The Teaser

    Graham Greene spoke truth when he said, "There is always one moment in childhood when the door opens and let's the future in."
     That moment occurred when I read Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island. My imagination was ignited and a desire for travel was launched. 
     Stevenson was an ambassador of travel and early I took to heart what he wrote; "I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travels sake. The great affair is to move." 

     My life of journalism and documentary production allowed a decent bit of "moving," globe trotting and cultural immersion. 
   I was asked once to write a piece about the adjustment one must manage when returning from extensive travel. A meager truth I surfaced was this; the re-entry to normal also helps enshrine the intoxicating, psychoactive, or mind stretching affect of travel.

    As you have read we have been away for a while, celebrating a milestone in our marriage, connecting with ancestral roots. Ever the journalist and curious explorer we return with a couple thousand images and even more memories. 

    I want to share with you what we saw, did and felt.
   

   We were on country roads, navigating large cities, at historic sites, immersed in the local culture, in Scotland and Ireland. There was much to see and learn.

     There is history that makes ours seem youthful. Complexity, intellect, and human endeavor that is profound.

   Abundant beauty, nature and culture.

Always near is history that shaped humankind.

  We are fascinated by mysteries of ancient cultures, older than the great Pyramids, cosmic riddles.

Profound beauty, picturesque charm. 

Music and culture.

  Exploration and discovery. 

Food and other feasts of the senses. 

   Grandeur and majesty.  

   Politics, struggle, and the DNA of fighting for independence. 

  Whimsy, expression and stunning beauty.

  Intellect and impact. 

    And there are the people. Our exploration of Scottish history, genealogy, and nature was organized and moderated by research and experts.
    And so it was in Ireland, though our guides were friends, people we have hosted in California.
     We benefited wonderfully from the expertise of Irish friends who kindly shared the magic of their Republic. An endless gratitude to Kay and Willie,
  

 and to Kay and Jack. 

  So stay tuned. In the days to come there will be scenes, experiences, history, and the pastiche of travel and culture.

   I hope you will enjoy what you read and see, in a vicarious travel adventure.

   I'm tempted to say come along for a foreign adventure but I'm reminded of Stevenson's summation; "There are no foreign lands, it is the traveler only who is foreign."

   We have been the foreigner and now we seek to interpret and report.

   These are strange days on both sides of the Atlantic, a cultural metamorphosis is in the offing. 

    It is my humble suggestion we have reached these vexing times because we have become to tethered to small worlds, of small screens and small words and small ideas, and led by small people. 

    Greene said it well when he wrote in Burnt Out Case, "The more base a life is, the more we fear change."

     We have much to share. I hope you enjoy the ride that is to come. Let's move. 

     See you down the trail. 

   

TAX CUTS-CIVIL WAR MEMORIES-SOCIAL BOTS-AND NATURAL BEAUTY

SHADOWS OVER THE GLOBE

       150 years after our own awful history, civil war rages in north Africa and the middle east.  We can't know the implication of regime change in these strategic regions, but we know there will be legacy affects.

        The opening salvo of our conflict will be remembered today with somber music, and an explosive re-enactment of the Confederate bombardment of Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor.

        Remembering history is crucial to a republic and while reenactment helps demonstrate and can bring maps and moments of military battle to life, nothing can approximate the extraordinary pain in the loss of 600 thousand lives over the course of our 4 year struggle.  Nor can it heal.  With our memories comes residual resentment. Shadows still.

      The nonpartisan Tax Policy Center has analyzed the House Republican budget proposal

and reports the plan to cut corporate taxes and to lower the rates on high earners will result in a revenue loss of $ 2.9 Trillion.  By the way, if the GOP plan succeeds the tax rate on the wealthiest Americans will be the lowest since 1931. Is this how to recover from a recession that was created by the greed of wealthy investment bankers and corporations who pay little or no taxes already?  Sorry-this all seems like foggy logic.

ARE YOUR "FRIENDS" REAL?

INTO SOCIAL NETWORKS? DO YOU HAVE "CURIOUS' FOLLOWERS OR FRIENDS? THEY MAY BE MORE CURIOUS THAN YOU HAVE IMAGINED. LINK HERE FOR AN EYE OPENER FROM THE ATLANTIC

DAY BOOK

ECHIUM AND FRIENDS

 See you down the trail.