Destination Anywhere

I've been looking at all the wonderful PhotoHunt entries, and well, I'll dip my toe in.

This week's topic is Road.

I found several "road" photos from my trip to Burgundy a few years ago.

A bend in the road, Semur-en-Auxois

They don't call it the Grand Canyon for nothing.

And believe me, my heart was in my mouth.

This is an inscription on a small memorial in the town of Bad Neustadt in Germany. The town's 37 Jewish citizens, including my husband's grandparents, Hugo and Gretel, were arrested and sent to Auschwitz in 1942. On the stone memorial is a quote from the last letter Gretel wrote to her children, who had been sent to safety in England on one of the last Kindertransports that managed to save some Jewish children. The five children ranged in age from 15 to two years old. They never saw their parents again. The translation of the quoted portion reads, "Pray for us and remember us, tell our story to your children."

Ten years ago, a high school history teacher in Bad Neustadt researched the few surviving descendents of the Jewish residents, locating Larry's father and his siblings. Through her efforts and those of the descendants, the memorial, carved with wide open eyes, was placed in town.

תהי נשמתו צרורה בצרור החיים
זכרו לברכה
Let their souls be bound with the bond of the living.
May they be of blessed memory.

Put eight 14 year old boys in a bunk at summer camp, and you'd think it would occur to at least one of them to clean the jockey shorts up off the floor and make the bed before Mom walks in on visiting day?

Nah, me either.

Some families you're not born or married into; but some you make.

Hubbard Glacier, Alaska

I spent quite some time looking for a "together" photo, and finally settled on this one.

Here are my two sisters and myself, discussing our plans for the morning in Siena on one of the full family trips we all took together--three generations sharing a house. I think our body language is hilarious.

Taken on the Liberty Island Ferry as it pulled out of lower Manhattan, Sept 1, 2001. So much was ruined just a few days later, on so many different levels.

Somewhere in the Adirondacks, driving to Syracuse October 2008.

Paris boulangerie sign, 2004.

Man, it's Saturday again? where does the week go?

An egret hoping for breakfast on Sanibel island, Florida.

No favorites in this house.

Hanukkah, 1997

A wide field of sunflowers. Outside Todi, Italy 2003.

Jewish and Arab children playing together at a Haifa gan (preschool).

Haifa, Israel, 2006.

Aftermath of the tide. Sanibel Island, 2008.

Evan in a hat. Near Sitka, Alaska. August 2008.

Before I took Lucy home from the pound, she was injected with a chip containing our address and phone number that can be scanned if she ever gets lost and brought to a pound.

Lucy says, "Does this fur coat make me look fat?"

Bridges of the human kind. Israeli-Arab and Israeli-Jewish children playing together in a gan (preschool) program that brings the two classrooms together evey week. Haifa, Israel, 2006. The program gets no funding from the state, and exists solely through the determination of the teachers and parents.

Kitchen onboard the Oosterdaam cruiseship. August, 2008.

The middle of the Pacific Ocean,and I could not get a properly cooked piece of fish all week long.

Dr. Ashley Schiff was a dedicated and popular Associate Professor of Political Science and conservation naturalist at Stony Brook University. The natural environment of Long Island, with its woodlands and coastline forests, was in danger of being swallowed up by population growth and the University's expansion during the 60's. His professional life focused on forest conservation and management, and he worked to help his students understand the importance of the natural world. There was a legend that upon learning that a bulldozer was about to topple the tallest conifer on campus, he quietly chained himself to the threatened tree. No, he didn't use chains and his body to save that stand of trees, but his persuasive voice and reasoned writings.

In the early fall of 1969 he died unexpectedly at the age of 37, leaving behind a wife and three young children, one an infant. In 1970 a 26 acre woodland, often walked by Prof. Schiff and his students was set aside to honor him.

Ashley was also my uncle.

A variety of university courses make use of the Ashley Schiff Nature Preserve as a part of their curriculum, it is used for weekly guided nature walks, by art students, by those in the wider university community as a beautiful, untouched slice of nature in the midst of an increasingly urban landscape. It's beautiful, cherished, and threatened.

Sadly,the university never granted permenant legal status to the perserve. A large privately-funded conference center was allowed to chop away a portion, and as the university expands, the land will become even more in danger of the bulldozer. The current university president has said she will consider granting permenant protection if a demonstration can be made of support.

To that end, if any of you would consider signing an online petition, I'd be very thankful.http://www.jamesmickley.com/aspp/petition.php

A Space to Play.
Gan (preschool) playground, Haifa, Israel, 2003. Because of the terrorist attacks in Israel during this time, it wasn't safe for children to play in the neighborhoods, parks or markets. I was amazed by the creativity of teachers finding ways to use materials and space.

Four delicious pastries from the shop in Semur-en-Auxois. Burgundy, France, 2006.

Could really use one of those right this minute. Damn.

Taken somewhere near the Trevi Fountain, Rome, July 2003.

Evan uses hands to show just what he thinks of airline food. Coming home from Italy, 2001.

Didn't need to go far. Striped shawl in my bedroom.

A bit of searching, but found a triangle, two in fact.

I think this was the delicious Almond Crumbly Cake from Dolce Italiano.

In looking through my photos that might work for "protect(ion)" I was stopped by this one of my family and some close friends lighting the Hanukkah menorahs. By passing on our religion and culture to our children, we're protecting our heritage. We're very fortunate to live in a country where our right to observe, whatever our beliefs--or not to, is protected

Rome, 2003. Evan had been given our old camera to use in Rome. Sadly, it was only after we had toured the Forum and Palatine Hill that we discovered that he had neglected to turn off the camera in between taking pictures.

We had about 45 shots of his feet taken as he walked around, bumping the camera button as he went.

Grand Canyon, 2006

In the Israel Museum in Jerusalem is a Children's Art Center where children go to create artwork. Recycled materials are an important resource, not only for their creative possibilities, but also to illustrate useful and innovative ways to recycle.

Lousy photo, but most excellent creamy dessert.

This was the Coffee Buttercrunch Pie I made for Dan's 18th birthday. This thing has so much saturated fat that your arteries will beg for mercy, but Oh, so damn good. Bittersweet, nutty crust, thick mocha filling, creamy topping. It's a little fiddly, and needs to be done at least a day in advance. I trot this out for special occasions. The recipe can be doubled and frozen, that's usually what I do.

Oh, take the recipe. I won't tell your cardiologist.

Kitten Lucy enjoying a yawn.

Yeah, I've seen some rocks.

Some were left as God created them.

Grand Canyon, Arizona

Ein Gedi oasis, Israel

The beginnings of the garage band. Oy.

Stage set, Universal Studios. California, 2009. Paging Dr. Carter...

It occurred to me that there are lots of ripples in food.

Rippled edges on spinach dumplings, Queens, New York.