Thanks for reading. This blog is an opportunity for me to capture some of the diversity of my writing interests. My muse tend to appear on my shoulder as I board an international flight although not all of my writing is inspired by travel and foreign places. These blogs have been the basis of a novel (Flowers of Baghdad) but there are a few other writing projects in progress besides. Please feel free to leave a comment. Or two.
Previous Chapter In 2005 David Paton, good friend, mentor, example, and inspiration died after experiencing an aggressive cancer. I flew to New Zealand to attend his funeral. On the flight back I started writing some notes that were intended to capture something of what David meant to me. Taking a deep breath I thought I…
Nothing that can be said here really – check out a recent F-111 landing sans wheels – just an arrestor hook. A handy piece of gear hung over from its orginal Navy design!!
My diaries are full of notes on India and it is a bit hard to know where to start, especially if extracts are going to make any sense. But India is a bit like that – a montage of experiences, assaults on the senses, moments that make you cringe, followed by moments of pure exhilaration…
I am not sure how kosher or otherwise it is to be placing site traffic analysis up on the blog but I thought some of you might be interested in the dramatic difference a very small investment in Bobby’s site has made. Specifically it started with the Premium Blog promotion that was responsible for this…
I cleared the D.C. area and crossed the Bay on my way to Wilmington and took the first ramp off the freeway that I could find. It took me into fields of autumn crops, narrow lane ways, red painted barns and very little traffic. I was thankful for that today since it takes a day…
Previous ChapterIn 2005 David Paton, good friend, mentor, example, and inspiration died after experiencing an aggressive cancer. I flew to New Zealand to attend his funeral. On the flight back I started writing some notes that were intended to capture something of what David meant to me. Taking a deep breath I thought I would…
Yesterdays papers covered a story of Zak. Bit of a feel good story especially given the photo that was posted with it. But it caught my eye and it seemed like a nice note with which to start the year. Zak, in the photo, has just celebrated his first birthday. Ordinarily no big deal, except…
Taxi drivers in this city are almost always foreign nationals – if not by citizenship then at least by birth. That makes for some interesting stories and I usually take the opportunity when riding with them to find out a bit about their backgrounds and their families. One stands out and I am thinking about…
I was explaining to a colleague today how the Pickled Eel came about.It has a lot to do with alcohol.The story is here.In an attempt to “brand” the blog a little – and stop being so darn serious about everything – I whipped up a quick sketch of an eel (with apologies to all the…
Previous ChapterIn 2005 David Paton, good friend, mentor, example, and inspiration died after experiencing an aggressive cancer. I flew to New Zealand to attend his funeral. On the flight back I started writing some notes that were intended to capture something of what David meant to me. Taking a deep breath I thought I would…