Death Toll: 39 and Rising Last weekend’s cyclone inspired blizzard in the Annapurna range of western Nepal caught hundreds of trekkers, sherpas and porters in exposed positions as they traversed a 17,500 foot pass. Hundreds were trapped or forced to make life and death decisions to try to get lower or to a point of […]

“Hold On–I’ll Google it.” When I retired to the world of part-time work I made a conscious decision to give up the “smart-phone” in favor of simple talk/text. I didn’t want to be a zombie-like compulsive email checker strolling through life reacting to an incoming message chime like a middle-aged Pavlov’s dog. In truth, it […]

The “Clutch” I have taken to noticing lately how many people, most actually, walk around clutching their “smartphone” (SP) in one hand. It has become so essential to the pulse of life that it cannot be stowed, even for a moment. People will place an infant child in a backpack or carrier but the SP […]

Just in Case You Need It I finished up the week working with a group of eighth-graders from Lamar Middle School, a touch of irony or humor that was lost on both them and me. It was a superb day at Mount Vernon and down at Pioneer Farm it was sheep shearing time, the old […]

Last Friday 16 Nepalese Sherpas were killed in an avalanche on the “shores” of Mt. Everest, a stormy sea known for its exacting toll of victims. Sherpas are a cultural group native to Nepal;  the word also connotes specialists in mountain climbing.  In a team of Sherpas the person in charge is referred to as […]

  Just Keep It. I wrote the other day about my burglary. The police were called and the Crime Scene Technician did a great including providing a series of helpful tips, like: you will continue to realize missing items. Truer words… I realized they had absconded with my worn and worthless messenger bag that was […]

have been working these past few years as a Washington, DC, city guide. It’s a bit like working for the fire department.

  Now, That’s a Workout.   I spent part of this past week near Miami, Florida, sailing on Biscayne Bay.  The Bay separates the mainland from Miami Beach where the smart set go to trendy clubs. The Bay is large and full of manatees, dolphins and rays.  This time of year the wind is good […]

Stepping Back in Time During my recent trekking trip to northern Nepal we found ourselves well off the beaten track in a world largely untouched by electricity and completely free from mechanized agriculture. Fields are cultivated, sown and harvested using only human or animal power. It’s early 19th century farming alive and well in 2012. […]

Traffic in the city is horrible and is compounded by the fact that many side streets are unpaved mud paths.