To Describe the Earth - Ge (o) graphe (y)

I tell those who care to know, that I stumbled upon my love for geography, that it was an accident and purely coincidental. But I know better than that. I know that the stars aligned and the heavens parted, the gods were shining down and granted me the great blessing of knowing where I am and what is around me. There is something special about knowing where you are in time and space. Imagine for a moment that you are Thales the ancient Greek philosopher or his aprentice Anaximander, "The Father of History" Herodotus, Plato or Aristotle. What would the world be like to you? Back in the time of these founding thinkers there was no NASA space images of the earth, no 1st grade teacher to tell you the earth was round. It was all speculation, based on mathematical observations, philosophy and science. So what was the earth in 585 B.C.? Thales said it was "a floating disc in water" and why not? Anaximander drew the first scaled world map, what did it look like? To him, it looked like this.

He believed, through fossil record, that life originated in the sea and that this sea once covered the earth's surface. Later around 100 A.D. Greek-Roman, Ptolemy laid out a map using "latitude" and "longitude" terms still used today. He put North at the top of the map and South at the bottom, modern days most recocnizable compass.  His first map looked something like this.

But going back to pretending that you are in fact living in the time of these founding thinkers. What would the world seem like to you? Using only the keen observations of the world around you, a little math and a whole lot of imagination, what would your world look like? 

A profound example that the earth is not as it seems comes in this "turn about" map by Jesse Levine. Just because someone decided that South meant "down" and North meant "up" doesn't mean that it really is. 

So dear reader, I encourage you to make your own map, cart new waters, explore, feel the wind on your face, the sand between your toes. Go ahead throw out any preconceived notions and imagine what the world is to you. 

Special thanks to Kenneth C. Davis and Travis Terry for their creativity and geographical insight.

Chi-ca-Go!

My first time driving downtown Chicago was on a Wednesday morning, it was plenty busy, but not too bad. As I drove along I wondered why I saw no speed limit signs, later I came to understand why they weren't needed. That Wednesday morning driving to Costco my ignorant small city brain hadn't seen anything yet. Then Friday afternoon came. 2:30pm, wow. I learned a lot that Friday afternoon and came up with 7 must follow rules for fitting in on the road. 

 1. If the light is green, you cram your way into the intersection EVEN if the traffic up ahead has stopped. It doesn't matter that you'll still be in the intersection when the light turns red, there will be plenty others in the intersection to keep you company. 

2. Disregard all signs and obstacles, if a sign says no turn on red but you're clear YOU TURN! If people are in the road YOU TURN! Other cars? You weasel your way in. 

3. Feel free to cut people off to get in a lane, but make sure you roll your window down and thank them with a friendly wave.

4. ALWAYS use your GPS to know where the least amount of traffic is. It's got a birds eye view and you don't. 

5. Plan ahead with snacks and water in your car, unexpected traffic can set you back an hour or two. Nothing like being parched or hungry on the road.

6. Don't mess with busses, they mean business. They won't stop for hardly anything, seriously.

7. If you are going to use your horn, lay it on nice n' thick, don't hold back.

Oh and the speed limit signs? The times that you would actually be able to drive 25 or 30 miles an hour are so rare, why post signs? This is life in the city! What an adventure. I wouldn't trade it for anything. I love being here with my husband and experiencing this beautiful place!