hey! words.
Days 82-83: Washington, DC
Posted by Erik Frey Tue, 07 Jun 2005 03:02:00 GMT
I continued my Kindness of Strangers tour, from Jacksonville up to Washington, DC. I posed the world a question, and it issued forth a resounding reply.
Read More...Days 80-81: Jacksonville
Posted by Erik Frey Sat, 04 Jun 2005 10:10:00 GMT
Having been a bit rattled from the first leg of my Kindness of Strangers tour, I was rattled once again by the outpouring of warmth and friendliness showered upon me by Leah, Chris, and Garnet.
Read More...Day 79: Jacksonville
Posted by Erik Frey Fri, 03 Jun 2005 08:03:00 GMT
This journal entry won’t have the right texture if I don’t at first explain that only part of my trip up the Atlantic coast has been geographic. That portion is easy to describe: I travelled from Miami to Jacksonville, Florida. What isn’t easy to write about is the railroad spike that was driven through my cynicism, or the gaping hole of despair that opened up in my stomach, then was cauterized, then opened again, and finally seared shut so suddenly that I am still reeling.
I’m not sure I even have a vocabulary for this experience. Typing ‘uplifting’ is unfamiliar on a keyboard – my fingers almost just cramped up.
Read More...WE ARE BOTH MEN
Posted by Erik Frey Tue, 31 May 2005 09:22:00 GMT
In the States, we have a clear notion of the shyster: he is a swindler. A scammer! We would have nothing to do with such a vagrant, except to label him for exactly what he is, and recoil in the appropriate manner. After all, those people are out to get our money, and who knows what they might do to get it?
Think of telemarketers! Faith healers! Those insistent squeegee guys! People who organize Tupperware parties! They are offensive and often in-your-face, because you have something they want.
Read More...CHANNELS
Posted by Erik Frey Tue, 03 May 2005 02:36:00 GMT
I ran into a girl in censored. She was sitting on the wide steps leading up to la censored. Below us, an old Afro-censored band was playing salsa. I had a beer. I sat down next to her and we talked. She told me about photography and the places she’d been. I watched her eyes while she spoke – I could see the glow of coals behind them. They betrayed an otherwise completely solemn visage, etched in stone into the downturn corners of her mouth.
Read More...Days 46-78: Miami
Posted by Erik Frey Sun, 01 May 2005 11:12:00 GMT
I spent the next month in Miami. My “test leg” had been wholly successful, and now I needed time to research my next leg, which I expected to be much longer and more difficult. Before long, I settled back into the ordinary world, and began to get that feeling of disassociation: everything I’d experienced was part of a dream. Back on the road now, and having written it all down, I know those experiences will be rattling around in my head for a good, long time.
While in Miami, I spent a lot of time with my mom, and we had many great conversations. My dad took me on a few boat tours around town, and fed me great food. I researched Russia, China, and grad school a bit more. I talked with my pal Yossef. I built pflog. Hung out with Kira. Welcomed a new dog into the family. Bought yet another pack (up to four, now). Prepared to leave.
Days 42-45: San Jose & La Fortuna
Posted by Erik Frey Wed, 27 Apr 2005 10:50:00 GMT
The first leg of my trip ended in the same place it began. I spent a few days in Costa Rica before heading home. I partied vigorously!
Read More...Days 40-41: xxxx
Posted by Erik Frey Mon, 25 Apr 2005 10:08:00 GMT
Down to my last few pesos, I spent my final two days in censored relaxing, recovering, and taking it all in one last time. I knew I wasn’t likely to return for years, and that when I did return, censored would be a very different place.
Read More...Days 38-39: xxxx
Posted by Erik Frey Sat, 23 Apr 2005 08:35:00 GMT
Adventure! Romance kind of! I stumbled upon a few small treasures that made my time in censored truly remarkable.
Read More...Days 36-37: xxxx
Posted by Erik Frey Thu, 21 Apr 2005 22:56:00 GMT
I spent the next few days in censored, an old Spanish colonial town that was gussied up in the early 19th century when French planters arrived, having fled from a particularly unpleasant slave revolution in Haiti. I spent the days wandering up and down old cobblestone streets, marvelling at the old architecture and the people they housed. I spent the evenings listening to music and meeting more interminably fascinating people.
Read More...