#229 Flying over mountains

Have you ever ruled a planet?

Me, no. But I’ve wanted to! Wouldn’t it be fun? We could all have our own. We’d be like celebrities buying up tiny islands in the middle of the ocean. Only with planets in the middle of the universe. Perhaps if Science actually got off its ass and invented some decent space and time travel our dreams could become a reality. Then having your own planet will be like the Tamagotchi of the 22nd century.

See, it doesn’t happen that often but whenever I fly over mountains in an airplane I sort of feel like the Ruler of Earth. Zooming through clear blue skies I stare down at rocky vistas and snow-capped peaks in dazed wonder. Frost freckles on the window and steamy clouds blur my view, but nothing keeps me from staring and staring and staring and staring into the icy abyss below.

It’s trippy to let your brain slip back into neverending question mode: How long have the mountains been there? How did they get there? How many places like this are there? And how long would I survive down there before being eaten by that Abominable Snowman from the Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer Christmas special?

Just kidding about that last one.

He was a friendly snowman, remember?

Yes, flying over mountains reminds us all how tiny and fragile our lives really are. Because you’re dead soon, buddy! And brother, so am I. But when we’re flying way up high through that great big blue-black sky it’s like our dreams and our dreaming just survive and survive and survive.

AWESOME!

Thank you for making The Book of (Even More) Awesome a bestseller for the sixth straight week.

Photos from: my cell phone, here, and here

54 thoughts to “#229 Flying over mountains”

  1. YES. This is particularly appropriate today, considering I went skydiving this morning in Boulder, CO and had incredible views of the mountains. AWESOME!

    1. Skydiving? Wow. I bet that’s a much better view and experience of the mountains than in a plane!

  2. yes!!!! really the only reason I love this post is the line “the tomagatchi of the 22nd century!!!!!!!!!!!”

  3. There are lots of things about this that I completely and totally LOVE.

    1. The mention of Tamagotchi. I looooved mine and was reminiscing about it just a few weeks ago!

    2. BUMBLE, the Abominable Snow Monster of the North! That’s one of my very favorite Christmas movies ever. EVER.

    3. The suggestion that Science needs to get off its ass and get going on pioneering that whole time-travel movement. I mean, who isn’t in agreement on that one??

    4. Flying over mountains. It IS so amazingly awesome. What made that particular mountain [range]? Earthquake? Volcano? Plate tectonics? How tall IS it? Could I climb it? Will Yukon Cornelius come out of nowhere to mine silver and gold?? So many questions, so little time to stare and ponder.

    Super congrats on the bestseller-for-six-weeks news! :D

    1. I never had a Tamagotchi. I have a cheaper version of the thing, which wasn’t a monster; it was just an ordinary puppy, that you had to feed and clean up after and watch it grow up…

      Cept it never seemed to grow up, cause I always forgot about it, and it died… Woops!

      Then one day my Mum got hold of it, and she loved it and fed it and cleaned up its digital poops. Of course, she was very sad to find that, once the dog reaches age 100 (old dog, huh?), it dies a natural death.

      So, RIP my non-Tamagotchi digital puppy-pal.

      1. I had both the Tamagotchi and the knock off. Do they make anything like that anymore?? Or is it all big video games and computers these days? I think I’m going to look for something of the sort for my daughter.
        My dog never made it to 100 years. It always died cuz I kept forgetting about it. I had no idea that’s as far as they would go.

      2. Was it a Giga Pet? I had a Giga Pet dog. :)

        And whoa, your dog lived to be 100?! I don’t think mine ever lived that long. I must have been a bad virtual pet owner!

        1. Giga Pet!!! That’s it. At least that’s what I had. I don’t know if there was another version or not.

          1. I think I had a Giga Pet and few knockoffs and I would carry them around on a keychain. Good times. And I had a puppy one that was a Giga Pet/Diary combo. I think I definitely went through a phase =)

            1. Bekah, see tamenagerie.com
              I know how much fun my daughters had with these and now that you mentioned this, think I’ll get one for my grand-daughter~she’d love it=D

            2. I had a giga pet and the diary combo one! (my brother had the tamagotchi) I also had a knock of one that was dinosaur…but really mine was lucky to make it out of puppy hood alive forget 100 years…I rarely was able to even teach it a trick..

              kind of ruined my deal with my mom, over possibly getting a real dog only after I could prove I could even take care of a virtual one… ooops!

    2. Never had a digital pet (a little after my time), but had a pet rock! Came in a little box that looked like a pet carrier with straw in the bottom. Most well-behaved, well-trained pet I ever had! The original name I devised? Rocky…haha!

      Since I missed a few posts last week, I have to go back to the bouncy ball one. As a kid, my dad brought home an entire shoe box full of bouncy balls (super balls!) for me and I used to go out on our enclosed back porch which had a cement floor and dump them all. They bounced around like crazy, hitting the walls and ceiling. My friends always begged to do it when they came over. I’d completely forgotten about that! Makes me feel good to remember all those little things my dad used to do to make me smile because I lost him almost a year ago and I’m missing him.

      Is there already a post about remembering loved ones fondly? That is awesome, remembering those who have passed and thinking of all of the fun, crazy, silly, loving things about that person.

      Am I the only one losing track now of all of the former posts?! I swear, my memory is going! There are now 771 posts and I’m starting to forget what was already mentioned.

      1. I found “Awesome” on Dec.31st.2010- have been playing catch-up, so some are fresher in my mind and have made note of some I think you’re looking for to “get through”~ so Kathy, here they are:
        *#854
        ***#829
        *#699
        *#632
        ***#601
        *600 (I believe the new year should be spring, but then suppose spring is different everywhere~but we can start a new year anyday!)
        ***#566
        *#340
        Steven Levine has some really good healing literature as well.
        Take care.

      2. I’d love to try out the super bouncy ball idea! After watching that video, I’ve been wanting to see it for myself.

        And yes, it is hard to keep track of all the posts….there are so many. I try to give an awesome thing everyday on The Top 1000 page, and I have mentioned some that have already been featured. Its crazy.

        Has anyone else’s comment box changed?? I kinda like it…

  4. I’ve never actually flown over mountains. Thanks for this, I think I may have to fly somewhere now just to experience it!

    1. Yeah, I never have, either. But I still remember the first time I ever flew in a plane. (…Why did I specify “in a plane”? It’s not like I fly without a plane on a regular basis…)

      Anyhoodley, I may not have gone over mountains, but I had my nose pressed to that window the entire time. It’s incredible, isn’t it?! Everything looked like the little plastic props you get in a train set.

      It doesn’t seem like it should be possible for planes to get off the ground, but it’s amazing everytime they do, huh?

      1. Yeah, I definitely agree. Big metal machines somehow gracefully flying through the air? It’s a pretty big deal.

      2. “Why did I specify ‘in a plane?’ It’s not like I fly without a plane on a regular basis…” Love this! Laughed so hard!

      3. You know what can fly without a plane on a regular basis? Ducks. Yeah cuz they’re awesome like that.

              1. I am intrigued, but that link doesn’t work.

                What is for me?! What will I have fun with?! Why should I be careful?!

                So many questions left unanswered…

                (Woah… “answer” is a really funky looking word.)

          1. See, you really do love ducks, Freddo! Tasty delicious ducks! I personally find them too greasy for consumption, however, I might be convinced to try a Nutella and brown sugar wok-roasted duck.

            1. back to you, gottalovethebadguy…
              Sorry, so not well played when the URL doesn’t work; it’s a short clip on flying turtles.
              And according to another you tube clip, bill and ted also said “woah!” just like that!

                1. YES!! Oh, thank you! Aren’t they darling!
                  Yes, I don’t know why, I hope nobody asks, but comment box changed right in the middle of a reply and it was sort of like the Carpenter’s song, “Calling Occupants” video. hahaha.

  5. Another thing I’m missing out on. The picture does look beautiful.
    Tamagotchi-I forgot all about those!! I got my first one when I was 10. If I looked through my stuff I bet I’d find one.

  6. Awesome! I travel a lot for work and love it when I get to fly over mountains and other really interesting landscapes. Sign me up for that window seat every time. Many of my flights are short hops to NJ with no mountains, but I know that if I sit at a right side window flying into Newark I get to see the NYC skyline!!

  7. You have “MY” vote to rule Pasricha planet~that is if there’s room for Awesome community ceremonies, celebrations & rite of passage parties.
    Yes, I detect “somebody” was on “World Domination Summit” high while weaving this tapestry of words into a REAL dream for all to “Imagine”.
    For a little bit of your time travelling enjoyment, the love, the Faith…
    http://youtu.be/ZFYK8NKErS8

  8. Well, here in Alberta, we stare up at those mountains every single day and night! When you drive along the side of a cliff… with a mountian on the other side…. with your grandma driving…. you REALLY see how fragile life is!! ( Seriously…………….. its not fun. )

    1. I feel for you. Was not my Grandma, however; I’ve had a similar fragile experiences: 1. snowmobiling~ mountain ranges as far as I could see were gorgeous, but I felt “something was off” and asked if we were okay to be in the territory…the response… “We’re fine. Relax!”
      Once home discovered on maps, we’d been in a “RED X” zone called “Skinny Ridge,” one of the highest avalanche danger zones.
      Not comforting at all.

  9. “Perhaps if Science actually got off its ass and invented some decent space and time travel our dreams could become a reality.”

    This sentence is FTW. So, so funny. And True! By gosh, I want my flying cars dammit

  10. Back from vacay and just starting to get caught up on all the fun I missed.

    But first, a few thoughts on my vacation:

    1) Hunger Games: The first two books? A+.. the final book? C+.. I was a bit bummed with how the whole series wrapped up.. I won’t go into the details here (you know, spoilers and all), but wasn’t the most satisfying conclusion to what was otherwise an awesome series.

    2) I cannot remember a vacation where I have done so little and yet was so awesome.. My days went something like: wake up, walk on the beach, eat breakfast overlooking the ocean, read hunger games, swim, nap, swim, read hunger games, eat lunch overlooking the ocean, swim, nap, read hunger games, drink pina coladas for happy hour, read hunger games, eat dinner on the beach, read hunger games, bed.. now multiply that by 7 days.. best, most relaxing vacation ever.. Sometimes I’m all about wanting to be adventurous and explore on my vacations.. this one was all about relaxing to the point where my entire body turns to mush.. it was fantastic.

    3) Missed all the fun you guys were having here.. time to catch up and join in for the rest of the week (while I struggle to catch up on all the work I fell behind on last week!)

    4) Just checking: Anyone else share my personal obsession with SYTYCD?

    1. I LOVE So You Think You Can Dance.

      I also agree with your Hunger Games assessment. I think I read all the books in a weekend. I was obsessed. And then I was a wee bit depressed. :-/

      1. Freddo, I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE SYTYCD~ I cannot believe what some people can do with their bodies! Amazing!
        I’m like totally trying out “next life around!”
        (that is unless I love thunder-river-dancing so much, “on the other side!”)

        1. Yay! Glad we have a little group here that loves SYTYCD!

          First of all, I’m very loyal and partial in my taste for reality dance shows. I refuse to watch DwtS, or any other dance shows..

          Second, I’m pretty eager to be out of the audition phase and into the competition part of the show. I love some parts of the auditions, but I find their focus on “bad” or “joke” dancers to be a little too much.. I want to see GOOD dancing.. I found that one episode recently with Ringo Starr’s “daughter” to be a particularly bad example.. Sort of like: “Hey, we’ve got a family that clearly has some mental health problems and no dance skills. Let’s dedicate 20 minutes of the show to them.. oh, and we’ve got tons of really talented dancers? 30 second montage!”

          However, this isn’t the place to focus on the negative, but focus on the AWESOME! And there is so much about that show to love! :)

          1. Totally agree, I nearly wrote in about basic human rights and dignity the other night, but I visited “awesome” instead.
            I do this thing where I occasionally and spontaeously stagger and fall down, and there’s no alcohol involved. I know I’m really blessed to walk at all, let alone somersault, cart wheel and “fly over mountain tops”. When I was 3 or 4, I went to creative dance; I was THRILLED! I followed the instruction to dance like a tree and a butterfly, but was told I couldn’t return. I just had a thought, perhaps those were not the instructions after-all, but it makes me think I should start such a class for “children” like me!
            Anyway…other than ninja’s, and a handful of Russian ballerinas; well ok and gymnasts, for the most part of history, people never had these abilities in other centuries, so I figure this… they are either from another planet or slinkies were implanted in their joints at birth…how about you???
            Is there ever some awesome talent every year!
            Still being on the Flying topic and all Neil, and all…
            Flying with word press~ thank you, by the way;)

  11. I live in Chile but I”ve been back and forth between here and Argentina….you MUST try flying over the Andes!

  12. It was so weird, the day I read this, I had just flown over the Andes mountains, and it WAS awesome :)

  13. LOVE this one! Just recently found the Book of Awesome, and have translated it into writing prompts and projects for my 6th graders. Still working on them, but I’ve encouraged them to post their work!

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