Bud wrote this column after his experince living through 9/11 in NYC. It is being reprieved in honor of the 10th anniversary: New York, NY — The ghosts of New York’s Third Avenue will stay with me.It was Black Tuesday, 12 days ago, and the ghosts were easily identified: those survivors able to walk away from the shambles of the World Trade Center – ashen apparitions, … [Read more...] about OUT OF THE ASHES, SURVIVORS’ GHOSTLY WALK
Travel
A VISIT WITH CARAVAGGIO, THE PAINTER AND TENNIS PLAYER –- RUN OUT OF ROME AS A POOR SPORT
ROME – Walked up a hill to see the most famous – and most infamous – of all tennis players. That would be the great painter Caravaggio, of course. Oh, I know he’s been dead for 400 years, but you never know who you’ll run into while wandering along Rome’s skinny cobblestone streets. Caravaggio, whose straight name was Michelangelo Mensi, is hanging out on the museum walls … [Read more...] about A VISIT WITH CARAVAGGIO, THE PAINTER AND TENNIS PLAYER –- RUN OUT OF ROME AS A POOR SPORT
GETTING HIGH ON HOT AIR BALLOONS: THE GANG OF SEVEN’S SWISS UPS AND DOWNS
LUSTENAU, Austria — Drop in any time. That was the surprisingly hospitable sentiment of people we didn’t know in this small rural town we’d never heard of. Unannounced, we dropped from the benign blue sky, American strangers providing a little entertainment on a Sunday morning in June. Lustenau? End of the line? Apparently, because there was no choice. This was it … [Read more...] about GETTING HIGH ON HOT AIR BALLOONS: THE GANG OF SEVEN’S SWISS UPS AND DOWNS
WOMAN NEEDS A FIX: NEW MEX STYLE
SANTA FE, New Mexico — Woman needs a fix. Has to feed her habit. The habit is called eating — specifically NewMex. Once a year the craving for victuals of a Southwestern nature, injections of fiery red and green chili, overcomes my friend, Aurelio, and she takes off for the so-called “Land of Enchantment” (as the state’s license plates proclaim). There she grew up among … [Read more...] about WOMAN NEEDS A FIX: NEW MEX STYLE
SOUTH AUSTRALIA ADVENTURE
Probably I should clean my walking shoes. But the smudges of muck and salt from Lake Eyre remind me of the wondrous journey into the South Australian Outback, of unimaginable vastness and sights, and extremely friendly – if few – people encountered along the way. Besides, I knew that snow at home, Boston, would do the cleaning job. Lake Eyre? Nobody was there when … [Read more...] about SOUTH AUSTRALIA ADVENTURE