Sightseeing in the Mindfields
Spring in Wartime Israel, 3: Of Bus Rides and Ben Gurion, 1 May 2024
June 30, 2024
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I awoke on Wednesday to more messages about my peripatetic luggage, including a promise of delivery sometime before that night. It was not until about 2:45 PM that I received my bag. My new duffel bag’s maiden voyage had indeed been a bizarre one. At one point, it seems, the bag had been as far as Paris if not Tel Aviv. Then it had been sent back t...
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Spring in Wartime Israel, 2: An Inescapable Undercurrent, 30 April 2024
June 24, 2024
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In Israel, history becomes hagiography, that is, every loss connected with the establishment and defense of the nation is worthy of commemoration. During HL’s and my afternoon stroll on the boardwalk, we passed a new monument to those who perished on the ship Atalena before they could fight the British Mandate forces in 1948.
The images of those t...
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Spring in Wartime Israel, 1: The Seventh Day of Passover, Tel Aviv-Yafo, 29 April 2024
June 18, 2024
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Our trip to Israel could not have begun more inauspiciously. HL and I rose at 4 AM in order to fly from Dallas to Atlanta on the first segment of an itinerary that included two widely spaced changes of plane and airline. Our Delta flight was only slightly late when our plane began to gather speed on the runway. Then the pilot slowed and stopped the...
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The Dancing Pelican, 5: On the Pier, 6 March 2024
April 26, 2024
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At last, the Sun appeared, granting us the kind of day that has made Florida a perennially popular Winter destination. The morning mist burned off even before the beachcombers and treasure seekers finished their early rounds. D., HL and I were able to wander along the beach without a care. D. and HL could be somewhat more insouciant than I, as my s...
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The Dancing Pelican, 4: Surrealism in the Strip Mall, 5 March 2024
April 17, 2024
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In Jacksonville Beach, the weather remained cool and damp. Our hotel room had a balcony overlooking the roiling ocean. HL and I could stand there and observe the grey waves dissolving into the silvery sky. Conditions were not conducive to the seaside rambles that I had imagined taking with HL and my friend D. D. resides a few miles from the beach a...
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The Dancing Pelican, 3: In the Cards, 2 March 2024
April 10, 2024
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The chance to visit friends was one of the factors that determined our choice of north Florida for our late Winter trip. One of my former students settled in Gainesville, and I have maintained contact with him. For the purposes of this account, I shall call him My Young Friend, or MYF. Now his wife and he have a son who is close to the age that MYF...
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The Dancing Pelican, 2: Airstreams and Alligators, 1 March 2024
April 03, 2024
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In 2020, some descendants of the eponymous Samuel P. Harn gave the museum its Florida Art Collection. It contains works of more than 700 artists, spanning over a century. There are more than a thousand Florida-themed pieces, so only a percentage of them can be displayed in the galleries at any time. Most are drawings but there are many fine oil, wa...
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The Dancing Pelican, 1: Himalayan Peeks, 1 March 2024
March 27, 2024
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Often it happens that an achingly early flight does not align with hotel room access at one's destination. So it was with us when we went to north Florida for HL's Birthday. You, my patient Readers, know that I am the one who insists on leaving town for our natal anniversaries. HL did not object, though he may have experienced some misgivings while...
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Two Coasts and No Army, 12: Language Lesson, 5 December 2023
March 20, 2024
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Pura Vida is a uniquely Costa Rican expression. Literally, it means “pure life”, an unhurried acknowledgement of the pleasures of the moment. The Ticos, as the country’s natives style themselves, use the phrase to respond to being thanked. It can be a reassurance following your refusal to buy whatever is being sold, showing that the seller still wi...
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Two Coasts and No Army, 11: Altitude Adjustment, 4 December 2023
March 13, 2024
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HL, Ava and I agreed on our desire for a relaxing day, without tours or formal activities. It was noon before we ambled to the beach behind our hotel. We had not gone far before the heat overwhelmed us, despite our leisurely pace. We craved a swim, and the ocean looked inviting.
I was planning to swim, but first wanted to enquire about the cost...
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