Armchair Travel

• Roman Skaskiw - A Faceful of Truth

  Back in ought seven, as associate editor at GoNOMAD.com, an alternative travel website, I received a story called 'A Brief Tour of the Holy Land' from a US Army officer named Roman Skaskiw.
  
  I figured since he had served his country in Iraq and Afghanistan, he had a [...]
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  Posted: November 27, 2009, 10:28pm EST
  

• A Field Hospital in North Africa

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  I recently experienced a book collector's delight when I found a second copy of Ernie Pyle's book This is Your War. I was able to pass it on to another historian of my acquaintance who I hope will enjoy it.
  
  Reading Cornelia Hancock's account [...]
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  Posted: November 23, 2009, 11:29pm EST
  

• Surrealistic Sculptures

  My friend Anne Stewart posted a link to this site on Facebook. It has some incredibly lifelike sculptures by Ron Muek and others.
  
  
  
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  Posted: November 23, 2009, 5:06pm EST
  

• Looking for Lincoln

  
  We have a nice new housemate, so I'm trying to tidy up around the house and get rid of some clutter, and I tackle this pile of magazines from my mom's house, old New Yorkers where I've already read the cartoons. Maybe I could get' [...]
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  Posted: November 18, 2009, 11:05pm EST
  

• The Enemy is Retreating; It's Time to Charge

  I believe it's time to take over the party of Abraham Lincoln and restore it to its original principles. I believe the best thing people of conscience can do right now is to join the Republican Party.
  
  I am an ardent supporter of President Obama, but that's because he's' [...]
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  Posted: November 16, 2009, 11:30pm EST
  

• Hadley History

  
  I went to two very interesting lectures in Hadley yesterday. Hadley is just south of Sunderland, where I live, and the town recently celebrated its 350th birthday. Part of the observance was the publication of a book called Cultivating a Past: Essays on the [...]
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  Posted: November 16, 2009, 6:12pm EST
  

• Moments of Delight

  
  My daughter Sarah is just back from Oaxaca, Mexico, and I'm just tickled that she went there for GoNOMAD and had a great time. It's not exactly a free vacation, because it's work, but it's the kind of work you want.
  
  Just talking about [...]
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  Posted: November 12, 2009, 11:31pm EST
  

• Baby With Spaghetti

  
  This photo is by Jordan Kauffman, whom I do not know. My Groton buddy Stanley Matthews posted it on Facebook. [...]
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  Posted: November 12, 2009, 5:16pm EST
  

• Cornelia Hancock's Rosy Cheeks

  I'm learning a lot from Cornelia Hancock, the 23-year-old New Jersey woman who arrived at Gettysburg three days after the battle. [Letter of a Civil War Nurse] She almost didn't get there. In Baltimore her party met Dorothea Dix, superintendent of Army nurses.
  
  "She looked the nurses over" [...]
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  Posted: November 11, 2009, 9:46pm EST
  

• Futile Care

  When my mom was in the hospital in Springfield, we asked them to provide what is called "comfort care only." That means they don't do a lot of invasive tests and IVs and catheters.
  
  A doctor came over to us and told us we were doing the right thing' [...]
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  Posted: November 06, 2009, 5:37pm EST
  

• Spartacus and the Essene

  
  He stuck up for the lowly and the oppressed. He preached a new kingdom of peace and justice. He was crucified but he lives on. You know who I mean... Spartacus!
  I'm reading The Gladiators by Arthur Koestler and I'm getting caught up in his [...]
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  Posted: November 05, 2009, 10:51pm EST
  

• The Will of God Almighty

  I have written before about my friend Daoud Nassar, the founder of the Tent of Nations near Bethlehem, a center for international peace and understanding.
  
  The Israelis have been trying to seize Daoud's land, despite the fact that his grandfather paid taxes to the Ottoman Turks and has' [...]
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  Posted: November 02, 2009, 5:35pm EST
  

• The Most Beautiful Road in the World

  I just took a drive down what for me is the most beautiful road in the world, New Hampshire Route 153. For some it's the road to Freedom (about four miles south of Eaton) but for me it's the road to South Conway, where I have traveled for more than [...]
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  Posted: November 01, 2009, 7:35pm EST