We took a tour bus around the lock, walked along the water’s edge, waited and watched but never did see a sea monster. I took off my shoes along its edge and waded ankle deep, for only seconds. To a California boy this was cold. One old man told me that this sea monster stuff had a lot to do with how much whiskey was drunk, but that didn’t help either. …
Continue ReadingWe continued munching on nuts up to the entrance to the Topkapi Palace, the heart of the Ottoman Empire. I naturally avoided the circumcision room. I was very impressed with the jewels on display. The sultan’s armor had diamonds and emeralds the size of baseballs. I have a lot of respect for somebody who can step on battle field with jewelry of that value and not get raped. We crammed a lot into one day and I was dead on my feet so we didn’t wander far from our hotel to find food. …
Continue ReadingOne thing was for certain, I needed a shower. Sleeping out with element guarantees one thing, we were up early, so we took advantage and started searching for a room. Luckily we found a room in the area that accommodated our needs, but we couldn’t check in until later that afternoon, so we reserved a room. They were kind enough to watch our bags, allow us to scamper off and tour the city. …
Continue ReadingI was disappointed that Jim didn’t have the same level of interest in seeing these local sites. I started referring to Jim as “Stationary”, because literally, he’d stay in the train station and read a book while waiting for me to return from my trek. Wasting opportunities like these between the pages of some romantic novel seemed foolish to me when this is all new. …
Continue ReadingThe clouds had parted and the wings of our plane began to dry. The very first thing I noticed was that “I wasn’t in Kansas anymore”. Gatwick Airport had green pastures on both sides of the runway. Unconcerned cows looked up at our passing plane. This was a total contrast to the cement landscape we left behind in LA. …
Continue ReadingWe came to an unplanned stop at the border between France and Spain where it appeared the French weren’t about to share their trains with Spanish rails. We had come to a complete stop and it was obvious they were ushering us through customs. Well there was no way I would attempt carrying our hash through customs. It just wasn’t worth the risk. …
Continue ReadingI was up early, grabbed a table and a few chairs and set them up on the sand. I sat and gazed out on the empty bay writing until the others woke. A pot of coffee soon followed and then breakfast. The girls were taking about exploring the city’s bizarre, a female shopping ritual. I on the other hand I was invited to go with the men. Bear hunting was on the agenda. We all loaded onto a friend’s boat and headed along the coast to a location that supposedly had a recent bear sighting. …
Continue ReadingThe clouds parted when we reached Haifa’s harbor. It was impressive passing right up next to aircraft carriers and battleships. That time they passed me right through customs but not Jenni. They couldn’t pin point why somebody would travel from New Zealand to Moscow, to Cyprus, to Israel and detained her for about forty-five minutes while the rest of us waited outside. We read travel paraphernalia for ideas and to pass the time. Once she got released we all wandered the waterfront in search of the train station and discovered that if we wanted to exchange currency we would need to find ourselves a bank. …
Continue ReadingWhen I woke up I notice that my knife was unchaperoned, sitting all by itself. Most likely it was pushed away by me while I slept. There were two elderly gentlemen sitting alongside the same bench staring at me and the knife. I had gotten less than an hour of sleep and was still very tired and in need of a shower. I followed those two gentlemen back into the heart of Naples. …
Continue ReadingJim joined the hostel attitude. He didn’t want to go anywhere, see anything, he just wanted to stick around the hostel and wash his clothes, so I sought out on my own. I checked out Albert Einstein’s home and then the modern art museum. “One man’s treasure is another man’s trash”. I love art but sometimes. I wandered the market and the local stops searching for Christmas gifts, but ended up buying chocolates to satisfy my taste buds instead. …
Continue ReadingOne irony in my life is that I had very few women friends. Most relationships with women were always aimed toward romance and when that didn’t work out or when we experienced an obstacle that couldn’t be overcome, we’d move on. Mostly I have had male friends, sharing common experience and growing up like all normal boys. But I’ll have to admit, women make pretty good friends. Once that it is understood that not everything is sexual, we get along wonderfully. They make much better traveling companions, easier to agree with, better conversationalists, not as competitive, better sleeping arrangements; they attract a different type of crowd, and if there were benefits attached all the better. …
Continue ReadingTook a morning boat to Giudecca to visit a glass shop and took advantage of the weather and the sand. The hostel I went to check out was over crowded with mostly children running about, so spent the remains of the day back on the main island. Before dark I had gathered up my things and boarded a train towards Padova. Across from me sat a beautiful young lady with a twinkle in her eye and I caught a smile or two. Sex was in the air so I broke the ice. …
Continue ReadingIt was raining a bit and we had a couple of open containers. The roads were narrow with no extra space to speak about. I knew if we got stuck behind another logging truck we could be here for weeks. Once we managed to pass a couple of these trucks we began to make up for some lost time. Jim began complaining that his bladder couldn’t take much more of this abuse but before I was willing to pull over, I wanted to put enough distance between ourselves and the logging trucks. …
Continue ReadingI’m an early riser and that provides advantages. Like in the morning, there were no lines leading to the showers. I walked around until breakfast and then took the shuttle down to the beach where I planned to spend that entire day on the sand. When I reached the bluffs I began exploring. Jim followed duplicating every picture I took. It is just better to ignore his competitiveness than to give it thought it doesn’t deserve. …
Continue ReadingWe divided up the day between Rembrandt and Van Gough. Sadness is Van Gough’s greatness and without his blood and wed of failures, such masterpieces perhaps would have never been put to canvas. I can relate to the color and texture of his turmoil and find myself too at times walking around in a daze. In contract his colors were bright and unique. …
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I HAVE BEEN TAUGHT THAT ………………we now come to know the nature of change through Cognition ……… …
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I knew we had reached the Netherlands when the standard blue or green trains turned multi-colored. Two guys had hit us up in the train station soliciting us to take a room on their boat. I preferred being in the heart of the city where access was easier and I could be closer to the coffee shop I decide to write in, but Jenni kind of liked the idea of being on a boat. I was leaving in a few days and felt that getting her acquainted with another group of people was also a priority. …
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These rules are in no particular order.
A REAL MAN ……
1. Don’t lie to Doctors
2. Will fake peeing at the urinal or will wait on a toilet before walking out in tandem with another guy.
3. Never talk about their privates or name any appendage of their body. That’s just weird.
4. Know how to Spit. A pouhhhhh is unacceptable. If it takes practice, practice.
5. Never park in front of a bar. …
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Together we searched, above it all, as clouds, we wandered free but when us two, came to be one, we parted company. It’s a lonely road that comes to an end. I’m sorry my love but I must head home.
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I HAVE BEEN TAUGHT THAT ………………we now come to know the nature of change through Cognition ………
“Cognition”, is defined as the mental process or facility by which that knowledge is acquired. …
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Where went the loveliness ……. I know you by, do I know the place
lost in all perfection ……. no longer shy, a dance without that grace
Pretty little dance ……. around we use to spin, a subtle touch ……. our eyes were one, we wandered like the wind
