chemo. She survived. And so did her love for football, especially Tom Brady. She felt a connection.

Every year since, Lou and her three best friends, Trish, Maura, and Betty, have gathered at Lou’s home for the Super Bowl. But this year is different. Lou fears that her cancer has returned. She wants one last Super Bowl fling. But not in her living room chair. She wants to go to Super Bowl 2017.

Counterfeit tickets, a suitcase full of mostly blond wigs, stadium cops, and the real life connection between Lou and Tom make this caper entertaining in an “I didn’t have to think during this movie” kind of way. Bring on the popcorn.

Prime Video.

📰1440

A couple of months ago I stumbled on 1440, a 5 minute, daily digest of news. It’s just news - no opinions, no slant. Just the way I like it.

There’s a Need to Know section that covers current happenings around the world. The In the Know section gives you briefs on sports, culture, and entertainment. They also have sections on Science and Technology, Business & Markets, Politics & World Affairs, and a fun section called Etcetera with links to some crazy things (in case you love going down the rabbit hole like I do).

1440 got it’s name because the printing press was invented about 1440 and because there are 1440 minutes in every day….and they want to make each one count.

Here’s a link to check out 1440. If you scroll down to the bottom, on the left side you can click on Today’s Briefing to see the current issue. If you like it, you can subscribe with your email. It’s free. Nearly 3 million readers (I’m one).

Let me know what you think.

PS - I used to subscribe to The Skimm until discovering that it was 💯 biased. Nuked it.

💡 Your Ideas Are the Best

If you have a topic you’d like me to explore, or you’d like to talk about submitting a guest post, please send me a note at heather@thebrebaughs.com.

Also, I’m considering occasionally including something a little more serious for us to talk about together. What do you think? I am an open book with a blank page…

Special thanks to those of you who are subscribing to After 21 Club. After 2 years writing Kindness Magnet (and still going), I’m excited to start this community of generations. I hope it’s a place where we can come together to share ideas and recommendations for leading happy lives. You can help After 21 Club grow by sharing this post with your friends. I hope you will. Thank you.

Whatever your generation, if you’d like a little sweet retreat where Friday meets you on the way to little pleasures…..I hope you will Subscribe to After 21 Club. You’ll get a little treat in your Inbox each Friday.

Wherever you are, I hope life is sunny. 🌞❤Heather