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| Happy Holidays 2003 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Once again it is time to send a Christmas message.� I am sending you Holiday Greetings as well as a few photos and sample of my prose for your perusal.� | |||||||||||||||||||
| This time of year brings us the winter solstice, Christmas, the western New Year and the Chinese New Year all rolled into one. The origins of this 'special time of year' began in time immemorial with the first recognition of the solar cycle and the fact that the sun which give us life stops dropping in the sky and starts coming back to us. It returns to give us longer days, more warmth and life to our crops. It was a logical time to begin the calendar. The Roman calendar had a round 360 days with 5 remainder days that they used for a big party they called Saturnalia at the time of the solstice. The Christians decided that they would observe Jesus' birth at this time so they could use the holiday to promote their religion. It is a time of year when people take a break from their regular routine to reunite with their families, celebrate, worship, reflect and make resolutions. |
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| Over the last few months, I have had some opportunity for reflection. I have become engrossed in a side project that has yielded some interesting and unexpected results. I recently bought a scanner I have scanned over 2000 photos from my life over the last 15 years.� The majority are from my travels in Asia in 1989-90 and 1993-94, various trips, and my Peace Corps experience.� I have created an online group compilation of photos from my Peace Corps Honduras East III (1998-2000) group. | |||||||||||||||||||
| In reviewing my photos, I have noticed some funny and interesting things.� One thing is that I really like wearing my Patagonia pullover!� I bought my first one in August 1989 in Jackson Hole, Wyoming as I was preparing to climb the Grand Teton.� I subsequently wore my 'Patagonia' through more than 25 countries all over the world.� I circumnabulated the Himalaya with it!� It has served as my pillow on the Indian Railways second-class sleeper and I've used it as a towel numerous times.� It has been beaten on rocks of the Ganges by Indian washerwomen and scrubbed on the pila by Honduran lavaderas.� I think it says something about how durable they are made.� It is extremely durable, it's warm even when wet, and it dries very quickly.� It began showing it's age after 11 years, so I more recently replaced it and have carried my new one on a 7 month sojourn through Africa, the Middle East and Mediterranean Europe. | |||||||||||||||||||
| What follows is sort of a 'round the world tour for my 'Patagonia'.� The first picture shows me in my 50 cent a night hotel room two blocks from the Taj Mahal in Agra, India in February of 1993.� I could sit on the roof of my hotel and drink a bhang lassi while watching the sun gleam off the white dome of Shah Jahan's mausoleum. | |||||||||||||||||||
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| The next photo shows me hiking in the Karakoram mountains of Northern Pakistan in July of 1993. | |||||||||||||||||||
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| The next shot is of myself and my girlfriend Michelle at the Khunjerab pass on the Pakistan/China Border (India/China Border to Indians) in July of 1993. | |||||||||||||||||||
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