Bangkok
Thailand

March 29, 2011

Dear Family and Friends,

My upcoming departure for the Horn of Africa reminds me of the dramatic events and the enduring personalities of the 1960's - especially Haile and Abebe.

Who among us can ever forget the sounds and images from late November, 1963: the gunshots in Dallas, the bloodied dress, Walter Cronkite's tears, the murder of the murderer (?), Chopin's music, a boy's salute to the flag covering the coffin of his father John Kennedy, the rider-less horse?

Do you remember the funeral procession - heads of state in a solemn march? Le Président de la République française, Charles de Gaulle at 6'5" (1.96 m) walking beside and towering over the Emperor of Ethiopia, Haile Selassie at 5'1¾" (1.58 m).

De Gaulle died in his bed in 1970. But Selassie?

The opening sequence of the film "Marathon Man" features the archive footage of a graceful young athlete, on a summer evening in 1960, effortlessly running the 42km (26 mi) Olympic marathon, gliding past the Coliseum and along the darkened, torch lit avenues of Rome, sprinting toward the finish line at the Arch of Constantine. Abebe Bikile became the first black African to win a gold medal at an Olympics event.

Read more »

Bangkok, Thailand

15 June 2010

Dear Friends and Sports Fans Everywhere,

Back in 1994, when the FIFA World Cup was staged in the USA, I attended two matches at Foxboro Stadium outside Boston: Bolivia v Korea and Nigeria v Greece. I had never seen a football (soccer) match before. I loved the enthusiastic national pride of the spectators and I was impressed with the athleticism and skill of the players. I enjoyed the constant “stress” of the game. I was “sold.” Read more »

The White House
Washington, DC
April 1, 2010

My Fellow Citizens,

On my flight back from Guantanamo Bay where I went to cheer up and support our Troops - BTW they are doing "a hell of a job" - I had a few spare moments on Air Force One so I Googled my own name. And what do I find? Mr. Jan Polatschek's Economic Stimulus Plan that is posted on his website. He was kind enough to mention my name. Read more »

Bangkok
Thailand

31 March 2010

Dear Family and Friends,

What a week!   It's the eight days of the Jewish Passover.  It's Holy Week.  Easter Sunday is approaching for all Christians: for Catholics and Protestants, and this year, on the same Sunday, for the Orthodox.

October 29, 2009

Hello Sports Fans,

You like sailing? Snorkeling? Swimming in the clear turquoise Mediterranean Sea?

You like fresh seafood? Spicy omelet and pancakes? Read more »

26 October 2009

Dear Family and Friends,

I am lucky.

When I was a Boy Scout, age 11 – 16, we boys from Troop 70 went on several overnight camping trips each year. Normally, we left our neighborhood in The Bronx after school on Friday, and along with the older Explorers and adults, we took a bus to Alpine, an extensive campground in New Jersey. We pitched our tents and lit our campfires and spent the weekend in the woods, under the sun and the stars. Read more »

October 24, 2009

Hello,

October 24, 2009

Abraham, Nimrod, Alexander, Caracalla, Saladin, Ataturk - these "heads of state" I had met before.

North of Sanliurfa, Turkey, I met a few new ones - Mithradates, the Commagene family, Septumus Severus. Read more »

Bangkok, Thailand

May 15th, 2009

Dear Family and Friends,

Have you ever wanted to go to a place just because you liked the sound of its name? Lake Titicaca, maybe How about The Transvaal? Timbuktu?

Timbuktu. Say it quietly, "Tim....buk....tooo." Doesn't that sound enchanting? Lake Titicaca? The Transvaal? Do we even know where these places are? Do we care? Don't the names themselves make you want to buy a ticket?

What about Sevastopol? Sounds so exotic.

Patagonia? Sounds so spacious.

I do have a long "To See" list.

Many years ago I did indulge my sonant fantasy. For no other reason than its sound, I wanted to see Sicily. I flew to Rome, rented a car, drove down the Amalfi Coast, and took the ferry across the Strait of Messina.

What a surprise! I had no idea that I would find Greek temples in Agrigento, and medieval churches in Cefalù. The homes of Archimedes, Pindar and Aeschylus are in Siracusa. There really is a town called Corleone. On the Aeolian Island of Vulcano, I took a bubbling-hot volcanic mud-bath followed by a boiling-salt-water-rinse in the Tyrrhenian Sea.

In Agrigento, the grilled swordfish on my luncheon plate swam that very morning in the Mediterranean Sea. At least that's what the waiter told me as he gazed beyond the window of the hilltop Ristorante Caprice. He nodded to the sea and proclaimed, "Pesce spada, la mattina, la!"

A few years ago, my acoustic-self flew south to "Mah Choo Pee Choo." Now admit it, doesn't that sound positively seductive? My friends in America, especially you Floridians, indulge yourselves and you will be seduced. Machu Picchu is a dream trip and Peru is closer than you think. ***

Tashkent was another place I always wanted to see. Tashkent? Where was it anyway? I didn't know and I didn't care. Tashkent sounds so ancient! So distant! So daring!

Read more »

Miami, Florida
August 14, 2008

Dear Family and Friends,

I haven't a clue as to what the modern phrase might be, but for me, I will use "I am psyched. Totally psyched."

Several months ago I learned that my high school in New York is planning a reunion. It's a big anniversary for my class. I logged on and bought an airplane ticket. Read more »

Islands and Lakes
Bangkok, Thailand June 20, 2008

Dear Family and Friends,

Selamat,

I got "itchy feet." I decided to "get out of the house" and "hit the road."

On Sunday night I am flying south to an island, a very big island. I wanted to know just how big it is, so I did some research on the largest islands in the world.

Australia and Antarctica are surrounded by water but geographers define them as continental land masses rather than islands. Greenland is the largest island in the world. Read more »