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those two islands At midnight this morning I watched Justine Shapiro make her way through the very southern part of India. With her usual charm and delightful way of seeing the world, she managed to convince me that going to see India may not be such a bad thing. Somehow Justine managed to remain buoyant even when things got gross by American standards. I am sure that most people were wincing when she was in the sleeper car on the train and said not to look down since there were cockroaches on the floor. In terms of design that is the same kind of car that I rode in Europe earlier this summer, but the Swedes have a way of preventing vermin from infesting their property. Yes, I know that one can find cockroaches here in the land of milk and honey called America, but it isn't the standard which is what I was led to believe about parts of India. Of course I'll never know until I go there, but I still want to go to China first. I'll readily confess that for me India conjures up harsh images of extreme poverty and over population joined together under a sweltering sun. That combination tends to discourage my wanting to go there. Naturally she did encounter some of those things, but also managed to show other more positive aspects of the country. Since I often see myself as a student of various world religions, I liked the part about the Hindu temples the best. Western civilization built cathedrals and in the East they built temples. I have yet to decide which appeals to me more. Once again they aired the Shanghai segment with Danielle Baker at the end of the episode. Now as much as I like that five to ten minute piece, I have to wonder when they are going to let her do a full show. She certainly has a good rapport with the camera and her commentary is lively as well so I'm not sure why she is being over looked. Maybe she moved on to something else. ... Last night I spoke with two different friends of mine that I see as being on opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to seeing the world. The first person was twenty four year old Jen, who has to be one of the most optimistic people that I know. Despite going through a divorce after a mere year of marriage, she still manages to see things in a positive light. This over riding feeling of good will is nice, but I often wonder how long it will last or if it is just something that is her. Although spending time with her is fun, there are times when she makes me feel old and I wish that it wasn't that way. Let me explain. Almost all of the things that she likes to do I've already done and outgrown. Oh, we can still talk movies and music, but as for drinking, my days of alcoholic excess are in the past. She however still likes to get to the fall down and slurred speech stage that holds very little appeal to me now. Of course there are many other things that I do like about Jen. The two of us can talk about moral problems and silly pop culture references in the span of one conversation. It isn't often that I can find a person that can do both. The second telephone conversation was with my long time friend California Dan who turns thirty three this Tuesday. Dan is anything but optimistic about society and echoes many of the things that I see wrong with the world. What we also agree on is the fact that we can't change them. It just isn't possible. Neither of us wants to be a zealot nor can we tolerate the ones that we meet. ... Well, I got the first exam back and I did do much better than I had last time. Part of me had hoped that it would be slightly better, but at least there wasn't as much shock this time around when it was handed to me. ... In addition to some New Zealand travel guides, I walked with with some Anne-Sophie Mutter discs from the library. For me her work is the ideal study music. |