Let's change the damned subject.

Just for a minute... please?

This is Essay #183

Note: Too long for an email… lotsa photos, so open in the app, please!

Is it me, or is every Substack lately centering on the hellscape that is our current government? A constant remix of different opinions. “We’ll survive this!” “We’re all going to die!” “MAGA is crumbling”. “MAGA will never go away!” Who to believe? What to think?

There’s a writer for everyone. So many great ones—like Ruminato! If it wasn’t for the snarky, funny writers out there like JoJoFromJerz, Jeff Tiedrich, Rebecca Schoenkopf and the team at Wonkette, the legal analysts Joyce Vance, Heather Cox Richardson, and Jay Kuo, and the wordsmiths who can literally bring you to your knees like Gloria Horton-Young, I don’t know what I’d do.

God Bless Ya Every One!! 💙💙

Don’t think I’m minimizing our situation, of course I’m worried. But I just don’t have the bandwidth to read every account of the how, when, and why America as we know it will end. Does that make me a bad citizen? NO. I’m trying to stay calm for my own mental health. It’s why I left for awhile. Travel is not only escape, it offers perspective.

And with that… come with me!

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I’m halfway through Susan’s Spain Sabbatical and my Spanish still sucks. 😂 I’m surprised I haven’t mangled the language so badly to get me laughed out of a restaurant, like “Me gustaría la sopa de camarones peludos con patas de mapache, al punto, por favor.” In other words…

I’d like the furry shrimp soup with the raccoon legs, medium well, please. 😂

I mean, seriously. But I’m studying everyday, determined to at least get by.

But then there was the guy I sat next to at a bar who was Polish and I thought he was speaking Spanish. 🤦‍♀️

Clearly, I need to get outta Missouri more often.

I’m in Barcelona right now. Creativity and art pulses through this city. Its everywhere. The museums. The history. I’m on sensory overload. And that guy, Antoni Gaudi? A visionary. Since I’m walking everywhere, one thing that has really caught my attention. The Graffiti.

Random Street Art in Barcelona. LOVE the Chicken!

Turns out that once Franco, their dictator died in November 1975, street art -and democracy-started to flourish here. Street artists are a popular genre in their own right. And yes, it’s illegal to paint on public or private property without permission. Yet, Barcelona has provided designated legal walls for artists to do their thing. And judging from the amount of work I’ve seen, people love it. One guy decided to spruce up his van. Maybe not his best work.

I think this work adds life and personality to an otherwise dull space.

OK, this isn’t graffiti, but it’s hilarious. Had to share! You have been warned! 😜

Miles Davis? I'm down with that!

The Barcelona skyline, in black and white!

And of course, a nod to Barcelona’s favorite son.

Finally… found in the MoCo, Barcelonas museum of modern art.

(I want that clock!)

Spain is a gorgeous and interesting culture. I have encountered no mean-spirited people, not saying there aren’t any. I read that Spain has been a country since 1492. America is still in its infancy… and we could learn a thing or two.

Thanks for traveling with me. Love my digital family.

If you liked this, maybe buy me a coffee with a one time donation here!

And please share this essay! ✌️