This is a continuation of the journal I recorded on my Hajj trip from Oct. 30th to Nov. 25th. I’ve tried to stay true to what I wrote at the time. Any more recent thoughts are in parentheses. Nov. 12th We left Medina last night. I said goodbye to the city of the Prophet (peace […]

And extra heavy on that action! Apparently we literary writers tend to let our characters just stand around and talk too much. Boring! That’s what I mean when I said in an earlier post that part of the learning curve when it comes to screen writing has been thinking in three and even four dimensions. […]

Early last Friday morning I took a taxi to the train station to catch the train to Bologne. What an adventure that was! Imagine trying to figure out a train billboard with platforms and schedules in another language. I found the number of my train and then there was this perplexing phrase after it 1CL […]

I can’t help thinking about that old Bugs Bunny cartoon where Yosemite Sam lured Bugs into swabbing his desks by offering him a world cruise. After the tables have been turned and Yosemite Sam is thoroughly defeated, Bugs is leaning back against a beach umbrella sighing, “Oh the places I’ve been and the things I’ve seen!” […]

Tomorrow I’m off to Italy! And I’m actually getting more excited than nervous! Maybe I won’t trip on the way to the podium. Maybe I won’t fall off the podium (like I did in Denmark!). Maybe I’ll be able to remember which faces go with which names. I certainly hope so. I’m doing my Wanting […]

Everyone should watch a movie in a cramped airline seat, with a six or four inch monitor, however big it is, and with lousy ear plugs. That way, they can really tell if a movie is any good. I always tend to watch movies after the hype has died down somewhat. I wasn’t very curious […]

Fitna is an Islamic term that I think roughly translates into trial, but it’s more like a test of faith, I think. Don’t quote me on it though. I’m no Islamic scholar. I’ve just heard the term bandied about all my life and figure that’s what it means. These last few weeks have been a […]

Sometimes it amazes me that people can look past other people’s differences and see the humanity behind them. I find it fascinating that as societies, communities, we develop a certain collective consciousness, where, even though we might have some conflicts, we’re a cohesive whole. Along come some outsiders, ‘others’, and at first they’re viewed with […]

Because I was sick. I cooked spinach and beef korma, and chicken pilao. I cleaned up the house (as best I could) and invited my daughters over too. Just finished washing up the big pot and putting it back in the pantry, and I’m bone tired. But it was lovely. We spent the afternoon together. […]

I’m starting to prepare for the pilgrimage to Mecca this year. I’ve made my intention to go in November and join the over two million pilgrims from all over the world to perform the sacred rites that Abraham and his wife Hagar first inspired. It’s based on the Quranic and Biblical story of the sacrifice, […]