News From the Road

Many friends and readers have asked why I have not been posting to Sojourner’s Journal during the past year. To all who inquired, thank you. I’m pleased that you have found my scribbling engaging enough to follow and to inquire about its absence. I hope you continue to find my writings engaging, and perhaps entertaining.

It’s been a busy year. We’ve traveled a good deal in Europe and the States, visited and spent much time with family and friends who we had not seen for far too long. . In Gozo we were able to see many dear friends, too many to name here. The photo below is of one of our friends, Sheila, in her home. She and her husband Neil live in a strikingly converted farmhouse. Much of the original tile and brickwork has been retained, and blended with contemporary conveniences.

Also in Gozo, on a balmy summer night with the sea breeze rusting the palms, we were able to see and hear Steve, Georgia, and Sabrina perform, which is always a pleasure. In Gozo entire families come to hear live music, have dinner, and spend the balmy, lazy, evening together. Small children wander freely around the terrace. Their parents bring the old folks, some of them great grandparents and too old to get around much by themselves, to enjoy the evening, share dinner, and have a glass or two of wine. All, young, old, and everyone in between, were drawn together and entranced by the performances of Steve and Georgia who emit so much energy that no one can feel sad or alone. Sabrina, a young woman who performs with them, has a nice easy manner and delivery, and had all the young fellows circling the stage.

Many consider Frankfort Germany to be only a stop-over town, a place to transit and change planes. We do not. Frankfort is a lively town with fairs and festivals during all seasons.

Over the years and during many stop overs we have come to like Frankfort very much, and often schedule our flights to allow extra time there to decompress from long flights and just to enjoy the life of the city. One this occasions there was a street fair featuring food and wine from all of Europe. We especially enjoyed a dry Sangiovese with grilled ribs.

We arrived in San Francisco in time for Chinese New Year, and attended the Chinatown parade with family.

For those who do not know, each of the Dragon’s you see in such parades represents a particular Kung Fu school. The fellow in the photo below might be a tip off.

In addition to travel, much of our time has been taken up by the vicissitudes of life that affect us all, which doesn’t need expansion. We’ve also been working: completed a new book, rewrote two older books for second editions, wrote a dozen or so magazine articles, and am well into a new novel. All that adds up to a great deal of time spent staring at a laptop screen – too much really – and left little time for Sojourner’s.

I’m caught up with work now, and have some time for Sojourner’s. In the past my writings for Sojourner’s tended to be essays and short stories, both of which I’m now informed are called ‘long reads’ and as such are too tedious to bother with. A long read being anything that cannot be displayed on the screen of a smart phone without scrolling. In an effort to adapt to changing times this post and my next few writings for Sojourner’s will be brief. I welcome any comments from readers on this topic, whether you would prefer longer or shorter pieces.

Next, What we like about Turkey.