Where We're At and Where We're Headed
First, the really BIG news:
Sam Brody and Mary Ann Petti became engaged last weekend. They circled the Peace Pagoda in Leverett, MA three times in single digit degree weather (is this the custom or did it take three times for Sam to get up the nerve?) then sent this beautiful photo showing their beaming faces and Mary Ann's beautiful ring. The Brody clan gains a very special addition (although we've considered Mary Ann one of the family ever since we met her five and a half years ago), and we look forward to updates on future plans.Speaking of future plans, as I sit at my desk looking out over the snow and ice crusted landscape, it's the thought that it's 70 degrees in Delhi and that in a very short time I'll be there that makes me happy.It's been fun to re-read the blog and remember our various adventures last year. I'd like to give a huge shout out to David Brody who in his typical painstakingly careful way edited every page, catching typos, mistakes, and stuff I made up when my creative side overtook the need for facts. He also inserted lots of periods in an effort to rein in my love of run-on sentences (witness the perfect examples right here). Clearly he will have his work cut out for him when we finish the 2nd installment of the Big Trip, which for him commences on Dec 27. He and our middle son Max will fly from JFK to Delhi and shortly thereafter meet up with our other two sons Jonathan (coming from his home in Taipei) and Sam, coming from Northampton after seeing in the New Year with Mary Ann.It's been David's dream to travel in India with all three sons. He's made this trip individually with both Max and Sam, but never with Jonathan. He'll fill you in on the details and itinerary. I leave on January 3 from Boston and fly to Delhi, where I will stay for several days before meeting up with David and the boys in Varanasi for five days. The parts of their trip I am most interested to hear about will be the stay in a small town where the trains run (according to our guidebook) at Stupid O'Clock, and the sister and brother (and nephew reunion) in Vrindavan. Then we each go off - Max and Jon back home, and David and Sam to Rajasthan. I'm going to Gujarat which is the large carbuncle jutting west into the Arabian Sea directly south (but not all that close) to Pakistan.
I will be traveling for ten days with nine amazing women who directly or indirectly shared a relationship with Mary Ann Marino, our friend who loved India so. The genesis of this adventure began in Hyderabad last January when, shortly after Mary Ann's death, her friend Santha decreed that there would be a celebration of Mary Ann's life in India the following year. My job was to organize people from the states who wanted to join us. Four of us knew Mary Ann and the others are some of our friends who had heard us talk about her and were excited about a chance to visit India. Our itinerary was inspired by Santha's friend Roku, who is a costume designer for the movie industry, and thus someone who appreciates and has a deep interest in the fabrics and handcrafts for which Gujarat is famous.
David will meet us at Palitana at the end of our trip. Words fail me when I try to describe this mountain covered with over 900 Jain temples. Stay tunes for my photos after I climb the 3.800 stone steps to the top. Here's one from the Web:
At the end of our time in Gujarat some of us will fly to Hyderabad to connect with Santha, along with Mary Ann's other Indian friends. A highlight will be a visit to the Hyderabad Children's Home where Mary Ann volunteered and was an adored presence.Next - David and I travel to Goa - the tiny red dot on the map below.
While some of you may think we are going there to lie on the beach and catch some rays, the truth is that for a lot of the time I'll be in the dark (room) at Goa-Cap; Goa Center For Alternative Photography where I have a two week residency to make art. David is still thinking about what he's going to do - perhaps find a place to teach English, or sit on the beach…stay tuned for updates.Then we fly south to Sri Lanka for two weeks, where you will, in fact, find us lying on the beach -
- for at least part of the time. But also touring around as we understand there is lots to see.Meanwhile, here's wishing all our faithful readers the happiest of holidays and a wonderful New Year filled with love, laughs, the company of friends and family and a few dreams come true.Lora and David