I've never been so excited about going on a trip as I was about going to Israel. Friends on Facebook were looking forward to my posts and pictures, but many cautioned me to stay safe and be careful. One friend even asked why I wanted to go to a place "so, so dangerous". The morning …
Author: The Autonomous Traveler
My life has been metamorphosis from a shy, scared little girl to an adventurous woman who travels the world by herself. I am a grandmother and a retired teacher who is a lifelong learner with a degree in the social sciences. My trips are opportunities to directly experience the wonders of world in order to understand what unites us all and, as a result, to better understand myself.
Israel-The Left Turn
My trip, like my life, was subject to an unexpected twist. If you read my blog in the next few weeks, you will find out all the details of my surprise adventure in Israel. My trip took an unexpected left turn, like the gate at a fort built by the Crusaders in the early 1200s …
Israel Next-Why?
Back home, surrounded by my familiar things, I continue to learn, to wander in my mind back to India. The Hindus divide life into four stages. At age 70, I find myself in the last stage, Sannyasa, a time for renunciation. The Hindus see this as a time to move away from material concerns and …
Flesh and Blood, Bits and Pieces
I walk for hours. Sometimes, my hip would end up hurting from the unevenness of the trek, one foot on the shore, the other in the water. I have learned to wear an old pair of sneakers tied tightly to prevent rocks from getting in my shoes. My hair is long enough to pull back …
How to Be an Explorer of the World
"It worries me greatly that today's children can recognize 100 corporate logos and fewer than ten plants." -Robin Wall Kimmerer. I found this excellent book in a thrift shop. I loved the title and was intrigued by its unconventional format. The author, Keri Smith, calls herself a "guerrilla" author, priding herself on creative ways to …
Wearing a Fuzzy Pink Bath Mat to the Prom
My last post, "Everybody Must Get Stoned," was a bit dark and discouraging. I guess my intention was to sound the alarm about where we are headed as human beings if we don't get our act together. I'm a real optimist, and I owe my resilience to my mom, who would repeat the same mantra …
“Everybody Must Get Stoned”-Traveling with Forrest Gump
I'm terrified! "Rainy Day Women #12 & 35" written by Bob Dylan, released in 1966 "Well, they'll stone you when you're trying to be so goodThey'll stone you just like they said they wouldThey'll stone you when you're trying to go homeAnd they'll stone you when you're there all aloneBut I would not feel so …
Continue reading “Everybody Must Get Stoned”-Traveling with Forrest Gump
My Imaginary (and Real) Friends
Due to family dynamics and my shyness, I spent a lot of time alone during my childhood. But life is about adaptability, and I came to enjoy my own company. I always found things to do, to see, to ponder. When my life became too overwhelming, I would ride my bike through my neighbor's orchard, …
“Break on Through to the Other Side” Traveling with Forrest Gump
Back in the 1950s and 1960s, sex was what bad girls did; at least that was the social propaganda. Even married couples on TV slept in twin beds. The shame of an unwanted pregnancy was something considered worse than death. Body parts were not called by their scientific names but by cutesy words that served …
Continue reading “Break on Through to the Other Side” Traveling with Forrest Gump
R-E-S-P-E-C-T Traveling with Forrest Gump
RESPECT Songwriter: Otis Redding Made into a single in 1967 Recorded by Aretha Franklin in 1967 What you wantBaby, I got itWhat you needDo you know I got it?All I'm askin'It's for a bit of respect I was born in 1949, a time when all female children were supposed to be "good" little girls. This …
The Autonomous Traveler 