The Daily Poem

THEIR HANDS ON ME

They laid their hands on me and prayed,

My eyes with tears, my arms with wings,

My troubles all with grace erased.

They laid their hands on me and prayed,

Big weights fell off my shoulder blades,

My heavy knees grew strong with springs.

They laid their hands on me and prayed,

My eyes with tears, my arms with wings.

D. Edgar Lamp

The Daily Poem - 342

Triolet

Encinitas, California

Lat: 33.07, Long: -117.31

JOURNAL:  Three inches of snow on the ground this morning.  Mimi made omelettes for breakfast.  Then I played canasta with Mom, Ivan and Virginia while Mimi worked on bills and upgrading her website.  I packed my bag for a shakedown trip to San Diego.  Everything fits, just barely.  Birthday dinner at Mark & Kit's.  Mark's 57th birthday.  Set up Verizon mobile hot spot, "FiveSpot".  Dave & Joanie have decided to stay on St. Lucia for six days straight instead of hopping 2-days per island.  Understandable.  We'll go on to Martinique and Guadeloupe without them.  They will meet us on Dominica for a couple days and then go on to Barbados, and from Barbados back home to Norfolk, Virginia.  Six days to go.

METAMORPHOSIS

The moth is poised on the window pane,

Completely new, completely changed,

A perfect Lepidoptera,

Empowered now for the fertile stage.

Excelsis Deo Gloria,

Such sweet phantasmagoria,

His compound eyes in swirls of blue 

Hexagonal euphoria.

But something other leads him through,

To find the one he must pursue

With every drop of nectared will,

To grasp her beauty and subdue

Her valley with his rivered hill,

Her leaf with his genetic quill,

Her charm with his spermatic thrill,

And then to die absolved, fullfilled.

D. Edgar Lamp

The Daily Poem - 341

Rubaiyat Stanza

Idyllwild, California

Lat: 33.74, Long: -116.70

MAP:

http://www.travbuddy.com/travel-blogs/84881/Seven-Days-Go-1?isUpdate=true

PHOTOS:

http://picasaweb.google.com/dedgarlamp

JOURNAL:

Sick today. Snow in the afternoon. Mimi made soup and organized the walk-in closet.  The couch and I became good friends.  Set up TravBuddy site, mostly for the mapping feature, but maybe for photos too.  Also set up Picasa for photos.  Watched "Dances With Wolves" starring Kevin Kosner.

THE MINE OF AFTERTHOUGHT

The mine of afterthought remains

More brillant than a hundred stars.

Such gold in thickly laden veins

Was never poured in shining bars.

More brillant than a hundred stars,

The best of what we might have done,

Was never poured in shining bars,

In threaded fancies never spun.

The best of what we might have done,

Derailed and buried underground

In threaded fancies never spun,

In latent pools of unsung sound

Derailed and buried underground,
Remotely whispers as we drill,
In latent pools of unsung sound,

No matter how we take our fill,

Remotely whispers as we drill,

Such gold in thickly laden veins,

No matter how we take our fill,

The mine of afterthought remains.

D. Edgar Lamp

The Daily Poem - 340

Pantoum

Idyllwild, California

Lat: 33.74, Long: -116.70

JOURNAL:  Mimi & her Mom made breakfast: french toast.  Mom and I made lunch: potato salad.  I'm just hanging out.  Still feeling sick.  Mimi's out in the workshop organizing things.  Our Eurail Passes came in the mail.  Valid in 22 countries for 2 months.  Must be activated no later than July 27.  Nice to have Europe in the bag!  Played Canasta for a couple hours.  Ending scores left Mimi with the Gold, me with the Silver, Ivan with the Bronze, and Virginia with the Aluminium.

BEST FRIENDS FOREVER

Come brandish all your swordly best, my friend,

And let our duel of wits begin today,

From now and here, to somewhere there and then,

A skirmish on the scrimmage line of play.

And if the time allows we'll take the cake

And slice it up in pieces six by six,

Then stack them up in towers for the sake

Of nothing more than tumbling pick-up sticks.

A friend is but a friend if he agrees

To face the future's laughter and its tears,

Across the seven lands and seven seas,

No matter how the space expands with years.

Today we clasped our hands in friendship's bond,

And may our friendship be forever fond.

D. Edgar Lamp

The Daily Poem - 339

Shakespearean Sonnet

written expressly for Mike Ahern on the occasion of his 66th birthday.

Idyllwild, California

Lat: 33.74, Long: -116.70

JOURNAL: Ivan and I finished the greenhouse foundation today.  Otherwise, lazed around the house still feeling sick.  Mimi says she may be catching my cold.  Took a nap on the floor for an hour.  Went to Mike & Jim's dinner party.  Turns out it was Mike's birthday.  He required each guest to write a poem on a napkin during the evening.  Today's post was my poem.  Katherine Factor was there and wrote a poem which started "Egypt erupts..."  She teaches poetry at the Idyllwild Arts Academy.  We all had a magical night together  Other guests were: Ron, Doug & D___, Elena & John (Nomads,going to Thailand in April), Barbara & Adam, and Katherine from Strawberry Creeek Bunkhouse.  Came home, rolled out the futon and lay down but couldn't sleep.  Still geared-up from all the fun and games at QCI.  So we watched Tom Cruise in "The Last Samurai".  Then finally drifted off around 0100. 

Mimi's poem:

PRESENT 01 28 2011

01

10

NO

01

ON

OFF

NO

01

28

82

NO

28

YOUNG

OLD

NO

28

2011

1102

NO

2011

FUTURE

PAST

NO

PRESENT

01 28 2011

THE WOODEN BOX

A glaring bulb on a painted wire hangs

Above the open mouth of a wooden box.

Inside the box the growls of hunger pangs.

Inside the pangs a silent child's thoughts.

Beside the box a happy meal exclaims

How fully satisfied the child could be

If only he would try his other names

And ask the room for sweet satiety. 

"I only have one name" the child says.

"Not true" the smiling happy meal replies.

"I see another one behind the place

You keep your one and only, half the size

And twice as quick to find the words you need

To leap outside your wooden box and feed."

D. Edgar Lamp

The Daily Poem - 338

Shakespearean Sonnet

Idyllwild, California

Lat: 33.74, Long: -116.70

JOURNAL:  Mimi made french toast for breakfast.  Then we started discussing the green house I promised to put up for Mom before we leave.  Before we knew it we were all outside leveling an 8x8 foot plot of ground.  Mimi ordered the green house on line which should arrive a couple days before we leave.  I went down to Village Hardware and talked to Larry and Don about an appropriate moveable foundation and floor.  Decided to use treated 6x6s as the foundation, with two sheets of 1 1/8th tongue-and-groove plywood flooring on top of it.  Jimmy delivered the wood to the house.

Had my last massage with Judi Way this afternoon.  I will really miss her.  She is such a loving person, and truly gifted with the healing touch.  I brought home some chicken chow mein and vegetable fried rice from Hidden Village to add to the salad that Mimi and Virginia had made.  Mom joined us.  I'm fighting another cold.  I can't believe how sick I've been lately.  Maybe my defenses are down now that I have become a man of leisure.  Retiring from work is dangerous, I think.  Mimi and I booked our hotel rooms in San Juan, Puerto Rico.  We'll be staying at a Comfort Inn.  We're going to be sleeping on the futon again tonight.   

BEDTIME PRAYER

It's time for bed and so we pray,

Dear Jesus come and with us stay,

Beside us through the dark of night,

Inside us with Your holy light,

To keep us safe and give us rest,

To fill our minds with all the best

Of everything that's pure and true,

And fill our hearts with love for You.

D. Edgar Lamp

The Daily Poem - 337

Rhyming Couplets (For Lily & Adin Chapman)

Idyllwild, California

Lat: 33.74, Long: -116.70

JOURNAL:  The bed was covered with all my stuff that I'd laid out to organize for packing, so I put out a few blankets on the living room floor and we slept downstairs.  Around 5, Mimi got up and moved to the couch.  To think that most people in the world sleep on the floor, and not in beds!  Ellie called from Ireland.  They're ready to come home.  We cleaned house again today right up until we had to leave for Hemet for our DMV appointment.  Mimi registered her motorcycle.  Stephanie called very sad.  Her jobdoing medical records at the doctor's office has been eliminated.  Her last day will be Friday.  She's very discouraged.  Car stolen and job lost in a matter of weeks.  Then we drove out to Ontario Airport and picked Mimi's parents (Ivan and Virginia Lathrop).  Stopped for dinner at a restaurant called Billy J's.  Got home at 2200.  I & V are going to sleep up in our room.  We're sleeping on the futon in the living room.  I seem to be catching a cold: sneezing and blowing the whole way home.

WE'RE HIDING

We're hiding we're hidden they'll never guess where.

We're hiding right here 'cause we're not over there.

The places they're looking is not where we are.

We're hiding behind the big yellow guitar.

We're here in the corner not moving our lungs,

With trembling fingers we're holding our tongues.

We'd like them to find us, on this we agree,

'Cause some of us really have got to go pee.

D. Edgar Lamp

The Daily Poem - 336

Rhyming Couplets

Idyllwild, California

Lat: 33.74, Long: -116.70

JOURNAL:  After yesterday's very eventful itinerary, it took me untill 0200 to finally settle my head and go to sleep.  Slept late.  Internet went down for a few hours.  Lazy day.  Mimi's cleaning house.  I'm helping sporadically: vacuumed the house, cleaned out the ashes from the stove and fireplace, made sandwiches for lunch and a fried potato goolash for dinner.  Called Jim Babwe around 1300.  He was already back in Azusa.  We'll try again later this week or early next week to meet up in Perris.  I mentioned how much I liked his poem from the good old days, "Jesus Luther Zappa Gandhi Buddha Garcia"  So he sent me an audio rendition of it.  We watched "Robin Hood" starring Uma Thurman.  Then we watched "The American President" starring Michael Douglas & Annette Bening.

IT'S ALL BECAUSE

The reason everything goes wrong

When people start to scheme?

It's all because they take along

The whip without the cream,

The pipe without the dream.

The reason everything goes right

When people start to play?

It's all because they leave behind

The X and take the ray,

The bomb and take the bay.

D. Edgar Lamp

The Daily Poem - 335

Quatrain Stanza

Idyllwild, California

Lat: 33.74, Long: -116.70

JOURNAL: Met with Marty at nine.  Mom came along.  Marty and Cathy were happy to see her after all these years.  We asked Marty if he could refer us to a tax guy.  He suggested Peter Rutman, his own tax accountant.  We called him and he agreed to meet with us at noon.  He works out of an office in his home.  Mimi gave him a few documents for him to start reviewing.  We'll bring in the rest next week.  He's a very eclectic gentleman: tax accountant, philosopher, jazz musician, world traveler.  We both have a good feeling about him.

Went back to CJ & Paige's for a few hours.  Played with the kids.  Got CJ set up on Skype and called Rashawna.  She got to see Adin, Lily, and Caleb.  Lyndon and Kendall were over at her place just hanging out.  We had pizza from dinner and then took off.

Mimi and I keep hearing negatives about South America.  Frankly we're getting a little spooked.  We've decided to go to a travel agent to help us plan the South American segment.

THE ROAD ATLAS

The road atlas says there's a road up ahead;

A curve and a bump, then a tunnel right through.

But here on the pavement the end is quite dead,

A stonewalling mountain from my point of view.

It's me or the map, but there's something not right,

I'm looking like crazy for things that aren't there.

Perhaps it's the angles of boomerang light 

Miraging the entrance with rocks of thin air.

Who gave me these mappings and what do they mean?

How old is this parchment, or is it too new?

Perhaps its a map of a future unseen,

The way things will look in a decade or two.

The road atlas says there's a road up ahead

But here on the pavement the end is quite dead.

D. Edgar Lamp

The Daily Poem - 334

"Sonnetelle"

Comfort Inn

Chula Vista, California

Lat: 32.64, Long: -117.10

JOURNAL:  Didn't get out of Idyllwild until nearly ten.  Stopped at Julian Pie Company in Santa Ysabel.  Got into town a bit early.  Hung out at Barnes & Noble until time for the party.  The party was in full swing when we got to San Carlos Park.  The kids were screaming in the bounce house having a jumpin' good time.  The tables were spread with sandwiches and snacks of every discription.  Caleb and I hooked up almost immediately and spent the next few hours together.  I really like him.  Lily and Adin were busy with friends.  Ben & Nikki, and Jason & Althea were there along with several other couples with their kids.  Turns out CJ & Paige's neighbors are from Nepal.  Can't remember their names right now.  But they offered to hook us up with some family members in Kathmandu.  They both emmigrated from Kathmandu within the past 5 years.  He works for Catholic Charity and she is a housewife.  Their two girls, Neha and Sneha, are bright, friendly, and wonderfully well-behaved.  We gave our hugs goodbye at 1700 and headed down to Chula Vista to drop Mom off at Ruth's house for the evening.  We got checked in to our hotel and then went out for dinner and a drive.  Dinner at a Vietnamese Restaurant: Pho and Egg Rolls.  Learned that hello is "seen chow" and goodbye is "chow."  Took a drive over the Coronado Bridge and down along the strand to the last U.S. Exit off Interstate 5.  The lights of Tiajuana were bright on the north-facing hill.  Picked up Mom.  Took a few pictures of Mom & Ruth.  Back to our rooms.  Debbie Gonzales, at the front desk made us feel welcome.

FACEBOOK CLEANSE

I'm dizzy from Facebook from so many friends,

From who's got the Beamer and who's got the Benz,

From poking and tagging, from odds and from ends,

My skin's got this pallor, my hair's got split ends,

I'm weaker of eye and I'm thicker of lens,

And who is that girl with those gifts that she sends,

I'm backlogged and bloated and ready to cleanse.

D. Edgar Lamp

The Daily Poem - 333

Monorhyme

Idyllwild, California

Lat: 33.74, Long: -116.70

JOURNAL: Up late into the wee hours last night.  Slept in until 1015.  Worked on RTW Itinerary.  Started painting the block wall behind the washer/dryer with DryLock in homes that whatever water seeps into the bricks won't leak out.  Suddenly so sleeply.  Took a nap on the couch for a couple hours.  Got up and painted for a while longer.  Played Canasta again with Mom and Mimi.  Now that Twinkle is being reconditioned into an indoor cat, she's eating more often, probablyout of boredom.  She sits at the window watching the squirrels.  Sometimes she lets out a mournful meow, longing for the good old days when she used to roam with her mother on the hillside.  While I was painting, Mom shared lyrics she had written for Dad in 1948 when they were engaged.  The lyrics were sung to the tune of "The Man In The Flying Trapese."

"CAMPING SONG"

On a limb of a sapling beside a blue lake,

We'll hang our toothbrushes together and take

A rest from the toil of a wearisome world,

Your beard won't get shaved and my hair won't get curled.

We'll eat with two spoons from a hot frying pan,

No dished to wash just throw out the can.

~ Trudie Lamp © 1948

IF NOT FOR YOU

If not for You our lives would drain away,

And everything we know would cease to be.

For this, O Lord, we praise You every day;

Your endless love our certain guarantee.

We have no hand in anything You do,

Incomprehensibly we watch Your deeds,

Amazed at how Your wisdom marches through;

No obstacle of cleverest men succeeds.

You hold us back and guide us bravely on,

You break us down and lift us up at will.

We know without Your love we're good as gone.

Your mind, although we've tried, eludes us still.

If not for You our lives would drain away;

For this, O Lord, we praise You every day.

D. Edgar Lamp

The Daily Poem - 332

"Sonnetelle"

Idyllwild, California

Lat: 33.74, Long: -116.70

JOURNAL:  Faxed Fern Valley Water District bill to Rita at Passports Plus as evidence that we live at 25980 Scenic Drive.  Rita said that the visas are coming along well: three finished, four to go.  Yard work today.  Mimi picked up 12 garbage cans full of pine needles requiring two trips to the dump.  I finally put in the french drain along the side of the house under the porch which will hopefully stop or at least reduce the water leak into Mom's apartment.  After dinner Mimi and I played three rounds of Canasta with Mom.  Watched "A Perfect Getaway" starring Steve Zahn and Timothy Olyphant. 

THE DREAMS I KNOW

Who will believe the dreams I know I know,

   Gone so deep the lines now show?

Who will remember me in days to come,

   None to know just where I'm from?

Who will recite what the moments leave for me,

   All in dreams all made to be?

Who is the urchin leaning hard on stone,

   Left in tatters all alone?

Who for a taste of something sweeter sings,

   Silent small forgotten things?

Who is the dreamer next who knows he knows,

   Going deep till the shallow shows?

D. Edgar Lamp

The Daily Poem - 331

Rhyming Couplets

25980 Scenic Drive

Idylwild, California

Lat: 33.74, Long: -116.70

JOURNAL: Up early.  Took a 3-hour hike with Mimi up to the base of Lily Rock.  Legs are feeling it tonight.  Delicious chorizo & fried potato hash for lunch when we got back.  Rita from Passports Plus called to say that our India Visa Application was going to need proof of our residence.  We has submitted driver's licenses but mine has a P.O.Box and Mimi's has our previous address in Lakeside.  So we are going to have to fax them a utility bill with our street address on it along with both our names.  Created a day-by-day itinerary for the blog.  Took Mimi down to Judi Way's cabin for her massage.  Their house is so beautiful.  Totally feng shui.  It took them 14 months to build it.  Then down to Hidden Village for dinner.  Mike and Peggy were there and they gave us some ideas for where to go in Puerto Rico.  Everyone has been wishing us well.  Only 17 days to go!  Watched "Seven Years In Tibet" starring Brad Pitt.  Then watched "Gran Torino" starring Clint Eastwood.

ONE TWO THREE

Undo the buttons one by one

   That hold our beauty in.

Untie the tethers two by two

   That wrap around our skin.

Unfold the feelings three by three

   And let our love begin.

D. Edgar Lamp

The Daily Poem - 330

25980 Scenic Drive

Idyllwild, California

Novel Verse Form

JOURNAL: Rita from Passports Plus called.  She said I had to fill out an electronic visa application for Nigeria and pay them online.  Otherwise everything was in order for the seven visas.  She will mail our passports to Orlando by the 16th of February in time for us to fly to Puerto Rico.  She said we can get Laos and Cambodia visas upon arrival.  We really want to see Angkor Wat in Cambodia.  Dave called and we finalized our Caribbean itinerary.  Mimi & I walked down to the Third Wednesday Open Mic at Higher Grounds.  A good turn-out.  Lots of good poetry and music.  Then we walked home under a full moon.  What a beautiful night!

MIDNIGHT FLIGHT

Awake, awake

What difference will a few winks make

We'll sleep another day.

Get up, get up

And grab your midnight coffee cup

We'll breakfast in Bombay.

Come on, come on

The sun is up in Kazakstan

We best be on our way.

Let's go, let's go

Just fill our pockets full of dough

We'll lunch in old Cathay.

Awake, awake

What difference will a few winks make

We'll sleep another day.

D. Edgar Lamp

The Daily Poem - 329

25980 Scenic Drive

Idyllwild, California

Novel Verse Form

JOURNAL: Overnighted the visa applications today.  Hiked Ernie Maxwell Scenic Trail up and back with Mimi: 5 miles.  Fish Tacos at Arriba's for dinner.  Started watching "Catch Me If You Can" starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hanks.  Fell asleep on the floor.  Woke up and watched "Cheri" starring Michelle Pfiffer.  DIdn't expect the tragic ending.  Then watched "Grand Theft Parsons" a B-movie based on the true life story of the death of Graham Parsons who overdosed in the Joshua Tree Inn.  His friend, fulfilling the promise he had made to creamate it in the desert, steals the body from Los Angeles International Airport on its way to New Orleans, takes it out into the desert, pours gasoline into the casket and sets it aflame.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gram_Parsons

MY DREAM SALAAM

The way the white of noise dispels

   The gloom, your breathing stills like dew,

   Then sweetly lays me out and smooths

My darker hues with cool pastels.

Your wash of whisper brushing calm

   Confutes my reeling turn of phase

   From wake to sleep with firm belays
That lets me climb into my dream salaam.

D. Edgar Lamp

The Daily Poem - 328

25980 Scenic Drive

Idyllwild, California

In Memoriam Stanza

JOURNAL: Mimi signed us up for the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program that gives us travel alerts for specific countries.  We listed all the countries that me may visit in 2011.  This service is through the U.S. Department of State for the purpose of keeping U.S. citizens safe overseas.  

http://travelregistration.state.gov/ibrs/ui

I completed visa applications for Vietnam, Australia, and Nigeria today.  Discovered rail service from Hanoi to Saigon in Vietnam.  We'll spend three days in the Hanoi area, train to Saigon (HCMC) and spend three days down in the Mekong Delta.  Then go (hopefully by boat) from Saigon to Bangkok, Thailand and train down to Singapore.  Nice!  See map below.

Also finalized our 12-day Caribbean Segment with Rashawna, David & Joanie:

Fly to Puerto Rico

   Fly to St. Lucia

      Ferry to Martinique

         Ferry to Gaudeloupe

            Ferry to Dominica. 

We sang this song in church yesterday.  It was only the second time I'd heard it.  It is a beautiful hymn.  The tune sounds like an old classic, but it was written only a few years ago.  Here are the lyrics.

O CHRUCH ARISE

O church, arise and put your armor on;

Hear the call of Christ our captain;

For now the weak can say that they are strong

In the strength that God has given.

With shield of faith and belt of truth

We’ll stand against the devil’s lies;

An army bold whose battle cry is “Love!”

Reaching out to those in darkness.

Our call to war, to love the captive soul,

But to rage against the captor;

And with the sword that makes the wounded whole

We will fight with faith and valor.

When faced with trials on ev’ry side,

We know the outcome is secure,

And Christ will have the prize for which He died—

An inheritance of nations.

Come, see the cross where love and mercy meet,

As the Son of God is stricken;

Then see His foes lie crushed beneath His feet,

For the Conqueror has risen!

And as the stone is rolled away,

And Christ emerges from the grave,

This vict’ry march continues till the day

Ev’ry eye and heart shall see Him.

So Spirit, come, put strength in ev’ry stride,

Give grace for ev’ry hurdle,

That we may run with faith to win the prize

Of a servant good and faithful.

As saints of old still line the way,

Retelling triumphs of His grace,

We hear their calls and hunger for the day

When, with Christ, we stand in glory.

Words and Music by Keith Getty & Stuart Townsend

Copyright © 2005 Thankyou Music

To download the music go to:

www.smallchurchmusic.com

LANDS OF MAKE BELIEVE

Fantastic lands of make believe

Are slight compared to what we find

Round every corner when we cleave

Aside the doors of must and mind

And gallivant the spreading plains

Of all the world that love retains.

Of all the world that love retains

And gallivants on spreading plains

Outside the doors of must and mind

Round every corner that we cleave

Can scarce compare to what we find

In drastic lands of make believe.

D. Edgar Lamp

The Daily Poem - 327

25980 Scenic Drive

Idyllwild, California

Reflected Daffodils Stanza

JOURNAL:  Went to early service at Idyllwild Bible Church with Mom and Mimi.  Tim's sermon was taken from Mark 11:1-11 about the Triumphal Entry.  Brunch at Little Chef in the Forest.  Finished visa applications for Russia, China & India. (whew!)  Mimi got an e-mail from Arthur in Yakaterinburg.  He said the Trans Siberian goes right through town and for us to hop off and spend a day.  We will.  Added it to our itinerary. Played Canasta with Mimi, refreshing our memory so we have a fun card game to play on the train.  I won 4 hands, she won 3, but she skunked me 5212 to 3515.  We discussed what we really want to see and do on our trip and we decided that Art, Architecture, Adventure, and Aid are all high on our list of what we want to focus on as we go from place to place.  We want to see the beautiful buildings, visit the contemporary art museums, experience the open country and offer aid those in need.

NEWS FROM KIM: Still waiting for Teen Challenge interview this coming Tuesday.

NEWS FROM ELLIE:  Last day in Paris.  Saw the Louvre, wasn't particularly impressed.  Saw the Mona Lisa.  Two more nights in Paris and then they're off to London.  Still no word about "You Know What."

NEWS FROM STEPHANIE: She and Ray found a Honda Civic with 180,000 in Dinuba that was in great shape.  By the time they got there another guy was just buying it.  It was only $2600.

POPCORN PANTYHOSE

She wore her popcorn pantyhose

   And sweet tart scarf,

A taffy skirt to juxtapose

   Her red hot heart.

But when they got to Wrigley Field

   Her beau had nibbled so,

She couldn't leave his Bonneville

   In nothing but a glow.

D. Edgar Lamp

(Thanks to Mimi for "sweet tart" and "Wrigley Field.") 

The Daily Poem - 326

25980 Scenic Drive

Idyllwild, California

Ballad Meter

JOURNAL:  Paid Hem for the Base Camp Everest Trek, and finalized October dates:

Day 1: 8th - Kathmandu

Day 2: 9th - Kathmandu

Day 3: 10th - Kathmandu

Day 4: 11th - Phading

Day 5: 12th - Namche

Day 6: 13th - Namche (rest day)

Day 7: 14th - Tengboche

Day 8: 15th - Dingboche

Day 9:16th - Chhukung

Day 10: 17th - Dughla

Day 11: 18th - Dughla (rest day)

Day 12: 19th - Base Camp Everest

Day 13: 20th - Base Camp Everest (climb Kala Patur)

Day 14: 21st - return

Day 15: 22nd - return

Day 16: 23rd: - return

Day 17: 24th -  return

Day 18: 25th - Lukla

Day 19: 26th - Fly to Kathmandu

Asked Hem how to get from Beijing to Kathmandu and he suggested the Beijing-to-Lhasa Train., some 4,000 km across China.  Then a one hour flight from Lhasa to Kathmandu.  Sounds awesome!

Mom made applesauce again; this time with Golden Delicious apples.  Mimi set Mom up with a Skye account and showed her how to place a call.  Mom said she'll need a refresher before we leave.  Only three weeks to go!

I finished filling out the application forms for our Brazil visas, and nearly finished the Russian application.  Applying for these visas is forcing us to flesh out our itinerary.  It's really starting to take shape.  Mimi popped some popcorn and found an old Gary Cooper movie.  After a half hour she was dozing beside me on the couch.  The action was so slow and stilted, lingering on each scene ten times longer than we do now. 

THE STORY TOLD IN STONE

In honor of the story told in stone

The King of Dynamite could not condone

The blasting caps slid deep within the cliff

Where lover's leap to die their deaths as if

The ones they leave behind are worth the price;

But sadly they can't love each other twice.

D. Edgar Lamp

The Daily Poem - 325

25980 Scenic Drive

Idyllwild, California

Rhyming Couplets

JOURNAL:  BROAD BRUSH ITINERARY

FEBRUARY 2011

Idyllwild, California

Palm Springs, California

Chicago, Illinois

Washington, D.C.

Miami, Florida

San Juan, Puerto Rico

Virgin Islands

Guadeloupe

MARCH 2011

Dominica

Martinique

St. Lucia

Barbados

Cayenne, French Guiana

Georgetown, Guyana

Caracas, Venezuela

Manaus, Brazil (VISA required in advance): good for 10 years.

APRIL 2011

Lima, Peru

Chile

Argentina

MAY 2011

South Africa

Lesotho

Swaziland

Madagascar (VISA required in advance)

JUNE 2011

Seychelles

Tanzania (VISA required upon entry)

Kenya (VISA required upon entry)

Nigeria (VISA required in advance)

Senegal

Morocco

JULY 2011

Portugal

Spain

France

Belgium

Luxembourg

Netherlands

United Kingdom

Ireland

Iceland

AUGUST 2011

Norway

Sweden

Finland

Estonia

Latvia

Lithuania

Denmark

Poland

Czech Republic

Slovak Republic

SEPTEMBER 2011

Hungary

Slovenia

Croatia

Bosnia & Herzegovina

Monenegro

Albania

Macedonia

Greece

Turkey (VISA required in advance):

Bulgaria

Romania

Moldova

Ukraine

St. Petersburg, Russia (VISA required in advance): good for 30 days.

Moscow, Russia

Mongolia

OCTOBER 2011

Beiging, China (VISA required in advance): good for 1 year.

Kathmandu, Nepal (VISA required upon entry)

India (VISA required in advance): good for 6 months.

NOVEMBER 2011

Vietnam (VISA required in advance):good for 30 days.

Thailand

Malaysia

Singapore

Australia (VISA required in advance): good for 1 year.

DECEMBER 2011

New Zealand

Fiji

Vanuatu

Solomon Islands

Guam

Philippines

Taiwan

JANUARY 2012

Japan

Marshall Islands

Society Islands

Pitcairn Islands

Easter Island

Galapagos Islands

Eduador

Belize

Mexico City, Mexico

Idyllwild, California

I'm working with Rita Chung at PASSPORTS PLUS, INC in Houston, Texas to get the seven visas that we will need in advance: Brazil, Russia, China, India, Vietnam, Australia, and Nigeria.

Went down to the desert to get travelers cheques, binoculars, and pick up Mimi's malaria medicine (doxycycline).  Got some sunglasses and another shirt made out of the same material as the one I got from REI.  Then went to see BLUE VALENTINE.  Intense.  Sad.  Some of the scenes where so true to form in their depiction of a dissolving marriage that I felt as if they were taken from my own life.  Kept hoping for a better ending,

NEWS FROM ELLIE:

"I sent nana an email. Skiing was really fun we mostly stayed on the advanced bunny hill....lol so far Switzerland wins, but we just got to Paris.... Already so cute. We just got to our hotel it's called hotel leveque. I wish u guys were here. We r going to be here for 5 days. Tell my dad hello. Love ellie"

EVER SLAVE

I was a slave to dark force one

I tried to hide I tried to run

But each quick time he found me stunned

   My mind to mush

Then shot me full of tommy gun

   And angel dust.

You bought me as your ever slave

For more than I could lifetime save

With one foot standing in my grave

   You lifted me

And new of everthing you gave

   And all for free.

So now each day I'm walking tall

I find you morning's first of all

To ask you what you need me haul

   Away from here

To keep your mansion garden sprawl

   As clean can be.

O thank you master of this place

I'm sparkled when I see your face

Look down on me without a trace

   Of dark force one

And now I'm brimming by your grace

   No need to run.

D. Edgar Lamp

The Daily Poem - 324

25980 Scenic Drive

Idyllwild, California

Burns Stanza

JOURNAL: Slept in until noon.  Have been talking throughout the day with Stephanie about her car situation.  Mimi's been working on setting up automatic payments for our various bills, and I've been working on the itinerary.  I have a basic country list completed, and now I'm looking up each country to see if they require a tourist visa for entry.  The Caribbean is wide open, no visas required.  South America is pretty much traveler-friendly.  Africa is going to be difficult ...visa ...visa ...visa ...everywhere! 

FOIBLED LIVES

How many people moving through have paused

To sit and brew themselves a thought or two,

To wonder what their foibled lives have caused;

The pain, the tears, the crash, the burn, the blue?

And what, pray tell, pray show, pray now could be

More full of subtle lies than what they won't

Admit as if to bleed their blame would free

Some angel to believe the things they don't?

Believe the lies you've told because you did;

Believe the truths that set you back so far

There's no fat chance to climb from where you've slid;

Examine if you will your tarnished star.

How many people moving through have paused

To wonder what their foilbled lives have caused?

D. Edgar Lamp

The Daily Poem - 323

Zeli's Cafe in Vroman's Bookstore

Pasadena, California

"Sonnetelle"

JOURNAL:  Picked up Kim and drove her to court.  Got a bit of drive through breakfast on the way.  Sat in court for two hours listening to other cases until hers finally came up.  They postponed her sentencing until the 31st.  She was relieved.  Now she can focus her attention on getting into Teen Challenge.  Picked up Mimi at the Comfort Inn at noon and we left town.

Traffic got heavy through LA so we pulled off the 210 in Pasadena and ended up at Vroman's Bookstore.  Stayed on for a reading by UK novelist Chris Cleave, followed by a Q&A session (excellent!) and a book signing.  We bought both books; INCENDIARY and LITTLE BEE.  We told him about our RTW trip and gave him our URLs.  He was born in the UK and grew up in Cameroon.  He said he plans to go back to West Africa this year sometime.  We offered to meet him there if our trips coincide.  Mimi is getting excited about doing a drawing each day and putting them into a book upon our return.

www.chriscleave.com

Stephanie called to say that the police found her car in Fresno; steering column pulled out and stero system yanked.  She's not sure that it'll be worth fixing.  Mimi took over the driving after an hour or so.  We got home a few minutes after midnight.  Long day.