Nawalgarh
Shekhawati region
Rajasthan
India
February 20, 2007
Dear Family and Friends,
"Jan, why India?" "Why now?" Perhaps you are asking these questions. The obvious answers are: "India is close to Thailand." And, "There's no time like the present." True. Very true.
The real truth is that my friends in Mumbai, Paawan and Sushma, invited me to an auspicious family celebration.
Jaipur, Rajasthan
India
February 23, 2007
Dear Family and Friends,
Noise and dust pierce the senses. Construction cranes pierce the sky. Jaipur is crowded. Jaipur is "developing."
My gracious hosts at the Govind Niwas Guest House, Admiral and Mrs. Madhvendra Singh recall earlier days when in the evening they would relax on their veranda or in the spacious garden in front of their home
Now, the avenue is just too busy. My friends are resigned to the inevitable yet they continue to enjoy the beauty of their city.
How many travelers have I met who focus only on Jaipur, dusty and "developing?" Like my hosts, I seek out Jaipur, pink and attractive and "developed."
Amber
Rajasthan,
India
February 23, 2007
Dear Family and Friends,
It just keeps getting better!
"The magnificent delicate-pink, fort palace of Amber (pronounced Amer), a beautiful, ethereal example of Rajput architecture, rises from a rocky mountainside about 11km north of Jaipur." [*]
As Adit and I drive into Amber, the walls and the towers, more golden than pink, sit high and imposing on the mountains to my left.
Jaipur to Bikaner
Rajasthan, India
February 24, 2007
Dear Family and Friends,
The phrase "Horn Please" is emblazoned in huge, colorful and artistic boldfaced letters on the rear end of every powerful, solid, steel-framed intercity truck. Or "Sound Horn" appears. Or "Blow Horn." My favorite is "Blow Horn." India is a nation of one billion horn blowers.
It is good form. Everyone is encouraged to sound his horn to alert the truck driver ahead that his rig is about to be overtaken. And, (and this is a big "and") every driver of every type of vehicle alerts everyone else of his presence and his insistence to proceed unimpeded according to some preordained universal master transport plan known only to himself.
Barksdale Air Force Base
Bossier City, Louisiana
October 29, 2008
One of my favorite television programs is "The West Wing." In one episode the President has been shot and the senior military advisors are worried that a foreign enemy might try to take advantage of the moment. When the military men ask the White House Chief of Staff what message the United States government should send out, the actor, the late John Spenser thinks for a second and says, "Don't mess with us tonight."
"Don't mess with us" was just what I was thinking when I visited the museum at Barksdale Air Force Base. East of Bossier City, Barksdale is the home of the Eighth Air Force. The slogan of the museum is "Come see the Might in the Mighty Eighth."
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.
