Travel

Beautiful Bermuda

In a weeks time we just came down from the magnificent mountains of Montana to the beautiful beaches of Bermuda.
This lovely archipelago with pink beaches consists of approximately 138 islands. The seven largest linked by bridges comprise the “mainland.” One of these bridges has the world’s smallest drawbridge, 18 inches. It is just large enough for the mast of a mid-sized sail boat to go through.
The land mass consists of slightly more than twenty square miles. The greatest width is two miles. Only 800 acres is suitable for farming. The population of just over 65,000 consists of some of the most joyous and friendly people in the world.
This is the sixth year I have gone there to teach at  Willowbank Resort. It is an award winning cottage resort community on a scenic promontory overlooking picturesque Ely’s Harbor, once a haunt for pirates, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. It has just gone through an extensive renovation and expansion.
A group of British and Bermuda business men established the retreat years go in this semitropical paradise. Most who come are from England, Canada, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, Boston, Philadelphia and New England.
We were there last week during the most exciting week of their year. It was a four day holiday for “Cup Match.” The island closes and everyone focuses on the cricket match between Somerset and St. George’s, the two extreme ends of this chain of islands shaped like a fish hook.
We went to the match and had an exciting time without understand a thing we saw. It started at 10:00 AM, took a break for lunch, and being a British colony they took a 4:00 PM break and went to the locker rooms for tea before resuming and ending around 7:00 PM. It went on for two days and ended in a draw.
Before explaining the game of cricket I want to note the explanation will be followed by a reason for sharing it.
You have two sides, one out in the field and one in. Each man that’s in the side that’s in goes out, and when he’s out he comes in and the next man goes in until he’s out. When they are all out, the side that’s out comes in and the side that’s been in goes out and tries to get those coming in, out. Sometimes you get men still in and not out.
When a man goes out to go in, the men who are out try to get him out, and when he is out he goes in and the next man in goes out and goes in.
When both sides have been in and all the men have been out, and both sides have been out twice after all the men have been in, including those who are not out, that is the end of the game.
Now the reason for the explanation. It is for those spouses married to a football fanatic to share with your spouse to help your spouse know how you feel when an attempt is made to explain football to you.
The convivial atmosphere at the match and the exotic foods make the outing enjoyable apart form the game. Muscle pie, clam chowder, fish stew, and hoppin-john were but a few menu items.
Bermuda is a wonderful place to go for a lesson in hospitality.

Israel Part 3

This is not to say who is right and who is wrong in Israel. It is to say what is.
There are three regions governed by three separate codes of law. Along the Costal Plane and Gaza Egyptian law prevails. Around Bethlehem, Jericho, and suburban Jerusalem Jordanian law is applied, and in Israel and the part known by many since the Six Day War as the West Bank Israeli Law, which is primary British, is in force. Confusing isn’t it. Why is this important?
The region called the West Bank by Israel was conquered in 1967 and has since been called the West Bank by Israel. The Arab world calls it “the occupied territory.” Who is right? By ,Israel appears to imply the Arabs, even though they contend it is not occupied territory.
The reason some consider some regions occupied territory is that International Law says that if a country occupies another, those conquered must be governed by their own laws. The fact the people in those territories are governed by their own laws implies they are occupied territories.
To compound the issue is the question of what law prevails on the Temple Mount, site of the Mosque of Omar, better known as the Dome of the Rock, the third holiest place in the Arab world.
Israel is a mosaic of diverse cultures. In addition to the complexity of law, there is the compounding matrix of religion. There are many faiths that propagate in this cradle, though there are three principle ones. Israel is the home of Judaism and Christianity. It is a primary fountainhead of Islam. The faiths of two of these are embraced by various states, Judaism by Israel and Islam by the Arab countries. Christianity has no national base of support. The other two often form a vice putting pressure on the Christian community.
This is observable in Bethlehem which was once 95% Christian. Today it is about 28% Christian. There have long been seven quarters to the city. Six were long Christian and one Muslim. Now four are Muslim and two about equal. Every time a piece of property comes up for sale it is purchased by a Muslim, rather for a Muslim. The money comes primarily from Saudi Arabia. Cost does not matter. One business man told me that if he put his business up for sale for $5,000,000 they would pay $10,000,000 rather than a non-Muslim obtain it. In the heart of old Bethlehem, all the property around Nativity Square and the Church of the Nativity is being purchased by Muslims.
A sub confusion comes from the fact some Christians are Arabs and some Israelis. These are often in conflict with the faith of their heritage and those who espouse it.
Another layer of confusion is the pluralism of the population. Immigrants from all over the world have moved into the country. Israel has a very liberal immigration policy for Jews wanting to “come home.” Assimilation of the many diverse customs into one is difficult. Many youth grow up not knowing who they are. The Israeli government has a good program to help acclimate young Jews to their new society but children of other cultures have no roots. This causes emotional problems.
Don’t try to solve all this. Do comply with the ancient admonition: “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.”

Israel Part 2

If you get a chance to visit Israel, the land of the Bible, go. Don’t let the following discourage you.
On this our thirty-third trip to Israel my wife and I ventured out of the tourist sphere several times. I pruned olive trees and grape vines in a friend’s garden and visited deep into two regions of the off beat desert. I am writing about the Bible character Nicodemus and lucked up on finding his grave on the Costal Plain at Beit Gemal near where David fought Goliath in the valley of Elah.
Just my wife and I were on this trip. Walking in the Old City of Jerusalem by ourselves we ventured into the Arab section. Each quarter of the city has its own enjoyable atmosphere. We knew our way around and enjoyed leisurely visiting places of interest. However, there was one difference this time. Small groups of admirably brown boys with moosed curly hair enjoy walking in packs and engaging tall white men in combat walking. They took delight in taunting me verbally in a language I don’t know, tugged at my shirt and often bumped me.
Later in telling an adult about it I said I understand their frustration and don’t hold it against them.
He said, “You can forgive them but they won’t forgive you.”
I asked what he meant. He asked if I knew why they hated me simply because I am an American. He explained every week in the mosques of the land, including the mosque on the Holy Mount, they hear the same hate message. He explained the Arabs have a term used for “raiding the well.” In the old Arab culture if the well of a tribe wasn’t producing they would raid the well of a neighboring tribe and get their valued water. He said they are taught Americans are raiding the wells of the Arab people in Iraq. Because of this, they are taught to hate Americans.
The person telling me this is well educated. He said Americans are not the ones raiding the Iraqi wells-it is the British who have been doing it for years as the British Petroleum Company. However, it is to the advantage of the religious leaders in that part of the world to preach such a message of hate.
To maintain calm in this pluralistic society, extremists must be dealt with. A police officer represented himself to me as being in investigation. I presumed that meant investigating crimes after the fact. It meant investigating potential happenings in order to prevent them. He said it isn’t always democratic but it is essential for the welfare of both sides to infiltrate and deal with potential problems in order to prevent them. Surveillance is a constant necessity.
That is a delicate essential in our own country. Constant vigilance in investigating what might happen in order to prevent it is basic to safety. Doing so in our democratic society is all the more difficult. That is what some of our recent investigative legislation is all about. Like it or not it is necessary.
Don’t let my recent experience deter you from going to Israel. Stay with your group and there is no problem. Arabs and Israelis alike assured me the terrorist know the tourists are good for the economy and not one has been a target.
The spiritual benefits are worth the efforts.

Israel Part 1

Having just returned from my thirty-third trip to Israel I found the situation as complicated as ever. This is not an attempt to take sides-just to report an experience.
I said to an Arab-Christian friend in Bethlehem, “I  understand some of the extremist holdouts from the stand-off at the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem are trying to get back in the country.”
Calmly but confidently he said, “Those were not extremists.” I wanted to interrupt and assure him they were because I heard it on the news in America. He went on to say he was supposed to be one of them. Just before the most recent invasion of Bethlehem that precipitated the stand-off word got out there was going to be a raid by Israeli Security forces to arrest a few known extremists and in the process a number of other innocent persons in order to intimidate them to keep the terrorists from gaining popularity.
My friend’s influential father in America, knowing of the pending arrests, called his son and told him to go to the church as a sanctuary against arrest as an innocent person. As he was leaving to go to the church a nun from a convent called and told him to come there for safety. He elected to do so and therefore wasn’t in the Church of the Nativity.
As the siege continued and interest in his whereabout waned, he returned home. His wife picked up the story at this point saying that during the shelling of their neighborhood she kept the children in a basement room. There she played loud music and played games with them to try to prevent them from understanding the gravity of what was going on as debris from exploding shells crashed through their home.
Against that background he shared that the people with all differences can get along with each other. It is the political leaders who cause the problems. He related how Israeli friends called their home several times during the bombing to enquire about their welfare, asked if they had food, and offered to bring them food.
After the conflict ended, business in Bethlehem was very bad. He owed several Jewish business men elsewhere in Israel significant money. Each called and urged him not to worry about the debt, that they knew things would get better and when they did he would repay them. Things have improved significantly and he has repaid them.
Several things about that conversation stand out. Our news represented those in the church as all being extreme terrorists. They were not. A few were but others were simply seeking sanctuary against being made an example of. That slant was never in the news.
Next, the citizens with different religious, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds can co-exist and in general do.
The courage of the populace is amazing. Israelis live with the threat of terrorist bombings and Arabs of further incursions into their neighborhoods.

Switzerland: A Land of Enchantment

Elevated heights lead to elevated thoughts. For the optimum upper, visit Switzerland. It is one of the few places in the world that exceeds ones anticipation of what it is like. If you have ever visited a highly anticipated place and found it a downer, Switzerland is the place to redeem those disappointments.
It is easy to visit all regions by comfortable, fast trains. For those of us unfamiliar with how to catch what train, it can be challenging. Rushing to get on a coach only to find you are on the wrong train going the wrong way gives you opportunity to see parts of the beautiful country not on your itinerary.  It is not a loss, I know. We covered the country from the German to the Italian borders by train.
A couple of places that stood out in more than one way are the Jungfrau, known as “The Top of Europe” (11,333 feet), and the Matterhorn.
The quaint village of Grindelwald is an ideal place from which to visit the Jungfrau by rack rail. The cafeteria, gift shop, and viewing rooms are also an ideal places from which to overlook the Eiger Mountain and Eismeer glacier. The myths of the Eiger North Face remain undiminished. It is a ninety minute adventure up the slopes. A change of trains at Klein Scheidegg is required. This was the setting that drew me back to this country after seven years. I wanted to go back, sit on the mountain side and listen to the cow bells. When you get on the tram at the Zurich airport there are background sounds of cow bells, a mooing cow, and a person yodeling. That is all lived out on this mountain side. Miss your connecting train and wait an hour for the next one to enjoy the views and melodious cow bells.
At the Jungfrau you are above 95% of the atmospheric pollution of the earth.
The snow and glaciers cover the mountains all year. The Ice Palace has been carved in the glacier. Long corridors and spacious rooms are made the more interesting by stunning ice sculptures.
Snow flakes that fall on the Jungfrau flow through the lower Grindelwald Glacier in the form of ice crystals for 200 to 250 years before melting and becoming part of the streams in the valleys.
This is a marvelous place to study global warming. A 10,000 year record shows a rapid change every 2,000 years from colder to warmer or warmer to colder. That is earth’s history.
From Grindelwald a three mile cable car ride to the area of First is a matchless way to see the forest and idyllic cultivated countryside up close.
A three hour rail trip from the hub city of Interlaken, itself a must visit town, near Grindelwald takes you through many tunnels, narrow valleys, and lofty passes to Zermott. It is the “WOW” route. The many enthralling views that surprise you result in frequent wows.
There are no automobiles in Zermott. It is the base from which the captivating view of the Matterhorn can be enjoyed. A rack rail trip to the summit of Gornergrat lifts you above most of the mountain peaks of the area and brings you face to face with the magnificent Matterhorn which appears to hold up the sky.
Go if you can. If you can’t, I hope this virtual trip has been interesting and uplifting.