In My Life

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.

Yesterday was a bit of a lost day because of the rain – we were in the city centre but we kept being thwarted from finding what we were looking for or being unable to go where we wanted. All of us are agreed, we don’t want to go back there again.
But today we had a plan and we did everything we wanted. We started with breakfast at our hotel (The Milburn on 76th West and Broadway), a walk across to and a tour of the NY Historical museum, followed by a walk through Central Park, and a visit to the Met (Art Museum). We didn’t row a boat or ride a bike but we got some idea of the vastness and beauty of this park.
Then we got a bus to SoHo in the East Village where Hannah visited a contributor to her magazine and did some shopping. By evening we were starving and elected to eat a huge pizza dinner at Lomardi’s (now inducted into the Pizza Hall of Fame) followed by a bowl of rice pudding and peaches from a new shop called Rice to Riches. All this was completed just in time to come home and watch the first presidential candidates debate. Romney did better than expected, but I think Obama had clearer facts and ideas. Also, when Obama spoke directly to the camera, he seemed more real in his appeal.
What has surprised us is the help we’ve received from passersby when we must have looked lost even with a map in hand. Weather wise this has been an overcast day, humid, foggy, and the subway stations have felt like ovens. But we didn’t get wet like yesterday. Our hotel room is actually a suite of two rooms, so Hannah has a separate place to sleep, and we’ve ended each night with homemade fruit salad and yoghurt.
Tomorrow we are hoping to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge, visit the new Ground Zero memorial fountain, and have dinner at Bronwyn Jackson’s place in Harlem. We’ve enjoyed discovering places we’ve heard about in songs and we’ve marvelled at the enormity of this city – it diminishes the size everywhere else we’ve been. But, Chicago is cleaner and more spacious; Montreal is more livable; Portland is greener and prettier; and Los Angeles more exotic. And, our 24 hours in Havre, Montana is still the most unique of all our experiences. Goodnight.