by Gary | Sep 23, 2009 |
Ok, I’ll admit it. When S. made her desire known to go to Venice on our European jaunt, my first reaction was a giant groan. First of all, I’ve been there, done that, and secondly, it’s really a white bread kind of place to go. At best, a really old European Disneyland for adults. Gimme a break….gondolas. Tourists coming out of the old wazoo. What a way to spend a few precious days when we could have been in Slovenia or some place really interesting. But I was wrong. Well, not completely wrong. It is, more or less, a Disneyland for adults, but a very fine one, and one with significant history and culture. Don’t worry, I’m not going to give you a...
by Gary | Sep 21, 2009 |
Any one who thinks they have the ability to understand a culture other than their own is a fool. I remember an old asian hand, who after several miso wari’s (scotch and waters for you non-old asian hands), opined about a common malady of expats who had stayed too long. We called it asian fever, and it happens in other areas of the world as well. He told me that perfect comprehension of the Oriental culture came only when one finally realized that he would never understand. It’s relatively easy to apply that wisdom to eastern cultures, where things really look different, but we often fail to understand that it applies equally to places where things on the...
by Gary | Sep 17, 2009 |
Let me sum up Paris for you in a word. C’est magnifique. Well, that’s two words I guess. No, really it’s three words. And that’s part of the problem. They speak a very funny language here. It’s sounds good, but it’s impossible to understand, and, god forbid, don’t try to speak it to them. Those of you who know me well, know that I am a bit of a striver for languages, particularly French. I’ve spent more money and time conjugating irregular verbs and trying to understand the subjunctive vs. indicative moods than anyone I know. Alas, it’s all been for naught. My two semesters of college study. My eighteen months of twice weekly tutoring by a very comely...
by Gary | Sep 16, 2009 |
I don’t know who decided to put JFK at the south eastern end of Long Island, but he surely doesn’t have many friends in those who have had to brave the impossible traffic of the Grand Central and Van Wyk Expressway to get there. Our American Airlines flight was scheduled to depart at 5:45 so I figured, what the hey, leave in plenty time…say 2:30 and don’t sweat it. Great plans of mice and men, or something like that. Our limo was late; only twenty minutes, but that put us dangerously close to the magic 3:00 window for making it through the mid-town tunnel. I debated telling the driver to hit the FDR and the Tri-Borough Bridge (now the RFK), but I...
by admin | Sep 1, 2009 |
As Ed H. said just having missed a three foot putt at age 83, “I’m just glad to still be on this side of the grass. He died three months later. Don’t worry, this is not about the inevitability of death. It’s worse. I’m going to write about what happens to a man-child as he enters the autumn of his life. This may not seem like such a big deal to the feminine segment of my limited audience, unless, that is, you happen to be married to one of us that is going through this particular slice of life, and groaning all the while. But to me, it’s a pretty big deal. I can still remember throwing a ball to home plate from center field on one bounce. I revel in the...
