as a tourist

Expecting some visitors today, from abroad, & wondering
what to suggest. Will they like the beaches best, or driving
around; the small towns, how green it is, the tropical bits,
or will it be the idea of mango trees leaning over the fences?
Impossible to know even what another sees..

I'm waiting, with trepidation, to see a second proof of my book.

Far away, in new york, some interesting portraits

black and white India

Top line is Kashmir, then Ladahk, & Dalhousie ~ again,
I've only damaged contact prints; that's what happens with
a hundred moves, along with other unforseen factors.
The children are at the school/day care centre I helped start.

I stayed for months in Varanasi. Having decided to go north,
I was waiting for the train when the loudspeakers
announced an 'indefinite' delay, so I returned to the
small hotel. A fascinating city. I'd walk each morning to the river,
once there were these large boats, it felt like a slip in time,
as it often did. Photos are another form of time travel, no?

Look through all of this site, great photos.

india

Awful news from India today (it's actually Nov 28, posts always
say one day earlier, don't know why) I scanned them from small
contacts, negs got lost in the mail, I think, long ago.
From Kashmir & northern India, where I lived for 5 years.
I travelled in the south for the winters.

I enjoy Stephen Huyler's site, he clearly has
such rapport with many Indian crafts people & artists.

frost bird

I woke to this cold, frosted window in Colorado, & wanted to fly
away to somewhere warmer.
Looking through notebooks I found this quote from Octavio Paz:
La luz es tiempo que se piensa.(Light is time thinking about itself.)
That's better than any link I can find today.

china

This was at a Singapore temple, wonder what it means?
Have the digital proof of the book, & don't know
what that means, either: it does not inspire confidence in
the finished result, am waiting to find out why it's so.. off.

Lettering artist here

the view

This was part of the view from the house I rented in
the mountains in India. It changed constantly with rain, mist,
clouds, seasons, & never failed to captivate. At that time,
there were many Tibetan refugees living in the area,
I loved to meet them on my walks.
Perhaps now it is like that Italo Calvino story, with houses
& people crowding in all directions..

Here for a short video of Tibetan yogis.

gold Buddha

The most beautiful Buddha image I've seen,
it's a solid gold statue in a Bangkok temple; it brought
tears to my eyes when I saw it this year, such a presence.
Apparently it was covered over, long ago, because
of invading armies, & then forgotten until quite
recently, when the outer casing broke.
I want him here today because a family member
is having a healing; & also the book proof arrives.
May your day be blessed , too !

More about Thai temples