Tattoo

Not getting one. Don’t worry. But just like my insignificant other and I sometimes make plans for a wedding that neither of us ever intends to have ("not that we are ever going to, but if we got married . . . "), it is for the sake of amusement. Now, you might say that obviously I am thinking about a tattoo, to which I’ll reply – d’uh – but I’m only thinking about what I would do if I was inclined to do so. I’m definitively not going to do it (I do have a price though, so feel free to pony up).

  I started thinking about this while speaking with a  young woman who had some Italian inked on the space below her left shoulder and above her left breast, and it was partially exposed by an open neck shirt. It didn’t repulse me, maybe because she was attractive and I'm human, maybe because it wasn’t overwhelming, maybe because it was in another language – I don’t know.

I’m 56 and when I was growing up, at least where I lived, people with tattoos usually included sailors, gang members and prisoners. Women who did so were considered slutty or molls, if that word means anything anymore. Obviously, that was then and this is now. My own sainted daughter, a goody-goody like her dad, has a small one on her back hip. Some of my friends and acquaintances do. I don’t like them, particularly on women, though once in a blue moon I think one is cute or well-done. I particularly don’t like masses of them running down someone's arm or faces on shoulders or big blocks of words. Yccch. On the other hand, there are exceptions to almost everything.

But, to engage in the fantasy, suppose someone offered me a million dollars  (who am I kidding? Somewhere between $50,000 and $100,000) to get a tattoo on my arm. What would I get?

One thought is ancient – the Sumerian cuneiform symbol for liberty (so they tell me – I can’t read it), known as ama-gi and which literally means “return to mother” (again, so they say). It was discovered in 1870 and dates back well over 4,000 years.

7479492

[BTW, I try to follow the law with these posts, and, though a lawyer for 31 years, I don't really understand when I can use an image freely available on the web or not. Sometimes they publish rules, which I also don't understand and sometimes they don't. But, where I can find them, I put the weird looking web address for you and, if for some bizarre reason you want to download them, go to the website. Admittedly, though blogging for 10 years, I haven't always done this, mostly because I didn't know I had to. And maybe I don't. But, these pictures are for looking at, not for downloading, and I don't make any money off it. So, I think it is covered by "fair use" (I hope). Anyway, I put them at the end of the post.]

Of course, I’d have to spend an awful lot of time explaining an amagi to people. Also, I’m always skeptical about the meaning of ancient words for which there is no relative certainty, and it would be embarrassing if one day some scholar said the real meaning was "the village idiot" or worse.

Another thought is stars. I never met anyone who doesn't like stars.  I mostly see these on young women, and they are unobtrusive and pleasing to the eye. Something like this:

No explanation required. Everyone understands decorative stars. But, this is just one example. If you just google "star images" you can see a larger sampling of all the creative ways they can be put together, and some of them are quite beautiful.  Another thought is the symbol for the atom.

Another one that occurs to me is the Shaolin tiger and dragon that was featured on one of my favorite shows from the 70s – Kung Fu, but for which I do not believe there is any real historical basis. Still, really cool. You put one on the inside of each forearm like the hero of the show.

 

A photograph I took myself of The James River that I use as an icon online might also work for me.

I actually like it in a circle rather than a square, which is sometimes how it appears as my icon, but somehow copying it in that form is beyond what I hypothetically call my digital skill set.

Yet another idea is the rune for Gandalf in the Lord of the Rings.  

That might also require some explanations though as most people are not going to say, "Oh, that's the rune for Gandalf." They are going to say "What the f. . . ?"

This last one is futuristic. It is a picture of the Jovian moon Europa crossing the Great Red Spot, which I found in the NY Times. Again, I’d prefer a circle or oval to a square. It just seems it would be too complex for any artist to copy and also take too long to ink on. But, I imagine soon they will be able to copy images just like we can now scan them and zap them right on to you. As I am never going to do this anyway, unless you could remove it with a click, I might as well be ambitious. But, now I really have run into my digital wall and can only give you the link for Europa and Jupiter. It's worth looking at: 

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/08/25/science/space/nasa-next-mission.html?_r=0

Obviously, this is my imaginary tattoo and I will choose what I like.  You can decide for yourself.

Other Links from above - 


Amagi -  https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=imgres&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwipyfX8utbKAhVIWT4KHbh9A08QjRwICTAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fstudentsforliberty.org%2Fblog%2F2012%2F01%2F09%2Fwhat-is-that-symbol%2F&psig=AFQjCNF_dyhPREDfArS19shdokf7mz6Bgg&ust=14544


Stars -   https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjfxOHcuNbKAhXGOT4KHcw5B08QjRwIBw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.heremytattoo.com%2F&psig=AFQjCNFXiuM453SNtEm9kXy9TtGExmhMSA&ust=1454411680074368


Atomic symbol -  https://www.google.com/search?q=atomic+symbol+illustration&tbm=isch&imgil=E9yrJ2UtHarBfM%253A%253BsyGGnG1-CPZRNM%253Bhttp%25253A%25252F%25252Fwww.123rf.com%25252Fphoto_4407175_atomic-symbol-vector.html&source=iu&pf=m&fir=E9yrJ2UtHarBfM%253A%252CsyGGnG1-CPZRNM%252C_&biw=1745&bih=859&usg=__vgb7GwhcifHHqgF36XDHN1YNfuA%3D&ved=0ahUKEwiJq97MudbKAhWEMj4KHf4ABFAQyjcIMQ&ei=8z-vVsnlN4Tl-AH-gZCABQ#imgrc=E9yrJ2UtHarBfM%3A&usg=__vgb7GwhcifHHqgF36XDHN1YNfuA%3D


Shaolin tiger and dragon   - https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwj568u8vdbKAhWGVj4KHcuXAk4QjRwIBw&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pinterest.com%2Ftonypetrucci%2Ftatoos%2F&psig=AFQjCNHr-6z1Cxf0NJeRfRUgJURjjuJLQQ&ust=1454413186372733


Gandalf rune   - https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwic6K_Sv9bKAhWCNj4KHUbODE8QjRwIBw&url=http%3A%2F%2Ftolkiengateway.net%2Fwiki%2FGandalf&psig=AFQjCNHAU9R6s-16253cHSABzgV9nHt9mA&ust=1454413768758224

Luck

I was reading an article a few days ago about a women lamenting her probably fatal cancer and wondering why God didn’t help her. I commented on the article online, because I spend too much time most days doing just that. A little bit of my comment was about cancer, but most of it was about luck. Regrettably, I noticed after publishing it that the word “not” appeared in my first sentence where it was not called for, completing negating the sentence and making most of the comment nonsensical. My making an error (either through incompletely cutting and pasting, my computers’ habits of having the cursor flow wherever it likes, or just bad editing) is so common, it is hard to call it bad luck, but that’s what I want to write about today – what is luck?

I haven’t looked it up in a dictionary, but I suppose it means something like a “fortuitous or unfortunate occurrence” or “a random event,” or the like. Whatever it is, I doubt I agree. My own definition is a little longer.

Most of the time we use the word to mean something good or bad happened that we didn’t expect or think should happen, that is, either “good luck” or “bad luck.”  It isn’t a leap of genius to say that one man’s bad luck is another man’s good luck – and vice versa. There’s a reason for that. As much as it seems like a force sometimes, there’s really no such thing as “luck” outside of our minds. It is really just -

what we call remote causes which are too complicated for us to understand or are otherwise hidden from us.

Maybe Heidegger or Plato or some other philosopher would call luck a “thing” or a “form,” that exists independent of being an idea our minds but I don’t think so. I’ll go further.  Everything has a cause. You can endlessly regress from an immediate cause back to what you might hope is a “first cause,” which some people use as a proof of God. But from there you can regress to ask why is there a God and where did he come from, etc. In the end, you wind up somewhere like the joke about turtle.*

* [A man asked a wise man “what does the universe rest upon?” The wise man answers “the back of a turtle.” “But what does that rest upon, oh wise man?” “The back of another turtle.” “And that one?” “The back of another tortoise.” “I don’t understand, of wise man, what is at the very bottom?” And the wise man replies, “I’m sorry, son, it’s turtles all the way down.”]

I’ll use winning the lottery as an example, because most people would say that is “lucky” (which always means “good” luck to us).  You might say “the reason I am rich is because I just won the lottery.” That’s easy enough to understand. But, why did you win? “Because the balls fell on the same numbers I picked.” Still easy. Why did the balls fall on those numbers? Perhaps someone knows the inner workings of the ball selection system, but, if the creators of the random number generator have done their job well, even they can’t tell. That’s the point where we usual say, that was lucky. There is, of cause, actually a cause for each of those balls landing on each of those numbers. But, it is too complicated for us to follow or understand. So, we call it luck or random or improbable or against the odds.

I believe this is true even at the quantum or sub-atomic level. Many scientists accept that all that can be discussed at this level is probability, and that seems to be true. But that doesn’t mean that each event in space time doesn’t have a cause which is too complicated for us (including physicists) to understand. Like Einstein, I believe that God doesn’t play dice with the universe, which of course is a metaphor meaning there are laws of physics even where we don’t know it.  But, it seems like it is probability because of the limits of our perception and mind.

Of course, it is entirely a matter of opinion whether the result of these complicated causes that we can’t follow are “good” or “bad” luck. For example, if I was late to a date with a girl I really like because of a traffic jam I just missed avoiding, I might have said, what “bad luck." But, suppose, having my date storm off, I head off to the bookstore and meet my future wife. I might say what “good” luck I got delayed (or a few years later, what “bad” luck again).

In the article I referred to above, the author mentioned Oprah, who says that nothing she did was as a result of “luck.” But, she acknowledges being “blessed.” Sorry to bash Oprah, for those who see something in her that I don’t, but this is a statement that results from a common insecurity, the desire to feel special. Some people who feel successful or that they have other people’s approval, like to think that it is because of their innate qualities, not factors out of their control. But, they are subject to what seems like random events like everyone else – that is, the cause of their perceived success or wealth ultimately comes from causes too complicated to understand. It doesn’t mean that they don’t have skill, or didn’t apply themselves, and those are extremely important too. My own view of financial or business success, is that comes from some combination of skill, effort and luck and sometimes a fourth, capital (or the means or opportunity – all forms of the same thing), all of which can have various expressions. But, even if you are super human in terms of skill, effort and capital, luck can undermine you, just as you can be lacking in all of those departments and causes too complex for us to understand, can make you wealthy.  

In fact, while none of the other factors can make someone successful by themselves, bad or good luck can make someone successful all by its lonesome, or with very little assistance from the others. Of course, just as wealthy or financially successful people are always (like Oprah) diminishing the effect of “luck” on their success, those who are poor or unhealthy or unsuccessful, are always sure that bad luck is predominant, and absent “it,” they too would be successful. Some might even give up on effort – the only factor completely in their control – because they feel it doesn’t matter. Obviously, this allows them to avoid thinking about factors that might have been in their control.

Oprah’s insistence that she is “blessed,” makes it worse. If she said luck played a role, then it would mean it wasn’t her specially-specialness that led to her success. But, to say she is blessed means that she is so extra specially-special, that God favors her and other people less. It’s an arrogant or insecure position. I’ve always dislike it when athletes claim God gave them a victory, because that means that God chose to punish their opponents.

Admittedly, I use the expression too sometimes. But, I know what I mean. The opposite of Oprah. I have been lucky.

The last thing I will say on the subject of luck, is that Luck be a Lady Tonight, is one of my favorite musical theatre songs (Guys and Dolls) and is a tune written by one of my favorite composers, Frank Loesser (Guys and Dolls, Hans Christian Anderson, Baby it’s cold outside).

Like most things I write about, I’m not sure there is any grave importance to it and it isn’t going to change anything for anyone, including myself. It’s just what I’m thinking about.

Travels

WRITTEN IN 2/2016. UPDATED IN 9/18.

I’ve written a couple of travel posts before. I thought I’d write this one that mostly just reviews summarily the travels in my life.  I’ve been pretty lucky, getting to go to many places, enough to satisfy me anyway. Some people have gone on many more trips than I have, of course, and I’m not trying to compare myself to others. I have friends who don’t like to travel at all, those who want to but are afraid or think they don’t have the money, those who prefer cruises, those who don’t want to be on the water, those who prefer to go back to the same place year after year, those who go different places but many times to one place, some who love to plan trips and some who only go when others plan them, those who like touristy places and those who are less interested in them. And so on. Everyone does it differently and I couldn’t tell you who gets the most out of it, because some people go but seem to hate it, some people revel in it, some brag about them and some barely mention or remember where they've been.

I frequently ask people where they’ve gone. Not too many people ask me, even when I've asked them, so I guess it is more my interest than other people’s, but I have found that when the few people have asked me where I’ve been, I just say I’ve been lucky but it seems too hard to name the places. Once I tried, but got interrupted so fast, it just didn’t seem like a good idea to continue.

There was a time that travel was extremely important to me, sometime into my forties. After living in a rural community for a while, with years to kayak and hike, I found that though I still love to travel, and will again, I had lost my burning desire. That had already happened to me with things like skiing and chasing girls, so, it’s not much of a surprise. I think it is because I was able to spend so many years in a row at relative leisure in a vacation like setting, but who knows? Maybe I’m just older and don’t want to make so much of an effort to do anything anymore. Now, frankly, going to my favorite beach on the north shore of Long Island seems a lot easier and as much fun for me as going to one at a distant location. But, that’s where I am now and I don’t expect others to feel the same way and I'm not sure I won't go through another phase. And I’m sure I will have other trips, money and health permitting.

My bucket list, if I can even call it that, is very small at this point.  New Zealand, probably with stops in the south Pacific there and back, is the big one, and I think I’d like to spend some few days by myself in Rome and Venice, mostly for the art. Anyway, here’s my list of where I’ve been. I know that many people include places they’ve driven through on the way to somewhere else or were at the airport or dock without getting to explore, but I do not as a general rule unless the drive was long and filled with sites from the roadway. E.g., I have driven through Delaware many times more than I’ve been almost anywhere else, always on the interstate and rarely stopping except at one of those stops for gas, McDonald’s, etc., nor did I really get to see anything from the interstate. So, I don't count Delaware. Nor, e.g., the night I spent in Memphis, Tennessee where we were warned not to leave our hotel at night. There are a bunch of states this would apply to, so the number is smaller than some others would include. Unless I think what you mean when you ask me is everywhere I've set foot or tire and then I include all of them. I attach a few pictures, but am keeping that aspect light, mostly because it would have made this post too big. I think the pictures are clickable though. 

U.S.

NY. I live on Long Island. I’ve been through most of it over the years. I've spent a lot of time in Manhattan, mostly when I was younger, maybe a year or so if you added it all up. I still think it is the greatest city in the world. I’ve hiked in and visited the Estates in Westchester on a few occasions. The Washington Irving Estate (Sunnyside) and Rockefeller Estate (Kykuit) both come to mind. One major trip up to Niagara Falls, the Finger Lakes area and some spots in between, including Corning (glass factory) and Cooperstown for the baseball Hall of Fame, with which I was not impressed. Many trips kayaking, but I’ll put that under Pa. Went to summer camp in the Adirondacks for two years when I was a kid at Racquette Lake, have visited Lake George a few times (I hate the touristy part) and stayed in nearby Lake Lucerne for quite a while. Also stayed up in Schroon Lake one day when picking my daughter up from camp. Mohonk Mountain and its fantastic lodge is one of my favorite places in the world. I've probably been there at least four times, but I'd go again.

Mohonk Mountain House.                                       Mineola, NY, Court House.                                      

NJ. Up to the mountain country for skiing a number of times, visits with a relative and also my daughter’s family on small lakes a few times and lovely, lovely Newark (visitors there will recognize the sarcasm) and some other small cities.

Connecticut. I’ve only really spent time in Hartford on business for a couple of days, a few days at my Uncle’s house in Greenwich and a few other like occasions. But it adds up over time. I’ve also driven through it many times, but, only count the former occasions as having been there.

Rhode Island. Went to Providence for a long weekend. Lots of mansions mostly.

Massachusetts. I’ve been to Boston and environs three times. This last time added Lexington and Concord, including a walk around Thoreau’s Walden Pond. Like Connecticut, I've driven through it many times on my way to Vermont, through little towns, some of during which I stopped for a while.

Vermont. Many ski trips in the mountains, particularly at Killington, but also at least once to each of Pico, Okemo and Mount Snow, the latter a few times. There’s a beautiful little town called Woodstock I’ve spent many days in not far from skiing, but usually in bad weather. Eventually, I spent a planned weekend there with the gf and friends. It's a great place to visit. And I have visited a few college towns, like Middlebury.

Killington Ski Resort, Vermont.

New Hampshire. Two ski trips. Also climbed Mt. Washington in our car once. Scared the bejeesus out of my evalovin’ gf. She made me stop at a resting point and insisted we go back down. I wasn’t about to do that. And up we went.

Maine. A week exploring some lakes. Maybe I’ll go back to Bar Harbor someday. That is real pretty and I only had a couple of hours there. There’s a national park there that seems like it should be explored too. [Postnote - In fall, 2020 I went back to Bar Harbor for a few days. Acadia National Park was beautiful as is the whole island. We managed to hit peak foliage, which is worth planning].

Pennsylvania. Five trips to Gettysburg, which is really sublime. Please go and stay there for two full days if you haven’t. Take the guided ranger tour. It's worth it. I've spent many days, probably adding up to a couple of weeks at this point, kayaking on the Delaware River, which is actually the border of NY and Pa., but I’ll include it here. I went to Philadelphia once to see all the touristy things, like Convention Hall, but I think the Ben Franklin kids museum was my favorite part.

Maryland. I’ve been to Baltimore many times under the guidance of the estimable Bear, who is a pretty good tour guide. I was not expecting much the first time we went, somewhere between 10-15 years ago, but they’ve done an amazing job gentrifying the city and it is beautiful and fun. I’ve also spent enough time driving in rural areas around Maryland that I would include this state anyway. A night in Fredericks on our way back from Gettysburg once too. Almost forgot, a weekend in Colonial Beach on the Potomac River (the river looks like the ocean there, being so wide at that spot), which was once a rip-roaring place and now a quiet and less inhabited beach town, and where I stayed at the old home of Alexander Graham Bell, which has become a bed and breakfast.

Washington, D.C.  I have probably been there five or six times, enough to lose count, anyway. Restaurants and museums mostly, the Newseum and the Spy Museum being my favorites, visited the presidential monuments (Lincoln's choked me up), saw the cherry blossoms but not the Vietnam Memorial. Places where they list the dead make me sad. Love Georgetown. I once spent a weekend there trying not to think about a broken heart. Worked okay, actually.

Virginia. I lived in the Blue Ridge Mountains and James River Valley for four and a half years. I did too much there to state in a paragraph, but I’m sure more there than anywhere else I’ve gone in my life, particularly around Buchanan, a tiny town on the James River, where I lived. If you added up all my trips to Europe and elsewhere, it would probably not equal the amount of time I spent hiking or driving around the woods and mountains here, or kayaking the rivers. It was really no different than being on vacation, except occasional work on a computer, often while sitting on my front porch. Even the views around my house were in or around national parks. As for other places, I saw Richmond and Jefferson’s, Madison’s, Washington’s homes in Charlottesville, Mount Vernon and  Montpelier, respectively, Robert E. Lee’s childhood home, Stratford Hall, in Alexandria. Been to Lexington, Va., too many times to count. It is the town that led me to live in the area (Buchanan, where I lived, is a half hour south of Lexington). I spent countless hours on the Washington and Lee campus, at the cemetery (Stonewall Jackson and other Civil War figures buried there), the Jackson House, the Lee Chapel and on the Maury River. I also spent many days in Roanoke, a city of roughly 90,000, about a half hours south of my home there, and Smith Mountain Lake, an incredibly beautiful lake another 45 minutes from Roanoke, surrounded by spectacular and surprisingly cheap homes right on the water.

Peaks of Otter, Virginia.

North Carolina. I’ve been to Charlotte, where I have friends. It’s a nice city, but the suburbs are too much like Long Island to suit me. Lake Norman to the north is pretty and my evalovin’ gf says she’d like to live there some day. Also visited my brother when he lived in Raleigh and then Greensboro. NC is not my favorite place, really, but many people I’ve met want to move there and every place has its charms.

Florida. I’ve driven through S. Carolina (or do I count the amusement park I went to once right on the NC border?) and Georgia, but never really did anything or stopped long, so I don’t count them. But I’ve been to Florida more than any other place I haven’t lived. The irony is, I’m not a big fan. Too hot, too flat, too many sharks and alligators (and crocodiles - seriously). I was two the first time I went and then the next year too. Been to Orlando, of course, and Disney, Miami, Boca Raton, Sarasota, and just recently, the very beautiful Marco Island and Key West. Boynton Beach on the east coast too. Sarasota is probably my favorite area.  I realize that eventually many of my friends will move there, though I really would rather not. Still, much of it wonderful and The Magic Kingdom - speaks for itself, though I don't feel the need to go again.

Marco Island, Florida.

Louisiana. I was helping my friend, Peter, move from Florida to Iowa and I insisted we stop in New Orleans, where we spent one day. But, it was one heck of a day. I even had two real drinks (could barely stay awake). I had one in a bar at 11 a.m., before we left - what I call a cookie drink - and then a guy had a drink sent over to me in a bar, and there is a rumor we went to some strip clubs, which I cannot confirm or deny. Want to go back and stay longer. Not for Mardi Gras though. Too crowded and noisy for this old man.

Iowa. Yes, then Peter and I drove to Iowa. It was a really pretty state, mostly farmland, of course, but lots of rolling hills and different colors. And Des Moines was a lot of fun. My best memory - there was this pizzeria where the owner would walk around with a boxing glove on the end of a trombone slide and squirt water at everyone, s from a seltzer bottle. Hence, some customers come with umbrellas. I drove through again in 2016.

Montana. Been out there twice with Don, who sometimes adds a comment here. He has a small house on a river in the middle of nowhere. Lots of stars and mountains though. Beautiful state. But everywhere I've been in the Rocky Mountains are beautiful. Almost froze to death there once, but that’s for another day. Skied Big Mountain there a few times. Almost slid to my death doing so, but, you know, same old, same old.

Flathead Lake, Montana.

Washington. I spent a week there with my daughter’s mother once about 29 years ago. We stayed near the Puget Sound where her sister lived, but also drove to Mt. Rainier. Some of the prettiest woods I’ve ever seen, and I have been to a few woods in my life. And Paradise, the snowiest spot on earth, was quite memorable. Walls of snow along the side of the road, much higher than the car – and it was well into Spring. [Postnote - in 2019 I went to Alaska, and we stayed a day in Seattle that included a hot air balloon ride with my nephew's company. That was impressive]. 

California. I’ve been twice. The first time I went by myself to Long Beach where I briefly stayed (never been to L.A.), drove south down to San Diego, then all the way up the coast to San Francisco and spent four days hiking in the Redwood Forest with a friend and his buddies. A little time in Carmel and the surrounding area. The last time, in 2014, was part of a longer trip through the West. But, we stayed a few days in Huntington Beach, also south of L.A., and then up the coast again to San Francisco, where I spent four days. Some of it is so beautiful, it’s hard to believe, like this little park on the coast in Big Sur at which we almost didn’t stop.

Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park, California.

Nevada. Been to Vegas twice. Everyone should see it once, but I have very little interest in it. The first time I went was to visit my father, who, though he lived a few minutes from the strip, had never been there. I took him to it for a while, but then said, "Dad, let's get out of here," and drove out into the desert, which, once you got past the houses, was quite pretty. The last time my gf, daughter and her boyfriend were with me and I wanted the kids to see the hotels, which are a lot of fun to walk around. After dinner I went to my room and watched football while they went out. Once was enough. I know, I’m boring to most people, but Thursday Night Football was on.

Arizona. Been there twice too and drove across the state a third time. The first time we drove all over, from Phoenix, up to Sedona (prettiest place I never heard of until I got there), to the Grand Canyon (pic - if you can go only one place in America, that’s where I am recommending), then east across the state towards Utah and New Mexico. The second time my evalovin’ gf and I went camping in the beautiful red-rocked Canyon de Chelly (remember the canyon edge Jodie Foster was sitting on at the end of Contact) and Sedona. It was incredibly beautiful, but we are too old to camp. Never again, I hope.

Grand Canyon, Arizona.

New Mexico. Spent about a week in Santa Fe, Taos, Albuquerque and all that space between (it's a really big state). It may be the prettiest state I’ve been to, in general, even if some other states have more beautiful attractions. Not a lot of water though. I once stepped over the Santa Fe River. That's not an exaggeration - right over it. About a decade ago an environmental group named it America’s most endangered river. I thought about moving there, but realized there’d be no work for me and I might get thirsty.

Distant rain storm, New Mexico.

Utah. Monument Valley (pic) is also one of the great places to see. I stayed there two days and over night in the only hotel with a view. Just magnificent.  I was also in Salt Lake City for a half day, and though the view of the mountains is beautiful, the city was too boring for words. Then, on my last trip out West, we stayed at Bryce and Zion canyons. Like the Grand Canyon, the beauty there cannot be described. Even just driving from one place to another is incredible.

 

Monument Valley, Utah.

Bryce Canyon, Utah.

Colorado. I’ve been to Denver twice. It is just a city to me, though I had fun. Went to Boulder, where a sister lives on the border of the Rockies (skied once at Arapahoe Basin on July 2d), went white water rafting on the Arkansas River with a group of school kids (I was in my mid-20s), before which we camped out in a canyon and I saw one of the great star displays in my life. Recently I spent three days in the mountains at a wedding. As with Utah, just driving through the mountains is an awesome experience. Those Rockies just rear out of the ground in spots like a wall. And the continental divide is really cool.

These five states are a post-dated entries

How did I forget Texas? I've been there four times, and soon it will be five [Postnote, now five times]. More Dallas than anywhere, about two weeks or so worth. But also Austin a couple of times (the view from The Oasis overlooking Lake Travis - Rio Grande River, is worth it alone), Houston (toooo hot and humid) and San Antonio, which I liked best.

San Antonio River Walk

Minnesota. My evalovin' gf and another couple went to a wedding in Minnesota. We stayed in Minneapolis and did the usual downtown touristy things including the Mall of Americas (never again! - but it was mildly interesting once) and seeing the Mary Tyler Moore statue (now in the tourist shop in the visitor center - it was a lot smaller than I expected). The wedding was in St. Paul, the twin city in a beautiful research library that allows celebrants to throw parties. Although I do not know if I will be back there, my interest would more lie in the northern rural areas. We drove across the rest of Minnesota towards:

S. Dakota. We traversed the whole state on route 90 and spent the night in Keystone where Mt. Rushmore is located. Unlike in very populated areas, trips on the interstate afford a great opportunity to actually see the country-side, which, while other than a short portion which passes through the badlands, was not up to the standards of, say, the Rockies, but still nice to look at. Lots of cows and farmland, and mostly flat. Along the way we stopped in Sioux Falls. The falls are nice to look at, although they are small and not impressive compared to many other falls I've visited, but worthwhile. And I also loved the visitor center - the best Cuban sandwich I've ever had! Small victories.

Sioux Falls

We visited Mt. Rushmore at night when we arrive and then in daylight. Nighttime viewing is more exotic, I guess, but you can see much better during the day. If you can only do one, do that. One thing that may surprise you - the sculpture is big, but not as big as you think looking at pictures. 

Guess where?

The Badlands were the highlight for me. However, as spectacular as they are to an Easterner, they do pale compared to parks in Utah, Colorado, Arizona and other Western states. We also visited Deadwood of Wild Bill Hickok fame (basically, a giant tourist trap) and also Sturgis, which is where thousands of bikers convene every year (not so interesting for me - it's just a small town with nothing else particularly interesting about it - and I hate motorcycles).

Badlands

And then over to:

Wyoming. We just entered Wyoming to see the Devil's Tower (yes, of Close Encounters fame), which was fun. It's not all that tall, but you can see it from several miles away and it is fairly unique and interesting.

Devil's Tower

We went back to S. Dakota and the next day departed to drive across Iowa, which I mentioned above, having already been there in my youth. If I ever go back, there are many other things I'd like to see, not least, Yellowstone Park. We stayed the night in Des Moines and then the next day were on the way to:

Illinois: Only Chicago, which is basically a smaller, cleaner NYC. We did the touristy things - the Sears Tower (now actually the Willis Tower) observation deck (my friends also did the John Hancock Bldg., but I had had enough that day and have seen other cities from their skyscrapers at night), went to Wrigley Field (it was still too damn cold and we left after 4 1/2 innings), saw the Science and Industry Museum, which, to be honest, was not as exciting as recommended - but take the kiddies, and took an architectural tour along the banks of the Chicago River which travels through the downtown area. Last we did a stop at the Bean, basically a giant bean-shaped mirror, which is fun, if for a few minutes. I fell down some steps there, somehow saving my camera and not hurting myself. Again, I'm not that interested in most cities in America, and I'd probably rather have gone to Springfield, but I can't complain about Chicago, which I always planned on visiting someday.

The U.S. Virgin Islands. Been to St. Thomas twice with my evalovin’ gf, around two weeks total. I recommend Sapphire Bay for its beautiful view and Magen’s Bay, which, however, looks even better from the air, but look at the picture - it's pretty nice. On one of those trips we went to St. John’s Island, which I find even more beautiful. I actually have an imaginary home on St. John’s run by a wise middle-aged Japanese widow named Mrs. Livingston. You should see it. Incredible
    sunsets from the deck.

Magens Bay, St. Thomas.

Near the U.S.

Mexico.

Isla Mujeres (Island of Women). Spent a few days there. It can be quite dodgy in spots, but not where we stayed on a peninsula surrounded by water on three sides or at the beaches or restaurants.

Cozumel. Also went to Cozumel (where Montezuma’s revenge took revenge on me) on the same trip. We stayed at a condo right on the water, where you could dive into the sea or slowly go down on a rope ladder. The limestone formed a shelf there, and when you entered the water, it was like being in an aquarium. An eel lived under the ladder, but didn't bite people (apparently). Also went snorkeling to a spot where the movie Splash was filmed and too say it was spectacular doesn't do it justice. If you've snorkeled or dived a reef, you understand. Somehow, surrounded by water and no land, I still managed to smack my head on the boat and probably got a concussion. It was not a pleasant ride back.  

Cancun. We went to Cancun, but it is not for me, relatively speaking. Too touristy, too many kids. Not that it is not wonderful in its own way and if you told me that I could go tomorrow for free or really cheap - I'll pack a bag. Also took a day tour to Chichen Itza with its incredible pyramid (last year they let you climb it) and other archaeological sites.

Chichen Itza, Mexico.

Bahamas. I spent I believe four days down there by myself. I was on the same island, Nassau, with that famous resort owned by Merv Griffin – is it Paradise Island? But, I did not want to go there. Guess why? Too many people, too many kids. So, I called a travel agent and asked if she could find me a resort where no one went. She laughed, but she pretty much did. I think it was a Divi Divi, one of a chain. Had the place almost to myself. Loved it. Walked 100 yards down the beach around a curve and might has well been on a desert island. Remember reading a lot. A book about Australia’s founding, a biography of Bismarck and two others I just can’t remember. It was about 29 years ago, so, can’t blame me.

Canada

Montreal. I went to Montreal once about 28 years ago. It was okay, but the old part of town was very small. The subways are what they mostly brag about, and they were very nice, but I’ve seen just as good elsewhere.

Quebec City. I much preferred Quebec City to Montreal. More old stuff, more European, more natural surroundings in the city. Would like to go again someday.

Quebec City monument, Canada.

Europe

Britain. I’ve been three times. The first was my first trip to Europe and I was there about 5 days. The next time was just for a day, giving my friend a whirlwind tour, on our way back from Greece. The other time was four days by myself to finish up the outdoor sights of London. Believe it or not, with some exceptions, I did not go inside many places in all the times I've been there, other than most of the great churches, Winchester Castle and Hampton Court. Oxford was my one out of London trip. I seem to recall that Kew Gardens, Hampton Courts, the Speaker’s Corner in Hyde Park, a myriad of churches and Oxford were my favorite places.

Ireland. I had a fierce cold here for two weeks and yet still had a wonderful time. It’s green, mountainous, lake filled and . . . mostly empty. Lots of farm animals though.

Ireland.

Denmark. Mostly just in wonderful, wonderful Copenhagen but also Kronborg (Hamlet’s) Castle. I thought Tivoli Park in Copenhagen was one of the best places I’d ever been. Not sure how I’d feel now some 30 plus years later.

Sweden. Really just spent time in one town, Helsingborg, celebrating its 900^th birthday when I was there, for four days. Nice town though. Enough pretty girls for me to remember it with great fondness.

Netherlands. Amsterdam for four days and Haarlem for a day trip. Remember the canals, the canal houses, the Rijksmuseum and Rembrandt’s Night Watch best.

France. I really have not been to France proper except to fly in and out of Nice and Paris. But, I include it because I spent two weeks in Corsica (pic), which was a great experience. It's a very mountainous island. Unless you are a careful and a reasonably relaxed driver (more curves than you can count and big, big drops off ledges if you are not careful) I don’t recommend it. Yet, it rates as one of my favorite trips. Napoleon was from there, but, it's really about the beaches and mountains. The cities, other than one day in Bonifacio on the southern tip, not that special. But on one memorable day outside of Bonifacio we walked about a half mile or so across a shallow straight to an island. 

Corsica, France. This was a waterfall for which we walked down a mountain about an hour to see. Some rock climbers were there before us.

Grotte di Bonifacio, Corsica, France.

Monaco. Tiny principality between France and Italy. Nice, if rocky, coast. Big casino there which my friends visited while I waited in the car. But driving along the roads thinking about Grace Kelly was fun. Maybe creepy too.

Germany. I spent a week there in the south, Ulm, Regensburg, Munich, some walled towns on the Romantic Road like Rothenberg ob der Tauber, the Black Forest, Heidelberg, Baden Baden, etc.

Life sized wooden Last Supper carving by Tilman Riemenscheider, St. Jakob's Church, Rothenberg ob der Tauber, Germany. Circa 1500.

Heidlberg, Germany.

Austria. A couple of days in Innsbruck and Salzburg and about four days in glorious Vienna, one of my favorite cities.

Schonbrunn Palace, Vienna.

Serbia.  I crossed over the Yugoslavian border (that’s the name for this entry and the next two in ’89 when I went and still communist at that time) which was a scary experience itself. Were they going to give me my passport back? It didn't seem like it until an older and more experienced traveler advised me to go ask for it. He said they would want money to return it, but just play dumb. It worked. Scary at the time, but exciting in memory.  Belgrade is the capital and though a semi-modern big city and I only spent a day, I enjoyed it, except for the severe sunburn I got walking around. There's a Tesla museum, or, there was. I presume it's still there.

Bosnia and Herzegovina. This is the only country that I just passed through by train that I will count, because it was most of the day and the view was spectacular - you looked out the whole time. At one point you travel on a rail suspended near the top of mountains on giant columns. The description I had read of it was "heart pounding" – and it was. I also met a Swedish couple on the train with whom I spent a few days traveling. Lost touch with them a few years later. My fault and a shame. Wonder what happened with them.

Croatia.  The incredible city of Dubrovnik. All limestone. There is not really a lot to do there other than walk around, go to the beach and see the Napoleonic fort, but, I was there four days and could go back for a week. You almost feel like you have stepped back in time. I also visited a small island, Korcula, which was pretty, but especially beautiful waters.

Dubrovnik, Croatia - those are my long lost Swedish friends on bottom right.

Italy. I’ve spent somewhere around 5-6 weeks there on three different trips. No room to talk about it here, but just to list the places serially: Florence, Siena, many little Tuscan towns (Gimignano and Montepulciano stand out in my mind), Verona, Sirmione (basically a castle on Lake Garda,) Milan, Rimini, Genoa, Cinque Terra, San Remo, Lucca, Pisa, Sicily (Syracuse, Taormina, Gela, Agrigento, Erisa, Palermo, Cefalu [pic]) and Sardinia (mostly the southeast coastal area). And, of course, many miles of driving past ruins and through vineyards.

Cefalu, Sicily, Italy - like an old post card.

Portofino, Italy.

San Marino.  It’s basically an itsy bitsy republic in the middle of Italy that relies heavily on Italy for many things that are normally part of a sovereign’s normal affairs (like money, foreign policy). The entire country is basically Mt. Titano. You drive up and around and around until you get to one of the three castle filled peaks, to be faced with touristy t-shirts and kitschy items for sale. Incredible views though all the way up and from the top.

Portugal. Probably my least favorite country in Europe that I visited, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t wonderful too. Lisbon, its big city, then Sintra, filled with castles (pic) and finally the Algarve, it's southern beachy coast. Most memorable were two beach towns, the castle town, Castelo (no surprise there), and a little beach town, whose name is lost in the fog of time and which I cannot even find on a map. Maybe I imagined it.

Sintra, Portugal.

Spain. Southern Spain – Seville, Granada, Cordoba, Toledo (lots of knives for sale and an embarrassment of riches of art from one of my favorites painters, El Greco, than I could absorb in a day) and finally, Madrid, where, of course, the Prado, one of the world’s great museums, was closed the day we were there. Miles of olive trees and gorgeous hill towns. Most memorable moment – looking off my balcony into the gorge at Ronda and the mosque/cathedral in Cordoba.

Mosque-Cathedral, Cordoba, Spain.

From my hotel balcony in Ronda, Spain.

Greece. Three times, for about five weeks. I’ve been to Athens, but other to see the Parthenon and maybe a few other things, get out and go to the islands or the other parts of Greece. Islands: Santorini (pic) twice, Crete, particularly Matala twice, Mykynos and Kos. Nafplio, which is Greece’s old capital (much nicer than Athens and near many ancient sites and great beaches) and Delphi, on the mainland. Unforgettable. I could live on any island there I've been to.

Santorini, Greece.

Turkey. Spent about ten days going down the coast. Four days in Istanbul, Izmir (formerly Smyrna), Bodrum (formerly Halicarnassus). Best memories include Istanbul (Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia, Topkapi Palace, the Basilica Cistern - featured in From Russia With Love), Ephesus, which has some of the most memorable ruins in the world and a boat trip from a nearby Greek Island back into Turkish waters, stopping at incredible clear blue spots and warm water. I was told I would come back from the trip brown and I did.

Library in Ephesus, Turkey.

All of these were wonderful trips. Again, I’ve been very fortunate. Reading it over, it makes me want to go back to Europe. But, New Zealand first.

Political update for February, 2015

Some predictions are called for -

Trump will win Iowa. I know this isn't earth-shaking. He's leading in the polls. But, as is well known, because of the caucus system, who has the best "ground game," that is, who can get the most people to the caucuses, often wins. And, Trump doesn't seem to have any kind of well running machine to do so. But, I think we will see the power of social media here.

Among the Democrats, I think Sanders will pull it off. Although there have been polls putting him in the lead, most still seem to show Clinton with a slim lead. The question here is will his strong youth following matter. I think it will. That's where all of the excitement is. Of course, the number of electors it will get is proportional so long as the candidate gets more than 5%.

Who drops out? Not Martin O'Malley, who I understood had a rally which 1 person attended. He stays in to see if Clinton will be derailed by the email scandal (I still doubt it) and then if the country will prefer him to the "socialist." But if Clinton dropped out early enough, I think Biden might jump in.  How Clinton and possibly others deal with Sanders' "socialism" will be enlightening. Because the word has a derogatory meaning in itself, Clinton, O'Malley and others don't apply it to themselves. But, for the outsider, there is no significant difference between mainstream Democrat views and Bernie Sanders. On some, he is to the right of them. But, if Clinton wins Iowa and, given that Sanders will almost certainly win New Hampshire, the other early states, it won't matter much.

Huckabee and Santorum will probably be gone after Iowa, though they might hang around for New Hampshire before making the "suspension" speech. I don't know if Cruz will drop out if he loses in Iowa. He might, but I'm sure he will be influenced by the number of delegates he gets - that is, the size of his loss. He has said he has to win there. Trump doesn't. This is the problem with Iowa - it exaggerates the importance of the evangelist votes. In any event, I think he will stay in.

I don't think there is a reason for Fiorina to stay in.  Maybe she fantasizes that Trump will say one crazy thing too far, but, it doesn't seem like it.  He has cornered the business person slot and despite her loquaciousness and intelligence, she can't compete with him. I gave her a chance for a while to see if I could prefer her, but, frankly, her personal attacks on Clinton are overblown and even dispiriting. Whether Gilmore will drop out, I won't even guess, because I cannot even understand his angry old man candidacy to begin with. I doubt he would get 2% in his home state. But, the other low scoring candidates who are either governors or senators each have their reason to stay around at least through, because for varying reasons, they hope when others pull out, they will get the votes in their "slot." More wishful thinking. It is mostly wishful thinking, but, understandable. Carson may suspend after New Hampshire. Like Cruz, if he can't win Iowa, he can't win period. I think he knows that.

That's it for now. Could be updates.

UPDATE. It's the following day. Predictions laying on the ground in pieces. Mostly, anyway. That's okay. It's been that way with my football picks this year and even our tv pundits admit all political predictions are pretty meaningless. The glorified fivethirtyeight.com blog, which is rightly admired, sub-heads its section on how they make their predictions with "and why we might be wrong."  I thought there was a good chance that Trump, actually leading in the Iowa polls, would beat Cruz's ground game in Iowa. Nope. It does rankle a lot when you think about everything Cruz's campaign pulled, including, maybe, spreading a rumor that Carson was dropping out after Iowa (at least, so they say on Morning Joe - his campaign manager denies it and says they only repeated what Carson said publicly) and the "Violation" mailing. Still, he won and that is that. No one is taking it away.

The power of the ground game in Iowa's caucuses is probably unique in presidential politics. Almost all polls had Trump ahead and many with Cruz declining. Even the glorified fivethirtyeight.com, which calculates results based mostly on polls, gave Trump the best odds to win.  Ironically, virtually everyone has been wrong about Trump from the beginning - and now even when he doesn't win.   Trump made a gracious speech and Rubio actually gave a victory speech after coming in third, which I still don't understand. Politicians. Sheesh.

I also thought it made sense for O'Malley to hang tough, although his campaign has been pathetic, because if Clinton has legal troubles, and Biden stays out, he has at least a shot. He has "suspended" his campaign, which will save him a worse beating.

I also called the Democrat race Sanders, and I don't really feel bad about that one, as they are, as of right now, 5 votes apart. Five. That's amazing, and, apparently, some people decided by flipping a coin. Not bad for the "socialist." Probably she will stay ahead ever so slightly. But, he still has a shot.

People are always knocking the polls. Sometimes they are right and sometimes wrong as to a winner, but in general, they are usually very accurate. Take a look at fivethirtyeight.com's prognostications, for example. Other than the reverse order of Trump and Cruz, they were extremely accurate.

Anyway, now that it is done, I'm sure Cruz will be trying to say he has the momentum, but just as we know how important the ground game is in Iowa, we know that state will probably will not pick the president. Other than Texas, this is really Cruz's one basket so far. I do not like Trump much. He says awful things (he just told a crowd to knock the crap out of anyone with a tomato and he'd pick up the legal bills. Really, what if they kill him or seriously hurt him? Or her?) But I like Cruz even less, admiring only his steadfastness. At least Trump respects, or says he respects, rule of law. As I've said many times, I like only Kasich in this field (though getting a little fondness for Bush, who is showing humility, something sorely lacking in most of the other candidates), but he has a little better chance than I do, except in New Hampshire, where he might finish second or third.

I still expect that Trump will win the whole shebang. New Hampshire likes to go its own way and they can really surprise. I'm still thinking they will send him on his way and that once it is done, we will have far fewer candidates.

The big story is still one we may never know if lips stay shut tight and journalists who would like to know (many would not) don't do their job. I'm talking about whether there could possibly be an indictment of Clinton. I still don't see it happening. It would be historic and an amazing story. What would she do? Suspend her campaign or push through? I say the latter. I expect that the White House has its thumb on the scale - nothing ever expressly said, but there all the same - and then there is the problem of the super-secret emails which Clinton would try to force them to reveal if she has to defend herself. Other prosecutions have crashed for this reason. Of course, it might make her even more popular.