Misc
Is it Camelot or a nunnery?
The first time I went to Connemara, I was about 15 and walking so the beauty of the countryside did not slide by in seconds but became absorbed - pounded in - over hours and days. Much of Connemara is bleak and close to barren - albeit beautiful - but every so often you run across an oasis of magic that has a disproportional impact because of its context. I would like to say that Kylemore was the country estate of King Arthur or an invention straight out of Lord Of The Rings. But it is not. It is an abbey and close up it is a little disappointing. But from across the small lake that fronts it, it is whatever the mind wants to convey.
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Dome house near Sedona, Arizona
Us humans are obsessed with all kinds of odd things. Personally, I have long been fascinated with dome houses and hope to live in at least one before I die. Or die in one. I am broad minded. This dome thing goes back to a deep interest in the thinking and writings of Buckminster Fuller, the father of the geodesic dome. This dome was made by inflating a giant balloon and spraying reinforced concrete all over it. Then you deflate the balloon and spray insulation. Cut in doors and windows and you have an instant house. Add solar cells and you have electricity. Add a few snakes and you have privacy. I was impressed.
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Friend John Pritchard when he was First Deputy NYPD
John Pritchard is a tremendous man, very charismatic and with an impressive career in both the FBI and the NYPD before ascending to the rarified ranks of being an Inspector General. I met him when he was Inspector General of the Metropolitan Transit Authority and though I was an unknown at the time, he befriended me, educated me in some of the ways, means and customs of US law enforcement and generally kept me out of (serious) trouble. In this he was ably assisted by two other good friends, Dennis Martin and Jim Miley, who I shall write about separately. Good people!
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Murray Sayle - one of the great journalists of my generation
You want a face with character that personifies the word 'rugged'? Now this is such a face! I first became familiar with Murray's name while reading about the Vietnam War. Again and again his name featured under columns that made for truly compelling reading. I did not always agree with his interpretation of events but I came to respect him hugely. Decades later I met up with Murray in Japan where he had gone to live in a small village outside Tokyo. I found him a fascinating man - warm, generous, kind, insightful and a pleasure to be with. Definitely one of my heroes. My last great memory of Murray is being with his family in one of those restaurants where the sushi goes round on saucers on a sort of mini railway track and your check is worked out by adding up the saucers. The saki was extra.
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Flying off a butte is like taking off from an aircraft carrier - disturbing!
I hate heights but love small aircraft flying. The picture you see here shows us taking off from Sedona Airport in a rather small plane to fly over the Grand Canyon. There were three scary parts to the trip: Driving up the steep road to the top of the butte where the airstrip is located; taking off from the butte into air - as opposed to climbing off the ground; and hearing the aircraft ahead of us had vanished as we flew across the Grand Canyon itself. Apparently it was just a radar glitch. Anyway the missing aircraft turned up safe and sound and we made it back in an adequate number of pieces. The beauty of that countryside is just plain awesome so I sneaked it in to The Devil's Footprint.
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