I awoke from a dream that I could not remember and found it difficult to head back into that sleep. My mind was overtaken with a feeling that I should not have left Ann. I felt that she had reached out to me and I in some way had abandoned her. At that moment I decided I needed to return to her. That thought combined with a lot of other ingredients lead me to the decision to leave then, not later but that moment. …
Continue ReadingWe rose early and spent the entire day wandering the pedestrian streets and central squares popping in and out of small cafes and trendy boutiques. That’s right, trendy boutiques. The young ladies that gather in these places are quite attractive. Carlsberg and then followed the tree-lined avenues to the harbor.
…
There were no hedges, nor fences, in the bare and uniform countryside leading into the Netherlands. We were heading back into the crossroads of traffic back into the circus they had named Amsterdam. I could see no natural boundaries that separated the courtyard from the jester. …
Continue ReadingLike a bunch of cattle we were herded from the boat to the train station. It was in this company we met a group of young ladies from Costa Mesa California on their way to a concert in Paris. We were scheduled to see U2 in Dublin but that plan kinda got left behind with a bunch of stuffed animals. …
Continue ReadingI was told I still had family in Belgrade. My grandmother had given me addresses of relatives so at one point I considered visiting, but the negative idea of just showing up on somebody’s doorstep crept in. I ran it by Jenni. She didn’t have any plans of her own and kind of reluctantly agreed to follow, as long as we were heading north. We spent the rest of the day seeing some of the sights and roaming the streets. The one thing I didn’t want to do was to visit another museum. …
Continue ReadingI woke up with a serious problem. I don’t know if it was the combination of the exercise the other day, the consumption of alcohol or both but my arms had stiffened to the point where I could not extend them beyond a forty five degree angle. I tried carried my bags first in one hand and then the other using the weight of the bags to help stretch out my muscles, very scary. …
Continue ReadingI looked down and saw the speck that was our car and I could almost make out Jim sitting there reading his book. “You’re missing out”, I yelled. I realize coming off one of these mountain I lost my wallet. Backtracked but couldn’t find it. Not much money and no credentials or credit cards inside, so that was a relief, but I did lose my address book. So for all those that I promised I would write, please accept this as my apology. …
Continue ReadingShe had circled a small hostel up along the west cost of Northern Ireland in the little travel guide she carried. It was a gorgeous drive and well worth going out of our way. I’ll never forget the look on her face when she first saw her hostel. It was in the middle of nowhere and when the young men came out of the house to greet her, all the sheep ran for the hills. She had the look of a newborn, clinging to our car as if it was her mother. …
Continue ReadingThe clouds parted when we reached Haifa’s harbor. It was impressive passing right up next to aircraft carriers and battleships. That time they passed me right through customs but not Jenni. They couldn’t pin point why somebody would travel from New Zealand to Moscow, to Cyprus, to Israel and detained her for about forty-five minutes while the rest of us waited outside. We read travel paraphernalia for ideas and to pass the time. Once she got released we all wandered the waterfront in search of the train station and discovered that if we wanted to exchange currency we would need to find ourselves a bank. …
Continue ReadingWe arrive early into Istanbul but were without coinage and to compound our dilemma that day was the Sabbath. All the exchanges in the station were closed. We walked across town and ended up being directed to a major hotel in the area, but they would only exchange money if we weren’t guests of the hotel. “Get a room and we’ll exchange money for you” the receptionist repeated to us twice. The only other option we had was to charter a taxi to the airport, but the taxi wanted to double charge for having two occupants. So Jenni went to the airport while I stayed behind and watched the bags in front of the hotel lobby. …
Continue ReadingI enjoyed traveling on trains through the darkness of those mountains. When there was nothing else to do and I was tired of writing, I just stared at the passing shadows from the darkness of my compartment. I reached Lausanne early in the morning and walked into some confusion. Apparently the airport in Paris was on strike and that had a domino effect across Europe. Every form of information service had a line leading out its door. I noticed a young Finnish girl waiting in one of those lines. …
Continue ReadingI convinced Jenni to take another day trip, this time to visit Masada. At the bus depot it was like joining a herd of sheep. If there was a terrorist attack it would not be good. Jenni kept reminding me of that. Alongside the Dead Sea and after passing a few scattered Bedouin camps I found myself wondering how far it was to the next tree. Masada was a magnificent plateau in the middle of nowhere. It’s hard to understand why anybody would be motivated to conquer its walls unless motivated by pride. …
Continue ReadingI woke to the sound of wind that seemed to be gaining strength. It sounded like cats crying in the distance but no, it was closer. I went out onto the balcony and noticed two of our lady friends down in the street trying to get somebody’s attention. Apparently the door was locked and they had no key. We had an early boat and needed to get moving. Elspeth discovered her girlfriend never made it back from last night and she presumed she may have gotten lucky. Either way she wasn’t going to hop on the ferry without her, so we left the two behind. …
Continue ReadingMy eyes were glued to the window of the bus. The landscape we passed reminded me a lot of my home. The anticipation of knowing Jerusalem was approaching was beginning to take hold. There were many images that had been presented to me throughout my youth that I now have the opportunity to touch. The bus let us off at the Jaffa Gate. Jenni had a name and address of a family given to her from a mutual friend that could perhaps put us up for the night. I noticed a tourist office just off to my left and thought that might be a good place to start and to find ourselves a map of the city. …
Continue ReadingWe proceeded down this path through a country side park, colored and shaded by many trees and leading into one of the many veins of London’s underground. When we resurfaced we were in the heart of London. It arose more from the haze of my memory than from the morning fog, my childhood memories of nursery rhymes and children songs accompanied every step. …
Continue Reading
I HAVE BEEN TAUGHT THAT ………………we now come to know the nature of change through Cognition ……… …
Continue Reading
I knew we had reached the Netherlands when the standard blue or green trains turned multi-colored. Two guys had hit us up in the train station soliciting us to take a room on their boat. I preferred being in the heart of the city where access was easier and I could be closer to the coffee shop I decide to write in, but Jenni kind of liked the idea of being on a boat. I was leaving in a few days and felt that getting her acquainted with another group of people was also a priority. …
Continue Reading
These rules are in no particular order.
A REAL MAN ……
1. Don’t lie to Doctors
2. Will fake peeing at the urinal or will wait on a toilet before walking out in tandem with another guy.
3. Never talk about their privates or name any appendage of their body. That’s just weird.
4. Know how to Spit. A pouhhhhh is unacceptable. If it takes practice, practice.
5. Never park in front of a bar. …
Continue Reading
Together we searched, above it all, as clouds, we wandered free but when us two, came to be one, we parted company. It’s a lonely road that comes to an end. I’m sorry my love but I must head home.
Continue Reading
I HAVE BEEN TAUGHT THAT ………………we now come to know the nature of change through Cognition ………
“Cognition”, is defined as the mental process or facility by which that knowledge is acquired. …
Continue Reading
Where went the loveliness ……. I know you by, do I know the place
lost in all perfection ……. no longer shy, a dance without that grace
Pretty little dance ……. around we use to spin, a subtle touch ……. our eyes were one, we wandered like the wind
