Road Reflections

I'm back from Massachusetts, and it was a cool trip. Along the road I had time to think a lot, and I just wanted to post some of my ramblings. It's much different here from my travels in Europe, in a lot of ways. For one, it was one of the few times I wasn't a foreign traveller. Everyone spoke my language and I paid in dollars. No currency exchanges at all! And then there was the city. Boston is built UP, like most American cities. It's tall skyscrapers and newness and business. Very unlike the European cities, which sprawl outward from the center where people first settled hundreds of years ago.

The buildings in European cities can be, at times, older than the United States. The buildings in Boston are the United States, or the start of it at least. They're the same churches and meeting houses our Founding Fathers walked through, the buildings where our revolution was born. And in that historical sense, it isn't that much different than Europe, except that the history seems much closer. All those events and buildings are less than 300 years old, and it the echoes of History are much louder, much easier to reach and hear. America is a baby in the world. So young. Of course I'm not the first to say that. But I think that sometimes America and Americans forget how young we really are, and it can make us arrogant in other countries. Like children.

Anyway, Happy early 4th of July!!! I can't wait to get together with my family and celebrate with good food, laughter and fireworks.

Road Trip

Tomorrow I'm finally getting out of Ohio, even if it's only for a week.

We're heading up to Boston until the 25th, to see the historical sights, the beach, and hopefully some good seafood. We'll be staying in Boston and traveling up and down the coast. I'm excited, and I can't wait to do some traveling. Road Trip!!!

But for now, it's back to mowing the yard. Ciao!

Make It Your Passion

Dr Hawass was shorter than I though he would be.

That was the first thing I thought when he walked out onto the stage. But I leaned forward with rapt attention, my pen ready to take notes. He talked about tourism in Egypt, how it's safe and that he thinks in a month everything will be back to normal. He talked about restoration projects, new tombs and pyramids, and new mummies. It was really really amazing to listen to him talk, the first hand experiences and the jokes he made. He was really funny, catering to the crowd's sense of humor. 

He was also kinda a jerk, like all famous people are, but when you're carted around the world and speak to hundreds of people who only see one side of you, I think it's excusable. You don't get much of a chance to have time for yourself or your family and you have a lot to live up to. Dr. Hawass told the crowd that he doesn't think anyone wants to be like him, because it takes a lot of your life away from you. It gives you something to think about, when you think about famous people.

His warning though, doesn't dim my desire to be an Egyptologist. I don't care about the fame or the glory, I just want to find the tombs and temples left behind by this amazing and beautiful civilization. I want to be able to get a glimpse into the lives of these people, who built monuments that still stand today. Glorious, amazing monuments that are still only shadows of what they used to be. 

Dr. Hawass's final words were words of advice for not only aspiring Egyptologists in the crowd, but words for anyone who has some goal or love they want to do. His words were these: 

If you like something, it's not enough. 

If you love something, it's not enough. 

But if you give your passion to something, you make it big.

Dr. Hawass Egypt: Today and Tomorrow

So, continuing on the Egypt thread from my last post, this Sunday Zahi Hawass is going to be in Cincinatti. For those of you who don't know, Dr. Hawass is the world's leading Egyptologist and the Secretary General of the Supreme council of Antiquities in Egypt. It's going to be his first lecture in the US since the revolution and I'm going to be there!!!

Dr. Hawass is going to talk about Egypt today as well as Cleopatra Ptolomy VII and the search for her tomb. Cleopatra, who died as Alexandria fell to Octavian and the Roman empire, was thought to be buried in Alexandria, near the palace. Which is now submerged in present day Alexandria's harbour. But recently, evidence suggests that she may be buried somewhere else west of Alexandria on the Egyptian coast. Cleopatra is kinda my ancient hero; she was a strong queen who did what she had to for her country's survival.

I can't wait to hear Dr. Hawass speak. I'm going to take a notepad and hopefully a camera and get as much as I can.