The other night while having dinner on our deck on a warm summer evening we heard automatic weapons fire. We live in the suburbs of Denver, about a mile as the crow flies from the Family Shooting Center in Cherry Creek State Park. We often hear the peppering of gunfire as people shoot and train with handguns and rifles. It is background noise for us, … Continue reading Guns In My Backyard
The Sunday New York Times had a feature in its Travel Section today on how to spend 36 hours in Honolulu. It singled out some of my favorite places like Kapiolani Park, Chinatown and the drive from Hanauma Bay to Waimanalo with stops at Sandy Beach and Makapuu. With no disrespect to the author, Jocelyn Fujii, I would like to suggest my own itinerary based … Continue reading Facetime Instead of Facebook: 36 Hours in Honolulu
Andres from Switzerland, his girlfriend, Paola from Brazil and I were riding on camels in the Thar Desert outside of the western Indian town of Jaisalmer. We were in a spot as remote as I’ve ever been, 21 hours by train from Delhi, just 60 kilometers from the border with Pakistan. It’s a flat, arid locale, punctuated by sand dunes and populated by only villagers, … Continue reading The Camel and the Cell Phone
I guess it was inevitable. Andy in “Toy Story” would grow up just like little Jackie Paper in “Puff, The Magic Dragon.” To this day I cry when I hear Peter, Paul and Mary sing the song so I wasn’t surprised that I got sentimental when I saw “Toy Story 3” last night. What I wasn’t prepared for was the complete welling of emotion. I … Continue reading Toy Story 3: A Mom Reflects
Several of my friends and even my family think social networking is a waste of time. They won’t Facebook, Twitter or read blogs and can’t really understand what I get from it. I’ve found the most vehement opposition from my tango dancing mother and my friends who are cyclists. These are not ladies who exercise casually, but rather women who compete on the dance floor, do … Continue reading Favorite Friends I’ve Never Met
My barista leaned over the counter today. “What do you think of the MSNBC host who said she hoped it was a Tea Party member rather than a Muslim who set the car bomb in Times Square?” His colleague at the cappucino maker edged closer to hear what I had to say. “Well,” I replied, “I wish it was someone from the Tea Party. It actually kind of … Continue reading Politics with my Cappuccino
Eddie is one of my very closest friends. We have known each other since we were teenagers and knew of each other even longer. Our fathers were best friends and Polish immigrants who met in London following World War II and came to America on the Queen Mary together. When I lived in Connecticut and Eddie was in New York we hung out together every other weekend. We attended … Continue reading Kara’s Tea Party: Am I Missing Something Here?
The Los Angeles Times and the New York Times are doing a great job reporting a backstory in Haiti. Their journalists are telling how broadcast and cable news handled the incredible logistics of deploying their people to Port Au Prince to cover the story. This is not to diminish the role of Facebook, Twitter, blogs, YouTube and cell phones, but to get people like Anderson Cooper of CNN, … Continue reading Haiti Earthquake: Telling the Story
My Facebook friends and people I talk to are SO ready for 2009 to be gone so they can usher in a more promising 2010. I hope all of us can count many blessings even in difficult times, but it’s true, the economy, layoffs, politics, war weariness, etc. all took a toll on us this year. For many 2009 can’t exit soon enough, including those of us in journalism and … Continue reading Die 2009 Die
During April I’ve had a photo exhibit running in Studio 13 Gallery in Denver’s Santa Fe Arts District. It’s called “How People Live” and is a collection of photographs from the streets and slums around the world that illuminate the diversity of people and the condition of the poor. Photos were taken in Uganda, China, Thailand, India, Brazil, Mexico, and various places in America. Most of the … Continue reading How People Live
Vicky Collins Online 