Lyn Fuchs's Blog, page 16

Twisted Vagabondage Tale From Bulgaria Part II

I had been a houseguest of my new friend in Bulgaria for several days, when he hinted that he might or might not work for a well-known intelligence agency referred to by three letters. CIA or KGB? To prove he was a real American, he sang an old TV jingle. In retrospect, he strongly resembled Bulgarian-American Cult Leader David Koresh, and maybe it was him. He also offered to take me on a tour of the legendary Bachkovo Monastery.

“Christianity in Bulgaria is a little different,” my new comrade...

Twisted Vagabondage Tale From Bulgaria Part I

I was on the way slow train from Budapest through the Balkans enroute to Bulgaria, guzzling Egri Bikavier (Bull’s Blood) wine and chainsmoking, when the train came to a jolting halt in order to be boarded by some heavily armed Serbian soldiers.

A Serb with an impressive handlebar moustache and assault rifle demanded my passport. “Americansky!” the Serb spat. “You must get off train!”

Knees buckling, I asked “The train won’t leave without me, will it?” Considering all the seething turmoil i...

Demon Possession is So Overrated

The Conjuring is a witch's brew of all the standard suspense film gimmicks. Yet, it may be the best of this hokey genre. There is much directorial restraint keeping the screams and apparitions fleeting and bearable. There is an earnestness about the supernatural without insisting that viewers embrace the predominantly-silly ghostbusting profession. Alfred Hitchcock might even be impressed with this creepy, gripping and well-crafted movie.

The story is quite routine. A 1970s family moves into a...

Presidential Warmongers and Whoremongers

It is oft said, "Good men don't start fights or run from them." Plenty of Americans exemplify such cowboy virtue in their personal lives, but American presidents are establishing a tradition of abandoning such wisdom for the reprehensible extremes of bullying or cowardice. George Bush was barely engaged in a crucial defining struggle in Afghanistan, when he felt compelled to turn his attention to opening a 2nd front in Iraq, for reasons that were (at best) poorly defined. Barack Obama felt co...

Smooth Getaway Postcard From Croatia

If the Europe of your daydreams has walled cities, lofty castles, medieval churches and ancient palaces filled with art treasure, not Starbucks, tourist traps and traffic jams, you’ll want to see Dubrovnik, Croatia’s Old World masterpiece. The majestic ramparts encircling the city came into view as my wife and I sailed on the Adriatic Sea in the five-masted ship The Royal Clipper. It struck me that the Venetians, the Ottomans, plus many other visitors both peaceful and otherwise, had marveled...

Twisted Vagabondage Tale From Bromo Volcano

The British explorer and linguist Sir Richard Burton once said “travelers like artists are mostly an angry race.” This comment may seem odd to those who have the misconception that travel is a relaxing luxury. Yet, those who've walked the unknown paths and lived outside their own cultures for long periods often grasp that travel is an artistic lifestyle. Like any art form, it takes time to aquire the needed skills.

My own artistic journey began when I was traveling on the island of Java in th...

May Not Be Suitable For Grannies

Finally, my new book got a bad review. It’s about time! I don’t know about you, but I was getting a little tired of famous authors droning on and on about how brilliant and revolutionary Fresh Wind & Strange Fire is. Just in the nick of time,  Actually, my work isn’t really anyone’s cup of tea. It’s more like frothy hot chocolate licked from bise...

Primal Wilderness Rambling From Ottawa River

“There is another (river) at the mouth of which is a marvellous fall... the Algonquins take pleasure in passing under it and not wetting themselves except for the spray which is thrown off... the Iroquois also go there sometimes and surprise them while making the passage.” ~ Samuel de Champlain, 1613

One day in May four hundred years ago, he began rowing up the mighty river with a group of men into history. He was not the first European to ascend the river that First Nations people called Kich...

Smooth Getaway Postcard From St. Lucia

I’m not a world traveler by any means. At one point, I was married to my job and had to fly back and forth between Washington DC and Montreal then drive up and down the New Jersey Turnpike between Port of Wilmington, Port of Newark and the Hudson Valley. There were a few spring break trips here and there to Florida, California, Cancun and Baja, Mexico. Still, nothing major.

This past year was a whirlwind though. I moved (big deal!), I got married (kewl!), and I went on the bestes...

Primal Wilderness Rambling From Cook Islands

“Where are you from?”

“United States.”

“What is your name?”

“John.”

“Hey, I am John, too!”

Although the polite fisherman was dressed like a native in imported Salvation Army garb straight out of “That Seventies Show,” I couldn’t believe he was neither an AWOL backpacker nor an unemployed Import-Export artist.

For real, he was a local.

“When my mother gave birth to me, she was divorced from her husband,” John related sadly. “The villagers said I was a bastard and threw stones at her.” Thus, th...