Mark Twain, on India

... the land of dreams and romance, of fabulous wealth, and fabulous poverty, of splendor and rags, of palaces and hovels, of famine and pestilence, of genii and giants and aladdin lamps, of tigers and elephants, the cobra and the jungle, the country of a hundred nations and a hundred tongues, of a thousand religions and two million gods, cradle of the human race, birthplace of human speech, mother of history grandmother of legend, great-grandmother of tradition, whose yesterdays bear date with the mouldering antiquities of the rest of the nations- the sole country under the sun that is endowed with imperishable interest for alien prince and alien peasant, for lettered and ignorant, wise and fool, rich and poor, bond and free, the one land all men desire to see, and having seen once, by even a glimpse, would not give that glimpse for the shows of all the rest if the globe combined.

Mark Twain

A post for a Latte

I'm at my friends house Mark and TJ, and babblin' on as I do, about my need to write a new post and how difficult it is when its been so long. I need the perfect conditions, "I'll spend a lot of time at a coffee shop when I am visiting my friend in town that's what I'll do, It will be the first time since being back from Guinea that I will be alone with my thoughts in a coffee shop with my own lap top." " Just write a post now" my friend Mark says, "Nooooo, That's not what I neeeeed, I need special condiiiiiitions," says I.
Well, what if I make you a latte?" .... "OK." I agree.
I am back from Guinea, more on that later, maybe I will even figure out how to put some video footage on a post.
Since I've been back, I've spent 3 weeks in Portland, then a couple home and now a week at my friends Mark and TJ. I am on a road trip. Visiting friends and family before I move to India. TJ and Mark and there son Eric the bold are a hoot. The most hospitable family you will meet. Pretty fun as well, they've been humoring me with my obsession with card-games. Not to mention they're just plain silly with me.

Here's some proof



And here's some proof of there endless hospitality




This is a family that I like to call "The Best of the Best"