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In
1975, Mom and Dad treated us to Christmas with them in Hawaii.
The environment was impossibly lush, and when you saw the flowers,
you understood why Hawaiian Airlines painted their Boeings red,
orange, and purple. |
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A periscope provided for little
kids to view the flamingos |
A convenient drinking fountain for little people |
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my favorite memories are of the Honolulu Zoo, which was the first time
realized a zoo could
be more than buildings full of smelly cages. Every exhibit was educational
in some unexpected
way. Whoever designed this place is a raving genius |
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We take
a Post Boat cruise up the Norwegian Coast
June 1996
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Kathleen
and I make friends with a couple of young Trolls. Trolls are
a pervasive aspect of Norwegian culture, a holdover fragment of Pagan
folk history that has survived even the government sponsored Protestant
church. They are slow and somewhat stupid, but terrible in their
wrath when provoked.
They exist everywhere - the woods, the
water, the mountains - and the tales told about them are usually dark.
An appreciation of Troll helps you understand why there are no books
of Norwegian Humor. |
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Ireland
- April/May 1998 |
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Atop Yates Tower, overlooking Author's Park
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The outline of a Viking lodge on the streets of Dublin. I was
surprised to learn that the Vikings founded Dublin. Perhaps Kathleen
and I share some common ancestors. |
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We
filled in for Mom and Dad at an MSU Alumni Tour of Ireland.
I found the Irish to be intelligent, warm, and funny. They
are quick to take offense, however - that twinkle in their eye
changes to a glint in a heartbeat - and their history is one of
self destruction. I also began to understand just how flexible
the Catholic doctrine can be when it comes to recruiting new members.
The crosses in the church graveyards clearly showed their Celtic
roots, even to my undiscerning eye, and a rural church in the
West Country had carved above its door an image of a naked woman
in an unmistakably explicit sexual position - a pagan fertility
symbol of the first order. |
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