Galleries

I experienced wildlife in India that I had imagined could only be experienced on an African safari.

Welcome to Israel Arriving in Israel less than a week ago for a short visit on the way to the conference in Jordan, their first question was: “What the _______ (insert appropriate word of your choice) is going on in the US?” To which we replied, “What the ______ is going on in Israel?” It’s complicated. I hardly know where to start. But we have to start somewhere, to bring attention to what’s going on in these turbulent times...

The extensive Zen Buddhist temples in Kyoto were financed by the Shogun, the warrior leader who represented the real power behind the emperor.  The Shogun also created the first extensive Zen garden, placing the trees, rocks, flowers, and water pools into a special meditative design which became the art of Zen gardens.

The world is a big place…I was picked up at 3am to travel to the Mumbai airport for a 6:40am Turkish Airlines flight, which flew seven hours from Mumbai to Istanbul. After a couple of hours in the chaotic, crowded, and very international Istanbul airport, I flew two hours to the Ben Gurion airport outside Tel Aviv Israel. Met by Susan, we traveled half an hour by taxi to the town of Rehovot, where Susan’s sister and her husband have lived for many years. . .

Twenty-four years ago Susan and I began our healthcare careers with the goal of bringing music into hospitals to create healing environments. This led to the development of the C.A.R.E. Channel, a 24-hour channel that provides peaceful music and beautiful nature images. 

I had visited Switzerland only once before in 1973, driving my VW van with my parents, when they came to Europe to persuade me to come back to the US after I had stayed out of the country for three years. By that time. . . 

Following our first port of Cabo San Lucas and three days at sea, our second port of call on the Viking world cruise was the famous tourist city Puerto Vallarta.  Puerto Vallarta is the capital of the Mexican state of Jalisco, a state which is approximately the size of South Carolina.  Tourism is its main “industry.”  Susan and I joined a city tour with a local guide who spoke perfect English.  We toured the downtown area including the cathedral, followed by a half-hour drive out of the city to tour a tequila factory...

We have been very blessed to be hosted on this trip by our dear friend Lajo Gupta, first at her home in Dubai, and afterwards in Mumbai, where she flew to host us in her wonderful apartment there. I met Lajo forty years ago(!)

Four years ago, Susan and I toured Jordan for the first time. Through the internet, I hired a driver/tour guide based on an ad from a Jordan tour company. This driver, Mazen, met us at the airport holding a sign with our names on it. Spending hours together with him in the car that first year, we became close friends with Mazen. We have hired him as our tour guide during our three subsequent Jordan visits. Mazen has invited us to his house twice for dinner with him and his wife. Both he and his wife speak enough English to get to know each other well enough to cement our friendship. . .