Welcome To Viet Nam

A group of Vietnamese students from Da Nang approached Thom and I on a street corner in Hoi An and asked us to help them practice their English.

Thom tutored the girls.  I gave the boys an assignment.

It was as if what the Vietnamese call the "American War" had never happened.  Most of the B52s that relentlessly bombed Southeast Asia in the 60s and 70s flew out of their home town.  Thien, our guide, insisted that his country looks only to the future.

More Viet Nam:

Sunday in Hanoi

Hoan Kiem Lake

Old Quarter Stroll

Bun Cha

Hanoi Hilton

Personality Cult

The Road to Mai Chau

Third World Theme Park

Going Rogue

Pho

Halong Bay

Viet Nam Airlines

I Love Hue

Thiệu Trị Tomb

Hardworking Women

Thanh Toan Bridge

I'll Have a B-52! And a Mint Chocolate Chip Cone!

Wedding Photo Backdrop

Hội An

The Real Hội An

Hội An @ Night

Cu Chi Tunnels

One Day In Saigon

War Remnants Museum

Controlled Chaos

Pretty Baby

Dagny dropped by 47 Pianos to test out my new couch.  But first I took her to see the Vessel at Hudson Yards.  It's right behind us.

Blue Prints

After returning from a month at the Florida Folly, I couldn't wait to get me some culture. An exhibition of algae cyanotypes at the New York Public Library did the trick.

Anna Atkins is finally getting her due for being the first photographer to use the new medium to illustrate a scientific work.

A Month at the Folly

When driving to the Florida Folly, always turn towards the Lake Worth water tower on South 6th Street when exiting I 95.

A sailboat on the Intracoastal caught the late afternoon sun.

Young men fished with a net from the boat pier.

Wrought iron on the Lantana Bridge.

Florida fashion forward.

Are you jealous yet?  It's late October!

Art under the drawbridge.

Sunset.

Flora.

A dragonfly.

Kite surfing makes me nervous when I swim.

Exposed banyan tree roots in Bryant Park.

The Lake Worth Pier.

 

Stormy bands of color.

The Tri-Rail station is less than a half hour walk from the Folly.  It got me to West Palm Beach airport for $5.

Changing my flight to avoid an unexpected November snowstorm delayed my arrival in Newark two cold days.  Best travel move I ever made!

The Turtles

Andrea, another Democratic carpetbagger from the DC area, joined our canvassing team on day 5.

I call us the Turtles because our slow but steady efforts (at least 2 of us have canvassed 9 out of the past 10 days and we're about to do our biggest canvas yet tomorrow) have reached nearly 400 households in the West Palm Beach area.

Representative Lois Frankel, whose seat is safe in the 21st district, gave the Baer canvassers a pep talk.

Chris, whose permanent address is the Florida Folly, cast his vote from Prague on an absentee ballot!  I wish I'd remembered to tell her.

Alex, a local Human Rights Campaign volunteer who has an equality sign shaved on the side of his head, gave us t-shirts, too.

John, who does his job VERY well, organized the event.

The Carpetbaggers

Even though we're ineligible to vote in Florida, Christine and I signed up to canvas for Lauren Baer,  a first-time Democratic candidate for Congress in the West Palm Beach area (18th district).  Unlike her Republican opponent, Baer, an out lesbian, supports what's left of the Affordable Care Act (which still covers people with pre-existing conditions) and acknowledges the urgent need to address climate change.  John and Nathaniel provided some quick training and we were good to go!

It All Seems So Long Ago

New York makes walking enjoyable, especially when you know you'll be leaving for a month in just two days.  A Broadway marquee advertised a new musical which originated in Australia.  I'm not sure that bodes well.

It's easy to picture King Kong leaping from one skyscraper to another in Hudson Yards.

The Steven Kasher Gallery in Chelsea featured the work of Village Voice photographer Fred McDarrah. He chronicled life in New York City while I was busy imagining it.  Here's a very young Andy Warhol.

I'd type for Jack Kerouac, too!

Jim Fouratt, an early gay activist and promoter.  Audrey and I once won a dance contest at Hurrah, a rock 'n roll disco he opened on the Upper West Side, long after this photo was taken.

Would you believe there was a "Miss All-America Camp Beauty Pageant" at Town Hall in 1967?  Notice there's a Miss Fire Island.

It all seems so long ago.