Macau 澳門

SAR

April 16, 2009

Dear Family and Friends,

I know what you are wondering. And the answer is "Não!"

I resisted the temptation to enter one of those grotesque monuments to avarice and addiction.

Don’t get me wrong. I'm no prude. I adore a hand of Blackjack. I savor the action of Craps. But with limited time, and a retiree’s budget, I just said "No!".

{C}

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.

Bangkok
Thailand
July 7, 2008

Dear Friends and Photography Fiends,

Before I left Bangkok for Sumatra , I decided to take a peek, finally, at the Advanced User Guide to my digital camera.

I leafed through the pages and lit upon "Photo Stitch."

I focused on the directions but with only modest comprehension. I also needed to find the disk that came with the camera, two years ago! I found the disk. I loaded the program.

Here's the way it works: you shoot a series of photos of the same wide subject with each shot slightly overlapping the previous shot. Then you import the shots into your computer and the Photo Stitch program performs as you would expect. Your shots are stitched together, seamlessly.

It's a miracle.

Bukittinggi
West Sumatra
Republic of Indonesia

July 5, 2008

Dear Family and Friends,

It would have been a long, bumpy ride so I opted for the short, uneventful flight from Medan, my base in North Sumatra, to Padang in West Sumatra.

Padang is the coastal gateway to the Mentawai Islands, an archipelago that draws a younger crowd for jungle trekking and surfing in the Indian Ocean. My own less vigorous route, however, was inland from the coast and into the mountains to Bukittinggi and the surrounding lakes and villages.

Luoyang
Henan Province
Peoples Republic of China

Sunday
January 20, 2008

Yesterday: Light Snow
Today: Heavy Snow
Tomorrow: More Snow

Dear Family and Friends,

Back in 1974 my wife Alice Dawn and I moved from Philadelphia to Boston. On our very first drive on the suburban country roads I noticed an unusual sight. A tall, thin, red, ten-foot steel pole was attached to every fire hydrant. At the top of the pole was a small, red, metal triangular flag. What the hell? It took me only a moment to guess the meaning of that particular artifact. I pointed it out to Alice and asked for her interpretation. Alice was no fool and she quickly understood. We both shuddered.

The snow in Luoyang never let up. I was lucky to get a seat on a train east to Zhengzhou where the airport was open. I flew back to Beijing. The weather in Beijing was clear so I made a side trip to Datong.

Datong
Shanxi Province
China

January 23, 2008

Dear Family, Friends and Runners Everywhere,

Did you know that Jan was a Marathon Man? Yes, it's true. Many years ago, my "salad days" coincided with the Running Explosion that erupted after the American runner Frank Shorter won the 1972 Olympic Marathon in Munich. I was one of the millions of insufferable, "I-own-the-road" joggers who clogged the streets and sidewalks of every city and town.