Category: Holidays
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A Trail in Two Countries
Years ago I traveled the sands of Saudi Arabia, stopping along the way to tour the old camel train forts. I visited these caravanserai along the Hejaz Railway, the line targeted by T.E. Lawrence and the Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire during World War I. My journeys between 2003-05 took me north from Jeddah through…
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Idling through the Shut Down
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in About, Blogs, Book Reviews, Fiction, Foreign Affairs, Holidays, Humor?, News, Non-Fiction, WritingRevisiting publication credits to stimulate and inspire 2019 projects. I’d like to make it a year of broader platforms with more non-fiction. The days ahead, if the Grinches in DC keep Grinching, might provide both the means and the need to fulfill that prospect. Non-fiction The Card from Kabul—The Foreign Service Journal May 2018 Transition Brief…
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Tart on Thanksgiving
That’s two Key Lime Pies. A bowl of fresh cranberry sauce. And a big smile just thinking about eating it all. Thanksgiving for decades has been a blend of the traditional and the tropical. From celebrating at the U.S. Ambassador’s residence in Malawi (’96) to floating in the pool with a turkey on the raft…
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Mumbai Halloween Posse
Posin’ not posers, trick-o-treaters for life! Copper, Pirate, Scoundrel… Jolly Rancher. No candy? Step back! ##
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The Lights of Navratri
We brought back a replica of Mysore Palace for our Navratri display. It’s no match for the real thing, especially lit up as it is this time of year. But we’re glad to have it as a central feature of our celebration. Our display consists of five steps populated by dolls. Some represent the gods…
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Ganpati Visarjan
Toward sunset ahead of a near-full moon, the tide far out on the Arabian Sea, Ganpati marches shoreward. Carried through the streets on trucks surrounded by throbbing drums, hoisted at the beachhead on a multitude of shoulders, carted across the sand to the edge, then towed, bobbing on the waves, by Zodiac. Ganpati topples into…
Ben East Books 