We all have our favorite things, moments that mean something to us, activities that relax us, toys that give us great pleasure. Here are five of mine.

Showers. I am not talking about rain showers, although I enjoy a walk in the rain on a hot and humid day. I’m talking about standing under a shower as soon as I get out of bed with the water at full blast and the temperature set to my liking. This will usually mean a steaming hot flow on a cold day and a cold stream when the temp is 105. I love to stand with the flow hitting my head and shoulders with the force of a fire hose until I finally sense that I have other work waiting. But even then, I don’t want to step out of the shower and break the spell. A good shower is magical.

Maps. I love to read maps. I don’t care what kind of map it is or what language the map is in. I delight in comparing place names in a foreign language with their English equivalent. Everywhere I travel, I make sure to bring at least one map of that place home. The more detailed the map the more I like it. I once bought a topographic atlas of Nevada with the location of ranches in it. The maps were so detailed they contained Forest Service trails and the names of tiny creeks. That’s my kind of map.

Facebook Friends. The people who have friended me and the ones I have friended have turned out to be pretty doggoned good and decent people even though the only ones I have actually met in person are relatives and a few personal friends I knew before joining Facebook. Still, it isn’t hard to get a handle on someone if you read their comments carefully over a period of time. In a very few cases, I have come to treasure my Facebook friendship just as much if not more than my friendship with someone I’ve met. For some reason that I haven’t dwelled on but which someone pointed out to me, most of my friends are women. My immediate thought was, “Well, so, yeah, tweedle dee dee, tweedle dee dum…” and I let it drop. Life is as it is. I’ve deliberately kept the number of my friends small because I have a short attention span. Others may have a thousand or more friends, but I can’t keep track of that many. I can’t even count that high. I prefer quality over quantity anyway. And that’s just what I have. A fine group of Facebook Friends that I enjoy communicating with.

Music. I couldn’t carry a tune if my life depended on it. But I love to listen to music and I have a good ear, good enough to recognize a song that I’ve heard only once. In this respect, genetics has been unkind. My mother and all of her siblings and all of her brother’s kids can sing and play guitars like pros. Even my wife could play a harmonica. So, here I am surrounded by musicians and all I can do is croak like a frog when someone suggests a sing-a-long. On the other hand, I can catch a beat as fast as a frog’s tongue can snap a bug in midair, and then I can dance to that beat, not real, programmed steps but moves I make up as I go along. People think I’m good but I’m faking it like a lot of things in life. I have a large collection of music on all kinds of recording media, ranging from 78 rpms to vinyls to tapes to cds and maybe something I’ve missed. Play me some music and I’ll start moving.

Blogging. I started blogging five years ago with a blog I called SF Bay Area. At first, it was mostly about politics but over time I began to write about anything that came to mind. So far, I’ve posted close to 800 articles. Oddly, I’m still getting hits on several posts from 2007. I also have a blog on Open Salon to which I haven’t devoted as much attention to as I have to SF Bay Area. But it’s still active and occasionally I post something just to keep it alive. Blogging is another way to meet people with interests similar to mine and I’ve met some fantastic people, folks with eclectic interests and fabulous writing skills. I am not a writer by trade but I didn’t let that prevent me from creating a couple of blogs. I would encourage anyone to become a blogger who wants to express their interests in an informal community and at the same time reach a wide audience. Lots of people read blogs. One caution, however. Anonymous readers often called trolls may call you all sorts of names. Ignore them. “By your words shall ye be known.” Hmmm. That sounds like an interesting topic for a blog post.

Now it’s your turn. Okay, what are five little things that mean a lot to you? I would certainly be interested in knowing about your life’s little pleasures.  I’m sure others would be as well.  After all, Americans are born nosy.