This song, by award-winning inspirational artists Wayne Burton and Jenny Jordan Frogley, so beautifully expresses what I wish for everyone in the coming year and beyond. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
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After years of working 70 hours a week at jobs I detested, I felt like the proverbial "hole in the donut" - solid on the outside, but empty on the inside. Searching for meaning in my life, I abandoned my successful but unsatisfying career and set out on a six-month solo backpacking trip around the world to pursue my true passions of travel, writing, and photography. My blog features stories about the destinations I visit, people I meet, the crazy things...Read more here.... 
This song, by award-winning inspirational artists Wayne Burton and Jenny Jordan Frogley, so beautifully expresses what I wish for everyone in the coming year and beyond. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
Five tribal leaders from the remote South Pacific island nation of Tanna are sent to the U.S. by their supreme chief. Their mission? To bring the message of joy and peace they learned from a very special soldier during World War II – a man they called ‘Tom Navy’ – back to America. The journey is being documented by the Travel Channel in a six-part series, Meet the Natives, which premiers with back-to-back episodes at 9 and 10 p.m. E/P tomorrow night, November 29, 2009.
As a travel writer, the Travel Channel provided me with a special link to preview the first two episodes and frankly, I was blown away. Amidst much hilarity, these traditional hunters and farmers who wear grass skirts and live with no electricity or television, don layers of clothing and learn how to operate a video camera before departing for their first destination, a cattle ranch in Montana. I laughed out loud as they struggled with sleeping bags on the floor of the cabin and then again when they helped the wife cook breakfast – a first, since in Tanna, women do all the cooking. Coming from a culture that produces everything required to sustain the tribe on a daily basis, it is difficult for the men to understand why the Montana ranch contains 5,000 head of Continue reading
Posted in Inspirational | 
Inspirational, Meet the Natives, South Pacific, Tanna, Travel, Travel Channel, TV series, values | 
27 CommentsI thought I would forever regret not having asked his name, until I rolled into the same McDonalds a week later. There he was, just like before, food spread across the table and belongings spilling from an overflowing backpack. He wore the same over-sized Carpenter’s jeans, faded brown T-shirt, and velveteen hoodie with the nap worn down to nothing. When he glanced up I was again I was struck by the twinkling eyes, ruddy cheeks, and grizzled beard that put me in mind of Santa Claus.
“Hello again,” I said. His momentary blank expression turned to a wide smile.
“Well hello, darlin’! You’re back. Didn’t recognize you at first.”
“I don’t think I introduced myself last time. My name is Barbara,”
“Rudy,” he replied, enfolding my soft, manicured hand in his rough calloused paw.
He extricated himself from his pile of belongings and joined me.
We had chatted briefly the previous week about being on the street but now I asked the question that haunts me, where the homeless are concerned. Why?
“Because I travel.” He looked down at the table for a moment, lost in thought. “Folks don’t realize that homeless are same as anyone else. Most of us have had jobs, apartments, been married and had kids – at one time. But I really don’t want to give my money to some landlord. So I sleep in cuts and under bridges. It’s cold sometimes, but I’m from Colorado so it’s not too bad. I wake up shivering, but as soon as sun comes up I’m OK. I’m tough.”
“Do you worry about being mugged?” I asked, recalling recent incidents where homeless were beaten and Continue reading
Posted in Inspirational | grateful, Gratitude, Homeless, Inspirational, sober, sobriety, Thanksgiving, Travel | 20 Comments
Joshua Bell performs incognito in Washington, D.C. Metro station
In a Washington, D.C. Metro station on a cold January morning in 2007, a man with a violin played six Bach pieces. During his performance approximately two thousand people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.
Three minutes after the young man began playing a middle aged man slowed his pace and turned to look at the musician, but kept on walking.
Half a minutes later the violinist received his first dollar; a woman threw the money in the hat without stopping.
Not until six minutes into the performance did someone actually stand against a wall and listen.
A three-year old boy tried to stop and listen but his mother tugged him along hurriedly. The kid stopped and looked at the violinist again, but the mother pushed harder and the child continued to walk, turning his head to look at the musician as he walked away. This action was repeated by several other children; parents, without exception, forced their children to move on quickly.
In the forty-three minutes that the violinist played, seven people stopped what they were doing to take in the performance. Twenty-seven gave money – most of them on the run – for a total of $32 and change. The remaining 1,070 people hurried by, oblivious to the music, few even turning to look. As he finished playing, silence took over. No one noticed. No one applauded. He received no recognition.
The violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the greatest musicians in the world. He played some of the most intricate pieces ever written, with a violin worth $3.5 million dollars. Two days prior, Bell sold out a theater in Boston where the seats averaged $100.
This is a true story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the Metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste, and people’s priorities (Read the full, original Washington Post article here).
In a common place environment at an inappropriate hour, do we perceive beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world, playing some of the finest music ever written, with one of the most beautiful instruments ever made, how many other things are we missing in life?
Posted in Inspirational | beauty, Joshua Bell, Metro station, muscian, Music, perform, play, social experiment, Spirituality, violinist, Washington DC, Washington Post | 28 Comments
Taking a break from my physical journey today to work on the inner journey, and I can’t think of a better way to do that than to share this amazing video sent to me by my friend Karen. Peace and love to you all…
Posted in Inspirational | kindness, Louis Armstrong, peace, Spirituality, unconditional love, videos, What A Wonderful World | 4 Comments
A couple of weeks ago I received an email thanking me for posting photos of the old buildings in the village of Matten, Switzerland on my blog. The message, which was from a William Diesslin, read in part:
“You didn’t know it at the time, but you photographed my great grandfather’s store front! I’ve attached the photo for your reference.”
Matten was the town I stayed in when visiting Switzerland during the summer of 2007 and I had taken scores of photos of the intriguing architecture in the village. Curious, I downloaded the photo he had attached – an historical black and white image of an old storefront. I figured it would be a simple thing to find the present day photo among those I had published on the blog and began side by side comparisons. It was not as easy as I had assumed it would be, but by comparing things like the gables, roof line, and the horizontal strip that separated the first and second stories, I was eventually able to identify the correct structure.
Today the building is home to a hostel, the Balmer’s Herberge. The building is located on the same street as my hotel and I had even eaten at the Thai restaurant that now occupies the basement. Take a look at the photos below for a glimpse into the past and an idea of how well these old buildings have withstood the test of time.
Today one of the buildings comprising a large hostel, the Diesslin store hides its age well
Historic Diesslin store; the man standing in the doorway is Bill's great grandfather and the child to his right is Bill's grandfather
A closer look at the store from the opposite direction, as it looks today
But that’s not the end of the story. Continue reading
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