Author: Meg Noble Peterson Page 25 of 30

February is almost over, and I’m headed for California to see my two sons, Robert and Tom. We’re in the middle of a blizzard, so I couldn’t have picked a better time. 

I’ve been receiving a lot of e-mails from people of all ages, who have read my book and want to relate their adventures to me and their hopes for future journeys. I urge all of you to write in the “Comment” section of this blog, so my readers can enjoy your insights as well. You will be doing us all a favor. 

I do want to share, briefly, the stories of two such adventurers I met recently. A dynamic lady and kindred spirit, Jean Kellogg began traveling at age 52 and is still going strong at 80. In 2004 she went back to college and earned a BA (Phi Beta Kappa) from Drew University, after which she organized a writing class for retired people and was able to persuade Edna Doll, a retired professor of poetry and English at Union County College, to teach it. The emphasis was on memoir and poetry and she was a gentle, but strict taskmaster. Edna had started traveling, extensively, at 70 and continued into her 90’s. Jean traveled more conservatively, but Edna, who died yesterday at age 94, went the backpack route like me. What an inspiration both these women are! 

I like to remember Edna’s words after she went whitewater rafting down the Colorado in her late 80’s.  “Get out and look at the world around you. There is so much to do and see. You don’t have a choice of how and when you die, but you do get a choice in how you live.” And she added for good measure. “I take my life with a grain of salt, a squeeze of lime, and a good shot of tequila.”

 A newspaper headline, in honoring her life stated: After nine decades it never occurred to her to stop. 

I’ve added another link to my latest facebook album. The other four links are in the Jan. 15th blog.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=16605&l=aabc1&id=584094331 

 Last Wednesday the taping of my interview for Seeking Solutions With Suzanne, presented by Suzanne Roberts, went well. I urge you to watch the program. It airs every Sunday night at 6 on CN8 here in NJ, and three times a day on CNN Headline News. It’s a very informative program aimed at people over 60, but inspirational to all ages. She has an incredibly varied range of subjects and interviewees. I shall announce the time of my interview as soon as it’s scheduled. 

Here’s the latest report from Lee Compton and Yana Viniko in Myanmar.  

“Mingalaba (greetings)! We head out of Yangon for the bus to Bago. Hope to stay at Dr. Tin’s place near the village in Taungoo [where he trains elephants] tonight if we can make the bus connection on the main road to Mandalay. So far we’ve had no problems. Last night we took a walk over to Shwedagon Paya and noticed that the big monastery next door to the complex was completely dark and ostensibly deserted. There were even a couple of somber soldiers stationed at the entrance. It was creepy, to say the least. We probably won’t know the full extent of what happened here, but it’s safe to say that the remaining monks seem to be keeping their heads down low as far as the authorities are concerned. Let’s keep them in our prayers.

Well, we made it back to Kalaw and have been enjoying ourselves here for
almost a week now—it’s one of the easiest places to hang out in the whole country, I’m convinced! Weather is wonderful—warm, not too hot with a nice breeze to tie it all together. We’ve been doing short day treks around the area from our home base at the Golden Kalaw and here, as elsewhere, there is a dearth of tourists. We practically have the run of the place. Made it up to a cool spot called Viewpoint, a day hike to a fabulous overlook, and then stayed the night at a farm cum homestay run by a Nepalese family. Probably we’ll go to Bagan day after tomorrow, deciding that we’ve had enough interesting trekking around here, and will spend a few days there before flying back to Yangon.”  

You may remember that I took a trek from Kalaw to Naungschwe at Inle Lake last year, staying at a monastery along the way. I’m sure there will be much more information from Yana and Lee once they return to Thailand. You have to be very circumspect when writing from Burma. But it’s wonderful to think of their seeing our old friends and getting a chance to find out, first hand, what the Burmese people are thinking and feeling. I can only imagine. 

The highlight of the opera season for me was a performance last night of The Barber of Seville at the Metropolitan Opera. I have the overture on my cell phone, so you know I love Rossini’s music. But this was one great production with the best Figaro I’ve ever heard, Franco  Vassallo, and the best Rosina, Elina Garanca. Jose Zapata, as Count Almaviva, and the entire cast were superb. It was sheer fun, something we need to counteract the news of the day. 

I mustn’t forget that I also enjoyed Otello last week, with an outstanding performance by Renee Fleming.  

In closing, I’d like to recommend a book I’m enjoying and that really speaks to me: Touching My Father’s Soul, by Jamling Tenzing Norgay, the son of Tenzing Norgay, who summitted Mt. Everest with Sir Edmund Hillary on the famous 1953 expedition. The author’s climb up Everest in 1996 as the climbing leader in David Breashear’s expedition to make the IMAX film, Everest, was, first of all, a quest to understand his father. But it was also a gripping story that gave voice to the life of the indigenous Sherpa people of the Khumba region, revealing a world that few, even those who made it to the top, have ever seen.

You may remember Lee Compton and Yana Viniko, friends from Whidbey Island and Seattle, with whom I spent time in Myanmar last January. They decided to explore Laos this year and return to some of the places Lee had previously visited. Their letters are long and enthusiastic and I’d like to quote some of their observations for you.

“Sabaidee!

Here we are in Vientiane, – great weather and a lot of French tourists, a few Anglos and Allemagnes, though oddly we haven’t seen any Americans. Seems that there’s more traffic, especially motor bikes, though the many more shiny small cars compete with the old lorries and tuk-tuks that seem to reflect a growing affluence. Vientiane, the capitol, is charming, with its former French Indochina overlay. We had an excellent meal last night at a French expat’s bistro with all the trimmings. Cost for both of us was under $20.

We cruised the silk markets yesterday, but, sadly, the average quality of goods has declined as noticeably as the shrink-wrapped electronics have increased, thanks to neighbor China’s relentless expansion in growing new demand for consumer goods. They’ve (China-Lao consortium) even torn down part of the old original  ‘morning market’ to build a soulless new mall-style building in the name of ‘progress’. If imitation IS the sincerest from of flattery, rest assured that the American dream lives on as one of our most successful exports (sigh). Everything is getting too ‘modern’ for Lee. His disappointment is almost a daily affair.

I did have a delicious 1-1/2 hour Lao herbal massage ($8) where this 100 lb gal can turn your limbs to Jello and then, when you’re immobilized, press hot and steamy herbal bundles into your flesh to completely rout any tension that might remain….ahhh. I slept like one of those happy and adored Lao babies you see draped like fashion scarves over their mom’s shoulders.

We’re now in slightly smoky, but not too sleepy, Luang Prabang, the second largest city in Laos and a heritage site for old wats (temples) and Buddha images. We’re exploring the Mekong River and enjoying a few days of laze in the haze, a welcome reward after enduring the ten-hour bus trip on the “VIP” bus from Vientiane. [Folks, I know what those bus rides are like. Don’t you believe VIP.] After we came up for air from that adventure we’ve been on a slow ramble about the town with many pleasant interactions among young orange-robed monks, ever-smiling, undemanding merchants, and assorted mellow tourists. Lee says that the place has grown by leaps and bounds in the last two years, having been seriously discovered, as evidenced by the plethora of new buildings, fresh paved roads, and kilometers of charming herringbone brick sidewalks, including an expanded night market that doesn’t quit. 

Today we took a long walk across the Nam Kan River via a rickety bridge of bamboo and up the other side where the riverbank sported bright green terrraced rows of the most gorgeous looking vegetables, like spectators on bleachers, watching the rushing water action below…drenched skinny kids throwing wads of river weeds at each other (and any tourist brave enough to join them in play) and those young orange-robed monks floating downstream on old truck tire inner tubes.

Looks as if we will be going back to Myanmar/Burma after all. Getting our visas approved in Vientiane seemed to be a “sign” that we should go. It was so much easier to do here in Laos than in Thailand. We’re somewhat apprehensive, but also eager to find out how things are after the terrible crackdown last Fall. Overall, I have a positive feeling that things will go well.”

It has been ten years since I visited Indochina, and at that time things were still pretty rough. You were strongly advised not to travel from Vientiane to Luang Prabang by bus for fear of land mines and bandits. So I flew. But I shall never forget the beauty of the Mekong, the caves I paddled to, or the sunsets over the river. It was a tranquil, friendly country that had suffered a great deal. I suggest you go there soon, while it still has its old charm.

I look forward to Yana’s report from Myanmar. I don’t know if there is any internet connection, yet, but I long to know if she made contact with any of the wonderful people we met last year.

One last bit of news about Myanmar. Reports are few and far between, but I found this tiny squib in the NY Times on Jan. 18.

“The military government’s Press Scrutiny Board ordered the Burmese-language edition of the weekly Myanmar Times not to publish this week for having run an article that was not approved, said Ross Dunkley, the editor-in-chief. The article, from Agence France-Presse, was about the junta’s plans to raise license fees for satellite televisions to almost $800, three times the average yearly income. The current fee is $5.00. The move would prevent most Burmese from seeing news that is not rigidly controlled.”

And this is just the tip of the iceberg.

In a much lighter vein, I know you’re going to laugh, but I just took down my Christmas tree–and my Santa Claus collection, and the fir boughs that encircle the little wooden orchestra members on my mantel piece, and the carved Norwegian nativity scene. Am I sentimental? You bet! I like this winter season so much that I was very close to heading for Ladakh (on Caroline Martin’s recommendation) this February for a winter trek on the ice of the frozen Zangskar River to several out-of-the-way monasteries in the mountains. Well, actually, everything in Ladakh is out-of-the-way, but this would have been especially isolated. Instead, I’ve elected to go in late April through mid-June, and to make my plans when I get to Leh, the capitol. James Wilson, with whom I traveled in Myanmar, will join me for three weeks of trekking. I’ll be writing more about this in the next month.

By the way, if you want to get an idea of where I’ll be, there are maps on www.shantitours.com  This was a difficult decision, time-wise, because I really would have liked to accompany Tamara Blesh, whom I met in India, when she returns this summer. Visit her website at: www.travelinglibrarian.org to see the work she did last summer setting up libraries for the children of Ladakh. She is currently raising money to purchase books in Delhi to distribute to villages off the beaten path, promoting literacy among young people. In order to get to these villages you have to trek in with pack animals and I would love to have gone with her and observed her work. But the summer is for New Hampshire and, this year, the Assiniboine Mountains of British Columbia.

Ladakh is a small Buddhist country nestled in northern India between Tibet and Pakistan. It was Lee Compton who first opened my eyes to the region over twenty years ago. Here is a description of the country from the website: http://www.health-inc.org

I’m presently reading a fascinating book, Three Cups of Tea, which starts in the Karakoram range near K2 and deals with Pakistan, a country on Ladakh’s western border, and Greg Mortenson’s project to build schools for poor children in remote areas. It gives a realistic picture of the people of this region and their needs.

Theater note: I enjoyed the revival of Harold Pinter’s Homecoming, starring Eve Best. Great ensemble acting. Complicated Play. Catalyst for heated “after play” discussion. Also enjoyed a revival of Beth Henley’s Crimes of the Heart, directed by Kathleen Turner.

HOUSEKEEPING NOTE: I have finally gotten my archives posted by months, as you may have noticed. If you want an old posting, just click on the month. And be sure to click on the title of each posting in order to read the entire entry. You probably already know that. I didn’t, and figured that there are still a few computer neophytes out there like me.

 Next time…more local news and a new facebook album. Check in the previous entry for the links.

What a year this has been so far, with primary overkill, balmy weather, and roaring fires on the evenings that turn cold. I’ve taken a look at life’s ongoing frustrations and vowed to either conquer them or ignore them. Somehow they all center around new technology—computer malfunctions, DVR glitches, you name it and I’ll try to stick it in my ear to make it work. And even that doesn’t help, since my earpiece–to keep me from being stopped by the cops while driving and talking on my cell phone, or helping me avoid cancer of the left frontal lobe–keeps dropping off my ear in mid-sentence. So you can see how happy I was when I finally fixed something with only a piece of picture wire, pliers, and my Himalayan headlamp. Yes, I repaired the carbon-encrusted damper in my fireplace, giving me the feeling that I was somewhat in control of my destiny. I may have looked like a chimney sweep when I emerged from the dephs, but I was triumphant.

I started New Years at the theater. Surprise! I was disappointed, however, in David Mamet’s latest play, November, with Nathan Lane. I had seen him in Butley last year and really enjoyed his nuanced performance, but this play was just too ridiculous and frantic, held together by a liberal sprinkling of the “f” word. No build up, just high decibel shouting from the beginning. Maybe it will calm down after the previews. Perhaps I’m jaded and should lay off the dramas for awhile. The audience seemed to enjoy it, but I chalked that up to New Year’s Day. Could they still have been hung over?

Xanadu fared better–a delightful spoof of the old Olivia Newton John movie with good dancing and good singing. Lots of fun. A mindless, entertaining evening on the town.

I finally got to see Spring Awakening with my grandchildren, the coming-of-age musical set in a small town in 19^th century Germany. It’s scary to think what can happen when you withhold sex education from young people. But it was a lot deeper than that and had excellent singing and dancing. The kids, however, felt the sober message. It had more depth than many of Broadway’s musicals.

The most fun I’ve had this year is playing my violin in my son-in-law Gary Shippy’s rock band, Walk The Dog, at The Dancing Goat Café in South Orange. I played in only five of about 45 songs, those with an Irish or a western theme. We had a terrific crowd and played until well after 11 PM.

Watch for more information about future travels. I’m looking into two treks in Ladakh, and have been encouraged by both Caroline Martin and Tamara Blesh, whom I mentioned in the last blog. I want to go there before the onslaught of tourists. It seems that the winter is really quiet (could I stand it?) and the snow and ice are spectacular (a word that no travel writer should ever use. Sorry). I’ve never trekked over a frozen river before and the thought intrigues me. I’ve wanted to get to this little country for 22 years.

 I’ve also received glowing reports from Beth Whitman, who is in India this month, and Yana and Lee, who are headed for Laos.  

I know I’m repeating myself (at this age I have a right), but here, once again, are the links to my facebook albums on Myanmar. I just put up the fourth one and hope to do one a week this year, completing last year’s Asian trip before starting this year’s. Wish me luck! Don’t forget to click on the first picture of each album and read the captions.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=5607&l=c0270&id=584094331

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=9669&l=34922&id=584094331

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=13360&l=3fc94&id=584094331

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=15341&l=25215&id=584094331

I’m eager for news of your travels, and first hand observations from those now in Asia. When I’m in Ladakh, next to Pakistan, I’m sure there will be a lot of news from that area. Until then, I only know what I read, and that’s rather depressing.

I started this entry on December 20 and then the Broadway strike ended, so, of course, I had to catch up on my cancelled plays, which were all rescheduled. What fun that was! Don’t miss The Seafarer, which challenged hardy souls to wade through the first and only snowstorm of the season. I loved it and pretended I was being battered by high winds on the Thorong La in Nepal, a strategy I often use when faced with nature’s fury at one end and a non-refundable ticket at the other. A few more recommendations are: Is He Dead? with my brilliantly talented comic genius down-the-street-neighbor, Norbert Leo Butz; The Farnsworth Invention about Philo Farnsworth’s struggle to get recognized as the inventor of television; Jump, a fabulous Korean family tale complete with martial arts and superb acrobatics, which my grandsons loved; Chazz Palminteri’s compelling one-man show, The Bronx Tale; Tom Stoppard’s fabulous Rock ‘n Roll; and The Glorious Ones and Cymbeline, two great productions at Lincoln Center. 

Lest you think that I’m neglecting another great love, the opera, know that I took my son-in-law, Gary Shippy, to see The Marriage of Figaro at the Met, starring the great Welch baritone, Bryn Terfel. What a night that was. This was Gary’s first operatic experience and he actually stayed awake! 

Christmas letters keep flooding in from friends all around the world, with good and bad news, and always the hope for a peaceful New Year, proving that hope springs eternal and our daily blessings are not to be forgotten. Every last little one of them! I appreciate these messages and photos and will get my own letter out before next Christmas. That is resolution #1, and one I will keep. 

It’s been slow going with my multitude of pictures from Asia, but, like the tortoise, I keep plugging along and now have three single albums of sixty pictures each on facebook. (My son, Robert, thinks it’s hysterical that his mother is on facebook, the official site of the college student!) Here they are. Just click the pictures to enlarge them and read the captions for the story of my first weeks in Burma. Each link needs to be copied and pasted, one at a time. Watch my next blog for more albums.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=5607&l=c0270&id=584094331 

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=9669&l=34922&id=584094331

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=13360&l=3fc94&id=584094331

Friends who have gone back to Burma tell a sad story. Places where James Wilson and I saw thousands of monks being fed are now seeing only a few hundred or less. I don’t know if it’s that many have died or are still incarcerated, or that they have just disappeared into civilian life, knowing how dangerous it is to wear the robe. People are extremely cautious about talking to foreigners and there seems to be a pall over the whole country. I just talked with my friends from Whidbey Island, Lee Compton and Yana Viniko, and they urged me to accompany them to Myanmar, again, this January. How I wouId love to go, but feel that it’s too soon after the protests and the brutal crackdown, and we could be endangering anyone with whom we spend time. I shall eagerly await their report, however, and pass it on to you. Their reason for going is to show their support for these beleaguered people, and I applaud them for it. And wish them a safe journey.

Here’s an interesting footnote about the textiles—wall hangings, silk pillow covers, scarves—that Yana and Lee were collecting during their trip to Myanmar, Thailand, and India last Jan.-March. They held their annual sale and donated thousands of dollars in profits to ENSO, the Home for End of Life Care on Whidbey Island. ENSO is the Japanese Zen circle that symbolizes the unity of all things and has no beginning and no end. They will do the same this year as they travel in Southeast Asia.

There is good news from other quarters. My renter, Jimmy Siuty, introduced me to his good friend, Katie Krackenberger, who is doing wonderful work on behalf of the Nicaraguan Garment Workers Fund. She has traveled a great deal, so we enjoyed swapping stories, and is now concentrating on getting the word out about the sweat shop conditions in Nicaragua and the desperate need for their eradication, one factory at a time. To support and empower these workers she has helped partner with the Woman’s Sewing Cooerative (Comamnuvi) to help such groups as destitute Mayan widows, who make beautiful jackets, scarves, and handbags, using their ancient back-strap looms to weave chenille and cotton cloth. I recommend your visiting the website: www.ngwfund.org

You may remember Tamara Blesh, whom I met in Delhi and Dharamsala. I recommend her blog, which tells of her three months last spring and summer setting up the first library for Ladakhi children in the Siddhartha School in Stok, Ladakh. She lived in Leh (where I want to go next spring) and commuted to the school…and will return to continue her work next summer. Her website is www.travelinglibrarian.org.

Another friend I met in Dharamsala during the Dalai Lama’s teachings last February is Caroline Martin, “Indologist at Large.” What a delightful person she is! She just returned to India from Ladakh and I highly recommend her website Feringhee: The India Diaries. It’s full of great stories about her Asian travels as a woman alone, and great insights into traveling abroad as Americans.

One more dear friend, who goes back and forth to Asia, and with whom I attended the DL’s lectures last Feb. is Trees Muijlaert, who lives with her partner, Joris Broeders, in Eindhoven, Holland. She writes some pretty interesting news, such as a strike by the high school children in Amsterdam, who are complaining about the long hours in school and the fact that part of the time they are doing nothing that matters. The students communicate through MSN chatting and there is nothing much the police can do. “It’s kind of hilarious,” says Trees.

This began on Nov. 28, 2007. The strike was condemned by the whole Second Chamber of Parliament, but they still conceded that it doesn’t make sense to go to school if you have nothing to do. My thought was…well, why not study? Is that too practical? So, on Friday, Dec. 2, there were 15,000 scholars at a demonstration on the Museumplein in Amsterdam. Sixty scholars were arrested amidst egg throwing and fireworks. According to the police the demonstration was peaceful and orderly. Tune in next time for the exciting end to this tale….Don’t you wish we had such problems?  

Lastly, on a more serious level, Trees has been telling me about the situation between the Muslim extremists and the various factions in Dutch politics. Like all such problems, it’s complicated. She sent me a wonderful book, Infidel, written by Ayaan Hirsi Ali, who has had to flee to the U.S. because the Dutch stopped providing for her protection, even though she continued to receive death threats. She has been a member of the Dutch Parliament and a good friend of Theo Van Gogh, who was murdered by Muslim extremists because of his movie about their treatment of women. Her first book was The Caged Virgin.

Twice this past month I’ve been visited by TV advance personnel to get background shots for the interview I’m doing in February with Suzanne Roberts of Seeking Solutions with Suzanne. It will be aired on Comcast (CNN) Headline News, so watch for it in late February or early March. I shall post more details as soon as the interview is over. I have never seen so much preparation for a seven-minute spot, but these TV people really do a thorough job of researching their interviewees.

I’m still giving speeches and slide shows about traveling off the beaten track and am also available for in-person or phone conversations with book clubs. A reader’s guide for Madam is available on my website for individuals and clubs.

I urge you to sign up for the RSS feed to the right of this blog entry. Just click once on subscribe to this site and they will do the rest. I hope.

The trees are screaming with color and every morning I look out my window at the sun-drenched red maple in front of my house, watching the leaves beginning to curl and flutter to the ground, and enjoying ever last image while I can. What a way to wake up! 

I’m receiving sympathy notes from friends who feel that I cannot survive the two week strike of Broadway stagehands without painful withdrawal, but they are wrong. There’s more going on off Broadway than you would imagine, and between TDF (Theater Development Fund) and Audience Extras I am more than busy. True, the three shows I had tickets for are waiting out the strike, but I do hope for everyone’s sake that they won’t close. They are Mark Twain’s Is He Dead?, Conor McPherson’s The Seafarer (both still in previews), and Spring Awakening, which was to be my Christmas present for my two grandsons, Adam and Thomas Bixler. Let’s hope for a speedy settlement. The most outstanding of the plays I’ve seen in between is Edward Albee’s Peter and Jerry. The first half is a new play, Homelife, written as a prequel to the original Zoo Story, his first play (1958), which now becomes the second act of Peter and Jerry. The superb Bill Pullman starred. The last time I saw him was when he was the lead in Albee’s The Goat.  

I must add that I spent an evening at a benefit for The Barrow Group, with my friends, James Wilson, with whom I traveled in Myanmar last January, and Sean McCarthy, a fine screenwriter. The one-man play, written and performed by Martin Moran, was moving and shocking at the same time, dealing with difficult, but very important material.  If any of you get a chance to see the Pennsylvania Ballet this season, grab it. I was thrilled with the imagination of both ballets, but especially taken by the fireworks in the second half–the combining of dance with the New York Choral Society’s singing of Carmina Burana by Carl Orff. It was dancing at its best, with great orchestral and choral accompaniment. Two friends, Phyllis Bitow and Flossie Ierardi played percussion. Both are very talented ladies, and Phyllis is also my “theater addict” friend. 

A quick update on progress or lack thereof in Myanmar. I think it was summed up in a November 21^st article by Wayne Arnold from Singapore in The Wall Street Journal entitled, Differences on Myanmar Weaken Asia Trade Pact. It’s encouraging that a few of the countries are fighting for change, thereby causing a rift between Asean’s old and new members. The southeast Asia leaders signed a charter to bind the region together in a European-style economic community, but, instead, the pact has exposed the sharp divisions over one of its member, Myanmar. The older more enlightened and democratic countries like Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines, are threatening not to ratify the charter if Myanmar does not improve its human rights standards, institute democratic changes, and release the long-detained opposition leader, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. We can only hope that pressure for change continues from the West as well as Asia. 

 where we’re getting some crisp Fall weather and finally seeing the leaves turn red and yellow. The hiking is great in Harriman State Park with the beginning of that open winter view through the trees as they slowly shed their foliage. I’m really looking forward to snow.

On a much less happy note, I’ve been reading some of the hundreds of hits on the Facebook site, Support the Monks’ Protest in Burma, a group of advocacy organizations with over 430,000 members.  I’m still wary of the recent visit to Myanmar of the UN special envoy, Ibrahim Gambari, feeling that it was anything but effective, but it looks as if Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is moving toward her own talks with the junta leaders. This could be good if it deals with the severe problems of the Burmese people and doesn’t just give the junta a way to calm western criticism while continuing its repression.

I also wrote an opinion piece about putting pressure on China through the Olympics. I received several replies from people who had similar opinions. It seems that this is the only leverage we have with this country, since it owns so much of our paper and we are increasingly dependent on its cheap goods (maybe not dependent…but we sure buy them!).  This is a sorry state of affairs, but an understandable result of our crippling national debt.

I’ve attached this link from today’s NYTimes, which summarizes the situation at this moment. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/09/world/asia/10myanmar.html?hp

I’ve also attached a link about the riots, shown in a video on http://www.kaltura.com/index.php/browse?kshow_id=20444

It’s been a busy couple of weeks here in New Jersey. On Nov. 3^rd I played with the Plainfield Symphony in a splendid concert under the direction of Sabin Pautza.  We performed Franz Schubert’s string quartet #14, Death andThe Maiden, this time as a world premier orchestral transcription by Maestro Pautza. The highlight, however, was Chopin’s Concerto For Piano And Orchestra No. 2, played magnificently by the young pianist, Allen Yueh. In addition to his flawless performance, he played two encores–by Mendelssohn and Liszt (variations on a theme of Paganini), which enchanted and wowed the audience. Here is a young man to watch! This will be the last concert until March, when Maestro Pautza returns from teaching and conducting in his native Roumania.

I’ve posted my second album on Facebook and here are both links. Be sure to click on the first picture to enlarge it, and read the captions. I hope to tell the story of my journey and of the condition of these people as they struggle to live in a repressive military dictatorship. If any of you wish to join as a friend on my Facebook site, please let me know.

://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=5607&l=c0270&id=584094331

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=9669&l=34922&id=584094331

I haven’t been neglecting the theater these past two weeks, having seen some superb plays such as Mauritius, a revival of The Ritz, and the energetic spectacle, Curtains, which gave David Hyde Pierce the 2007 Tony award. Daughter Martha and I went together and waited to talk with David afterwards, since we had a mutual connection with the summer camp on Lake Winnipesaukee, Camp Kabeyun, where he had been the drama counselor and where my sons and grandsons had gone. What an enjoyable conversation we had about mutual friends. He is one charming, delightful person.

I think I attended the best concert of my life last Tuesday at Carnegie Hall. The Bergen Philharmonic, under the superb direction of Andrew Litton, performed Shostakovich’s Fifth Symphony, and Andre Watts played Grieg’s Piano Concerto. There was also a modern piece by Vaage and the Festive Overture, Op. 96 by Shostakovich. Spellbinding is an understatement for the evening.

This week I went with my old classmate from Syracuse, Peggy Menafee Henning, and her friend, Milly Kohlman, to see Kevin Kline in Cyrano. He is one actor you don’t want to miss! We had hoped to meet Jerry Stiller, another classmate, after the performance, but he couldn’t make it. So we sat at a Vietnamese restaurant on 48^th Street and heard the story of Milly’s amazing six years (1976-1982) sailing a 41-foot ketch around the world. She did this with her husband and then 6-year-old son, Robert. During that time they visited 42 countries and 7 territories, stopping at ports where they discovered whole communities of sailors (mostly families), making for lots of camaraderie and a core group of new friends. Robert was home-schooled and at 12 wrote (long hand, of course) a story, “Cruising By A Kid,” which was published in Cruising Magazine. This is some ingenious and go-getting child! During those six years he continued to write, starting a magazine, which he printed by hand, using carbon paper and making four copies at once. This was the first magazine ever published afloat, for sure, and it sold for ten cents. In Cyprus one winter he started a newspaper and gave it away free. Fortunately, someone in the marina offered a mimeograph machine so the writing went easier. Robert continued writing and had his last essay published in the newspaper when they returned, entitled “A Cruiser is a Friend Waiting to Be Found.” By this time he was in public high school where he graduated with honors. Since then he’s been a journalist and is now a practicing lawyer. Let’s hear it for travel, adventure, and home-schooling!

Perhaps the best story of all is Milly’s description of a Thanksgiving feast held in Cyprus. It started with six American boats, but an invitation was sent out to all who might want to join. One hundred and eight people signed up, a church gave the hall, the British Air Force gave the tables, the school provided folding chairs, and a bakery baked three huge turkeys. Everybody brought something and at the end people from ten countries arose and gave special thanks in their language. I shall think of this when I sit down for my Thanksgiving dinner in two weeks.

Milly has not slowed down one bit. Among her present activities are tennis and hiking. I can certainly relate to the latter, but have always had trouble hitting the ball in the former.

The off-Broadway show, Three Mo’ Tenors, completed this delightful evening.

Again, I call your attention to my daughter, Cary’s, blog. She has some interesting things to say about China. Evidently they are still angry about the reception Congress gave the Dalai Lama last month. So censorship is tighter than ever.  www.carypeterson.wordpress.com

And history buffs, too. I’ve just reconnected over the weekend with the incomparable Jockey Hollow, in the Morristown, NJ area not far from where I live. This national historical park stretches over more than 1,400 acres of heavily forested woodland where the Continental Army’s New Jersey Brigade had its winter encampment (neither the British nor the Americans fought during the winter) for two fateful winters during the American Revolution. Ten thousand soldiers sought shelter in these woods and their officers took turns living in the Wick Farm (General St. Clair’s headquarters) and Col. Jacob Ford, Jr’s fine home at the edge of Morristown (General Washington’s headquarters). You can imagine the toll this took on these men–freezing temperatures (over twenty snowstorms the first winter), smallpox (“the greatest of all calamities”), and serious shortages of food and clothing, which gave way to rumblings of mutiny. They called the brutal winter of 1779-1780 “a starving time.” It was on this spot that the Continental Army had its severest trials, but was held together by Washington’s superb leadership.

A dozen replicas of the simple wooden army huts with their bunk beds and fireplaces are still nestled in the hills, visited regularly by school groups and families. The National Park Service personnel dress in 18^th century clothes and are in the Wick House (dressed as gentleman farmers), or in the huts, during the summer (dressed as Continental soldiers). They play the part of these early Americans, much to the delight of the onlookers. When we visited the Wick farm we were given a demonstration of how to start a fire with a flint stone and charred linen. Hit it on the first try. Amazing! After that we roamed through a large herb and vegetable garden. This is a place not to be missed by tourists looking for authentic historical sites.

M.P. standing in the herb garden in Jockey Hollow.

Now there are twenty-seven hiking trails in these same woods. Imagine how beautiful it is at this time of years with the leaves starting to turn. In previous years I’ve snowshoed and cross country skied on these gentle hills and across the massive old parade grounds that once were home to the revolutionary troops.

My good friend, Robert Rubright, prolific writer of hiking books, especially in and around St. Louis, and a soon-to-be-published book about breakfast and lunch hangouts, accompanied by his suitable, witty comments, is the new chairman of the board of the American Hiking Society. He paid me a visit last week, so, of course, I had to take him on a hike around Jockey Hollow. He was enthralled. Unfortunately, his wife and my good friend, Lynn Rubright, storyteller extraordinaire, was unable to come. But I did find out that she has just received the National Storytelling Network’s 2007 Oracle Award for Lifetime Achievement. Congratulations, Lynn! Take a look at her website. www.lynnrubright.com

I’ve just talked with my old friend, Karen dePlanque, from LaJolla, California. I’ve been concerned about her, since she lives close to the raging fires that are sweeping through the hills of southern California near L.A. and San Diego. We’ve all seen the pictures on TV, but it really hits home when a friend describes the mayhem and loss in its wake. She said that it reminded her of the acrid, smoldering ruins we both observed shortly after 911, when we walked the empty streets of lower Manhattan and viewed the ruins of the World Trade Center through binoculars. She said that the sun is a fiery bright ball trying to radiate through a blanket of smoke, and people—those who do venture out—are wearing goggles and masks. And this is miles from the center of the disaster. People are fleeing to La Jolla and staying with friends or those who open their homes to help. The freeways and schools are closed and all you can do is pray for the wind to change course.

Some time later I talked with my son, Robert’s, wife, Gwen Abel. They live in Playa del Rey and have recently returned from a vacation in Germany. They told me that the wind has changed course slightly and the fires seem to be dying down. But it’s still a major disaster. Robert, an avid cyclist, says that he doesn’t dare go on his usual long rides up the coast. All around are burning trees and brush, and he expects it to resemble a moonscape when it’s over. Son Tom has just moved to Palm Springs and a new job, so he’s away from L.A., the smoke, and its deadly aftermath. My heart goes out to all those who are suffering such loss and a blessing to all those who are opening their homes and hearts to help those in need. It’s true—in an emergency like this everyone pulls together.

Daughter Cary is back in Chengdu, China, and writes about the censoring of her emails and her inability to get blogs—hers or anybody else’s—on Google. Shame on Google for knuckling under.

With great sadness I read the Sunday edition of the NYTimes Week in Review, p. 7. I urge you to go on line and read it. “A Few Voices From the Deepening Silence” reports the individual stories, told anonymously for fear of reprisals, by men and women, monks and laymen, business people, and ordinary citizens who witnessed the atrocities piled on the innocent people of Burma during the recent protests. It is appalling! I now wonder if I should continue to put pictures in my Facebook album of the people I met during my four weeks there last January. The children and passing parade at the temple I shall leave, but I’ve already eliminated photos of some of the students with whom I spoke, and several monks. I have some wonderful pictures of guides who helped me in Bago and Mandalay, monks with whom James Wilson and I talked, a lovely lady who runs an orphanage on Inle Lake, and one college professor at Shwedagon who said, when asked how he could be happy when the future for his country seemed so bleak, “I have a choice. I can either be happy or sad. I choose to be happy. And I continue to have faith that things will get better.” This was an answer I often heard. I shall not show these people, even though their faces radiate the inner joy and fortitude typical of many Burmese I met.

After reading this report I realized that it would NOT be wise to venture into Myanmar/Burma in the near future. Any person you talked to would be suspect, if, in fact, you could even get into the country. I don’t know any more facts and I don’t know how I can help. If anyone has suggestions, please write a comment. And look at my photos from a happier time. There are more coming.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=5607&l=c0270&id=584094331

I’m still hoping for news from inside Myanmar, or Burma, which is what the exiles call it. There are fewer and fewer articles being written, due to a total news blackout in the country. No internet, no newspapers, no cell phones allowed, and, of course, no emails. I’m torn between wanting to urge people not to go there as a statement against the junta, and the need for people from the outside to get to the struggling Burmese and let them know they haven’t been abandoned. This is why I waited for ten years before going there. But I made sure that I only stayed at small guest houses and bought from independent merchants—not wanting to give one cent to the government. During one of my recent hikes I talked with a woman who works in human rights at the UN. She felt that this time the world would take notice because of the slaughter of monks—a fact that further enraged the exiles. This is not students and ordinary citizens, but the sacred Buddhist tradition that is being attacked.

After writing these words I opened up the NYTimes and found an article about Laura Bush and how she, not the president, picked up the phone to call the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon to protest the crackdown on the pro-democracy demonstrators in Burma. She seems to be keeping up the pressure, having met with both Senators Dianne Feinstein and Kay Bailey Hutchison. This is good news. According to the report in the Times today, Oct. 15 (p.1, p.A9), “The First Lady is becoming much more public, and more proscriptive. She’s not just following, she’s leading.”

Another less positive, but very realistic view of what is happening in Burma comes from The Wall Street Journal weekend edition, Oct. 13-14. The front page story, THE BURMA CONNECTION, continues on p A6, DESPERATE BURMESE LABOR IN THAILAND. It poses the moral dilemma of those companies just over the border in Mae Sot, Thailand, who hire impoverished women to labor in their brassiere factory for as little as $3 take-home pay a day (the lingerie is sold in the U.S. under names like Maidenform and Vanity Fair). They come from the border town of Myawaddy, Myanmar, and are so desperate for any amount of money that they do jobs few others would want to do. “They have no food, no income, no nothing.” I recommend this article to all of you who want to know more about the background of this formerly rich, prosperous country now facing such appalling degradation.

In a lighter vein, there was a moment last week when I thought autumn was upon us. I could breathe, again, and put on long sleeves and a polar fleece, but, alas, by midweek I was back in shorts. Is this global warming, or wot? Then, suddenly, the weekend arrived, the wind kicked up, temperatures plummeted and there was a rush to bring in the house plants, put up the storms, and remove the air conditioners. Hooray, we’re back on track and Fall has arrived. I’m grateful. Each season brings with it such beauty and such renewal. And, I hope, will get the creative juices flowing.

Our first concert of the season was a smash hit at the Plainfield Symphony, the premier community orchestra of New Jersey. I say this in all modesty, because it’s true. We had a guest conductor, Cesar Ivan Lara, from Venezuela and all the music was from south of the border. These rhythms are new to most of us ordinary Americans and fascinating as well. And difficult! We played selections from Alberto Ginastera, Antonio Estevez, and Ricardo Teruel (Argentina), Heitor Villa-Lobos (Brazil), and Jose Pablo Moncayo and Antonio Marquez (Mexico). You never heard such percussion! The tympanist was almost dancing, as were some members of the audience. The brass and winds nearly blew the roof off Crescent Avenue church, and the applause was thunderous. Did I have a good time? You bet.

Another top flight musical experience was a superb concert by the Madison String Quarter, in which exciting new pieces by Charles Griffin and Arcangel Castillo were played alongside Dvorak’s popular “American” string quartet. This is a quartet to watch. We’re lucky to have them in New Jersey.

The opera and theater season is in full swing. I was able to get tickets for Lucia di Lamamoor with the fabulous French soprano, Natalie Dessay. Lest you think me extravagant, I was able to find a $15 ticket in the last row, which, by the way, has the best acoustics in my opinion, and, with my new opera glasses, puts me right on stage. You don’t even need oxygen. Can hardly wait to see the famed mad scene, which I glimpsed  on Charlie Rose.

I thought I had gotten my theater addiction in check until I hooked up with Phyllis Bitow, a percussionist in our orchestra, who is a fellow addict and even drives to the city after work, sparing me those late night returns by train. We have quite a coterie of enthusiasts, including Paul Sharar, Carol Goodman, Silvia Lowe, and Suzanne Roghanchi. The company is swelling, so we may have to get an SUV. Oops, that would NOT be environmentally sound, so we’ll just use the roof rack.

Of the many plays we’ve seen on our Audience Extras, Play-by-Play, and TDF accounts, I recommend: The Overwhelming (Roundabout), Sive (Irish Rep), Mercy Thieves (crazy play from Australia with excellent acting and dialogue), and American Sligo (Rattlesnake). Coming up is The Ritz, Mauritius, and Is He Dead? By Mark Twain, starring my neighbor, Norbert Leo Butz.

For the last two weeks I’ve been hiking in the woods of Harriman Park, a gorgeous area in New York State about an hour from my home. The hikes range from five to twelve miles and are filled with enthusiastic nature lovers from Jersey and the New York metropolitan area. Two weeks ago I was privileged to be a guest at Thendara, formerly the Green Mountain Club of Vermont, owned now by a group of Harriman hikers who use the two large cabins and a section of Lake Tiorati as their headquarters and overnight hangout. Three of us hiked in the woods, stopping at natural old caves used by early settlers, and exploring two of the iron mines that provided armaments in the 18^th and 19^th centuries. Only the steep sides of the mines and deep, water-filled holes were left. Orange and black striations on the walls, and holes where dynamite was used, were all that remained of these massive pits. A few stone foundations marked the houses of those who worked the mines.

The conversation turned to the history of the region. I had not known of Tom Brown, Jr, who has a Tracker School in the Pine Barrens, and wrote a book about the famous Native American, “stalking wolf,” entitled Grandfather. It’s a true story about this remarkable Native American and his lifelong search for peace and truth in nature. Tom has written several other books, including his own emotional journey, The Quest.

At the end of our hike we were so warm that we swam in the lake at sunset…an amazing experience in October! I’m certain that this was my final swim of the season.

I’m remiss for having left out an important visit I had with the other Exley family on Mirror Lake this past August. I had mentioned Chris, but also enjoyed a visit with his older brother, Paul Exley, wife Lori, and children Charlton, 13, and Kile, 11. Also, Beth’s husband, and the grandfather in residence, Jim Exley, was with us. It’s always great to dip into the lives of my outstanding second cousins and their families every summer.

 Lori just wrote and asked me if I’d be interested in coming to her book club, if they selected my book to read. This reminded me to mention that I do, in fact, visit book clubs in the area and discuss my book at their meeting. I have a Reader’s Guide that is used during the sessions. (You can see it on the Reviews page of my website in the lower righthand corner.) So if any of you readers are members of book clubs and wish to use my book, I’ll be glad to attend your meeting, or, if you’re too far away, answer questions on a conference call as I’ve done in the past.

Every day I wait for news of Myanmar (Burma), the country whose people I fell in love with last January. I keep hoping that the UN envoy, Ibrahim Gambari will have news of a lessening of government repression, or of a return dialogue with Aung San Suu Kyi. Or that somebody will have gotten through the internet and news blackout with pictures of the current situation. But there seems little hope. Maybe the West will put pressure on China, India, and Russia, the three countries who are supporting the military junta and have the most to gain from the oil and gas reserves so plentiful in this little country. Even Thailand, its close neighbor where so many exiled Burmese live, seems to have turned its back on the plight of these people, afraid it will lose its natural gas and electricity. It has now become Myanmar’s biggest trade partner, surpassing China. Trade seems to trump human rights. What has happened to the human race?

 I find it appalling that India, a country that gained its freedom from the powerful British Empire by non-violent means should have forgotten what it went through and not come to the aid of its neighbor. Do they think that there won’t be any more oil, gas, or precious gems if Burma is allowed to have its democracy, which it won by an overwhelming majority in 1988?

Look at YouTube reports over the past two weeks of peaceful protest. There are some excellent videos and speeches, and a message from Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the winner of a 1991 Nobel Peace Prize and the leader of the democracy movement. As you know, she has been under house arrest most of the last 18 years. I look every day, hoping for some kind of positive news.

The world mouths platitudes about the horror of Myanmar’s repressive regime, but the countries that have leverage are doing nothing. And China blocked any concerted action by the security council. I recommend that you read (available on line) some of the reports in the NYTimes, especially those of this past week. October 2, p. 8, will give you some idea of the rape of Myanmar by the money-hungry junta and those governments that benefit from special status. Here is a country with a proud heritage, rich in resources, whose people are sinking deeper and deeper into poverty. Just seeing newspaper pictures of the empty square of the Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon made me want to cry. I have hundreds of pictures showing the beautiful faces of these people and the squalor of many of the makeshift homes, as well as the decaying infrastructure of the cities. I kept my counsel while I was there, for everyone knew of the internet censorship and every visitor feared for the safety of those he or she spoke with…but now that I am home my photos will speak for themselves.

 I’m in the process of mounting some of these photos. As soon as they’re on Facebook I shall let you know. There will be a link and it will be accessible  to all. I traveled extensively and was able to communicate with a range of people, from members of the Hill Tribes in the mountains to intellectuals, monks, and teachers in the urban areas. They are a gentle, religious people, but the pent up anger caused by the injustices of the past twenty years can only be contained so long. It takes a lot of determination, faith, and courage to stand up against bullets and bludgeons.

At this writing nobody knows for certain what atrocities are being perpetrated by the military government. Speculation is rampant and chilling. I urge all of you not to let the campaign for a free Burma die, but find out where you can help and how you can help.