Friday, June 24, 2011

Feels like home....

As some who know are already aware, I'm originally from Alabama. I was born in Huntsville in 1962. I lived there with my family until August of 1974 when we all moved to a small town called, Vina. We moved there because Vina was where my father had been born, and both he and my mother thought it would be a better place to raise children than Huntsville. Now, I didn't & still don't agree that Vina is better than Huntsvulle for raising children. As proof, I offer all the adults who've lived their entire lives in both places and are good people. It's not so much about the place as it is the parents (imho), but that's not the point of this post.

To this day, I still feel that Huntsville, Alabama is my home town. Regardless of the fact that I've not resided there since 1974. Upon graduating high school and later after leaving the military, I tried to get a job in Huntsville in order to move back. It was never successful. I do have a fondness for Vina, but I always felt like the new guy there. Even now when I go back to visit my family & friends, I'm warmly received by all of them, but I don't feel like I'm home.

In 1998 I got a job in Columbus, GA, so I moved to Phenix City, AL. It's on the Alabama side of the Chattahoochee River, just opposite Columbus, GA. I lived there for eight years, and made many great friends. However, Phenix City/Columbus never really felt like home either. I was comfortable there but didn't feel at home.

During that period of living in Phenix City, I took a vacation with my Mother to Seattle, WA. Mom was born & lived there until she was around 9. Then, her family moved to Auburn, WA, which is about 20 miles away from Seattle. At the time it was pretty rural (like Vina), and I think that's why she likes living in Vina. When I got to Seattle for the first time it was awesome. I found a 2nd place that felt like home to me. It was weird; though I'd never been here before, Seattle really felt comfortable. It felt almost like I'd always been here. I like to think that I was genetically programmed for Seattle thanks to Mom. On our second day here Mom asked what I thought about it. Remember I said, "This is awesome. If I can find a job here, I'd move here in a heartbeat."

Fast forward five years to 2006. I did get a job in Seattle, and I did move here. It's felt like home from day one. The climate, though cooler & wetter than Alabama, suits me way more than the high summer heat & humidity of Alabama. When you add in all the great stuff Seattle has, it's a no-brainer. Seattle is my home. I don't see myself ever living in Alabama again. I might've been born a Southerner, but I'll die a Pacific Northwesterner. ;o)

Sunday, June 12, 2011

Chicken & Egg Debate Solved....

There's a new commercial going around that uses the old "Which came first, the chicken or the egg?" debate as it's basis. Oddly, I've just seen the commercial again, and I'm not able to remember what the commercial was actually about. However, I do remember that John Goodman voices the chicken with Steve Bucsemi voicing the egg. Anyway, I've figured out the answer to this old conundrum (or at least I think I have).

I'll start by explaining the logic of my choice, and I'll end with the answer.

Okay, if we take the question of which was first, it's kind of easy to break down using today's scientific reasoning.

Think about the first chicken. The first bird that we would now call a chicken was more than likely a mutation of an earlier version. This is kind of like Cromagnon Man being the newer version of Neaderthal Man. They were very similar, but not the same by any stretch.

So the first "chicken" had non-chicken parents. Keep that in mind. Now these non-chicken parents; how did they reproduce? I'm guessing that since they were still birds they probably laid eggs. Even if the parents were some sort of dinosaur, they would still lay eggs.

Therefore, the first chicken came from..... an egg. It wasn't a chicken egg per se, but an egg nonetheless. So the answer to the great debate is.... The EGG came first!

Now, prove me wrong! ;o)