Katherine

“she was too much of a warrior
to be considered a princess
she never cared for the crown
she preferred a sword”
― R.H. Sin

“We are, after all, citizens of the world - a world filled with bacteria, some friendly, some not so friendly. Do we really want to travel in hermetically sealed popemobiles through the rural provinces of France, Mexico and the Far East, eating only in Hard Rock Cafes and McDonald's? Or do we want to eat without fear, tearing into the local stew, the humble taqueria's mystery meat, the sincerely offered gift of a lightly grilled fish head? I know what I want. I want it all. I want to try everything once. I'll give you the benefit of the doubt, Senor Tamale Stand Owner, Sushi-chef-san, Monsieur Bucket-head. What's that feathered game bird, hanging on the porch, getting riper by the day, the body nearly ready to drop off? I want some.”
― Anthony Bourdain, Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly

“The ground is unrelenting. We can leave it — and that’s its own kind of shock, an elated rush of triumph. Flight is easy when it’s beautiful. It’s easy when it’s washed in the calm, golden glow of sunsets, and our view is vast, and we are in the company of clouds and vultures and our friends who can also fly. But we must come back down. When the impact is ugly, demeaning, when it slows down time and splits your senses, you don’t just have to come down, you have to come back together, and then you have to hike back up and take off again, now knowing more precisely what you risk.”
― Erin Clark, If you really love me, throw me off the mountain: a memoir

“Most of what I know

I've learned from falling,
from placing the brighter side
of my hands against the earth
and pressing until vertical.

The ground has taught me
more about flight

than the sky ever could.”
― Rudy Francisco, I'll Fly Away