patrickjegan

March 15, 2019

Inside Gaudi’s Dream: The Excursionist VIII

You find yourself in sunny Barcelona…on the south coast of Spain. You have massive amounts of wax so you do what you’re expected to do with massive amounts of wax. You sculpt the facade of a cathedral. You include all the alcoves for the saints and the angels and the biblical scenes of the…

March 9, 2019

The Enigma of Knowlton Church: The Excursionist VII

[Knowlton Church…front facade] In the middle of Cranborne Chase, a hilly and breezy open region in north Dorset, is the shell of a Norman church. Nothing special really. These churches are found in many villages and hamlets of Dorset. What is unusual is that it is built-in the middle of a Neolithic ritual henge (a…

February 27, 2019

The First Real Ramble: The Excursionist IV

[I’ll sneak this post in while many of you will still be reeling from Michael Cohen’s testimony in Congress.] Well, we took our first real walk through the fields of Dorset today. It was time. It was overdue. And it was one of the main reasons we’re here…to walk and to avoid the snow. I’ve…

February 23, 2019

The Fly Over: The Excursionist V

[Photo of a page of the Guardian newspaper] I like fly overs. The jets roar over a stadium during halftime…or more interestingly, the Italian Air Force planes that swept over the church in Italy the moment when Pavarotti’s coffin was brought out of the church. But deep down in my conscience, I see fly overs…

February 18, 2019

Looking For A Proper Lane To Ramble Along: The Excursionist IV

[Me rambling in Dorset. Deep in thought.] Finding places to ramble (walk) in England is something even a guy like me can do. That is unless I’m going to wear my clean hiking boots. Who wants to track mud into our host’s home? And, it is the mud season here. I haven’t seen any snow…

February 14, 2019

North Dorset Once Again-The Excurinist III

[A London Pub. Nothing to do with this post.] We’re with our friends in North Dorset…once again. I met Tim when he was a rookie teacher when I was an exchange teacher in the mid-1980’s. Now he’s nearing retiring. His wife, Jo, is a major player in the local school, psychologist, and tutor. We love…

February 4, 2019

Sick In London: The Excursionist II

[The Sherlock Holmes Pub. The only real outing we’ve had.] When your forty feet from the ‘largest bookstore’ in Europe, it’s hard to get bored. But alas, the usual ‘bug’ has hit us. We took the Red Eye from JFK to London on Sunday afternoon. Thinking we were going to get some stuff done…we both…

January 28, 2019

A Fair Swap: The Excursionist I

On Friday, February 1, Mariam and I will be exchanging this: [The Hudson River on January 26, 2018] for this: [The Yorkshire Dales, England] It’s a pretty fine change of scenery if I do say so myself. Once upon a time, back in the day, I loved winter. How could one not love winter…when you’re…

January 20, 2019

Another Adirondack Tragedy

BREAKING NEWS REGULAR GUY GOES MISSING WHILE SHOVELING A PATH TO DRIVEWAY! AVALANCHE SUSPECTED [The Egan Cabin at Rainbow Lake at time of search. Aerial photo from Channel 7 News Drone7] [Photo credit: Google search] Rainbow Lake, NY (AP) Only days after a lone ice fisherman had turned, basically into a snowman, another winter-related incident…

January 17, 2019

The Ring

My left hand is ringless. The wedding band lies on a tray on the dresser in our bedroom, along with assorted jewelry. Is this the sign of a marriage gone south? Hardly. The only thing that would be going south right now is my wife and I. Because outside the wind howls and the temperature…