In My Life

Winter weather (for us, anyway) has set in. Fall has come suddenly to Maryland after being late. Last evening we went with the Thomsens to a neighborhood gathering – to eat freshly-smoked meat (very tender) and a dozen side dishes. Being Aussies we were given a warm welcome and had several discussions, including a lengthy talk with Aaron, a Cambodian refugee, who together with his siblings escaped the killing fields. He and a couple of others had Australian connections or had visited our land.

When we got back ‘home’ we watched “The Phantom of the Opera” stopping midway to voice our opinions and wonder about its popularity. The DVD was a gift from Mariel’s boyfriend and that made us curious about why he liked it. For sure, the phantom is a creepy guy, but Jim could see some biblical undertones such as the name of the heroine, Christine, and her willingness to save for fiancé.

Before we caught this train, Jim and Mariel took us to Arlington Cemetery where we saw the graves of JFK and brother Robert. We were also able to catch the changing of the guard at the tomb of the unknown soldier. After homemade sandwiches, chips, and plums, we went past the MLK monument, and then to the 9/11 memorial at the Pentagon. The number of American lives lost in wars and attacks comes home to you when you see all the names and the endless rows of graves at Arlington. What a cost!

Jim and Jayne and their girls have been wonderful hosts and we left hoping we could reciprocate one day.

At Union Station we bought a few supplies for this leg of the journey west to San Francisco. To our surprise the countryside all the way out of Washington and on to Chicago is quite spectacular; and the leaves are starting to turn and fall. Once again it’s the rivers and mountains that make this country so different from ours. If we ever get the chance to return, I would like to drive and discover the little places between the big cities. Also found the forests leading into the capital very impressive and the Potomac River with its rapids and canoeists.

Saturday in Maryland

We started the day with bubble-and-squeak and brewed coffee, talking politics all the while and got a better idea why many Americans are fearful of a second term for Barack Obama.  They see him as failing to uphold the constitution and leading the country into a more socialistic form of government.  They fiercely want to defend their freedom to choose, and not be dictated to by the government about healthcare etc.  It’s also about states rights versus federalism.   

Jim then drove us south and west in the state of Maryland to Antietam – through vividly picturesque countryside and quaint little towns.  Many others were also visiting the Civil War sites on this long weekend – Monday being Columbus Day the equivalent of Australia Day, which is also often called Invasion Day. 

It was mainly sunny but a chilly wind from the Atlantic would suddenly sweep the falling leaves this way and that.  Most locals were unbothered by the wind, dressed in shorts and T-shirts.  Glenys in jumper and stockings was ‘freezing’.  They say tomorrow will be colder still.

This is a lovely place to stay – the house is made for having guests, which reminds me to keep that more in mind if we build again.  We must put the guest room further away from the living area with a separate bathroom.  Jayne remembered some of things we like to eat including a nut bar we can’t buy in Australia.  Tonight Jim is going to teach me some of the finer details about NFL when we watch a college match.  I’ve always found the game hard to follow and slightly crazy.    
Below: The monument at Antietam

Today we’ve been to this place with our friends and hosts – the Thomsens.  It was the site of the bloodiest day in the Civil War – 150 years ago exactly just a few weeks ago.  We wanted to see something of the Civil War which fascinated our grandson, Max, for many years.  We stood on the very ground where the battles of that day were waged; and walked down to the bridge where the Unionists (the North) and the Confederates (the South) fought an almighty battle.  Looking at it all today it’s hard to imagine the war could have been fought in such peaceful and serene surroundings.  

Antietam is pronounced an-teet-am.

Gaithersburg, Maryland

When we finally arrived at Shady Grove station near Gaithersburg, Jayne was waiting for us. Good to be back here and to be so warmly welcomed. It’s been a sunny day, the first for us since last Friday – muggy and quite hot for this time of year – 80F. They say the cool is coming.
Today I’ve been thinking about the Jewishness of NY where there is so much openness about identity. What triggered my thoughts was the Bangladeshi taxi driver, dressed in Muslim garb. I wondered if Jewish people would feel safe in his cab. He and I had a good conversation about his faith and Bangladesh and then the emptiness of Australia. Thinking of the size of his country and its population, he couldn’t believe that we have only 24 million people and suggested we could house half a dozen nations.
One thing I forgot to mention is how ubiquitous wi-fi is in Montreal and not at all in New York; I guess everyone has to have 3G or 4G. Even on the trains, we see people wired up or engaged in text messaging, listening to iPods, or working away on iPads – how things have changed! I sometimes wonder when I see a man and woman together communicating by text on their respective phones if they’re talking to one another the only way that feels comfortable. Are there things one can say online that can’t be said face to face?

Washington Bound

We’re on the train heading south to see our friends from four years ago, Jim and Jayne Thomsen, who live out of Washington in Maryland. It will be good to catch up; and to see Gettysburg which is close-by.
Yesterday we had some lessons in the NY subway – me, first of all, when I got on an express train by mistake which took me from 34th to 59th – then all the way to 125th when I wanted to get off at 72nd. Earlier I had walked to the bottom east side corner of Central Park to change our train tickets at an Amtrak office, only to find it closed down eight years ago. I was then going to hire a bike and ride back to the hotel. Instead I got on a train to Penn Station. It was there that I saw a dead man on the sidewalk.
When I finally got back together with Glenys and Hannah I found they had both bought shoes that I reckon are more like slippers. After a bite to eat, we set off for the 9/11 memorial. We had no idea you first had to obtain tickets and then go through a series of security checks in a queue extending for miles. It would have been better to have visited with more room to move and time to reflect more on the enormity and horror of that day. But I’m glad we got to be there.
There are so many people in NY and so many visitors wherever you go. Even walking across the Brooklyn Bridge we were in a crowd. In the haze or fog we could just make out the Statue of Liberty.
The second subway lesson was being on the D Train in peak hour. I haven’t ever been surrounded so closely by so many strangers; almost glued to them. We were on our way to dinner in Harlem with Bronwyn and Josie. There, it felt like we were in another country where everyone is black. Bronwyn said she’s not the only ‘snowflake’ now but when she came there a few years ago the locals thought she was a cop.
She had cooked a tasty vegetarian meal for us, some special nibbles, and a yummy sweet potato dessert. We shared so many stories we were there till 10.45. That’s when we had train experience #3. We were waiting for the B, not knowing it doesn’t run that late at night; so we were forced to take the D to 59th and then get the #1 back to 72nd. It was midnight long before we got to bed.
You need weeks, if not months, to explore NY, and we had just a few days. I guess we got a sip of it. I could only live there if we had an apartment somewhere near our midtown hotel which is leafy, uncrowded, close to the Park and the river, and all the extraordinary delis. Without Hannah we might still be trying to get ourselves un-lost – what a brilliant navigator she is!!! Now she’s heading home to Montreal while we begin the last leg of our journey. It’s be so good to have her with us.