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Road to Morocco, 1982

**Our guide in Casablanca**
This young man did a wonderful job as our guide in Cassa, especially since we were in his country during Ramadan; We were living in Indiana at the time working at Purdue University and the local travel agent said it would be a good time to visit Morocco.

**Water Sales**
These water sales people are just for tourists, but in the background is the Koutoubia Minaret. I used the location of this minaret several times to help find my way back to the hotel.

**rug sales**
We didn’t make many purchases in Morocco but we did hang around many of the souks or bazaars. Also in Marrakech the great square Djemaa El Fna had lots to offer.

**Rug we bought**
It’s a Berber rug made by the Berber people or Amazigh, any of the descendants of the pre-Arab inhabitants of North Africa

**Hotel in Marrakech**
The place is still there, but it is now called La Mamounia Palace. Back in 1982 it really was the only place to stay in Marrakech but now there are several 4 and 5 star hotels available.

**La Mamounia**
“Just moments away from Jemaa el-Fnaa Square in Marrakesh, La Mamounia offers the sophisticated luxury and comfort of a five-star palace hotel. Boasting incredible views of the gardens, the Atlas Mountains and the Koutoubia Mosque, the rooms, suites and luxury suites boast all the elegance of a 5-star palace hotel, each with their own interpretation of the Moroccan art of living.”

**The Souks**
These places were a rat’s maze of leather goods, copper pots and a place to get fitted for a djellaba, the garb the guy is wearing in the picture. On special occasions men would wear a bernousse or fez.

**Not in Africa anymore**
On the way back to West Lafayette, Indiana we pass a town called Morocco, Indiana. We couldn’t help take this picture. That’s Jeanne asking for a few Dirhams. This trip included some time in Portugal. Maybe we will have some picture from that soon.

The index today was 1.66; 108 by 6500

Posted in Education, Historical, The Dead | Comments Off on The Plague Months, Day 18

If it’s not Scottish, it’s crap!

**Castle Edinburgh**
Set upon its mighty rock, Edinburgh Castle’s strategic advantage is clear. Seeing the site’s military potential, Iron Age people built a hill fort on the rock. So far, so good, but in 1639 the castle was captured in just 30 minutes, so just saying…

**Holyrood Abbey**
Holyrood Abbey is a ruined abbey of the Canons Regular in Edinburgh, Scotland. The abbey was founded in 1128 by King David I.

**The Royal Mile**
Kind of like Michigan Avenue in Chicago, but lots older. The mile refers to the mile between the castle and Holyrood Palace.

**Jeanne at the castle Melville**
“Set in a magical Scottish landscape of rivers, woodlands & enchanting pathways Melville Castle is the ideal place to escape from it all and enter into a Christmas Wonderland; a ‘home from home’ in the stunning Melville Castle. “

**Our room at the castle**
OK, we spent three nights in a castle. Please note that old castles will not have the usual amenities us ‘Mericans tend to expect while on vacation. Still, quite charming and fun, like camping in a solid tent.

**We at the castle**
It looks like I set the camera up for a 10 second timer shot and then ran over to the couch and tried to look ‘natural’. Jeanne looks great.

**Castle pipers**
There was a wedding reception on one of the nights that we were there so we had the pipers out near the entrance to greet the parties. Note: There was a bar in the castle dungeon that seemed to never close.

**Castle Bill**
I kept this bill because of the list of services offered by the hotel staff. Note that you could have rented a dog! Also, we paid 20 Scottish Pounds per night (maybe $30 US) in 1978.

**Castle Dog**
We didn’t rent this dog. In 1978 we were cat people and didn’t have a dog until we got Duncan Madog. Duncan’s a good dog! Yes he is!

It’s St. Patrick’s Day and the parade has been canceled. The toll is 85 as of today, Index = 1.82.

Posted in Castles, Education, The Dead | Comments Off on The Plague Months, Day 17

Some last minute pix from London from 1978

**Mind the Gap**
We now know that “EXIT” signs are forbidden in London so in order to find the way out of an underground they had to say “Way Out”. In this photo op, we see Jeanne as being Way Out and she is in fact “Minding the Gap” , another phrase we fond amusing.

**Nice hat**
As an avid collector of hats, I think this particular one that has the look of an Afghan hound most appealing. Not the typical bearskin hat, it is the one worn by the British Household Cavalry officers. I saw a complete outfit on sale for $4950.

Thomas Burberry invented weatherproof gabardine in 1879, and so the trench coat’s tale began. We would have liked to purchase a famous Burberry on our trip to London, but alas, I am wearing a Savile Row knock-off for one-fifth the price.

Early Tally, 69 to 3774, Index = 1.82

Posted in Education, The Dead | Comments Off on Plague Months, Day 16

Plague Months, Day 15

Sunday, March 15th, 2020

London Travel (August, 1978)

The following pictures were scanned from a collection of faded photographs:

In 1978 we were living in Oak Park in an apartment owned by a Chicago police officer who was living outside the city limits and used the building as his residence even though he lived in the western suburbs in DuPage county.

As we ‘got off the boat’ as it were, we were presented with various simple attractions to amuse us and relieve us of our newly acquired British pounds.

**JB & JZ with monkeys**
Did they see us coming? You bet. With monkeys no less! I think I paid 20 pounds for this picture.

**Fielding Hotel**
“On a pedestrian street lined with gas lamps, this cosy Victorian hotel is a 2-minute walk from the Royal Opera House and 4 minutes’ walk from Covent Garden.” It’s the first place we stayed outside of North America. It’s still a hotel and they have since upgraded the front but I think they still have those red phone booths down the street.

**Tower Bridge**
I feel obligated to have this picture.

**The Tower**
OK, here’s a picture of the tower. I think we may have taken a tour of this place but we’ve been to London at least six times since, I can’t tell it it was this trip.

**Natural History Museum**
This is one of the best museums in the world and anyone who visits London should check it out. It was called The British Museum when we were there in 1978 but that was changed in 1992.

**Trafalgar Square**
This view has King Charles riding his horse. We fondly remember riding in a London taxi like the one on the left.

**London Walks**
Not sure, but this may have been one of the more interesting London walks that had to do with the activities of Jack the Ripper.

Today’s Toll: 3244 cases, 61 deaths. 1.88 index.

Posted in Education, The Dead | Comments Off on Plague Months, Day 15

The Plague Months

Saturday, March 14th, 2020

Well, fuck it all, we are in a pandemic and we may just die, or get sick for a while, or not notice anything other than having the anxiety of watching our IRA go down the tubes. No sense in giving the details, but since everything is closed for an extended period of time, I guess I’ll have some time to add some crap to this here blog. We will call this process “The Plague Months” as it may be well into the month of May before we are done with this.

Posted in Society, Uncategorized | Comments Off on The Plague Months

End of RAGBRAI

Saturday, July 27th, 2019

So, if you are reading this blog, the posting order is correct, but you see everything in reverse order, so you see the last day first, and the first day last. Get it? Anyhow, it seemed that there were plenty of raccoons out on the streets. Good for “Team Roadkill” , a bike team who likes to prop up roadkill with beer cans, beads, lip stick for the enjoyment of the other riders on the route. This looks like a young raccoon who obviously had a fake ID if you can notice it has an “Over 21” wrist band and a Ragbrai rider bracelet!

I always fear the last town because I operate the sag wagon for our team on the last day and I never know what the traffic will be like leaving town. Turns out, Keokuk had a good exit road out of town. I had plenty of time to entertain the riders coming in to town.

Charlotte Moorman. That’s who I thought of when I put my banjo next to the deep sea diver. Who’s Moorman? Someone wrote a book about her. See here to learn more. I actually knew Charlotte in the early ’70’s and played on stage with her at the University of Illinois in Urbana, Illinois. Those were weird times indeed!

Posted in Banjo, Bike, RAGBRAI, The Dead | Comments Off on End of RAGBRAI

MUSICIANS LOST IN 2018

Saturday, December 29th, 2018

A RAGBRAI Rider who carried a banjo:

R.I.P. Michael “Moon” Mullen

This guy was the original Ragbrai Banjo guy who rode in 41 Ragbrais. He died of cancer on May 22. I only started riding in 2005 and there were some years that Moon and I actually got together and did some banjo jamin’ but I never saw him at the old “Peanut Butter Jam”. On this year’s ride, I was approached by a few of Moon’s friends who asked me if I knew him. “We all knew Moon”, I answered.

Posted in Banjo, The Dead | Comments Off on MUSICIANS LOST IN 2018

Get out and F*CKING VOTE!

Tuesday, November 6th, 2018

See this guy on the CSU campus:

We *CAN* Take U there!

And we will use any means necessary including a powered car that uses fossil fuel. No, they didn’t offer an electric vehicle today. They have ’em, I’ve seen ’em on campus, but NO! You can’t have one. WTF!

In case you didn’t get the idea

Well the university did want to make sure the students were aware of what was going on.

Posted in Society | Comments Off on Get out and F*CKING VOTE!

Early Snow

Wednesday, October 10th, 2018

And today I have to go to Denver for the Maker meeting!

Patio snow and leaves. Must be winter?

I post the first big snow so I can go back and see what kind of climate change is going on around here. Maybe just 10 years of data is not enough, but it’s for my own use. Just ignore this.

Posted in Environment | Comments Off on Early Snow

Drummers Lost in 2017

Saturday, December 30th, 2017

A Memorial to our friends we lost in 2017

Halim El-Dabh

He was the composer of the “Symphony of 1000 drums” which we played sometime in August, 2008 (See HERE) . Halim was a professor of music at Kent State and an early inventor of electronic forms of music known as Musique concrète.

Bob Harper

Bob showed up at one of my drum circles in suburban Chicago and became a regular (I’m assuming it was because he lived close to the circle). A drummer for most of his life, he was one of the members of a Chicago band called The Shadows of Knight, a band well known after recording the Van Morison cover GLORIA.

You will be missed.

Posted in The Dead | Comments Off on Drummers Lost in 2017

Roadside Mysteries