Category: Travels
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The “Popcorn” Man
[The Street Vender. Photo is mine.] At first I thought he was selling a popcorn necklace. He would walk up and down the rows of diners, whose tables (here in Paris) always face the streets. And he would peddle his “popcorn” necklaces to those at the tables that were closest to the sidewalk. Yes, I…
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Street Scene In Paris
[Paris is a city of light and charm.] It was our first day in the City of Light. Getting there involved subjecting ourselves to a subtle form of modern torture. We were taking a “red-eye” from JFK to Paris. We flew American Airlines because we’re addicted to air miles. I won’t tell you how many…
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Our Dream Trip: So What’s All The Fuss?
[Photo source: Google search] It began as an ordinary rainy morning in Albany, New York. We stayed over at a Marriott to break the trip a little and to get a fresh start for the final leg. To Manhattan and drop off the Budget rent car, get to our hotel on W. 35th St., and…
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A Rare Journey
[Windermere, England. Photo credit is mine] On May 22, my wife and I will board an American Airlines flight to Paris. This is not something new. Every few years, we travel to Europe (mostly Paris) and end up with friends in Dorset, England. Nothing so very earthshaking about this. But, there is something different about…
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A Hint Of Green: Southbound On Train #238
[Everything is ON TIME] Aboard the 12:10 train for Penn Station I check my watch as the train jolts into motion. It’s 12:09. There was a time when Mariam and I would make the trip from Manhattan to Rainbow Lake in one day. It was 305 miles from our apartment door on W. 93rd Street…
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NASA Director Sends Wife To The Moon
[A rare photo of the then Mr. Kramden, with wife, Alice and neighbor, Edward Norton. (ca. late 1950’s). Source: Google search] Washington, D.C. The Chief of NASA, Dr. Ralph Kramden, has big plans to celebrate his wife’s birthday. He intends to send her, literally to the earth’s only satellite, the moon. A short time ago,…
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Mystery of the Paris Photograph
[Photo source: unknown.] I don’t know where it came from. It was leaning against our brass lamp…since I don’t know when. A year or two ago, I began to glean the Kodak slides and other photos that came into my possession after my father passed away in 2004. There was a collection of letters and…
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Joshua Tree Diary: The Road to Wonder Valley
[Amboy Road…to Wonder Valley. Photo is mine.] I’m driving from Joshua Tree to Twentynine Palms. I turn left on Adobe Drive. Ahead of me is the largest U.S. Marine Training Base in the world. I don’t go there. I turn right on Amboy Road and pass the RV campground where we spent a week in…
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Joshua Tree Diary: Christmas in the Desert
[Desert view outside Joshua Tree. Photo is mine.] This is where it all began, right? I don’t mean California…I mean the desert. The Nativity story is set in the desert; much like the one I see from my bedroom window. Very much like it, except that desert, with the Star, is half a world away.…