Middletown, New York is a city with plenty of parks and designated play areas among the shopping centers, supermarkets, and concrete jungle, but, if you are a kid, there are also plenty of wooded areas to explore and step away from the trappings of city life.
“I gave you a B+ in my class instead of an A because I wanted you to participate more,” my poetry professor said. “You’re really good and have great insights, but you need to talk more.”
It made me angry. I was a junior in college and had heard similar comments from teachers and professors since the first day I stepped into kindergarten. I thought college professors were supposed to be enlightened and understanding of the different ways kids learn. I was wrong.
Sunset, somewhere between Denver and Scottsbluff.
After stuffing ourselves on the free dinner buffet, Paul and I returned to our room. We were tired. We wanted to go home. We needed to get ready for the next day, just in case our flight was canceled again.
Since I wasn’t going to be eating again tonight, I went into the hotel bathroom to brush my teeth. “Damn it,” I yelled. “I don’t have any toothpaste.” That audible thought was quickly followed by another. I didn’t have any deodorant left either.
I had carefully planned my trip, as I do all trips, so that I don’t have to carry toothpaste or deodorant back home with me. That least space for more chocolate, which is more important. Fortunately, the hotel had free toothbrushes and toothpaste. They did not have deodorant.
“It’s okay,” I thought to myself. “I’ll just be sitting on a plane for most of the next day. What could go wrong?”
Not our plane, but another United plane being pulled somewhere. It’s probably broken, too.
Paul and I arrived at the Hong Kong airport three hours ahead of time for our flight home. We waited forty-five minutes for the United check-in desk to open to get our boarding passes. For whatever reason, the self-serve kiosks were not working. The last fifteen minutes of our wait I tried to calm myself.
One by one, United employees came out to their desks, but didn’t open. Logically, I know there is plenty of time to get the passes, pass through security and get to our gate, but my heart rate is already increasing. I bow my head and stare at my shoes, tracing the lines that make up the shoe’s design. I close my eyes and take several deep breaths to calm myself.
The deep breaths don’t really calm me. They are a distraction to keep me from screaming. I really only start to feel better when Paul says, “Okay, now I’m starting to get annoyed.”
Part of the Macau skyline.
The most densely populated area in the world also wagers more dollars in a single year than all of Las Vegas. Casinos are everywhere. It is the pre-eminent gambling capital of the world. We came for the history.
Until 1999, Macau was a Portuguese colony. Portuguese traders began settling in Macau in the 1550s. It eventually became a colony before it was transferred back to China on 20 December 1999.
Most people who come here visit to try their hand with lady luck. We came for the scenery.
The entrance to the Temple Street Market.
The Temple Street Market in Kowloon is a few subway stops away from our hotel, but it is not a place where I would normally go. It is one of the busiest flea markets around.
A candid shot of a dad walking with his daughter in Kowloon Park, Hong Kong. She kept trying to dance away from him, so he had to take her hand and play along.
One of the most profound things I have ever heard has no words. It is the father holding his daughter’s hand while walking through Kowloon Park. It is the elderly husband and wife walking arm-in-arm along the promenade. It is the friend pushing his friend in wheelchair. It is the mother and father playing a silly, made up game with their child on the MTR. It is the man who gives the homeless man four takeaway packages outside the 7-Eleven. It is the mother holding her son’s hand to help him up the stairs to Big Buddha. It is the sound of love and it is there if you take the time to look..
Paul just chilling out in the Sky100 observation deck in Hong Kong.
Still recovering from the humidity the day before, Paul and I decided to start the day off with a trip to Sky100 at the International Commerce Centre.
In about 60 seconds, the elevator took us up 100 floors, 393 meters above sea level, to the 360-degree indoor observation deck. The building stands 1,588 feet, or 484 meters, tall. From here, you can see the famous skyline of Victoria Harbour.
A foggy, overcast day in Hong Kong.
I hate the projects. They are where we place the poor so we don’t have to look at them. They are a symbol of how easy it is for us to ignore some of the most vulnerable in our society.
On December 16, 2017, Sarah sat and posed for me. This was the result.
I walked into the zoo well before it was open to cover a story for the Star-Herald. When I was done, I decided to walk around and take some pictures before the zoo opened for the day. I strolled past Cyrano, a Lynx rufus at the zoo, and hung out there for a while. I always enjoy paying him a visit even if he sleeps the entire time I’m there. That’s what cats do.
Eventually, I made my way past the bison, zebras, Eurasian Lynx and tigers and walked into the indoor enclosure for the chimpanzees. It was a cool morning and I wasn’t sure if Scooter and Sarah would be outside that day. Sarah was in the right indoor enclosure. She was sitting down and as soon as she saw me, she got up and started to walk toward me.
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