My last post was 11 days ago. It's strange being back in the US. I live in a rich country , we have houses with good roofs and plumbing. Trash is picked up and animals do not wander the streets leaving excrement on the pavement. I just celebrated Thanksgiving with family and we ate a …
India-The Caste System
One of enduring understanding about India we learned about in school was the caste system. It fascinated us, that people were labeled and this label was carried throughout a person's life. We were especially intrigued with the "Untouchables". On the tour, I learned that people of higher caste would always be alert when walking in public …
India-Hinduism
79.8% of India's population is Hindu, 14.2% Muslim, and 6% is of various religions including Christianity, Sikhism, Buddhism, Jainism and others. The people in my tour group learned to spot active and inactive temples. They were like living things and if people did not use them and bring offering they basically closed up and metaphorically …
India-An Event Remembered, Old and New Delhi, and a Mosque
My plan for my blog was to write about the tour one day at a time. After downloading almost 2000 pictures and realizing how much we did each day, I am presenting India in short mangable bites. I discovered by the end of my trip that India is a land of millions and millions of …
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India-Getting There
Going to India did not only require that my passport was up to date but also that I apply for a visa. A visit to the travel clinic at my local public health department advised me that in addition to the hepatitis and tetanus shots I had received before a trip to China, I …
India-WHY?
I have a strange way of picking my travel destinations. I do it by whim, waiting to be inspired by some sign or a feeling of intuitive direction. If you are a regular follower of my blog, you might remember that I chose to go to Barcelona, Spain because I saw the city on an …
Mayfly-A Fly Fishing Woman’s Tale
When I was newly divorced and my kids were off to college I used to go to a place with a band every Friday evening with my single female friends. Heads up and stomachs sucked in, we pretended to be aloof. Neon beer signs, the tiny red dots on the sound equipment, and a street light through a grimy window provided the bar’s main illumination. But dragged down by disappointment and gravity, we welcomed the dim lighting. We always chose a table close to the small stage thinking that proximity to the band increased our chances of being asked to dance. We deemed some of the males unsuitable and rejected them. And since there is justice everywhere, even in a place that served draft beer and cheap wine, the men that we saw as desirable rejected us.
I would sip coffee in my living room the next morning hoping it…
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A North Country Love Affair
Author’s note: Since I wrote this piece a few years ago, I have to confess, The North Country and I now have an open relationship. I go to Florida during the winter months. But this is home, my base camp and I always return. I’m here now. Unfortunately, the weatherman is predicting ice and sleet for this weekend. Ugh!
A North Country Love Affair
Being involved with the North Country is like being in a bad love affair. The summer woos me with warm breezes off one of The Great Lakes and the river. It offers me lush greens and sunlit days. It entices me with a multitude of lavish experiences: picnics under the trees, quiet moments on the shore, spectacular thunderstorms topped off with rainbows, and romantic interludes under the stars listening to the crickets and watching fireflies. It presents me with fantastic gifts: the sweet serenade of birds, the…
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It’s All About the Math-Hiking in the Adirondacks
One day when I was 46, I decided to hike all 46 of The High Peaks of the Adirondacks. I tend to live out my life in headlines, always proclaiming a new interest with passion and bursts of wild enthusiasm. So 46 at 46! The coincidence had a certain mystical quality to it and I was convinced that it was a personal thumbs up from Mother Nature herself.
My odyssey skyward started slowly. Having been recently divorced and with my two children away at college, I suddenly had time for myself and took up walking. It was good exercise and a way to manage my weight. But most of all I loved the freedom to finally be a self-contained unit moving forward in the the direction of my choice under my own power. I found peace in the rhythm of my steps and breathes. I enjoyed the smells, the green…
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“Can You Hear My Voice this Time?”
Sometimes traveling is not about tickets and long flights. Sometimes a significant journey is unplanned and brief. On March 14, I came out of an adult education class at Flagler College in St. Augustine, Florida and saw a large circle of college students under the campus gazebo. Because I didn’t want to intrude, I stood and watched from about fifty feet away. I listened to the speakers talk about the loss of seventeen lives in Parkland, Florida and the need for people to reach out to each other with kindness. I moved into the circle and was handed a candle. As a flame went from one person to another, a young stranger shared the energy of the light with me. The group walked silently around the perimeter of the college, coming back full circle to the gazebo. A group of students sang a song with the line “Can you hear…
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