today is 7.7.07 – the day we find out what the new 7 wonders of the world officially will be. here are my choices:
1) the gullibility of the american people in believing vice dick cheney and george mama-boy bush are honest honorable people – or in cheney’s case even people
2) the stupidity of the american people believing demoscams have a spine or are different than the republicrats
3) that the rich have 98% of all the wealth and the rest of us have 2% and we haven’t killed and eaten them in retaliation
4) the fact that anything at all works right considering everything is built by the lowest bidder or by friends and cronies of the politicians
5) the internet
6) the adventures of smith and lady in love as they travel about the world in search of truth, justice and some un-american ways
7) world’s tallest bridge in millau france 1,122 feet from the tarn river to the top of the bridge
gotta use up my left over notes before we head to the frozen tundra of northern england to camp tomorrow. in no particular odor –
taxi fares in marrakech for the same route same distance vary by 250% if you’re caucasian.
in marrakech the bigger streets have 2 car lanes and a bike lane – yet there are 6 distinct streams of traffic flow, all powered by car horns. driving is a cooperative collaboration. our taxi got impatient and decided to pass everyone by using the opposing traffic’s 2 lanes. you don’t need no carnival rides in marrakech – just take a taxi instead.
the seussian palm trees in morocco have huge grape-like sacks of yellow ganglia hanging from the palm tops. looks vaguely obscene. i was thinking of making large jockstraps for their swollen pollen sack packs.
the first two pound british coin we received in change here in london had this engraved on its edge: SO MANY IRONS IN THE FIRE. i don’t get it, unless it’s ironic.
it was 100 degrees fahrenheit when we left morocco, yet we saw folk wearing winter jackets. it was 66 degrees here when we arrived in london, yet we see folk in t-shirts and bare midriffs. i’m wearing an american black t-shirt, a grey long-sleeved shirt mother dwarf made me, a black french pull-over, a black croatian sweater, and a black korean hat – and i’m still chilled. can’t wait to get up north where it’s colder. last august in grassington england, i almost froze to death in a sheep shit sheep field camping with the rainbow people.
we spent most of august 2006 here in the lewisham neighborhood of south london. we blogged a lot of great fotos. now 10 months later, we’re back walking through our old fotos.
we find we’ve changed considerably. england was the start of our traveling – we landed in london august 2 2006. we were timid, unsure, confused, overwhelmed, afraid, and definitely not in shape. now we’re in our 12th month of continuous world travel. after walking everywhere for those 12 months and seeing england, the netherlands, england, poland, england, croatia, slovenia, italy, france, spain, morocco, and now england again, it’s a whole new easier world here for us. the first time we lived in london for 3 weeks, we loved it. when we returned to london for 3 days last october to fly to croatia, we’d been in poland for 7 weeks where we couldn’t understand the people or read the adverts, and london was loud, unpleasant, aggressive. this time after 3 months in morocco, london is much more pleasant, enjoyable, attractive. it’s all relative. can’t wait to see who we are when we return to cleveland to visit after 14 months of overseas travel. you need old places to see who the new you is.
one big change is our 1st trip to london we carried 75 pounds apiece in our backpacks – on this our 4th trip here, we carry 33 pounds each. lady wonders how her 33 pounds of backpack can be so heavy when she used to carry 140 extra pounds of her own flesh on her frame – told her it’s all what you’re used to and how it’s distributed.
and so tomorrow we’re off (some would say WAY OFF). we go to begin again.
