And All Is Right With the World

Well at least in my little tiny corner of the world.

I went to lunch in town today at Wendy's Creole Restaurant and Bar.

Barbecue chicken with rice and beans and potato salad.

I have to admit, I started today out a little bit anxious. I wrote a blog post but it was whiny and a downer. I had  the other day, posted on Facebook the following little cartoon:

You really don't know how true this is. I have found that so many people that i really really like as friends, I have completely different political views than they do. I'm okay with that, we can love each other and not agree on lots of things. But it is one of the reasons I hate Facebook, because there are some people who post their political views on Facebook with such hatred and animosity and vitriol that I am saddened. I realize they don't like things the way they are but really I don't see them doing much to help change it besides posting words of hate and discontent. I have not yet figured out what I personally can do to truly make things better that would please a majority of the people so in the meantime I choose not to post anything, for fear of alienating people that I generally like. I don't like to argue, particularly not on social media. I hate that I feel like I should remind people that words can be hurtful and certainly not helpful.  And it can be particularly true when they are said without the benefit of face to face communication where you can see what people "mean" with their words and you can try and have some civil discussion. I've watched others get literally "attacked" on Facebook for disagreeing with a political post. I will have none of it.

But, I am not willing to give up Facebook because it is my link to my family and friends in the states while I am living here in Belize.

So I held my other post, it didn't feel like it added anything to the discussion either.

Then I went outside to the little deck on the ocean right outside my cabana.

A squall blew through this morning, lots of wind and rain, for about an hour then it stopped and it turned into a lovely day. Then this evening the wind started up again and it looks like maybe it will blow more rain in. It was still a very comfortable temperature outside, in the mid to high 70's. So I'm hanging out and I see this bird hanging near the shore. Don't know what kind he is but he was cool so I took his (her?) picture. (Sorry not a great picture but couldn't get closer or I'd scare it off.)

Then my pelican friend was back so I tried to get a picture of a pelican in flight:

The wind continued to blow and the sky was just beautiful so I took a panoramic picture:

And as I"m taking this picture, something in the water catches my eye and I realize there are dolphins, about 20 yards off the deck. I took several videos as they played in the water, breaching, tail slapping. I must have seen at least 6 or 8 different dolphins but mostly a pair that seemed to be playing together. The video is not great (again, taken with my phone) but I could have watched this all night long:

And all seems right with the world again. 

It does however serve as a reminder that dolphins and all cetaceans belong in the ocean, not in tanks doing tricks. If you want to see dolphins perform go on a trip somewhere and watch them in their natural habitat, it is incredible to watch.