;pThe peaceful landscape of Koreshan Unity State Park in Florida leaves me with a sense of loss. This must once have been a pastoral paradise, yet its founder and history have been largely forgotten. Continue reading
I’m a child of the 60s. In August, 1963, I watched avidly as thousands marched on Washington and musicians like Joan Baez and Bob Dylan lent their voices to the cause of racial equality. And I thrilled to the words of Martin Luther King Jr. as he proclaimed, “I have a dream!”
Two years later, as protesters marched on Montgomery, Alabama, I joined the sit-in at the American Consulate in Montreal, along with dozens of other McGill students. We wanted to express our solidarity with the marchers down south. And we did. But I’ve realized how small was our contribution. Continue reading
Elvis poses with a gold record in the awards room at Graceland
When I was a young pre-teen, my mom bought me a poodle skirt with a felt record on the pocket. But instead of the one with Elvis on its label, mine had Vaughan Monroe. Vaughan Monroe!!! It was probably her way of trying to keep me from the brink of depravity – all that hip wiggling. But whenever I listened to The King, I would turn the skirt back to front! Continue reading
Nestled in the valley, Roanoke enjoys spectacular views of Virgnia’s Blue Ridge Mountains.
The license plates say: Virginia is for lovers. They could have added: of history, of wine, of nature, and so much more. And nowhere are all these brought together more forcibly than in the Roanoke Valley.
In the heart of the spectacular Blue Ridge Mountains, this valley was a hub of travel for trail blazers like Daniel Boone who chopped their way through the wilderness to Kentucky, as well as for the earliest pioneers crossing the wide expanse of America on the Great Wagon Road, in search of a better life. A young George Washington passed this way in 1776 to inspect the frontier forts. Continue reading
In the Florida Everglades, the sun slowly sinks below the tall trees and gnarled mangroves. Birds are returning to their nests for the night; a graceful egret flaps past, way up high, and a hawk effortlessly lands on a nearby stump. The lazy anhingas which sat a little while ago with wings spread to catch the sun, have disappeared from sight. Is it because their black feathers make excellent camouflage or have they too, gone home elsewhere?
What have definitely gone home are the airboats which roar around the channels, taking visitors to see alligators. Blessed peace – punctuated by the sounds of water and nocturnal animals – descends upon the Everglades. It’s time to hunt alligators – in the dark. Continue reading
