I ate lunch in a new little Indian curry place that just opened in South Bend. It reminded me of one I ate at 3 times in London... I just can't remember the name of it. I love a good curry and don't eat it as often as I would like to. I have been thinking lately of how important and interesting it is to look at familiar places through the eyes of others. It is funny when you are familiar with someplace how you take it for granted, almost as if you become so used to it you don't even see it anymore. Two instances have reminded me of this lately. They both revolve around the Moody Blues concert. The first one was when my new friends and I ran into John Lodge (of the Moody Blues) down by the river walk. He commented on how beautiful he thought the river was where the two water falls come together.-I was like "really". :) The second one was on Gordy Marshall's ongoing blog where he talks about being in South Bend and the Chocolate Cafe (and yes, I am still kicking myself for not recognizing that he was standing next to me ordering green tea and a bagel that morning!! ) :) Today - it happened again as the restaurant owners talked about how they love it here, how pretty it is, and that Notre Dame is "dynamite" - I think that was the word. It is so important to sometimes stop and look around and see our familiar sites as though we are a stranger. Maybe, by doing this, we can re-capture some of the wonder that is our own backyard.