Halloween is a distinctly odd holiday – initially a day when the boundary between the living and the dead was more than a little blurred. How it became a celebration of costume, children, and candy treats … well, it seems a bit odd to me. Living humans are generally a bit nervous around the dead.
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PHOTOGRAPHIC MEMORIES
Once upon a time, people went on vacations and took something called “slides.” Shortly after they returned home, these now knowledgeable former tourists rushed to develop the slides so they could invite friends, acquaintances, and the occasional unlucky stranger to join them for light refreshments and a “slide show.” The host loaded slides into a
TALES OF TRAVEL, MURDER, & MYSTERY
I’m always uncomfortable with the thought that I might have an unfilled spare moment. This contributes to my habit of always having something to read. My compulsion is not entirely unique. No less an author than Oscar Wilde put the following words in the mouth of one of his more pretentious characters. “I never travel
FLIGHT TO ANOTHER WORLD
After 3 weeks in Agra, it was time to leave on Saturday. So I took a few last pictures of my host’s upscale, professional neighborhood. Gated homes for doctors and lawyers, a temple, the occasional cow in the common area, and, first seen on the day of departure, donkeys near the improvisational housing across the
ROAD TO YAMUNA RIVER
My Agra host lives in a very nice neighborhood on the western side of Agra. Usually, when we get to the main road, we turn right. This takes us into the town and its traffic. The other day we turned left. In moments we were in a countryside of wheat fields, cattle, and goats, driving
GETTING SETTLED IN AGRA
Time is strange here in Agra — that feeling that you just got here but have always been here. We are especially fortunate on this visit, because we are staying with friends. this allows us to experience patterns of regular life in a professional Indian household. The first thing I’ve learned is that the home
AH, INDIA
Sunday I arrived at Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi for my fourth visit to India. I am constantly drawn back to this place of chaos and contrast, and relish the chance to see the world from a perspective so different I cannot adequately describe it. Today’s blog features a few interesting sights on the
BILE BEANS – PRECURSOR TO LIFESTYLE DRUGS
Crossing the Lord Mayor’s Walk in York (UK), I could not help but notice the prescriptive sign above. The first time I saw it, I was running late and scampered across the street on my way to St. John’s University. The sign greeted me daily for about a week. On more leisurely mornings, I
EGYPT, AN ALABASTER POT, & MEMORIES
In 2008 I visited an Egypt that no longer exists, and brought home this alabaster pot. The seller urged me to put a lamp inside. I didn’t take his advice, yet every day the pot shines light on what once was. The pot sits on the cupboard that houses the television set. As news reports
MY ROTARY DAY IN VOLCANO
This past Saturday I participated in two events held in Volcano Village, about 30 miles away from Hilo. The first was staffing an aid station for the 4th Annual Rain Forest Run; the second was a visit to Volcano Winery. As a member of the Rotary Club of Hilo Bay, I could join both activities,
MUFFETT, A VERY SENIOR KITTY
Muffett is our senior cat. She’s been with us for 18 years – which equals 88 human years. I remember the day we brought her home from the Humane Society. There were two kittens in the cage: a tortoise shell female and a ginger yellow male. When I held the girl, she quickly deduced
“THE TARGET WAS ONE ENEMY CASUALTY AT THE END OF A RIFLE”
In his retirement, my father collected biographies about World War II leaders. He said he wanted to understand what really happened in the war that dominated his adult life. My father was a navy man then, a middle grade officer. I don’t know if he found what he was looking for. I don’t know if
DAY TOUR IN SEATTLE
I visit Seattle 2-3 times a year to visit family, eat, and take a break in familiar surroundings. I did my undergraduate BA degree at the University of Washington – before they bricked over the grassy area near the library to create “Red Square” above the Central Garage. If you know when that happened, you
OLYMPIC HOTEL: DOYENNE OF 1920s SEATTLE
OLYMPIC HOTEL. When I was a high school student in a Seattle bedroom community on the other side of Lake Washington, those two words symbolized all that was posh and sophisticated. I never dreamed I could set foot inside such an illustrious palace, let alone stay there regularly. The Olympic Hotel is a palace of
FISH LIBERATION DAY
Once upon a time, four or five years ago, I decided it would be nice to have a fountain in the back garden. Sort of a trickling brook. I found a nice place for it – or at least I thought so at the time. My daughter and her boyfriend were staying with us. I
CLEAN HOUSE – CLEANSED MIND?
Some of my Twitter followers know I recently cleaned out my closet (because I couldn’t find anything to wear) and rediscovered “the collection room” floor (I knew it had to be there somewhere). When Matthew Wright (no relation), member of the #myWANA hashtag group on Twitter, realized I’d inadvertently begun cleaning my closet,