October 27, 2004 I left the USA on Oct 15 for Italy (my seatmate & I having a long conversation about the disease known as fistula, I offering the fact that the Ayurvedic treatment known as kshara sutra is better than conventional surgery for this condition in every possible way). My visit to Bologna and Rimini, though blessed as usual with the culinary joys of piadina and squaquerone, Trebbiano and Sangiovese, and a dip in an Adriatic that was almost warm, was far more triste than usual, in the aftermath of the June 14 passing from this world of Signor Maurizio Splendiani. I first met Maurizio S. in 1995, at the urging of another Maurizio (Zorini), and Splendiani & I became instant friends (he being a mere five months younger than I). Ever since I have visited Italy once or twice a year to lecture for his company, PAC, maker of Ayurvedic face & body care products extraordinaire, and each time I have been welcomed as a member of the family. It was with great shock, therefore, that I learned in February of Maurizio S.'s illness, and then four months later of his demise. My saddest evening while there was spent with Maurizio's mother, who as always cooked an excellent dinner for me, despite her evident grief. I don't think a parent ever gets over the loss of a child, even one who like Maurizio did live for half a century.

I had a happier meeting in London, with Simon Fisher, his sister Angela Fisher, and Angela's partner-in-vocation Carol Beckwith. Simon originally met Carol in 1974 when he took her up in a balloon in the Masai Maru; he insisted that Carol meet his sister, and the result has been seven books, and a couple of dozen articles, for National Geographic, including African Ark & African Ceremonies. Their most recent tome, Faces of Africa, assembles photos from their 30 years of collaboration. They have indeed focusing lately on documenting Pokot initiation rituals, male & female alike, and are now contemplating a long article on the subject; having been myself through a Pokot initiation ritual, this was the direction in which I turned the conversation. A lovely evening it was indeed, with three very gracious, intelligent people. London deserves thanks for bringing us together!

London is worthy of appreciation in many ways; for example, though I had previously tried scrumpy (a sort of hard cider made from apples), this year marked my first taste of perry, (7 ½ % alcohol), which is made from Perry Pears. Light and refreshing, it is the quintessential harvest libation; as the label notes, "Though relatively uncommon, the trees are readily identified in Herefordshire's orchard landscape by their great height and cascading white blossoms; some are over 300 years old. These mature trees can very often produce over a ton of pears." 300 years old! A ton of pears! In a country where pears are measured by the punnet, a pear ton is a veritable pile of punnets!

London also offered me Mamma Mia this trip, which I thoroughly enjoyed it (perhaps the fact that ABBA was big in India when I was studying there helped); but I had to leave London in order to revive my connection with England's past, traveling with Robert Beer & Gill Farrer-Halls and two friends to the ancient sites of Avebury, the Long Kennet Barrow, and Silbury Hill. I've been to these monuments several times, and each time Avebury's stones speak to me in some new (old) way. Two days later I made a brief (given the driving autumn rain) stop at the Rollright stones, a small stone circle near Oxford of Stonehenge vintage, regrettably defaced recently with yellow paint, after which I felt well prepared for my imminent departure for that most ancient of lands: India.

October 13, 2004 After lectures in Byron Bay & Sydney I emplaned for Los Angeles, and about midway through the interminable 14-hour flight I struck up a conversation with my seatmate, Simon Fisher, long a traveler, who wandered remote parts of his native Australia forty years back when they were still truly remote (in one particularly dry region, he noted, he covered 1200 km without once crossing a watercourse). He has also traveled above ground, particularly as a balloonist, recently as the Chief Safety Officer for the 2004 World Balloon Championships, held in Australia; and he once supported himself by leading tours across the Sahara, and ballooning in various parts of Africa.

Simon went on to say that this was his first trip to the USA for many years, and its chief purpose was to attend the opening of one of his sister's photo exhibits at National Geographic HQ in Washington, DC. His sister Angela and her collaborator Carol Beckwith specialize in articles & books for National Geographic, focusing particularly on African tribes, and when I informed Simon that I had joined the Pokot tribe as its first white member back in 1973, he informed me that the Pokot happen to be one of Angela & Carol's current areas of particular interest. It is indeed a small world!

After a brief L.A. stopover I proceeded to Albuquerque to teach a seminar on medical astrology at the Ayurvedic Institute, ably assisted by the versatile Dr. Claudia Welch. It was Balloon Fiesta weekend in NM (Simon had wanted to attend, but couldn't fit it in), and I enjoyed the characteristic roar of propane jets as inflatables passed over Claudia & Jim's home.

Back in Texas my mother joined me & cousin Marjorie & her two sons on an expedition to the San Antonio Zoo. In youth one of my favorite summer outings, this was my first zoo visit in many years, and it was thoroughly enjoyable. Besides the ever-pleasing elephants and big cats, the rhinos (including a new baby) and hippos, the black swans (from Australia) were a big draw, as was the long, large anaconda. I had not known that anacondas can grow to be up to 100 feet long & up to 400 lbs; given those facts I suppose it is no wonder that people are killed daily in South America by anacondas. We are lucky that no North American snakes get to be that size!

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