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Tag Archives: Commentary
An Historical Christmas: Bob Hope in Vietnam
This is an update and revision of my 2011 post. I plan to publish a book about my experiences in Vietnam by my 80th birthday next May. The central theme is no one knows what happened in Vietnam; those … Continue reading
Healing a wound that is not visible.
This post talks about a trip, but that is secondary to the real purpose. It is centered in the U.S., but tackles a worldwide issue. After 1968, a Culture of Hate was created. Some blacks urged all blacks to hate … Continue reading
Our first post-COVID cruise had a lot of changes – and it didn’t.
Thinking about a cruise again after COVID? Our last cruise was in 2019. After 24 years living in Florida where proximity to cruise ports made even short last-minute trips possible, the cruise line cancelled our next planned trip. Then, even … Continue reading
Simple pleasures
Bloggers have taught me a lot about India. But recently, this young Indian woman wrote about using the quieter time now forced on us to find “immense satisfaction and happiness in small little things of life.” https://neelstoria.wordpress.com/2020/04/30/lockdown-moments-evening-morning-squirrel-bird/ I had not … Continue reading
Vietnam War Memorial, Washington, D.C.
Many people have written about the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington, D.C. This post is a suggestion if you decide to visit that memorial or see one of the traveling copies. The most recent statistics say seventy one percent of … Continue reading
The Red Cross at a fire: Naples, Florida
Abandoning our travel theme, this post is about a recent local Red Cross activity. Perhaps some information will be new for you. Southwest Florida had above average rain in 2016 fostering luxurious growth. The last five months have been the 6th … Continue reading
Posted in Commentary
Tagged Commentary, Disaster Services, Disasters, Emergency Responders, The American Red Cross
3 Comments
Familiarity breeds indifference.
A week after we married almost forty-eight years ago, my father-in-law sent us a letter urging us to have fun now because soon “the stale familiarity of marriage” would set in. In his own peculiar way, his heart was in … Continue reading
Posted in Commentary
Tagged Commentary, Familiarity; Self-help; Home, Florida, Flowers, Magnolia
7 Comments
Blind men and an elephant: The Vietnam war
April 16 will mark forty-four years since I left Viet Nam. So rather than my usual travel post, I decided to write this commentary on my experiences. For almost a year, I lived in the Triêu Phong district near the … Continue reading
Civilization: A Commentary
At some point driving across Canada, I began to think about the concept of civilization. It was probably on some long unbroken prairie. There are a number of different ideas about what creates and defines civilization. To my unscientific mind, … Continue reading
Posted in Commentary
Tagged Canada, Civilization, Commentary, language education, Quebec
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RalieTravels 
We are blessed. Looking back as we look forward.
It is good advice to focus on the present, not the past or future. However, our present selves are made up of our memories, and positive thoughts about the future inspire our present acts. Everyone, finds both hardship and joy … Continue reading →