When was the last time you heard the expression “It’s a small world”? If you weren’t at Disney, chances are you’d just had a chance encounter with a friend or relative when you were far away from home, or maybe you found out someone you know is somehow connected to someone else you know. This week, I consider just how big this world of ours really is.
Welcome to week 22 of The Sunday Spark, a series with weekly thoughts and highlights, nuggets of learning, and a sustainable living tip for the week. In addition to pondering the size of the planet, this week’s edition features electric buses, the climate cost of your summer barbecue, produce storage tips, and cutting back on driving.
The Sunday Spark – Week 22
On my mind this week: It’s not a small world after all
One of my most vivid memories of my first trip to Walt Disney World as a teenager was the It’s a Small World ride. I was fascinated by all the characters from around the world wearing their native costumes and singing that catchy little song in different languages. The message of the song is powerful. It’s about all the things we have in common as human beings—definitely a reminder our world needs at the moment.
But I digress…
Technology has made it so easy to meet and stay connected with people all around the globe. We pick up our smartphones and instantly see and talk to our loved ones on the other side of the world. Emails and instant messages mean we don’t have to wait weeks or months for an answer to a simple inquiry to arrive in the mail.
It’s actually a really big world
But, when you set out to travel from one end of the planet to the other, it really is a very big world after all. This week, I was reminded of that as I followed my daughter’s boyfriend’s journey from Australia to Canada.
Travelling is a whole lot faster and easier now than it was in my grandparents’ day when they spent six weeks on a boat to get from England to Australia. (Read all about that in Visions of 1920 travel and adventure.) Even so, it still took three flights and 26 hours to get from Melbourne to Toronto.
In a hundred years, we’ve shortened the time to travel to the other side of the world from 42 days to 26 hours. What will the next hundred years bring?
Perhaps we’ll be able to teleport ourselves instantly to anywhere in the world. Wouldn’t that be wonderful? That may sound like the stuff of science fiction movies, but so did video calls and instant messaging fifty years ago. It could happen.
It might not be a small world…but it’s still a great song
Because I still love Disney’s It’s a small world, I will leave you with this little snippet.
There is just one moon and one golden sun
And a smile means friendship to everyone
Though the mountains divide
And the oceans are wide
It’s a small world after all
It’s a small world, Richard and Robert Sherman
Now that I’ve planted this ear worm, you’ll probably be singing It’s a small world for the rest of the day. Sorry…not sorry…it’s a great message. Tell your friends.
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Three highlights of the week
It’s important to celebrate big milestones and simple pleasures in life. Keeping the trend going, here are three highlights and simple pleasures of the week gone by:
- It looks like the risk of frost has finally passed, so I planted my tomatoes and peppers on the weekend. This year’s garden will be scaled back for a couple of reasons. First, we’re getting a new deck at some point this summer, so I couldn’t use my planter boxes. And to be honest, our gardening hasn’t been very successful the last couple of summers. It’s time to reevaluate!
- The ducklings on our local pond are growing. Interestingly, all ten of them are still going strong. With a raft that size, we usually lose a few in the first few weeks. They make us smile every time we see them on our evening walks.
- I started a fresh new work notebook this week. There’s nothing like the promise of a new notebook—so many blank pages and possibilities. I buy extra-large notebooks and it takes me about 18 months to fill one. As I opened this one up for the first time, I wondered how many more work notebooks I’ll need before I retire.
Three things I learned this week
Life is all about learning. Here are three things I learned this week:
Electric buses in Waterloo Region
On the weekend, my daughter and I were out for a walk in our neighbourhood. A bus drove by and my daughter commented, “Hey, that’s an electric bus!” I did a little research and learned Grand River Transit has 11 electric buses as part of a pilot project. GO Transit is also piloting electric buses.
One of the challenges of electric buses is range. Our buses are on the road for many hours each day and current charging capacity wouldn’t last an entire day. Hopefully, we’ll see improvements and buses of the future will all be electric.
Understanding the carbon impact of your summer barbecue
Summer weather is here and that means barbecue season is in full swing. Have you ever considered the carbon impact of your summer barbecue? Whether you fuel your grill with gas, propane, charcoal, or wood pellets, there is a carbon impact.
So which choice of fuel has the worst environmental impact? It turns out that authentic charbroiled taste comes at a heavy cost. Grilling meat or veggies for four people on a charcoal grill emits as much CO2 as an 80-mile drive. That’s 28 pounds of CO2. Better options are wood pellets (3.78 pounds), propane (1.99 pounds), and natural gas (1.73 pounds). The best choice? A solar oven has no carbon impact—but you won’t get those wonderful grill lines. (Source: Earth 911)
Produce storage tips
Did you know that apples, tomatoes, avocados, and bananas are examples of climacteric produce? This means they continue ripening and reach their peak freshness after they are picked.
As climacteric produce ripens, it emits a gas called ethylene. Storing this type of produce near other types of climacteric produce causes the others to pick up the ethylene. When that happens, they may ripen too quickly. So, you should always store different types of climacteric produce separately. Of course, if you are in a hurry for some avocado toast, you can speed up ripening by storing your avocados in a closed container with other climacteric produce. (Source: Earth 911)
I suppose that’s where the saying “One bad apple spoils the whole bunch” came from.
Sustainable living tip: cut back on car trips
The arrival of summer weather means many of us are thinking about summer vacations and road trips. While driving may be better for the environment than flying, it does still have an impact—not to mention the cost to our wallets.
This week, take advantage of the warmer weather and consider leaving your car at home for one or two local trips. Instead of driving, travel by foot, bicycle, or public transit. You’ll get some exercise, fresh air and travel at a much more relaxed pace.
I’d love to hear your thoughts on any of this week’s topics. Drop me a comment below and let me know your thoughts and ideas.
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I am eagerly waiting for the day when teleportation becomes a reality. Till then I will keep reading Harry Potter books. You should include photos of ducklings. I would love to see them in photographs till teleportation is invented. 😄 🪄
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could just blink our eyes and be anywhere in the world? My daughter just accepted a job in another province so I will really be wishing it could happen when she moves. 😢
For photos of ducklings, you might enjoy this post I wrote a couple of years ago:
https://boomerecocrusader.com/life-lessons-we-can-learn-from-ducks/
Oh the bittersweet moment when kids had to move to a new place because of work. But what would I know coz I am myself one of those kids who likes to fly, make my own mark in the world, and equally miss my mom if ever that happens. For now, I am happy coming back home tired from work, my mom greeting me sweetly at the door, eager to listen to everything that happened at work.
The ducks are so cute. Liked that post as well. 😊
I’m sure your mom loves having you around. So glad you enjoyed the ducks. 💚
I used to be able to finish a 300-page notebook in months. Now it’s been a year and I haven’t gone through my Leuchtturm. It’s a great reminder that life has its ups and downs, as it is with everything else. Perhaps I need to go back to my longhand sessions!
A new notebook holds so much promise, doesn’t it Stuart? At the pace I fill one, this actually could be the last one in my current career. I tried using OneNote and taking meeting notes digitally but it just wasn’t the same for me. A physical notebook means I can listen to the conversation and make selective notes. With digital notes, I was typing too much and not paying enough attention to what I was hearing. Strange.
Thanks, as always, for dropping by. Here’s to filling many more notebooks in the future!
I’ve felt that too! Like when I’m typing, the info goes straight from the speaker, through my fingers, to the page. But when I’m writing longhand, I process the thoughts first, and then I write. Which helps much more with the understanding.
Wonderful post. That song is definitely a catchy tune.
Peaches are ready down here, although a poor year due to late frost. I picked up a small basket and they are very hard. They do emit ethylene, as I now know , Thank You. I am hoping they ripen.
Oh. I love fresh peaches. We don’t usually see any until late July. I hope they ripen for you.
Climateric produce, that a group of ducks is called a raft, the comparative impact of grilling – wow, I learn so much from you, Michelle!
And I love the image of a new workbook and wondering how many more you’ll have before you retire. What a way to measure time!
Happy Sunday!
Thanks so much Wynne. When I started The Sunday Spark at the beginning of this year, I wasn’t sure how it would go over. But it’s so much fun putting together these little nuggets that I pick up during the week. I appreciate your kind words.
Loving these weekly reflections and your thoughts on how travel has so swiftly changed back into what it was before the pandemic.
I also loved learning about where the ‘one bad apple spoils the whole crop’ may have come from! That is so interesting. <3
Thanks for reading and commenting Layla! Yes, I had never really thought about the origins of the bad apple expression until this week. It makes sense now!
I love your wondering about what travel with look like in the future, Michelle. You’re right…days became hours in fairly short order! Thanks so much for the link to your post about 1920’s travel. The photo of your grandparents wedding is stunning. A different time…and the peek into life on board a large ship, meals, activities, etc. was so fun to read. Thank you! 🥰
Thanks Vicki! That post about my grandparents’ travel was one of the most fun posts the research and write. It was definitely a different time. If I ever wonder where my daughter got her adventurous spirit from, I don’t have to look very far. It’s all from my side of the family.
Isn’t that the best — the looking back and looking forward. I love that you see a bit of wanderlust in your daughter – her adventuresome heart. I can’t imagine what it was like to travel for months on a topsy-turvy ship. I’m a cream puff, I think. And grateful that those who came before me risked so much in those journeys. 🥰
I love your posts, especially learning about your local ducklings.
On a wider scale, I worry that many of my friends still fly a lot for fun trips and unnecessary work meetings. I keep thinking – in 2020 they managed the same meetings over Zoom with very little carbon imprint. Fingers crossed we develop carbon-free flying as aeroplanes are the most problematic impactors. Good luck with the garden.
Thanks Jamie. It’s surprising that so many businesses went right back to flying after the pandemic. Pretty much all of my flying is work related. I do acknowledge that some things are far better in person but there needs to be a balance.